30 
Developing a Dairy Herd. 
“ Southern Farmer,’ in Queensland 
Agricultural Journal, gives the following 
notes on raising a good dairy herd:— 
Ti we would produca good milkers we 
must have good stock to breed from as 
well as the proper barns and conveniences 
for caring for them. It matters not what 
dairy breed is selected, for they are all 
adapted to some particular purpose, some 
perhaps better than others, but from my 
observation the man who succeeds with 
one breed, in most cases, would succeed 
with another had he selected it for the 
particular branch of dairying he intended 
to follow. | 
The cow from which the dairy heifer is 
to breed must be, in form and appearance, 
and also in acute service, a good milker, 
possessing in herself as many of the desir- 
able qualities as can be found. The bull 
to whlch she is coupled should be des- 
cended from a good milk-producing 
family, and the breeder should be assured 
of the fact by a pedigree, if. possible (at 
all events by a knowledge of the ancestors 
for a number of generations, both male 
and female), as a bull can get from 50 to 
2 100 calves in a year, and a cow a single 
one, and as you may have a large number 
of cows, it is very important that he be 
certain in his qualities. 
By following this pian you may in a 
few years build up a herd of very good 
cows from ordinary grades through the 
good qualities of the bulls, and by follow- 
ing up this plan for four or more genera- 
tions, it will result in as good cows for all 
practical purposes as the pure breds, that 
are out of reach of most dairymen who 
depend upon the profits from their dairy 
products alone, 
Age Limit of Dairy Cows. 
A bulletin from the Wiscosin Station 
. (United States) states that a cow isat her 
best during her fifth and sixth years, up 
to which time the production of milk and 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
butter-fat by cows in normal condition 
increases every year. The length of time 
the cow will maintain her maximum pro- 
duction depends on her constitutional 
strength, and the care with which she is 
fed and managed, A good dairy cow 
should uot show any marked falling-off 
until after ten years of age. Many 
excellent records have been made by 
cows older than this. The quality of 
milk produced by heifers is somewhat 
better than that of older cows, for a 
decrease has been noted of one or two 
tenths of 1 per cent in the average fat 
contents for each year until the cows 
have reached the full age. This is caused 
by the increase in the weight of the cows 
with advancing age. At any rate there 
seems to bea parallelism between the 
two sets of figures for the same cows, 
Young animals use a portion of their 
food for the formation of body tissue? 
and it is to be expected, therefore that 
heifers will require a larger portion of 
nutrients for the production of milk or 
butter-fat than do other cows. 
News and Notes. 
Comfort and abundant feed are the 
keynotes to success in handling the dairy 
herds. Without comfort the milk-flow 
will dwindle. 
_If your cow has the heifer calf that you 
desire, the proper thing to do is to teach 
it to drink milk out of a pail just as soon 
as possible. 
The Danish former now does not 
confine his effort to keeping records of 
“his cows, but the cow-tester also keeps 
track of the ration that is fed to the 
growing heifers and to the dry cows. 
The cows udder is of special importance 
It should be large and its skin thin, ‘with 
loose, soft folds extending away back, 
eapable of great distension when filled, 
but shrinking back when empty. 
——_- 
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