88 ^ ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



and usually does as he pleases; but it is to the beginner, or the 

 man with small means I come with a message of hope and pre- 

 dictions of success if he follows out well-known principles of 

 breeding. You have one great object in dairying, that is to ob- 

 tain the greatest amount of milk and its products. Nothing else 

 should interfere. You need dairy cows for dairying. Let no 

 one persuade you that beef or socalled dual-purpose sires will get 

 you real profitable dairy cows. Get the best dairy cows you can 

 buy, or on the cows you now have, if they will pay a small profit 

 over feed and labor, use the best dairy sire of the breed you 

 like best. 



I do not believe that any man ought to take up with a breed 

 he does not Hke. I have men come to my farm to buy and if they 

 talk other breeds I say: "You ought not to have bought of me." 

 I tell them I will hitch up and drive to neighbor Quorten, he is 

 a lawyer and he can make things look pretty good. I do not 

 want any man to buy anything of me unless he thinks he will be 

 satisfied. The best way to do is to let him go down and see your 

 friend, and by and by he will come up and buy of me. 



The selection of a sire is the most important act in breeding 

 up a good profitable dairy herd. He should be a typical animal 

 of the breed you have selected to grade up your future dairy 

 herd. He should come from a long line of profitable producers, 

 line bred. The cows should be well fed and cared for so as to 

 produce a strong vigorous calf. The calf may be allowed with 

 the cow for a few days, or it may be taken away at one day old. 

 A calf well born that is strong and full of vigor has the founda- 

 tion laid to build a strong, large producing cow. 



Great care should be taken to see that it is always supplied 

 with food suitable for its growth, never feed to excess but al" 

 ways enough. We do not believe a heifer destined for a dairy 

 cow should be kept very fat, but rather fed those feeds that will 

 make a good healthy growth and kept in a fine thrifty condition, 

 but not very fat. 



Hoard says one reason why the dairymen do not improve 

 is when they go to purchase a sire they want to buy the cheapest 

 thing they can, and low priced things are not always quite as 



