There is no more important subject connected with the dairy than
that of the selection and rearing of stock. The herd is the fountain
head. If there is failure here there is failure everywhere. Many a
dairyman has remained poor all his days because he spent his time
and energies on an unprofitable herd. This is the first thing to be
looked after. The selection of a herd is a matter of both knowledge
and judgment--knowledge of the characteristics of breeds and of
the requisites of a good dairy cow, and judgment as to whether
the individual cow in question possesses these characteristics
and requisites. We will give some of the generally acknowledged
characteristics of the different breeds, first indicating, as far as we
can in words, some of the points of a good dairy cow.