THE DUAL PURPOSE COW.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1994, 27 February 1914, Page 10

THE DUAL PURPOSE COW.

DELUSION OF IT. . .Men who. havo. soriously, studied the breeding' of cattle know full well the fallacy of attempting to brefed a twopurposo cow;, j Dr.' sWithycomho, of'tho Oregon;Exp.efimerit.'Statipn,'. asserts that "thero'is no such thing as a dual-pur-posocow; sho is a delusion. -It is true there aro rail kins' Shorthorns, but'when "tliey. assume tho milking type they Wo no longer, beef animals in the true sc'nso of tho termi 'Eveh'tho steers from such cows are tall, angular, and poorly covered witlrflesh, hehco; are'.whoiiy unsatisr factory from a butcher's standpoint. A dual^urposdcow is a phyiscal imposst;bil;ty.;lt,is contrary to,tlie.fundamental. principles of the law of reproduction. A cow., a milk or a;, beef, cow, or fihb is hot good for either Beef production -aDd milk production! aro incomp'atiblo functions, arid cannot be brought into harmony iaJhe .individual animal. Th'p ''.tbfliryj- of 'tfio-'tiJual-purposßi cow •sounds' good, and'"farmers who 'do""iiot ■understand, the" principles I. of.' reproduction aro led astray and suffer serious financial losses."

•iliiiEngland-.-Vjli is, shut > -tlio. : milking Shbrt-norrf'is going"to"v'hei a'-form:in Britain's agriculture. '.'Hoard's Dairyrnjtn," tliowoll-k)towii;Ajnefican publication, mai'ntiiins- tlrat,'no ■ ono'has ibeen ab'loto breed adual-purpospherd. When Shorthorns' becorao"enifefeiiTrßilkers they; produce no.nioro beef than animals belonging to' the '•■(Hairy breeds;- When they ibecomo beef animals; they produce no more milk thanagoodbeefariimal.' Because an. animal is a, jShorthorn does not mak'o'iji'er clflal-purpp.se, for- there are many fine this/breed. But the sophistry of this "auhl-purposo business is more specially.. found in its plain and evident' contradiction of all wclljestablisbed breeding principles.. No man ever Jdo'volopod *a ibreed ' of, dairy cattle:jth'atiwOTld..b*ro'ed>ofiJand npfttoprofitable milk production by; such'juggling with fixed principles. Just iniprpportloii as'the'dairy 'temperament is Idevelopeddoes" the' beef-temperament fado out. ,"-.-. ~.■•:.,,,.::>