The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1889-04-11
THE DAIRY HERD.

How to Learn the Capacity of . Cow-Dis.
posing Of surplus Stock.
The only way to learn the capacity
OF COW is by keeping an account Of
the milk given from year to year and
to make test for quality at least each
week. This involves great amount
OF extra labor. It is this expense tina,
keeps SO many dairymen from knowing
the capacity OF their cows. and account:
for 50 many herds OF dairy cattle never
improved above medium quality.
The keeping Of accounts alone. how.
ever, is not sufficient to determine the
value OF the animal. The conditions OF
the different COWS must also be consid.
cred. 1t is possible that a year OF care.
fully kept accounts would show some
OF the cows which have been considered
the best to be Of secondary merit. The
best cows will frequently give so much
milk during one season that they be.
come reduced in condition and unable
the succeeding year to respond in yield
OF milk to any amount of liberal feed.
ing. Heredity should also be consid.
cred. II choice is to be made between
two cows of equal merit choose that
which has the best dam. The size OF
the teat, the form. color and beauty OF
the COW. her disposition and constitu.
tion are all subjects for consideration
in wedding out herd, although none
Of them should obscure the one main
object for which tho herd is bred; the,
each are important factors Of seleetion.
With the exception, perhaps, OF the
unsound animals the dairyman will this
find a good market demand for his sur.
plus. The higher he advances his herd
in the scale Of merits the greater will
this demand become. Those which are
weeds in his herd will be better thar
can be bought elsewhere. During the
past two or three years of extreme de-
preston of the cattle market, when il
has been almost impossible to sell
many grades Of cattle, have not once
seen the time when there has not been
an active demand for irst-class fresh
cows at substantial prices. The dairy
man who breeds his own cows and has
for his model the COW best suited
TO his business, need have no fear bu-
that he can sell his surplus. Neither
need he trouble himself about not hav
ing big fat COW to sell when he il
through using her. During my twelve
years experience in breeding dairy cat.
tie. three times as many of my cows
have died natural deaths as have dice
in a slaughter house, and my losses BY
death have not amounted to one pei
year. Improvement in q dairy can not
be greatly advanced without improve
ment in the cattle used. This can hes,
be accomplished by breeding ones owr
cows. The dairyman who begins b,
having in his herd q few registered
cows of well established breed suited
to his purpose, who keeps for his owr
use the pure bred descendant OF those
cows. always being careful to use {
superior male, and disposes Of the sur
plus animals, always keeping the best
for himself. will at the end Of ten or
fifteen years. at but trife additional
cost for the time. have a herd of cows
worth, either for his own use or 70,
sale. fully three times what it would
have been had he pursued the course
OF buying his fresh cows, breeding ma
tive stock or using breed unsuited t.
his purpose. -Orange Judd Farmer.