KEEPING MILK RECORDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 21

KEEPING MILK RECORDS.

TESTING THE COWS.

Mt John Speir, Newton, de?ivered a lecture' in December last to the Glasgow and West of Scotland Agricultural Dfscu6sion Society on the subject of " Milk Records : •What They Have Done and What They •May Do." The following is the first portion of the most interesting part of the lecture: — Persons not unfavourable to the ..mlk records have repeatedly eaid to mo that the cause was not making the headway that ;t; t should, and that if it was to do any good •it shouh! be taken up much more enthusiastically than it had ever yet been. My answer "has invariably been that I was quite pleased with the progress, as the growth had been natural, and was therefore flikely to be much more permanent than if it had been forced or coddled. While a few from the first have foreseen the valve of reliable and methodically-kept milk •records the bulk of breeders have K™ e P jthe matter very little consideration. TTfeir :idea» will grow with the movement, and any increase greater than can be appreciated by the rank and file will do harm instead of good. The little leaven sown througbout the country by the magnanimous assistance of the directorate of the High-

'land and Agricultural Society will in time "leaven the whole, and from the work already done I anticipate excellent results -an the future. Among dairy cattle there as no characteristic so strongly hereditary, /unles? it be kicking those who annoy them, as that of tlie ability to produce milk. Some families have it developed in an .extraordinary degree, while in others the is very feeble indeed. A good example of what a cow can be bred to do, and as showing -the class of cows which should be bred from, is found in the unpedigreed "shorthorn cow Daisy, No. 37 at the recent dairy show in London. This cow !had quite a good back and body, but her udder was not at all up to showyard ideas. In the inspection class she was placed third, and in the milking trials first. This cow is seven years old, and had calved in August, -and six .weeks afterwards she gave, coujfhlv speaking, six gallons of milk in

1 24 hours. This milk contained 5.84 per cent, of fat in the morning and 5.9 per ( cent. iiT the evening, and from it was produced a trfife over 41b of butter. The peculiarity of this cow is that she gave as much milk as the best of the Holland cows, ' while at the same time it was as rich in j fat as that of a Jersey. Another notable animal is the Freisian cow Boutsje, belong- ■ ing to the Guelph Agricultural College. She completed her year last month, when > it was found that the total yield for 365 ' days was 20,7781b of milk, of 3.5 per cent, of fat, which equals a yield of 781.91b of butter-fat, and at* a sixth extra for butter, gives 912.21b. She gave 961b of milk in 24 hours when at her maximum yield. Another instance is that of one of the red cows of Denmark, which for 15 years has , had an average yield of 1400 gal of milk ! per annum. This is something over six j tons of milk a year. This cow gave milk I of fair average quality, and several of her I daughters seem as if they would efmal— if j not excel— their mother's yield. Without ' testuig. the va'ue of these cows as milkproducers would never have been known, ' although each is as good ,as three ordinary cows. There are few herds but what have 1 some good cows, but in most there are j , others which never pay for their keep. 1 These latter are what the Yankees call " lodgers," and they are ledgers of the j very worst class, as they live on the best, and then leave without paying the landlady. j A person with a few cows, which the owner or his family milk, may have a pretty fair j idea which of them gives the greatest quanlity of milk, but in the majority of cases he ' does not even know that, and he has no opportunity of comparing the. milk of one \ cow with that, of another in. regard to its percentage of fat. The only way to fir.4 out i whether a cow is a profitable one or nofc J is" to keen a REGULAR ACCOUNT OF WHAT I SHE PRODUCES, [ and what it co3ts to keep her. This can. i most economically be done by means of ; milk records' societies, such as I am here !to ad\ocate. I will arive you a case in ! point. In the Gaupen Milk Record Society of 12 herds, each lib of butter which was ! produced during- the first year of its existj ence cost 8d per lb for food alone, while 1 now ib is produced for between fid and , 4Jd. Milk records enable the breeder who reads them aright to increase hb profit in two ways : (1) By increasing his production ; (2) by decreasing his expenses. Let us see what has been done in increasing production in well-authenticated instances, and how far this has been contributed to by the force of heredity. When the late Mr Tisdale, of Holland Park, began farming i he bought 12 of the best heifers he could I find, and he bred' from the 'best of these for 25 Tears, during which period each cow's milk was regularly weighed all the I time. His average for the best 12 heifers I in his possession during his occupancy of Holland Park was as follows : —For the first year. 450f4a1; for the tenth year, 600 ora l; for the twentieth year, 868 gal. Lord Ray- ■ leigh. the eminent scientist, has had a. large ' number of farms in Essex in his own hands | for from 15 to 20 years. Under his j rrother's superintendence these have all been i managed as dairy farms. The cows were all bought in at first, and many were found to yield under 4Gogal. The minimum set was 6Gogal, and cows not coming up to that standard were disposed 1 of- Each cow s milk is weighed one day ncr week. The best cows are bred from, and all the farms now rear their own stock. For some years the minimum lias been 700 aral, and after this year it is to be SOOtral. Otte cow. named Captive, gave 1700?/il for several years-; and another, Rachel H, awe , lOOOgal for many years. John Evens, Burton, Lincoln, who received thp first prize j for the hest-manasred farm in the show disi trict of the Royal Agricultural Society for thitf year. began to weigh the milk of each ' cow in March. 1885, and has continued to do so twice daily ever since. He splls his milk in Lincoln. In 1890 and 1891 the average number of cows in milk was 33, i which had an averase yield of 729g»l for these years. For 1904 and 1905 he had an | averaere of 48 cows, which gave 828sral; • but, if the same number is taken at tho end as at the beginning — viz., 33 — he had in 1905 33 cows which gave an average ot I 923igal. I have no information regarding I what the average yield of his cows was in IFBS, but after five years' weeding it was 729«a1, while 16 rears afterwards it was | 124igal more. In 1905 three cows averaged ! 1286 gal of milk.

THE BURTON HERD. In 1905 there were 15 heifers in the herd, which averaged in yield from 515 gal j to 811gai of milk after the first calf, tho I period in milk generally extending from j 280 to 290 days. In this year in this herd of 15 heifers there were :

Mr Evens had a cow, Beauty, which after j her third calf gave 2051 gal of milk in 81 wee'es, and after her fourth calf 1622 gal in 52 weeks. A bull out of this cow was sire oi 16 heifers, all of whioh, after their first calf, yielded from 6Cogal to 965 gal of milk, and after their second and third calves from ~ooftal to 1030 gal per annum. Beauty 11, out of this cow, yielded 1234 gal ,x>f milk after her first calf. Another cow, named Burton Profit, for three calves averaged . 1462ga1, and gave an average of llOOgai per annum for seven years. Another cow. Burton Margaret, calved in 1896, gave, at the Tring milking trials, 751b of milk in 24 hours, which is the record for that show, -which is the largest of 'ts kind in England. This cow, after hor fourth calf, gave 1534g1a1, and after her fifth . calf 1258ga1. Burton Vie. 11, calved in 1893, fa-ve the following yields of milk:— After her first calf, 609ga1 ; after her second calf, 907gai ; after her third calf, 1171 ga l: after her fourth calf, 1246ga1. .Young Chevry, after her first calf, gave 1042ga1, and after her second one, 1446ga1. At the Trinemilking trials cows from this herd gave the following yields : —lßo2, Margaret, 751b milk in 24 hours ; 1903, Nancy, 66£lb milk in 24 hours; and Ruby Snot, 631b milk in 24 hours; 1904, Cress 11, 71|lb milk in 24 hours, and Fleet 11. 66ilb milk in 24 hours ; 1906, Buttercup. 711b milk in 24 hours; 1907, Young Cherry, 7141b milk in 24 hours; and Iris, 684 ib milk in 24 hours. At Banbury, Violet, 72£lb milk in 24 hours. With many others, Mr Evens believes that in breeding for milk " the bull is half the herd," and unless bulls are selected from heavy milking cows, which have been mated with bulls of a similar class, little success need be expected in breeding., MR MARSHALL, RIDING MILL. Newc&stle-on-Tyne, has regularly weighed the milk of each of his cows for a very long period, during) which he has been breeding from his best milkers. Underneath are particulars of the dates of calving and milk yielded by two cows. Lucy i I and Charlotte I, and that of their offspring, clearly showing that the heavy milk- , producing qualities of the dam have descended to most of the offspring.

The milk yielded by Mr Marshall's cows is all calculated from 13th (May of one year to 13th May of the next. In the NEWTON RIGG HERD, ~AT PENRTTH, belonging to the Cumberland and West-

morland County Council, two pedigree bulls were used in succession. One of these , was Crown Prince Hanson, which was a good animal, and was ultimately sold at a big price to jklo to the Argentine. His offspring were good-looking heifers, but the one-half were utter failures as milkers, while none of the others were as good as their dams. The other bull was Major Moss, fronv the Underley herd, out of a cow which had a good milk record for several years. Without exception, Mr Lawrence writes me, almost every heifer begotten by him became an excellent milker. Four of the cows served by the first bull had heifer calves, and when served by the second one had heifers also. All the first heifers gave excessively small yields of milk —so small, in fact, that most of them were fattened and sold; yet their half-sisters, sired by Maior Moss, gave good yields. The effect of the use of the first of these two bulls on this herd is identical with what has happened in thousands of instances among Ayrshh'e breeders, but instead of the damage being limited to one year, as in the Newton Ri?g herd, it has often extended to two or three, and sometimes to four years. The following table clearly shows the effect of these bulls on this herd : —

The above are a few of many instances which might be cited of the EFFECT OF HEREDITY in mci easing --the quantity of milk. But pedigree exercises its influence not only^ to product 1 a largo quantity, but also a small quantity. When bulls are used for stock purposes from cows the bodies of which may be perfect, according to our showyard ideas, but the milking capacities of which are very feeble, 7io one need wonder that ifiany of the offspring ehou]d turn out useless for dairy purposes. Many and many a time have I heard a breeder say that the use of such and such a bull spoiled his herd for years. For milking purposes, the worth or worthlessness of a bull is only proved three or four years after he hae been introduced into the herd, and before that damage may have been done which it may take years of patient tail to repair. Such an experience Mr Marshall, Riding Mill, is now having, and others will be refoned to later on. Four years ago a grand pedigree cow in one of the classes of the London dairy show -in October was giving a large quantity of milk, although due to calve to a pedigree bull in the April following. Mr Marshall bought the calf at a bis price, and thought he wca all right. He served several of his best iow« with

this bull'up till he was two and a-half years old,, when he was sold at a high prioa to go to the Argentine. His offspring aro presently coming with milk, and although ail are beautiful animals they are disappointing milkers. Seeing how the offspring 1 of this bull were turning out, he made inquiry regarding his sire, and found that he was off a family whioh had been bred for generations for beef instead of for milk, and that his propotency in that direction was greater than that of the dam in the production of milk. The result here, as in every other case, is that the bull is spoiled for getting stock able to produce a good yield of milk, and that heifers from him are in great part failures as far as milk production is concerned.

(To be continued.)

—Charlotte I. Bought m October, 1887.— Yield. In Milk. Dry. Gals. "Whs. Wks. 3rd calf. October 12, 1881 578 32 15 4th calf, Sept. 5, 1888 .. 791 39 11 sth calf, August 20, 1889 825 42 10 6th calf, August 23, 1890 905 52 — Sold fat.

For full yeai, from May 13. 1896. to May 13, 1897 For full year, from May 13, 1897, to May, 13," 1898 . .. 1080 1007

Lucy IV. Dam, Lucy I Sire, Roan Bull from a Fair Milker. — Yield. In ililk. Dry. Gals. Wks. "W T ks. Ist calf, Dec. 25, 1893 .. 926 53 3 2nd calf, Jan. 2Q, 1895 .. 804 44 7 3rd calf, Jan. 12, 1896 .. 924 43 6 4th calf, De«. 20, 1896 .. 910 40 9 sth calf, Nov. 29, 1897 .. 903 38 — Gals.

—Lucy I. Bought May 12. 1884, as a Heifer in Milk. Breeding Unknotra.— Yield. In Milk. Dry. Gals. "Wka. Wks. 2nd calf, April 12, 1885 .. , 702 39 8 3rd calf. March 2, 1886 ..742 38 9 4th calf. Jan. 24, 1887 .. 766 33 14 sth calf, Dec. 18, 18S7 .. 935 48 11 6th calf. Feb. 3, 1889 .. 771 37 10 7th calf, Jan. 1, 1890 . 1007 42 6 Bth calf, Dec. 1, 1890 ..912 40 9 9th calf, Nov. 10, 1891 .. 1156 74 —

2 which gave over 800 gallons. , 5 which gave between 700 and 800 „ 5 „ „ 600 and 700 „ 3 „ „ 500 and 600 „

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— Average Yield of Milk % Cows and Heifers at Burton, from 1890 to 1905.— 31 cows calving in 1890 averaged 740 gals per cow 35 „ 1891 „ 720 „ 34 „ 1892 „ 795 „ 38 „ 1893 „ 73il ,; 39 n 1894 „ 834 „ 43 „ 1895 „ 867 „ 43 -, 1896 „ 889 „ : 36 „ 1897 „ 881 „ 38 „ 1898 „ 824 34 „ 1899 „ 860 „ 36 „ 1900 „ 785 _, | 48 „ 1901 „ 758 „ !40 „ 1902 „ 776 „ 42 „ 1903 „ 786 „ 43 „ 1904 „ 842 54 .. 1905 „ 816

— Burton Fleet 11. Sire, Professor (200).— After her Ist calf yielded 728 gals, of milk. „ 2nd „ 965 „ „ 3rd „ 834 4t£ „ 1007 „ sth „ 1061 J 6th M 1109 m

— Burton Cross 11. Sire, Professor (200V — After her Ist calf yielded 587 gals, of milk. „ 2nd „ — „ 3rd „ 717 „ , 4tlj „ 863 „ „ sth 3 , 1071 „ „ 6th „ 1034

— Burton Kuby IV. Sire, Professor (200).— After her Ist calf yielded — gals, of milk. „ 2nd „ 947 „ „ 3rd „ 885 „ „ 4th (twins) „ 1158 „ » sth „ 1240 „

—Charlotte IV. Dam, Charlotte 111. Sue, Crusade. Off Good Milking Family.— Yield. In Milk. Dry. Gals. Wka. Wks. Ist calf. October 18, 1896 718 66 5 2nd calf, Feb. 27, 1898 ..- 953 45 7 3rd calf, Feb. 27, 1899 .. 1091 56 10 4th calf, June 7, 1900 .. 1327 79 1 sth calf, Dec. 23, 1901 .. 1150 43 7 6th calf, Deo. 7, 1902 .. 1067 sold fat.

•—Charlotte VI. Dam, Charlotte IV.— Yield. In Milk. Dry. Gals. Wka. Wks. let calf, ApriL 20, 1903 .. 979 68 13 2nd calf, Nov. 6, 1904 .. 926 49 11 Brd calf, Deo. 30, 1905 .. 1133 59 10 4th calf, May 15, 1907 .. Yield unknown.