FIFTIETH ANNUAL CONVENTION 69 



always be done gradually, if you would avoid injuring the 

 animal. 



Care Before Freshening. 



A cow should have six weeks rest before freshening. 

 This six weeks not only gives her a rest, but also gives an 

 opportunity to get her in perfect condition for calving. Be- 

 fore freshening, she should be kept particularly quiet and 

 well fed on a slightly laxative diet so as to insure her being 

 in a strong, healthy condition at calving. Just before calv- 

 ing, if there is a tendency toward constipation, give her a 

 dose of raw linseed oil or some other laxative. 



Use a Pure Bred Dairy Bull. 



In selecting a bull, be sure he is the same breed as your 

 cows and comes from a high producing family as the bull 

 furnishes the best opportunity for herd improvement. 



If the heifers are not better than their dams, their sire 

 is a failure. 



The bull should be given plenty of exercise but never 

 be allowed to run with the herd as he is likely to sap his 

 strength and vitality and it makes the keeping of records 

 on the herd much more difficult. 



The feed for the bull should be much the same as for 

 a cow giving milk except that it is not wise to give him very 

 much silage and it is not necessary for him to have quite as 

 much protein in his ration as a cow who is being fed for 

 high production. 



Scales and the Babcock Test. 



Dairying has become a business and to run our dairy 

 on a business basis we must keep production records on our 

 cows. A pair of scales hanging in a convenient place will 

 enable us to weigh each cow's milk each milking time with- 

 out much extra work. 



At least once each month we should test the milk from 

 each cow with a Babcock tester to determine just how much 

 butter fat we are receiving per cow. 



