Agricultral Column.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 91, 6 April 1876, Page 7

Agricultral Column.

.--■-"*""-•"'•''"••»■"•"**•• -T-- - FASHIOiirABCE 'AND OTHER, SHORT- ; .... , ') aa -horns. ;,;-; ' . . At thelate^Conyention of Shorthorn breedei^.in Ameiica, Mr; 3". H. Pickrell read.thejfeUo^j^^gapw^on " Fancies and Pydi^eesiVers^ Usefulriessjiir Stock-breeding .'', :-y No;Kone:;-who breeds. thie Shbfthdfri intelligently,: .either with an eye to pro^t.i|6^pleasure, bu^bas: bis fancy, borigar regards . the: real,' T living, moving animal, 'and 'the- -paper Shorthornd. * wltKp^Fe:;ancestry-^pe"digreed: '" Then fancies in regard to thej^liorns^. their ..size,, "shape, length, color, points in or points" out, points up or points down ; fancies about the nose, its shape, and especially color ; tints that the skin should be- the' sizie ofthe head, length of face, width; &ci; then the jaws, eyes, ears, throat-latch, &c, ';' the same in regard to long "and * short 'necks, thick necks and slim necks r chubteV -'..oeks, <fee.;* shoulders set straig*"v% or oblique, thick' or thin," heavy or'light, rough or smooth, points bare or covered ; brisket prominent, 'smooth, wide, narrow, low. down, plump ' or flabby ; crope thick and thin, sharp, high, or ,low. j. thick or light ""through the heart ;' long ribs or short ribs, high' sprung or low sprung, ribbed up close 'or long coupled. ; Thick loin, or light' one j same of hips and flanks (fore and aft) j rumps up or down, square or packed, long or short, smooth or straight ; quarters long or short, square or v out in ;" twist full or straight — twisted in or twisted out; hind legs 'long or short, bone fine or coarse, 'straight or crooked ; tail fine or coarse, long or "short, .with the bush ditto, 'white or red ; hide thick or thin, mellow or hard, yellow or white ; hbir coarse or fine, long, or short,, thin' or " full of hair." Then the color, from ."plain white to fancy red, with all the various tints imaginable between the two. Then the general "make-up" * and finish as a whole — style and ear"riage. -Fancies about pedig*ree,-whether of this" train (or -family) or ot that ; whether one cross, six s crosses, or sixteen, make a thoroughbred or a fullblood ; whether if. the dam runs to a certain starting point, . with the : sire of some other blood, makes it more, of the •family, or pice * versa ; or whether, if the pedigree is right, it makes any difference about the animal at, all,. Then there are prejudices., in favor of or against . everything named, and many ? more perhapis. How far do these things bear out, for or aga*'ri>t, the real or the useful, to their advantage- or disadvantage f- This is the question. The intrinsic value of the. horn is, perhaps, about twenty cents — worth but' little to the animal for protection, as a." muley " frequently masters the whole ' herd. . Their real value is an index to the breeder,- which is very frequently — "nearly always by our awarding committees at our fairs-^-taken the wrongWay, as many a -good animal has been thrown "out, or discarded, for having a heavy, horn— -placed behind an animal with a delicate ~steer' horn, when perhaps, in real merit, the first had hundreds of pounds of meat in valuable ' parts' more than the other. W hile we fancy horns of a particular kind, we must be careful hot to let our prejudices run away with other, merits of real value; for while a/heavy, coarse horn ■may not be an -advantage, or desirable, -a light, delicate one, other things being "•equaly should always be objected to in a bull. The -nose, of itself, is valueless " when it comes to the block." All admit that the most 'fashionably-bred and fancy pedigrees occasionally throw black noses. Ih regard to the color, it has been said that the fashionable color of to-day was once an actual objection. Then the color does' hot establish the 'blood, nor is there any positive proof that the quality ofthe meat is governed by it, - May we not well ask, is there anything more r than" prejudice in the color of the nose ?- Yet fancy sacrifices many good animals, on account not only of a black but of a smutty nose. The head of a dead animal, 'of itself, is worth but little, and, like the horse, is more ot an index to the living animal than real worth. It is true, in weight it amounts to something, more "than it comes to at the lowest price paid for beef." Then, after the true value— which, like the horn, is often misconstrtied-r- in the living : animal is considered, we should hot let a fancied defect (of course, I do not allude to a malformation Or' " sport -in that direction, which should always* be discarded in breeding animals) prejudice us too mncli against other real ; merits c f ihe animal. The throat-latch" r (to. us.c a common expression) is- required by fancy to be light. anid .slim, and. for, a little chubbiness the- whole animal is made-to' take a back position, while it 'is "very 'generally a gdod index to ; a "good feeder and a thick' animal. It "seems curious 'that * our halftfletlged Shorthorn fanciers .generally; see more to condemn than to commend, -very fie- i •--quently sacrificing the real merits for a few fanc^*4nts. ; Fancy puts* a great stress-' v /^"slini heck— r one thatican hold a high head. -Reality says that a 'neck that is lonig enough' to 'reach the "ground to drink and~ to eat is long 'enough. Unnecessary weight is objec*^ tionable, because it is low- priced' beef, :and the less of itthe better,- other things *, being equal. In our prejudices, we forget that a thick, shoi't' neck some-" -"times -weighs* less than a lbng slim one, •"besides being generally carried by a

body that cdrresponds, especially as to ; the thickness, Fancy, perhaps, looks over more and carries it further into the, ranks of breeders in. the shoulders thanalmost any part of the -animal. Iri our prejudices against defects, we frequently overlook more real merits and, pass them by, letting high, sharp tops, bare points, and dOa'tseness generally in the shoulder, take the lead. Really there' is as much difference in the value of the shoulder by the way it is formed as any other part: a poor thin coarse 'shoulder is ' a iong\ way, in point of real value, behind a good thick*,, smooth one, , that more nearly approaches in point of value the higher priced beef. Here, too, we* get great weight; consequently the shoulder- should be considered as of more weighty matter than some of the lighter fancies. Fancy places great stress on the brisket; reality (the butcher) says it is. not high priced beef, and intrinsically -worth but little.* A long, prominent brisket adds weight of low priced beef without adding to the real value as an index to a broad chest and strong constitution. Fancy makes a strong point in favor of a heavy brisket. The fore legs — and hind ones too — fancy overlooks sometimes, arid substitutes mill-posts in size and many inches in length. Reality says that soup is good, but costs too much to make coarse shins profitable, as they neversell for what they cost in the. carcase. Great weight in the crops adds to the value per pound over light ' ones ; fancy and prejudice frequently overlook this fact, forgetting that light crops are classed ns low priced beef, while heavy or thick crops, besides faking the weight from the paunch and offal,. add to the weight at the high and valuable parts. Fancy and prejudice also frequently make great sacrifice in the heart, as the light and delicate points so much admired generally carry the same delicate proportion to the heart, the most vital part of the beast. If the animal is light " through the heart " — behind the shoulders — the action of that organ will be hampered, and the: robustness — heartiness of the animal will be diminished. Fancy overlooks ■ many faults ia the ribs, loins, and hips, while usefulness says the ribs should be well sprung — v round as a barrel , — and not "too short : a little paunchincss can be overlooked, as a good 'feeder generally has some place to put it. Loins are fancy cuts in reality, and should, if thick and broad, even if a little arched, overbalance many minor defects of other points. Broad loins necessarily make wide hips, but they should not be "ragged" or' rough — not too prominent, especially in a bull. Flanks are quite important, if good, and of but little importance if light. The fore flank, especially, should be full, to give room to the internal organs, and to add to the valve of the plates. A low, thick, hind flank is also very desirable, adding weight without occupying space that is needed for anything else. Great weight is added to valuable parts by having the rumps straight and square, carrying their width well down to the quarters. Peakedness is really objectionable, and if it comes from hips too wide, they had better be narrowed. Fancy frequently protrudes the quarters— rounding* them up behind, which is generally clone at the expense of their length, making them " cut in " and too short, besides adding coarse meat. The twist should be well let down and full, as " claylight " is not particularly needed at that point. The quality of the quarter is much enhanced by being increased in weight in a few points at no expense of space. " Steak " comes down better on a straight hind leg than on a crooked one. Thigh bones are necessary, but might just as well be covered with meat as to be bare. The shorter from the ground to the hock, and the longer from there up, the better, as hind-leg soup is no better than fore-leg soup — the less the better. Fancy runs wild on the tail, condemning an animal frequently on account of its length or shortness, even the bush coming in for full share of condemnation or praise, I suppose on the ground that " the beautiful should be encouraged, as the useful will encourage itself," **•* ox tail " soup being about its only use after flytime. Fancy " goes in "on the hide; with little prejudices for or against certain imaginary qualities, that are frequently taken as superior to the best forms and largest preponderance of valuable parts. Especially is the fancy, of "feeling qualities," when taken against the form of an animal in feeding qualities, over-estimated, as many thick" or "hard-hided animals that are well-formed Will testify. by their quick growth and heavy weights; The-quality of the flesh is* what is \vanted, and, reality says that the feeling quality of the hide does hot always determine that. "Of course the color, pliability, &c, of the hide -is more of an index than a reality of itself. A good covering is needed, and that is why the animal has"a hide at -all. It is true we -take advantage of it, and sometimes get our- " foot in -it " in more ways than one* The same might be said of hair, for after nature is " provided foi 1 , the balance is all fancy.! • The color of the hair, varying from, white to recl-r— which are true. Colors of shorthorns — is'much 'mdfe fancy llHah reality, and pur prejudices are governed more by the difference that men are willing to pay for What suits them, than by an actual merit one color may have over another. While we fancy a stylish, upheaded

' animal, "with fine carriage and a proud mien, all of which is as light as. a feather on the scales, and really does not tend to the usefulness or price when put there, unless from unevenness and proporfcidn ! in its useful parts symmetrical, which makes weight without, space. Fancy puts great stress on family, and says this or that, and prejudice none other. , Reality, says purebred, and if so, there can't be so much difference, and if the animal is good, well-formed, that if its sire and dam, and grand-sire and grand-dani, and so on back for a few generations (the more the better, df course), were good, that its descendants, if equally well r mated, will be good. Fanciers of pedigrees pay more attention sometimes to how the pedigree looks on paper, especially to the far-off end, than to the goodntss of the individual animal. Reality cares but little for paper animals alone, whether of this family or that, or whether the dam or sire adds more of the blood of a fancy family. 'Reality comes in against fancy in the relationship of the animal to its sire and dam ; that is, if its sire is of a certain strain, that it gets one-half of its blood from him, and it could get no more if its dam was of that family ; that its blood would be the same if its dam and sire were reversed. Reality says that an animal takes half its chances in the first cross, three-fourths in the second cross, and so on in the same proportion. Fancy would lead us to a different conclusion, from the way it runs crazy after some old bull that lived perhaps a hundred years ago, with no more than a number for a pedigreecondemning* others without any more reason for doing the same thing. Reality says that pedigree-fnnciers live in ''•'glasshouses," and should be careful about " throwing stones." Reality says that both pedigree and form constitute the animal, and th*?,t cither wiihout the other will surely " play out " in the end. How far we eftn follow fancies and make it profitable is a question that time alone can settle. That many nre guilty (more or less) of following fancy , to the sacrifice of reality, no one can successfully deny. For my own part, any fancy, or whim (if you please), that I can follow, without sacrificing usefulness that will please my customers — that they arc willing* to pay for — I intend to follow just as long as the}* are in that notion ; but. l am not willing, while fancy demands a sacrifice of usefulness, to follow in the fashion, even at the risk of being called an " old fogey." These points may be too strongly presented — overdrawn. If so, tiie writer has only to apologise because he' thinics there is danger enough ahead to warrant it. He would suggest that others make a note thereof, and then — "-do as they please, of course.