Hermanner Volksblatt. [volume] (Hermann, Mo.) 1875-1928, 1914-01-16

1 RSA@Ns Hhc1ia w PtA'tNo S'NtJ ~
man must determine for himself.
Some dairy cattle are noted for the
quantity Of milk they produce, others
for the high quality or richness of their
milk, which means they are good but
ter producers. Some combine quantity
and quality.
There are cows OF active habits
which forage well on a wide range of
scanty pasture and will prohtably
work up the coarser kinds of food In
winter. There are others which have
proved their capacity for making good
returns when more closely confined
and subjected to high feeding, Some
cows give a great flow Of milk for a
comparatively short season, and others
are noted FOR an even. steady yield of
milk the year through, As a rule, the
different dairy characteristics named
pertain to different breeds, so that
every dairyman is likely to find some
one breed Of dairy cattle better suited
to his wants than any other. There
is no special -cheesemaking cow. TIE
best butter COW is also the best for
cheese. This fact has been demon
strated beyond dispute.
There are two very different ways Of
forming a dairy herd and of maintain
ing it's size and quality. It may be
done by buying or by breeding. and
these two methods may be combined.
The purchasing plan is practiced to
a considerable extent by those who
produce milk for town and city supply.
In a few cases 1t has been known to
be successful where the work of the
herd was to make butter. Applied In
its extreme form, cows are bought
when matured and at their prime,
judged almost exclusively by their
milk yield. are highly fed, SO as to
keep steadily gaining in flesh, and are
sold, usually to the butcher, as soon
as they cease to be profitable as milk
ers. The bull may be of any kind so
long as he gets the cows in calf, as
the calves are OF value only as caus
ing fresh cows and are disposed of
as soon as possible. The first modifi-
cation of this system Is to keep extra
good cows for several seasons and the
next to raise beifers from some of the
best mixers to replenish the herd.
This way of making up a herd and
keeping good it's numbers requires
abundant capital and rare Judgment In
buying and In selling. 1t cannot be
recommended to one lacking expert
ence. and even the shrewd buyer runs
great risk of introducing disease.
The other extreme is to begin with
a few well selected animals as a foun-
dation and gradually build up the herd
to the size desired by judicious breed
ing and natural increase. This method
takes time, and time which may be
money, but 1t is by far the safer and
more satisfactory in its results.
A desirable combination in starting
is to buy the number of cows desired
and good animals of the sort determin-
ed In advance. IL ones means will
permit include q few superior cows
and n first class bull at any rate. Let
the COWS selected be such as have had
two calves and perhaps three, SO that
they may DO judged by their own de.
velopment and yet be young enough to
improve and be in full profit for some
years, With a herd thus formed be-
gin at once the work of improvement
by breeding and selection. Sell prompt
ly any COW which proves unsatisfac-
tory and replace her by the best in
crease of the herd, or purchase occa-
sionally an animal which will raise the
average quality,
A dairyman can hardly be advised
to buy at once a full stock Of pure
bred cattle of any breed IL his sole OBJ
ject and dependence for profit is TO be
the dairy product of the herd. Such
a venture will necessitate large invest
ment and should include the breeding
of registered animals, for sale at re.
muneratiye prices. as n part of the
business. Well bred and well selected
grade cows of the line Of blood de
sired seem TO be the most profitable
animals for the practical aairyman or
at lenst the best to begin with. IL en-
terprising and progressive the owner
will hardly be content with grades
only. He may begin with only his bull
pure bred, Presently he will want a
registered COW to match, then one or
two more.
The bull is constantly referred to as
"the head of the herd, and that trlte
saying. 1.-THE bull is half the herd
should never be forgotten. The grade
dam may be selected and largely re-
lied upon to give size, form, constitu
ton and capacity of production to her
heifer calf. Its dairy quality, the in
bred power to increase the richness OF
milk, is derived from the pure bred sire.
One COW may prove a poor dam or fail
to breed and still give profit In milk,
Such n loss Is comparatively trivial
and the fault easily corrected. But vi
the bull fails or proves a poor sire the
entire increase OF a year may be lost.
In getting a hull get the bost, or at
least approach that standard 80 nearly
as possible. A common error among
dairymen is to use immature bulls and
to dispose Of good ones before their
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