IMPROVING DAIRY CATTLE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 767, 16 March 1910, Page 10

IMPROVING DAIRY CATTLE.

/ r VALUABLE DATA;

For , ten -. years past' a series':.of dairj cattlo breeding experiments has been con ducted, by the 'New South Wales 'De ~ partmsnt of Ajrioulturo at the, Wollong bar Experiment i'arm ; in that. StatedTh< principal object of the • experiments wai to determino the influence!; of the sire it relation to the milk yield of. his .pro geny,' iand.-to see; if it is possible'to 'cros; ; put.;beef;and -'cross, in- milk in: a generation or two through the influence'of th( • bull. The data- accumulated aro. of greal moment and practical value to~ breeder! - theytvorld over. They, are set, out in the current number of. tKA/New South Wales "Agricultural Gazette." The main lessons furnished by the experiments are:' (1) 'The wonderful influence .-of. the 6ire on the milking characteristics of his progeny; (2). the comparatively small influence of" the dani; on ths 'milk-yielding powers of its jirogeriy'; ;_(8) tho inability. of a heavy milk' yielding cowto: convey through her sons-her deer milking characteristics^(4)'the ability oi a.purebred sire, well bred"on both.sides for a number of generations'from a dairy point of '- viow, to cross milk into beef cattle'.;in one generation; (5) the great Value of the Guernsey as a sire for the / purpose of mating. with: Shorthorn cattle . of any strain.' The results of the mating of the beef cow Bella with three bulls of different breeds must rank amongst the finest educational series;of. stock,experiments/which (have,'■ ever, been';published. In this, case, ia" beef' cow that averaged on the best of ■pastures, only. 38901b. of: milk>for the.threc years'-.observation,' wh'ei crossed" with a Guernsey ■ bull produced a : cow, that' on Iher-third, calf,gave 87201b. of milk, or a ■ Ibuttor-yield; of 4011b. in one season. Purither. crosses prove that this was not. what breeders would call a "sport." ; : When 1 the same" beef cow was mated with-:, the imported Ayrshire bull Daniel the-;progeny gave 64171b.' of milk in, an (ordinary milking period.of;3oo days. Significant, then, is it to'learn'that with-'the mating- of this same cow with that fine fdairy- Shorthorn bull Dora's Boy the-pro: igeny, a nice "cow to-look at, while she exceeded her mother's results, only gave <2501b. of milk on her ■ second calf,' and ...the milking period was a short one, viz., 815 days. The greatest. discrepancy is .shown in the quantity, of. butter, which /was- only -1631b. on her' second- calf and .'1791b. on her iirst. calf,. as against<34slb. (by the Guernsey cross on ■ her: second (calf and 4071b. on her third calf. Here (is ' shoflfn that great influence of the ispecialised. daily' breeds, the Guernsey , igud the >'Ayrshire, Jas ;■ against the dairy jShorthom bull, whose mother was a very jhig:hrclass cow, and- whose/ father got ■ heifers of fair' milk-yielding powers when mated.iritli crossbreds. -■• t: Practically speaking,:. results ' show • the : iine' of, milk is- carried 'through the sire, and, not. through the : dams. Educational, (therefore, as the experiments are up to .■this point, the lesson ■■ is driven home more strongly by the'results of -the mat ling- of ' two ' purebred dairy Shorthorns, ;lady Dora and Honey 110 t- (imp.). Taking Lady Dora, we see in her yields evi--Idences-of a great cow, she/havihg'given tas;much as 95601b.- of; milk in' a- season. . 'One oft her ; progeify. by a Shorthorn' bull jgave only- on her ..third calf ' 28031b., and ,iher second heifer by, a different Shortnorn bull gave also a very poor yield, but she died' too young, to- get a. full milking ■period. It would- thus have appeared that (.Lady _Dora was. incapable of', throwing [good dairy heifers, but it is found "that when mated with a bull of great dairy Characteristics, ;• -viz., Peter (imp.)/.- a ,Gueniiey, . t he. progeny, a cow . named r?j® ea^ n ll^.,SlTe,l '. an average of just jnhder 700 gallons of- milkr.per year during •her tot-' five, years,,,although on' one. of .these she slipped a calf, and-on her fifth if LS 5 S ave .? s much as 77761b. of milk in 280 days. Nothing-could go to support -!™.«- "flwpe; of ? the sire.v which « would show- in-,- the.-.- mating- with; the beef * cow, which would be calculated to drive home ,and establish the theory , that the sire txs the : mam influence in milk getting. ,™ these results, with Lady Dorr shows idearly that, no matter how. igopd the cow, is, unless .the ; bull; with which she, has been. matedds a' true- dairv jSire on both; sides, , the results will be

■..Similar..,results were obtained by matHow- HOth- with difi Jrent - bulls. Here is, a- fair. cow herself,' , with rather a tendency to beef, and when mated .with a Shorthorn bull results were poor; but when, mated- with "the Guernsey bji)l Peter the tendency to beef ,js crossed, out, and a dairy cow is nroi he J. fifth ealf as much i butter milk > wluc!l made 3S3lb. of