^8 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



Another thing, not to breed too young. A mistake is made among 

 dairymen of crowding breeding among young cattle. There is a great de- 

 sire to have heifers in the shouldering that calf young. A heifer should 

 aaot be fresh until she is at least two and a half years old and bulls also. 

 That is then too young. 



A great deal depends upon the care and feed. But it seems to me the 

 )matter of breeding is not nearly so well looked after, especially in Illi- 

 nois, as the matter of the care and feeding of the dairy cattle. 



Mr. Mason: What is the fair yield of 100 cows raised that way? 



A. Butter fat? 



Q. No sir, milk. 



A. That depends on the kinds of cows you are keeping, and also up- 

 on what you are doing with the milk. Jersey cows and selling milk to 

 ithe creamery and to the test of 5 per cent are different from Holsteins 

 testing 31/^ per cent; a cow ought to give 6,000 pounds of milk a year and 

 2B& pounds of butter fat. 



Q. But take this cow, Nora, if she is only paying expenses then you 

 are doing your v/ork for nothing, where are all your profits coming out of, 

 loss.? You may be making some profit on these two cows, but you would 

 txe Jbcetter off if this cow would die and leave the other two for the profits. 



Q. Mr. Wilson: You got to speaking of a good sire, you do not 

 s^tate the breed? ) 



A. i do not believe in entering into breeds here. We have several 

 •dairy breeds; that is a matter of fancy, and the purpose for which they 

 .are kept. That a breed that a man likes best. If he likes Jerseys and 

 ihas no Holsteins, let him breed godd Jerseys. 



Q. In the country I come from it is largely a corn country and very 

 poor milk country. We established a creamery there and our patrons 

 imostly run to the Short Horns, and it was hard to convince them that 

 anything else was profitable. Wi th the average farmer there they think 

 the milking her dof Short Horns is more profitable than any other herr 

 of dairy type animal. Take the Holsteins or the Jerseys — now the claini 

 Is made that they have Short Horns cattle pretty good thorough bred 



