SIRE'S GREAT INFLUENCE;

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

SIRE'S GREAT INFLUENCE;

BEEF BRED OUT

jj~: su ™niarising.. his, conclusions as -toi j the. breeding ««fiwbSl- "ij-the preoedinl article, Mr. O.CaJlaghan says:—"The the influence ■of ability- of: :a, well-de-: out -beef-and-- ' SSSIw* ' J l -!' 1 been, suffi-' ci^tly,,answered-. to enable us, to- sav with oonfidince that, the-, bull exerts a on the milking capac■ijy.at;.lus;progeny.» And ..as to tlie'Sparativo influence of different breeds of j~ - ? °. I S? S cross N in dairv charaotoristics!— So far as the records go, the.-. Guernsey has produced the best' results in this- direction,.-I bii't good -revults: were; also- obtdined by the Ayrshire "TV!, 4 tos rather ...unfortunate that only bull calves resulted: from the. mat- , ing of the cow Bella with Holstein bulls. The i^lts -in' regard to the Shorthorn are? not-nearly so satisfactory as are the results, obtamed - by the Guernsey or any Shorthorn , bull to eliminate beef traits trpm, and- giving milkiiig.,charaoteristics to,-other, breeds is. undoubtedly not great, W 18 -disclosed in. these, experiments." • V 111- his.- conclusions -on tee influence: of V6tsus th ?t -of the dam, Mr. iP.yWW®-: 'The average, farmer that a high-class dairy cow .will .produce, a good- milker, no matter with, what,.class of bull she is mated. As far. as-■ these experiments , go, however the evidence, is all. the other way about; though-the secretion of milk is esssnhally a; feminine trait, still the sire's influence ..thereon, is apparently greater than that of the dam. t . There..is in all' this- a- very pointed lesson. for those dairymen; who choose a bull, from, a great milker, without quese ' tho''dairy .abilities of .the. sue with.- which . she has been mated. ; How many dairy, farmers, engage trails out ; of cows w;hich .-they see putting.np.good performances at the show' It ,is evident that it 'would be much beitter. for -them to look, along the line of young cows, find out. the name of the sire, that got .the big milkers, aud.engage a bull- by.;him out of any fair, cow of the same breed. From, the same,.reasoning, the -man .who has beef- cows, or cows inclined; to.beef, would be wise to secure the. best possible bull of. proved dairy characteristics to. mate with them, instead of replacing them with dairy heifers.. : The . experiments, with Bella bear this out, showing that beef traits can be bred out and milk bred in by the first cross. -

As much as 7Jd. per pair is'being paid this year to rabbiters in Otago, some of whom ar» said to be earning £2 per. day. Though,the season only commenced ac ..the! beginning of last week, several thousand : carcasses , have already been •handled at the Jlatarira Freezing Works, the packers being kopt busy until midnight.. '

Several blocks of. Government land iii the Whakatano district havo recently been acquired by well-known Wanganui farmers, and other "Wangamii residents are-reported to be inspecting land there. It is stated that the drained swamp land there is second to none in the colony, and' that. land showing sixteen feet o! black loam, can be purchased for from JBIO to £15 per acre.