A Comparative Study of the Dairy Herd Improvement Association Work in the Leading Dairy Countries of the World

The problem with which this study is concerned is a phase in the application of rational methods characteristic of all branches of agriculture in modern times. Essentially, dairy herd-improvement work may be considered as a final element in the long history of the domestication of cattle. It is for this reason that the first section of the study presents a general survey on the historical development of dairying. This historical section is merely to suggest the salient points of the development under consideration. It is a result of a critical inquiry into the existing literature on the subject in the English language.To a large extent unprinted source-material forms the basis of the specific part of this thesis on dairy herd-improvement work in the leading dairy countries. This source-material consists largely of Special United States Consular Reports compiled at the instance of the writer.Information on the dairy herd-improvement program of the United States is at the command of the writer because of his official connection with the United States Department of Agriculture as Assistant Chief of the Division of Dairy Herd-Improvement Investigations of the Bureau of Daily Industry. In this position the writer has access to all official files on the subject and In addition receives currently complete reports from the State agricultural colleges on the work as it is conducted in the States.