FARM NOTES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4368, 20 January 1922, Page 1

FARM NOTES.

■ CATTLE IMPROVEMENT IN DENMARK.

The Journal ctf the Department of Agriculture for Ireland states that in Denmark the trend of cattle breeding s mainly to increase the number of dairy cows and improve their quality. This is evident from the fact that the number of! milch cows was almost doubled in the last half century, and that In 1914 they constituted about 54 per cent, of the total cattle popular ti.on of the country. The average milk yield, which in 1861 was only 220 gallons per cow, was increased until in 1914 —the latest normal year —it had reached 605 gallons per cow. During the same period the butter-fat yield was increased from about 701 b to 2401 b per cow. What is responsible for the production of the high-grade milk-producing machines which the cows have now become ? Better feeding and more comfortable housing have contributed, but the main cause has been the ruthless elimination of all “bad animals,” both male and female. In Denmark a “good” cow means not only a sound, healthy ani-i mal, but an animal giving a high yield of butter-fat; and, similarly, a “good” bull must not only be the son of a “good” cow, but must be capable of transmitting tp his progeny the qualities of Ms line.