want to know what his whole family have done, see if there is any weak point there, and that will bring you right back to the records of individual production.

Mr. Convey-Isn't there some danger in introducing fresh blood of getting infectious diseases among your herd?

Mr. Jacobs-Very much. It is a very important thing in introducing new blood to take them only from herds we know are free from disease, or keeping them in quarantine until such time as we know nothing will develop later on.

Mr. Meyer-What breed do you prefer?

Mr. Jacobs-I want to make butter, the kind that will give the most butter fat.

Supt. McKerrow - Which kind is that?

Mr. Jacobs-I do not know. I would certainly recommend a dairy breed, an animal bred for the purpose for which we want to use.

Supt. McKerrow Will you name those dairy breeds that you would select from?

Mr. Jacobs-The Guernseys, Jerseys, Holsteins and the Ayrshires, although I am not personally acquainted with the latter, we do not have many of them in this state, they are all dairy bred animals.

Mr. Foster-Would you condemn a heifer that had had only one calf if she did not come up to your satisfaction?

Mr. Jacobs-That depends on the heifer; it depends on a great many things. It might depend on her breeding and perhaps on whether she had had any bad luck, or something had happened that she had not done well the first year, but if I had done my part by her and she did pretty poorly the first year, I should not continue the experiment any longer. If she came pretty nearly up to it, and her breeding justified her in doing a great deal better, I might continue her for another year to see if she wouldn't do better.

A Member-How many pounds has a heifer got to make in order to be retained?

Mr. Jacobs Well, we haven't any standard just at present. I do not know as we ever will have. We are selecting

out the poorer ones, there are always some poorer than others.

Question-At what age do your heifers freshen?

Mr. Jacobs-We prefer to have them freshen at a little later than two years. We used to think it was best at two years, or possibly a little younger, but we have learned some things, and one of the things we have learned is that it is better to have them freshen from two to two and a half years old; I prefer two years and three months at least.

'Question-What breed of cows do you

keep?

Mr. Jacobs-Well, if it is essential to this question, I am not ashamed to say that I am keeping Jerseys, although haven't any reflection to cast on any other dairy cow for dairy purposes.

Mr. Foster - How do you pick out your poorest cows to get rid of? Mr. Jacobs-By their records. I use some judgment also, Mr. Foster.

Capt. Arnold-About condemning a heifer who does not do well the first year, two of the best cows I ever had on my farm-one was a pure bred Shorthorn and the other was a cross bred Shorthorn with Jersey-both of those cows when they were heifers did not do anything the first year to speak of, and I was about ready to condemn them, but they afterward developed into the best cows I ever had on my farm. I would never condemn a heifer the first year. Now, if I were breeding stock for the dairy, I would get a twoyear old sire, or a three-year old. You are taking a good many chances on a yearling, I do not care what breed it is. Saying everything about prepotency, transmitting the qualities of his ancestors, there are individual inherited qualities that go with individual animals that you can only be sure of their utility by buying them after they have proved their utility.

Mr. Meyer-What is the average test of your herd?

Mr. Jacobs-I could not give it to you; we never test in that way, each cow's test stands individually.

Mr. Foster-If I were to go to your dairy to buy a cow, how would you know what value to place on any one cow in the herd? You have said you

have no record of production, you are just using your judgment?

Mr. Jacobs-I see it is troubling Mr. Foster that I have spoken about records and it has developed that my records for the last year are not complete. Mr. Foster knows as well as the rest of you that sometimes we have to depend on our hired help for a great deal, and the last two years we have been up against it, have not been able to do all the things we wanted to, and that is the reason our records are not complete for the last year. For the last six months, and for several years previous to last year I can show Mr. Foster just what the cows are testing, just what the milk is weighing each month, and if he will come to my place I will be able to put a price on any cow there that, if it is not satisfactory to him, will be to me, whether he takes her or not.

Question-What has been your experience where a cow or a heifer has become beefy, what has been her tendency after that?

Mr. Jacobs-My experience has been that that cow continued that beefy tendency. I have had cows that went dry very much too soon, and the beefy tendency seemed to increase on them after that.

Question-What is your highest and your lowest test?

Mr. Jacobs-I will answer the question, although I do not think it is essential, as the point is the amount of butter fat she gives in the long run. I have had cows that tested as high as seven per cent. I do not remember any that tested below three and one-half, but very often the highest testing cow was not the most profitable.

Question-How long would you recommend the use of the same sire in the same herd? Mr. Jacobs From my own experience, I cannot recollect using a sire to his own progeny. I am rather inclir.ed to favor changing, but I would rather have a sire from the same family than to use him or take one from an outcross, especially if we have a grade herd. We want to intensify this breeding power and that would help to do it.

Mr. Linse-I think it is a fact that some of our best cows, as you may say, have their off years, will not do nearly so well as in previous years, and they will show up a kind of tendency to lay on fat, and yet the next year they come around all right and will be as good as

ever.

Mr. Jacobs-I have seen that in my own experience, that a cow that got a good rest and got in strong flesh, if she had the dairy instinct she would use that strength in her next milking period.

Perhaps the question of raising the calf so as to develop it to the best kind of a cow has not been brought out quite strong enough. It is very necessary, I think, to feed this young animal well during its growing period. Then is the time when we are establishing the constitutional vigor, and that is what we want in the dairy cow. That is the reason why we want the heifer to have time to do that in; we want to give her longer than two years, and establish her as strongly and vigorously as possible, and if we feed her the right kind of feeds, there isn't much danger of hurting the milking tendency by getting a little flesh on her.

Prof. Humphrey.

There is no occupation or profession that furnishes greater opportunity for clear thinking than that of agriculture. The farmer is always confronted with problems, the solution of which tends to exercise the mind as well as the hands. Summer feeding is one of these problems. There are many farms in the country that can feed and maintain more live stock conveniently in winter than they can in summer. This is true, in many instances, for the reason that no provision is made for summer feeding. Where the more intensive system of farming is practiced, in combination with live stock husbandry, more attention must be given to careful feeding throughout the entire year. Feeding must be a business as much in summer as it is in winter. The time is past when cattle, sheep and hogs can be turned out in the spring-time and cease to be a care until they are again corralled late in the fall for winter feed

ing. This old system, which in earlier days was practiced with fewer animals, is being abandoned and a new one is taking its place.

This new system is being brought about for the following reasons: More land is being broken and put under the plow, which reduces the pasturage and increases the value of land to the extent that it must be worked more intensively, in order to pay interest on the money invested. A system of farming is being adopted which increases the number of farm animals kept, and we are becoming wise to the fact that live stock interests are of paramount importance upon our farms. It is becoming more the aim to provide a home market for farm crops by feeding them and marketing animals, or their products, thus deriving greater profits and at the same time giving opportunity to return to the soil, in form of manure, a large percentage of that which has been taken from it. This system of farming is to be encouraged, for it is the one means of insuring a state of fertility and usefulness of our farms in years to come. Again, our markets are discriminating against animals for meat purposes which are not early matured, and seldom do we consider our most profitable meat animals to be those which are allowed to summer on sparse pastures and perhaps winter at the straw pile before any attempt is made to fit them for market. The push and hustle of the American spirit has come up against our live stock conditions, and men who are the winners are pushing to their utmost capacity. Our meat producing animals are pushed as rapidly as possible from time of birth, and are put upon the market in as short a time as possible, while breeding and work animals are grown to a state of maturity in a manner to insure their highest form of development and greatest usefulness. Under no circumstances can this be done if animals are neglected and not properly fed throughout the entire year. No time perhaps in the year is there more danger of this

upon a more firm basis than merely that of experimentation. We must come to know and recognize a.system of summer feeding that shall give us confidence in it as being valuable, the same as we have confidence in and know the value of certain systems of winter feeding.

In discussing this subject, I admit that my experience is limited, and my knowledge as regards the problem of summer feeding does not permit of my offering any prescribed course or system for you to follow. It is only a few opinions and suggestions that I

sary. There is one thing above all others that nature has provided for summer feeding, and that is grass. It used to appear as an insult to be told to "go to grass," but it seems today that it is a sadder mistake to turn away from it. Grass grown for pasture is a free crop on most farms, and like everything else that is free, it is quite badly neglected. There are too many grass fields in all parts of the country that are misused, being grown up to brush, which if cleared, burned and land seeded, would aid much in solving the problem of summer feeding on a great

many farms.

There are other fields which may be called old, sod-bound, wasted pasture lands which need to be rejuvenated; and again there are those which are shortened by injudiciously turning stock onto them early in the spring when the ground is soft and permitting them to be poached and ruined. Fires too, in many sections, are permitted to run over pasture lands and do great damage.

As farmers we are only beginning to turn our attention to growing grasses and clovers as a crop and this with the idea more especially of producing

ommended for permanent pasture in this section of the country the following mixtures of grasses and clovers: Timothy 4 pounds, blue grass 3 pounds, red top 2 pounds, orchard grass 2 pounds, meadow fescue one pound, tall oat grass one pound, meadow fox tail one pound, alsike clover 3 pounds, white clover 2 pounds, alfalfa 2 pounds, yellow clover one pound, total 22 pounds. While this may include a greater variety than many would select for certain soil conditions, the aim should be to have variety enough to insure a catch of some one or more grasses over the

hay.

The attention given the growing of alfalfa is encouraging, and will result, I believe, in our learning to appreciate the value of giving more attention to the production of crops that will offer us better advantages for summer feeding. I can recall to mind a few fields that have been fitted and seeded with the idea of making permanent pastures, and the growth of feed on these fields was apparently very satisfactory and so claimed to be by the owner. One field in particular which contained a mixture of timothy, blue grass, orchard grass, meadow fescue and some clover plants, impressed me as being very fine. Prof. Shaw has rec

entire field. One spot in the field may be too wet for some varieties, while others would survive, some varieties, the meadow fescue for instance, will endure drought and cold better than some others. It seems needless to say that in seeding a permanent pasture, great pains should be exercised in fitting the ground for the seed bed. Much the same process should be followed as that of seeding alfalfa. Where alfalfa can be grown in abundance, nothing more seems necessary to furnish pasture, soiling and hay, but we are not altogether assured of success with it in Wisconsin and may have to resort to other plants and grasses which are