ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 313 



The practice of dealing with the herd as a whole, instead of with 

 the individual, is a-source of great loss every year. In this one 

 way the dairymen of the state let millions of dollars slip through 

 their fingers annually that might be saved with little effort. As the 

 foregoing discussions show, this is a serious matter, and every 

 milk producer should acquaint himself with the possibilities of 

 his business. With the rapid increase everywhere present, in 

 the demand for dairy products of high quality, it is but the part 

 of wisdom for the milk producer to meet it with first class goods 

 produced at the lowest cost. This necesitates first of all good 

 cows and proper nourishment. What we need is not more dairy- 

 men but better ones. There is not a dairy farm or a dairy herd 

 in the state that has yet approached its full capacity of production. 

 At this stage of advancement in dairying, the fact that a 

 cow is profitable is not sufficient. The dairyman should strive 

 for a large profit from a small number of animals. He is not 

 acting wisely if a cow paying a small profit is retained when a 

 superior one can be obtained at a reasonable price. Perhaps no 

 one thing has wrought as much havoc among milk producers as 

 has the fruitless attempt on their part to combine dairy and beef 

 producing qualities in the same animal. Many have tried this 

 experiment for the better part of a life time only to come to the 

 conclusion that anything short of the special-purpose cow has no 

 place in the equipment of the dairyman. It is the height of fool- 

 ishness for a milk producer to keep a beef bull and veal his calves, 

 running the chances of buying good cows when needed. It is 

 equally as bad for him to veal well-bred grade dairy calves, for 

 the blood is needed in all dairy communities. Who is in the busi- 

 ness of producing dairy cows for the general market? Where 'is 

 the supply to come from if each relies upon the other? Even 

 when milk is commanding a good price, it is wise to withhold 

 enough to give the calves a good start. They are a valuable 

 asset constantly increasing in value and will abundantly repay 

 the effort if properly bred. Protect them from heat and flies, be 

 liberal in feeding, for it is better to rear two good calves than to 

 fail on a dozen. In a herd of 40 cows it cost but two dollars to 



