234 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



offers an excellent opportunity for intelligent, long-continued 

 line breeding. Skillful mating, when combined with careful se- 

 lection of the best animals, makes very great improvement pos- 

 sible. 



Elimination of the Scrub 



The value of the use of pure-bred sires and the need for 

 elimination of the scrubs is shown in the accompanying illus- 

 trations. The cattle shown in Plate II, figure i, were owned by 

 a farmer at the time he joined the association. He has better 

 cattle now. Plate I shows pictures of scrub bulls. Evers^ farmer 

 will recognize the type, and certainly no farmer cares to breed 

 his cows to such scrubs. A bull similar to the one shown in 

 Plate I, figure i, was sold for $8 when a year old. The hide 

 alone of a good yearling bull should easily bring half as much. 

 The bull association eliminates the scrub bull and economically 

 substitutes such bulls as the one shown in Plate II, figure 2. 



Community Breeding Encouraged 



Ten years ago a farmer in northern Wisconsin began to 

 breed Guernseys in a Holstein district. Now he has a fine herd, 

 and wonders why buyers never come his way. He is discover- 

 ing that when buyers want Guernseys they naturally go to a 

 Guernsey district. As a rule the breeders of pure-bred cattle 

 already have learned this lesson. The principle is as true of 

 grades as of registered stock, but many owners of grade cattle 

 seem to have overlooked it. All dairy breeds are sometimes 

 found in the same neighborhood, and even on the same farm 

 several dairy breeds and all possible combinations of them are 

 seen. Perhaps one year a Holstein bull is used, the next year a 

 Jersey, and occasionally a bull of no particular breeding. In a 

 grade herd recently studied there were Holstelns, Guernseys, 

 Jerseys, and Shorthorns, and every possible cross and mixture 

 of those breeds. The owner admits his cattle do not sell to 

 advantage, and the reason is not hard to find. The bull associa- 

 tion encourages the keeping of only one breed on the farm of its 

 members, and the establishment of that breed in the communitv. 



