FARM AND DAIRY.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume XXII, Issue 2785, 3 May 1911, Page 2

FARM AND DAIRY.

BI.ACK MUZZLES IN CATTLE

In some interesting notes in the Live Stock Journal on " Some External Features in Cattle," Mr W. J. Maiden points out that among many breeds of cattle, even when admittedly not highly bred, a black muzzle has always been regarded as prejudicial. It was so when the breeding was generally poor, and it is so now ; but the ground for it was in many cases different to that of to-day. Not so many decades ago, when the influence of correct breeding had hot generally permeated deeply among home-bred stock, a beast with a black muzzle was objected to because

such cattle rarely fattened well. The dark muzzle was then oiten an mdica-

tion that the animal was relatively closely connected with the old indigenous dark-muzzled breeds found over a very large portion of the country. If any animal was turned out ot a drove in a market it would be the one with a black muzzle. Just as among sheep, one with a speckled face was similarly treated, as such were known not to thrive well, the reason being that they

were either unimproved specimens— that is, had not been brought under the influence of pure bred animals—or were a reversion to an indigenous heath breed with all its unthriltmess. A dark muzzle on a bullock nowadays is rarely an instance of reversion to the old, unimproved breeds. It is generally the result of ordinary crossing with more or less pure breeds. In the South of England, and here in New Zealand, it is ob-

jected to among steers because most commonly it indicates a strain of one of the Channel Island breeds, which admittedly are not high-class meat producers, or perhaps, one should say, are slow feeders. On the other hand, heifers are not objected to because the strain of Channel Island blood is ad-

visedly regarded as indicating good dairy properties. Of coui'se, the dark muzzle may not result from a Channel Islander, but this can always be traced, even though the cross be a very remote one, by the horseshoe marking on the muzzle, which in dark animals is generally of a lighter shade than the remainder of the head, and darker where the head colouring is lighter.