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DUAL-PURPOSE COW.

Much haa been said and written with regard to the dual purpose cow, which is easily understandable when one remembers the small value of vealers having a fair amount of Jersey blood in their veins, and the unsatisfactory tests of cows which produce calves most in favour with the butcher. Some interesting remarks on the subject from the pen of Mr C. L. Peck have recently appeared in the columns of Hoard's Dairyman, which are well worth the attention of dairy farmers. It has taken some three hundred or more years to develop the Jersey and Guernsey cows to a fixed type that could be depended upon. It is claimed that the Holstein has been thousands of years developing into the 1001b milk per day cow. The observations I have been able to make during the last 30 years have demonstrated to me that a man in a single generation may undo the work that has cost others hundreds of years to accomplish. All of these years have not developed a cow that would exceed the Jersey or Guernsey for richness or production of butter at a given cost or a cow that could surpass the purebred Holstein or Ayrshire for the production of cheap milk, or the Durham for the production of beef.

I have never seen or known of but one cross that even approached satisfactory results. That is, the cross of the Jersey mother with an Ayrshire father. 1 have bred this cross for over 25 years with unfavourable general results and some splendid individual productions. The Ayrshire seemed to give the Jersey needed hardlihood without materially affecting her quality of milk. I have sold several hundreds of this cross, and the average of them has been very satisfactory. Forty pounds of milk per day was very common among them. Nearly all of them proved large, rich, and persistent producers. I found three-fourths Ayrshire and one-fourth Jesrey made an excellent produce both in quality and quantity, as well as in persistency of flow. This is the only cross I have ever seen tried that could be said to be even a fair success. Fine cows are sometimes produced in cross of Jersey and Holstein, the get

is not likely to be an improvement over the native. The result is quite likely to be the quantity of the Jersey and quality of the Holstein. Some 20 or more years ago a neighbour of mine began breeding Jerseys. He developed a fairly good herd, but as calves began to come to a better market as veals he concluded he wanted larger calves, and would breed for a dual purpose cow. He put a Durham bull into his herd, and soon had a herd that were no better producers than his old herd of natives. He then put into his herd a Holstein bull to improve the flow. He now had a mixed herd of Jersey, Durham, and Holstein blood. He has not advanced in his work of building up a herd an hour, and has nothing to show for some 20 years' work in developing a dual-purpose herd. He has neithsr the richness of the Jersey, the beef of the Durham, nor the flow of the Holstein. He is just now breeding to Ajrshires, in his work of "building up a herd." American breeding has demonstrated that the Jersey, Guernesy, Ayrshire and Holstein cow can be improved, but the effective improvement of each has been done within their own lines The wonderful principle of "heredity" has been recognised by the inteligent breeder, and carefully acted upon, strengthened and reinforced, until we have the wonderful producers of to-day, each within its own lines. Systematic work in one direction has been the factor that has made the 1001b mik, the 41b butter cows of to-day. The man who attempts to combine all in one will find that, so far as his herd is concerned, he has undone all the results accomplished by the careful breeder.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19120120.2.9.2

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 432, 20 January 1912, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
666

DUAL-PURPOSE COW. King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 432, 20 January 1912, Page 3

DUAL-PURPOSE COW. King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 432, 20 January 1912, Page 3

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