FIFTIETH ANNUAL CONVENTION 45 



raised. The influence of a good sire in increasing the pro- 

 duction of the daughters over that of the dam in my herd is 

 shown in the following table. All the records are for twelve 

 months, during which time the cows usually were dry from 

 six to eight weeks. 



Milk Fat 



Daughter 11,199 397 



Dam 8,199 264 



Increase 3,000 133 



Daughter 10,010 419 



Dam 6,141 325 



Increase 3,869 84 



Daughter 9,489 328 



Dam 8,811 319 



Increase 678 9 



Daughter 11,289 380 



Dam 7,614 246 



Increase 3,675 134 



Daughter 9,G03 335 



Increase 1,989 89 



Daughter 11,582 402 



Dam 10,578 336 



Increase 1,004 46 



Daughter 9,638 363 



Dam 8,811 319 



Increase 827 44 



Daughter ___* 8,912 361 



Dam 5,970 270 



Increase 2,942 89 



The breeding of a sire, whether he is used in a grade 

 herd or in a herd of purebreds must be better than the 

 breeding of the cows in the herd in which he is used if we 

 expect to make any headway in breeding. When we con- 

 sider that the sire is one-half of the herd, so far as breeding 

 is concerned, the best sires are always the cheapest. 



Nearly one-half of the feed a cow consumes is required 

 for maintenance and whatever sfre consumes over this re- 

 quirement she converts into milk and butter fat. If she is 



