A REGISTER OF MERIT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1650, 17 January 1913, Page 8

A REGISTER OF MERIT.

PEDIGREE AND PERFORMANCE. :"No one will doubt the sincerity of tho various breeders' associations in endeavouring to establish performance records for the. different breeds of dairy cattle," remarks Mr. W. J. Byrne, testing officer of tho Thames Valley Association, in an article in tho Auckland "Herald." "They have shown commendable enterprise in importing high-priced' stock with tho object of improving the quality of tho dairy cattle in this Dominion. They deserve credit for much valuable work done, but, without detracting from their efforts iu a general way, I wish to refer mors particularly to the Register of Merit Records conducted by somo of these associations. At recent sales of purebred pedigree dairy cattle very high prices havo been obtained for some of tho animals submitted to auction. In a number of cases the cattle were sold on their register of merit performances, and four cows sold on thes'B records realised 119J guineas each. A heifer, under ono year old, and bred from a cow with no butter-fat record behind her, brought the then record,prico of 275 guineas. Of course, this heifer had a very fino purebred pedigree, and according to tho catalogue sho 'showed groat constitution and true dairy qualities,' but I looked in vain for a record of the performances of her ancestors. They had. taken a very large number of prizes in tho showring, and this fact, no doubt," accounted for tho high price paid. "Tho Register of Merit certificate is awarded under the following conditions:— The milk from a, purebred pedigree cow is weighed for one week; the milk is then tested for butter-fnt content, dnd the amount of butter-fat is computed on the test the milk shows. If the cow gives a certain quantity of butter-fat. for th© week, she is awarded a certificate of merit and the owner receives one from the particular breeders' association to which he belongs. These records are considered ■to ho, of some value, otherwise they would not be used to enhance the selling value of dairy cattle'. For comparative purposes I consider them to be absolutely worthless, because a cow that could win a competition conducted on these lines might be left miles behind were a comprehensive test taken cadi month over tho whole period of lactation. In tho former caso no allowance ia made for 'persistency,' but in tho lattc/' case each cow is judged on the amount of milk and butter-fat sho produces in the season. ■

'"It is a well-known fact that,thero are duffers in every breed, and dairy-farmers have not estimated purebred stock at a high value simply because they had no assurance from tho breeders that they possessed certain milk or butter-fat producing qualities. A. purebred bull lias been known to deteriorate a whole herd, because pedigree counted before performance with tho owner, who did not discover his mistake for somo time. The /Register of Merit Record doe's not go far enough. Tho risk of buying, high-priced cattle on these flimsy records is too great. The pedigrees in such cases may bo of some value, but unless backed up by official, records taken over the whole period of lactation arc .really-unreliable. Most racehorses are thoroughbred, having long Eedigrces behind them; all thoroughbreds, owever, aro not good performers, but tho ■ man who will pay 2000 guineas, for a yearling colt does so from; a knowledge of

tho performances of its immediate ancestors, knowing full well that in nearly every caso the good qualities of the latter are transmitted to'their progeny. ■ "The samo rule must apply'.where dairy cattle are concerned, and tho time is surely coming when tho selection of.dairy cattlo will becomo as fine a science as is the case '.with the thoroughbred horse. • "The buyers of high-priced cattle aro as much to blam,o as tho sellers, and as it affects them seriously they should always give' preference to the breeder who '.sells on actual performance merit. The introduction of cow-testing associations as a means of improving the butter-fat producing standard of dairy.cattlo has opened the eyes of dairy-farmers to tho fact that performances must count beforo pedigrees. If both can be obtained, so much tho' better. ■ . ,

"A.beast descended from parents with a 4001b. butter-fat record behind them must command a higher prico than that animal; whoso ancestors can boast of only 2501b. "Tho timo is rapidly approaching when buyers will refuse to pay high prices for cattlo unless complete performance records are' given. It is pleasing to noto

that a few of the.prominent breeders havo decided to semi-officialiy test their pedigreo cows. When the breeders as a whole give duo prominence; to _ this important matter, and by making it compulsory to test all cows belonging to members of their respective associations, they . will qonfer a boon on the whole dairy industry, and at the samo time reap a rich harvest for themselves." -

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