Arizona republican., 1898-02-04
HEARD AT THE INSTITUTES.

The winter has enabled the writ T to pick up many ideas and opinions over a large extent of county easr
 and west. Possibly some points in regard to heifers and their care m not be without value to the general reader. There is no misIaking the signs of the times that the da " is the 1ivest industry in the Union. At most of the farmers meetings the COW is given most respectful heari g
 The growing sentiment is tha. ehe farmer should raise his own dairy stock and seek to breed excellence in to his herd rather than await the un- certain advent of Sports" While the selection of common COWS of strong performance is not to be questioned. as foundation, the dairyman should select some breed that suits him bes-, and, getting a sire from it, should cross him upon these COWS, and rcise heifers of dairy type and promi e. Here the good intentions of bet,ering the herd seem to be blocked by the
 ideas of the farmer about what to do
 next. He seems impressed with the thought that he must again introduce fresh blood for fear that his stock will
 deteriorate and become enfeebled.
 and so proceeds to diffuse and weaken the good start made, by getting an- other sire, often of quite another breed and of warmer or colder blood, | and is surprised to find that the calves of this second cross are very uneven and inferior. He does not see tha
 it is because of the mixing Of diverse and often antagonistic bloods, wi h the common stock at the base Had
 this man bred the heifers of the frs cross back to their own sire, and in- tenSified the blood, and concentra ed
 the influence instead of altering it.
 a great gain would have been male in
 establishing and maintaining the pre- 1 potency sought, and not as he had i'm
 agined endangered the progeny or its
 vitality. Still another cross with the
 same sire will be Of great value in fix
 ing types and performance, and then for the fourth cross a new sire can be
 selected, and if of the same breed
 blood and of a high performing fam
 fly, the value of the herd will be prac-
 tically established.
 The feeding of heifers has much to do with making or running good
 breeding. What shall be done with the heifer calf? Shall she be fed and
 treated as her brothers. forced ana
 ldlleneu, or snail Sne De Separa eG
 from them and noi allowed to get fat
 but be kept in good growth, and f,t
 clovers and grasses, oats and bran
 and no corn or fattening foods, anf bred so to come in at not over twenty . four months of age, and so breec motherhood, promote milk secret Il l and "grow" dairy influence at tn, same time, and hold fat forming so il ' check that it will not interfere late on when high feeding is practfced } Succulence is considered essential il l heifer growth, and even in the aftc life, as it supplies nutrition in bulk. ? form and easy of digestion. The nat ] ural juices of plants and grains ar 7 now considered to be of a stimulatinl f nature, and so they aid in larger mill : secretion and even maintenance.
 Another point over which some vii : differ is that the heifer should nEve ' be allowed to suckle her first or sec . ond calves, the purpose being to W tn U hold from the heifer the knowledg = that there is any other method 0 '' drawing her milk than by the hand c 2 the owner, that she may transfer t - him the affection engendered by re S lieving the udder of milk. When thi o is done, all the affection of the heife e seems at once to be centered upon tn
 one who feeds and milks her and