The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-08-19
Y. ?. !. HOLSTt|N
HERD HOLDS RECORD
One Cow Gave s32 Pounds of Milk
and Thirty of Butter In
Seven Days.
BEST IN UNITED STATES -
Group of Sixteen Wonderful Mixers
Make the Astounding Average OF
Their Own Weight in Actual Prod
uct OF the Churn Every Year.

Blacksburg, Va, Aug. 1.-THE cur
rent issue of the Holstein- Fresian
World has this to say OF the Holstein
herd at the Virginia Polytechnic In
stitute. The publication of this arti-
Gle as leader in the July number was
entirely voluntary on the part of the
editors and the matter was furnished
them at their own suggestion. The
article says, in part:
The progress and development of
a herd of cattle of any of the dairy
breeds in one of our great colleges or
institutions of learning in respect to
production. individuality and i'm
proved blood lines, is not only a mat
ter OF great interest TO all followers
of the chosen breed, but 1t is also one
of vital importance The success or
failure in any one or all Of these par
ticular things unquestionably deter
mine, to a greater or less degree, the
future interest the student will have
for the breed with which he has been
associated during his college days.
Surely he appreciates that in all cases
the herd must be and Is conducted on
a prsely practical basis, insofar AS
ply natural for him to feel that sue
cess or failure in the same proper
tionate degree is very likely to come
TO him in the event Of his taxing up
that breed.
Another factor to be considered IN
connection with the building of co.,
lege herd and, Indeed. one or no
small Importance is that in most cases
college herd is not founded upon
the best blood lines Of the breed IT IL
to represent. IT is only recently thas
officials in charge of the appropria-
lions for our colleges and institutions
have come to respect the agricultural
part and especially the livestock end
in the measure they do today As
consequence such herds as were
founded earlier were forced to make
their selections from animals that
came within a financial limit. In most
cases this was not large sum ana
the majority of college herds as they
are today represent striking examples
of what is possible to accomplish
through judiclous selection and care
ful development of the offspring
A forceful example OF the results
possible under these handicaps is
shown by the Virginia PoINtecnhlc
Institute at Blackshurg. Va. The re-
!
stein Fresians are very satisfactory
A careful review of some charts fur
nished the world by r. 4. Hunt. ant
NAL husbandman, proves that TINS IN
stitution has spelled success before
the ewes of its students with capital
letters and the effect of the splendid
work done within this herd Is most
certain to be felt for many, MANI
years to come.
When we understand the present
herd Is made up OF but ten animals.
and then TO say they hold all state
records for all ages and all breeds,
! then do we partially appreciate the
/ importance this herd has played in
I spreading the Holstein gospel in the
south. The true significance or all
these state records is brought out
more forcibly through an analysis OF
the showings of the cows at various
ages
First Of all it must be brought out
that every female member OF the
herd today was bred by and deVel-
oped at this institution. In all hVe
sires have been used in the develop
ment OF this herd.
A grand total of twenty eight cows
! have been bred and developed ana
tested in the V. r. / herd Ihese
twenty three cows show an average
production of $50 pounds Of butter
which total was divided among ami
mails Of various ages, twelve were
two-vear- olds. four were three-yeaF-
Odds. FIVE were fouryear Folds ana
seven were mature animals. AS the
sixteen mem bers of the college herd
stand today they aveage III pounds
of butter per year with. an average
fat content OF 3.91 per cent one COW
| has produced better than l,l0o POUNDS
butter. three cows averaged better
than 900 pounds: six cows averaged
better than $50 pounds butter, ana
eleven cows average better than SOC
hounds all of which are worlds rec
ords for colleges and experiment sta
1 lions or this mum Der four were IN
their mature form. two were iour =
vear-olds two were hree-year- ds
and the remaining eight were two
year olds-
I The best seven-day record thus far
! brought out in this herd is one OF 29.9
mounds butter from 632 pounds milk
! from a senior four-year- con-
Itinuing for a year this COW was forced
/ to take sixth position IN the hefo TOT
butter production and nth position
I "a. milk production, which brings out
/ n1%st forcibly that our best seven DAY
nroducers are not always the best in
! the longtime work. The cow mold
ing first position produced 20 ?
mounds OF butter from Ala pounds or
/ milk and for the year produced bet
ter than twenty-five pounds butter per
week from approximately 400 pounds
milk This is striking example Of
persistency in production and this
/ cow is the dam of the sire selected
to carry on the splendid production
! in the Virginia Polytechnic herd.
! There are a number of very much
| larger herds owned by state colleges
and representing possibly greater
! line of popular breeding, but In its en-
tirety we question If there can be Sc
lected sixteen animals from any other
college herd in the United States that
can compare with the entire sixteen
animals making up the Virginia In