Rocky Ford enterprise., 1910-07-22

| pure bred dairy cows that give an
equal amount Of milk from the front
quarters. Very important also is 1t
that the texture of the udder be of
good quality. 1t Is not uncommon to
find cows with udders almost perfect
In size and form that give very little
milk and this is due to the fact that
texture is lacking. The udder is beefy
and. consequently. Just as large after
being milked as before. Good texture
OF udder is determined by the han.
ding qualities. II hard and thick and
resistant to the touch Of the hand.
then in most cases 1t is beefy and
not conducive to large production. II
soft and pliable and elastic. covered
with fine. soft hair and permeated
with blood vessels apparent to the
eye of the observer. It will be found
that at milking time the udder is large
and distended in all proportions, but
collapses after the mGk has been
taken from 1t in such a way that 1t
has much the same appearance as a
dishrag. Then. when she returns to
her food the udder at once begins to
expand. being filed with milk-making
nutrients and is again ready to empty
its great contents at another milking
hour.
Now. after one has started the
dairy herd he should bear in mind
that the great problem which presents
itself is the one of building up and
bettering the herd at all times In.
stead Of producing animals that are
less profitable or poorer in their con-
formation than their mothers. There
Is only one way to bring about i'm
provement and that is by the careful
selection of sires and by properly
raising the offspring by feeding and
caring for them with the best possible
methods. 1t Is Eever advisable to use
grade or scrub sire no matter
whether the cows be pure in their
breeding or only grades. True It Is
that many grade bulls are as good in
dividually or look to one as being as
good as any pure bred sire. and In
many instances It Is true that many
grade bulls can be found that. speak.
Ing from the standpoint of individual.
ity. are superior to the large ma
jority OF the pure bred bulls obtain.
able. However. one Is always uncer-
tain as to the outcome OF his breed.
Ing operations when using a sire
whose pedigree Is not known. 1t Is
not enough to know the character OF
the sire and dam of the bull at the
head OF the herd. 1t may be and often
times is the case that grade bull
may have a most excellent mother
and be well sired and still the results
of his use be the greatest of disap-
pointment due to the law OF atavism
or reversion. which means simply
that the offspring may trace back
through the sire and dam. grand sires
and grand dams. often back several
generations. to some animal that was
the most veritable scrub. and. conse-
quentiy. the offspring would be much
poorer than any Of the other ances.
tors. An Illustration OF this Is that
Aberdeen Angus cows. pure In their
breeding. sometimes have red calves.
This is due undoubtedly to the fact
that the Aberdeen Angus breed OF cat
tie originated scores OF years ago
from foundation Of red animals and.
although at the present time the
largest percentage Of the offspring
are Jet black. with scarcely a white
spot on them. some Of the calves are
born red.
In addition to the pedigree that in.
dicates large production In all the ma.
ternal ancestry. the individuality OF
the bull must be OF the type desired
in the offspring. He must give indi.
cations OF prepotency and mascuIinity.
have strong constitution. capacity,
circulatory system, nervous tempera.
ment or disposition. and the indica.
tions Of milking ability described for
the selection of cows. Too much at
tention can never be given to the Sc.
lecting OF the head OF the herd and
the fact that so much carelessness has
In the past been used on the dairy
farm in this particular regard is the
reason why dairy herds at the present
time do not produce more largely on
the average and more profitably than
they do. This is. well illustrated BY
the fact that In the neighborhood of
the very best breeders Of bred dairy
cattle we ind the best farm dairy
herds In the world due to the fact
that these breeders have sold or
loaned to their neighbors bulls with
the prepotency and highly developed
dairy breeding behind them that rem.
dered them useful in building up the
herds to their present standard. As
a result Of this usage Of good sIres for
several years past these dairymen are
selling their cows and heifers for ex-
tremely high prices. in many in
stances for grade cows and heifers
from SIS up to $3.50 a head. As a
matter of fact. there is only one way
OF securing good profitable dairy cows
at the present time without having
extremely large prices for them. ow.
ing to the great demand for good