PORTY-THIRD ANNUAL CONVENTION 19 



I did not know why. I did not know anything about breeding. 

 This cow was five or six years old when I bought her, she fresh- 

 ened every year until thirteen years old and then milked for 21 

 months and 20 days and produced in that time, 21 months and 

 20 days, 16,481 pounds of milk and 710 pounds of fat. After 

 she was fifteen years old, she freshened again and milked for 21 

 months, producing during that period 17,042 pounds of milk and 

 775 pounds of fat, closing her last lactation period at seventeen 

 years of age. That was a remarkable cow so far as vitality is 

 concerned. I never have had one since and I question if any of 

 them ever produced as she did. 



Before I knew what I was doing, I had a grade sire and 

 bred her to that sire and the daughter of that cow sired by a 

 grade sire produced 8,199 pounds of milk and 264 pounds of 

 fat. Then after I placed a purebred sire at the head of the herd, 

 I bred this cow, that had been sired by a grade sire, to a pure- 

 bred sire, and this cow No. 24 is the daughter, produced 12,000 

 pounds of milk and 400 pounds of fat. 



Q: Did you get any heifers from-a purebred sire? 



A : No sir, I never had a purebred sire when I had her. 



I have another cow : 



Cow No. 36, I will give her three first years ; she was just 

 a heifer — 



1st year 7,808 lbs. milk — 329 lbs. fat. 

 2nd year 7,180 lbs. milk — 293 lbs. fat. 

 3rd year 10,010 lbs. milk — 419 lbs. fat. 



That cow has produced since this was published nearly 450 

 pounds of butterfat. 



Now then the average production of the herd since 1907 

 has not increased — we have just about held our own. That is 

 due to two reasons. When I first started I did not have any 

 heifers, they were all mature cows. After that the herd was 

 composed, and is now, one-third of 2 and 3-year-old heifers. Of 

 course, I sell off some cows so that the average production is 

 just about the same. 



