Yoi.. LXXII.. No. 4233. 
NEW YORK. DECEMBER 13. 1913. 
WEEKLY $1.00 PER YEAR. 
BENEFITS OF ORGANIZED BREEDING. 
Standard Cattle for a Community. 
Talk about the high cost of living and high prices 
for farm products—do you know what has gained 
more in price than anything that comes out of the 
soil? It is the high-class dairy cow. If you doubt 
it. start out and try to buy a herd of good ones. 
You will find a good many ordinary cattle, but when 
you find a cow capable of giving over 7,000 pounds 
of four per cent milk you must pay for her. When 
you get her she will have enough of the blood of 
one of the four great dairy breeds to mark her with 
its shape and color, and she will probably be in some 
community where there is cooperative or organized 
breeding. 
That is coming to be a great feature of modern 
dairying. The Jersey cow pictured on this page is 
one of a herd and 
family that has dotted 
Delaware Co., N. Y., 
with the well-known 
Jersey markings. It 
is said that in certain 
parts of Delaware 
County you can find 
more five per cent 
cows to the square 
mile than in any other 
part of the country. 
Many of these fine 
cows are grades pro¬ 
duced by crossing the 
finest of Jersey bulls 
first on the native cat¬ 
tle and later o n 
grades. The farmers 
worked together with 
a common understand¬ 
ing of their breeding 
operations with the re¬ 
sult that there is a 
uniform class of high- 
grade cattle—noted for 
butter production. 
It is said that Madi¬ 
son and nearby coun¬ 
lies in New York can 
•show more black and 
white cattle than any 
other equal area in the 
world. In this section 
m a r k e t milk was 
wanted, and the farm¬ 
ers decided that IIol- 
steins were the best 
milk machines to make 
it for them. • So they have bred along together, and 
when black and white milkers are wanted the buy¬ 
ers know where to go in central New York. It is 
pretty much the same in Geauga Co., Ohio. Sev¬ 
eral farmers there started breeding high-class llol- 
steins. Others took it up until the community be¬ 
came a regular nest of purebred cattle. A breeder’s 
association was organized. This taught these farm¬ 
ers to study the blood lines of the breed and select 
their stock from certain famous families of cows. 
1’his has surely put Geauga Co. on the map in black 
and white. Nothing that it ever produced before 
gave it such character and reputation. Buyers come 
not only from all over this country, but from foreign 
countries seeking these famous cattle. They have 
' een made famous by the advertising which com- 
! hied and organized breeding has given. 
It is said that in certain parts of Wisconsin there 
are more Guernsey cattle to the mile than in any 
other place in the world, including the Island of 
Guernsey. The conditions are just right for these 
mild and golden-skinned cows, and farmers have 
combined to bring in the best blood of the breed that 
they can find. The result is that when a carload of 
these yellow beauties is needed buyers know where 
to go and fill the car. There are similar communi¬ 
ties scattered all over the country where farmers 
have been able to specialize and get together for co¬ 
operative or organized breeding. Buyers went to 
Windsor Co.. Vermont, recently and obtained seven 
carloads of high-class Jersey cows for dairy pur¬ 
poses. They were able to do this because some 
years ago a band of farmers started breeding Jer¬ 
seys, both pure blood and grades, and by means of 
cow testing associations got rid of the robber cows. 
There are spots all over the Gulf States where the 
Jersey cow has changed the entire aspect of things. 
Such a place is Starkville, Miss. For some years 
after the Civil War this was a small rather dull 
town, depending on cotton and ordinary farming 
lor its life. Small, undersized cattle ran in the 
woods and cauebrakes. and were shipped to New 
Orleans as a poor quality of beef. A few far-sighted 
men studied the history and performance of Jersey 
cattle, and began to introduce a few choice animals. 
They were laughed at. and worse, for at the be¬ 
ginning a considerable number of people actually 
believed that the “painted butter” made from Jer¬ 
sey cream was dangerous. Many of the first cattle 
died from Texas fever. Planting Jersey blood in 
the veins of those wild wood cattle was an expen¬ 
sive and thankless job, but these men persisted until 
they saw results. To-day it would he difficult to 
find 100 cows in the county that do not show evi¬ 
dence of Jersey or some other pure breed. Instead 
of shipping out dwarf cattle at possibly $25 each 
thousands of Jersey heifers are sent all over the 
Gulf States bringing three times and more what 
the old cattle sold for. For this country has become 
headquarters for Jersey cows. Alfalfa, the silo, 
cow peas, Bur clover, have followed the Jersey. 
The difference in price between the old-time scrub 
and the modern Jersey grade has made that town 
and section rich—one of the most productive spots 
in the Gulf States. 
Hundreds of similar cases could be given where 
organized and cooperative breeding has made a sec¬ 
tion famous and rich. It is true of cattle, horses, 
swine or poultry. Modern methods of farming and 
feeding the public have established big flocks of lay¬ 
ing hens and dairy cows close to the large cities. In 
many cases land is expensive, and it pays to buy 
the cows and the lav¬ 
ing hens rather than 
to breed and raise 
them. Of course these 
feeders will go, from 
choice, into a com¬ 
munity which has the 
reputation for produc¬ 
ing good stock, and 
w here a good-sized 
herd or flock can be 
bought. That is why 
it will pay the farm¬ 
ers in any live stock 
section to get together, 
agree upon a breed or 
type, then study its 
history and get the 
best. The same thing 
is true of apples or 
potatoes or similar 
crops. There must be 
some sort of grade or 
standard in order to 
sell things to the best 
advantage, and such a 
community standard 
can only be worked up 
by organization and 
e o o p e rati o n. All 
through business life 
this plan of standard¬ 
izing goods is develop¬ 
ing. All sorts of goods 
are bought that way, 
and dairy cows will be 
no exception. We have 
an example of such 
work in the Channel 
Islands. Here small breeders cooperated to produce 
certain ideals in dairy animals persisting in the 
work for many generations. 
A DISCUSSION OF MANURES. 
Mr. C. B. Wing's excellent article in reply to R. 
1». Y.’s question as to whether the building of a 
manure pit would prove profitable, or not, leaves, 
I am sure, no doubt iu R. Y. B.’s mind that the build¬ 
ing of a suitable pit would certainly be of a decided 
economic benefit. 
Mr. Wing figures that a cow will make about 10 
loads of manure a year, but seems to be in doubt as 
to the accuracy of this statement. 1 think the fol¬ 
lowing simple rule will not only prove the truth of 
his statement, but will be of practical benefit in 
determining the amount of manure which can be 
expected from farm stock. It has been found by 
