EARLY MATURITY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 59, 4 December 1918, Page 8

EARLY MATURITY

I; J A STOCK-RAISING PROBLEM J J THE AIM OF BREEDERS I A writer in the "Live Stock Journal" jas the following article on the subject if ■■early maturity:— '. lln practicaTly every department of live stock breeding, whether it be cattle, ihc'ep or; pigs,' r tl)B common aim of tho breeder is "early maturity.'' , . . . Not inl'y does the .breeder. necessarily wake ;afly- :inatuiftyi;ijfc Objective, but the [eeser is equally-, concerned in the niatier.of obtaining stock for. his purposes jrhicM-wiirdeTelop: into,;beef, mutton or pork" , in the ienst time and at the , least >spense! .-..-. ■• ■ , ~ ; There is.a vast difference between the Stages of an ahimal's life'nowadays and i.couple of generations' ago, when amjials were kept to be : five,, six and seveii rsnrs-old'i'.anu were allowed to get alterlately fat and then lean through several vinters and summers before finally coinjigyto' the block- -Nowadays the animal's ■if is- very mifch shorter, and its. fat !eni)i» propensities very much more developed, and/ all classes of stock which lave any claim to be called well bred Jespond. very.. quickly and. generously to Jood .feeding'and''nianagenient. I To what influences is the development )f early .maturity , due? Undoubtedly in jhe first instance., to the genius of our iedigree-itock breedere',.:!,wlio saw the lemands not. only of strenuous times but ilsov of the consuming 'public, and who icon set.to work to meet the demands of ioth. • In the eecond instance, a great leal of credit .mu3t be given to the into the polcy;'pf high'"feeding for' exhibition.' Thsre o nothing- more dilated upon at various feeders':council.jneet'ingj that-the.dele-/ ;eripus effect of high feeding for breedng stock >ehows. ; - It is ofteu urged that iver-fed yanimals should be disqualified, ind that all Classes for, yoiuig aniuials; jspeoially .females, should be eliminated iltogether, and so forth j but it. cannot je;.denied-tk»t'even if the pj-ocreative wwers of some of the younger animals ire permanently affected, that high feedn'g. for shows has done a vast deal toVards the development and ;.encourageiient of--early maturity characteristics.- • The writer is ■ amonsf • those. who .coniclei- that tlie exhibition of breeding tock in natural condition would be a ■■tap ■ backwards, and that our-breeding ■ ih'ows would lose all their progressiveiess and.educational value.; Surely the' acrifice of one or two lives is not much rheh we consider the.resources of our lifferent breeds. The advantages gainid by sh,o\ying the : capacities of ihe varitiis'- breeds "at different stages of growth, ind 'the/Ldeye'lopment .thereby of/those iirly, mat.urinjj .qualities tby . feeding : at, -froni birth, far outweigh jny loss that the country may sustain iy the failure of. just two or three gpodj inimals to reproduce their species; which,) jfter all, must of necessitybe a doubtful; [uantity, and .in.all probability ■inferior, 0 the parents. . 1 It may be said that we have had a rail over our forefathers in obtaining arly maturity in our live stock by roabn of the greater selection of feeding tuffs which is riowJifi..our disposal (iniormal times), and also because' we are greater still in feeding our animals; but till, although th'e greater use of, conentrated foods has been , iv,help in piishng on young stock,';yet l :',ciuick : .i!rowth ■nd development , will not come by food lonei The animal must be bred , on he right lines, and by tie combination f good breedin? and good feeding we are low able to finish off bullocks before: Key are out of the yearling stage, sheep, ither as fat lamb at eigh't.or ten ■weeks J : nd as mutton at ten months old, ami. jig , ;, too,-at a very early, age as ipork I , bacon. , Where early maturity Is'theji hief ■.object in view, all youna; animals; ire,kept' in a progressive state fromi iirth onwards. The demand for-'early" laturity in all classes of stock ih'as'eiven i ise to the popularity of cra?s breeding, : basmuch as it i? considered, 1 Tightly .bri] frongly, that a crossbred animal makes iiiicker growth and attain?:preater size, Jt an early age than a purebred one. fin any case there must be .pedigree on ; neside, and that naturally .on "the ire's, and pure; blood on. the other or jearly so. even if not, wdisreed. is so nuch ; the better. - Experience has hown. for instance, that for arriving ;t a,.big.-weight"at an' early age the Ihsrthomingu'T'cr'oss'-ov-t.he Shorthornlereford cross and,eo forth "gets there", isfore the-purebred., and the same' apilies to sheeii-breedin?.' ■ ForHsize and iaxly maturity the Oxford-Hampshire, jjid suchlike crossps hnye been found to ivn excellent results.' ' "•',

!i3Ve eann.ot, of coui-bp, ;exnect to find firly maturity nmcng those breeds which re more _m> less-indi<renoTs> to disfricT? rhere it is necessary for'the unimnls to f/irk hard for n living. The black lYclsL cattle and the West Highlanders, or instance, in : mnny cases live a very lard and-exposed life. and scant jerbaee,' so'do many , of the hill Weds if sheep, and in such' cases early mnturty cannot.be sought or attained. Howler, in our "hardpr faring breeds irreat mprovementcan be seen during recent I??, 1 ", 6 ) , i^. , manyf .*SMall»d "hard ■-■fp'edne'V.breedi show- 'a, much greater capaife for laying,. o.n.\ flesh rapidly under lopd feeding than they used to do years ipo**----'-■ .•r..-..- , - -■ .■•••'••'•■■■ -•■ ' ! "a." great deal to thank lit diowvard system for, and it is to he !TOsf%>t: the\-educational. advantages - been derived , by breeders' jeiriV able, to see to what stages' of their animpls mv be VoupM: ly'gnod breeding and high feeding will ior he scrapped in favour of a syet-nm if-..exhibiting stock in lenn corditinn rhirh will only strike a .h'owy'at t' l ? ur'ther- development of those early natufing niiniities which has put. money inter, breeders' and fenders' pockets by Utrpducing thoiprmcinV of ,onW reurriSvwith very Rood profits iri'tddition, |,; B - — j—~ — - ■■.