ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 195 



The last cow mentioned holds the world's official record for 

 the highest yearly production of butter. All of the cows mention- 

 ed will make excellent yearly records, and we as Badgers are 

 proud of this dairy herd owned by Mr. Fred Rietbrock, Athens, 

 Wisconsin, a man who came here to believe there was something 

 in a breed and in the breeding of cows. Awake to this fact, he 

 set about to establish his herd by picking up the best cows he 

 could find, selecting as many of the Yeksa family as it was possi- 

 ble to find and his success is marked by the cows whose records I 

 have quoted and others which he owns equally as good. But I 

 hear some one say, "I cannot afford to buy such cows." The truth 

 is that you cannot afford to buy any other kind, if you know 

 where to find the good ones. The cow Yeksa Sunbeam cost Mr. 

 Rietbrock one hundred dollars, and where is there a dairyman 

 who could not afford to pay this price for such a cow. You could 

 not buy Mr. Rietbrock's cows today for any such money, for the 

 reason that they are in the hands of a man who knows their 

 worth and would not part with them. If you thoroughly uncler- 

 and who would not part with them. If you thoroughly under- 

 stood your business you perhaps could not go out and be as suc- 

 cessful in buying cows as Rietbrock has been, for we must admit 

 that buying cows is to a considerable extent a lottery, but I am 

 thoroughly convinced that it would be a much less lottery if more 

 attention were paid to breeds and breeding. We cannot all go 

 out and buy cows of the highest type for the reason that they are 

 not plentiful, but we can all do something toward breeding them. 

 In passing to the subject of breeding, permit me to add that there 

 are other breeds of cattle possessing more or less merit as dairy 

 animals which I have not mentioned. The four mentioned I be- 

 lieve in firmly as dairy animals. The other breeds have their 

 distinct trade mark and can be easily known as regards their 

 merits and adaptability. In the strictly dairy sense they are not 

 to be classed with those already mentioned. 



Breeding. 



Stock breeding relates to the reproduction and improvement 



