IMPROVING DOMINION'S STOCK

Putaruru Press, Volume II, Issue 13, 10 January 1924, Page 4

IMPROVING DOMINION'S STOCK

THE BEST BREED. Among Dairy Cattle. ■ I li, ..lit- ~r N,.,v Zealand V forei.ioat Kxpcrlsi. 1 11., article lasi week dealt with the >ii ive l vj.es or ShnrllioriiK—tlie early j mat a: inu kktd, the dual purpose ami tlm special pa I pose types. Home people wnl iut-'im that 1 licrc is no such thing ns n linn I-purpose animal. Thai is not co**reef.. There are dual-purpose animal l alright, lint these animals are not, as admirers love tt) assert, cnpnlde of giying both maximum of milk and tt maximum uf beef. They give a fair prodltetion of both bm that is no ns* iu r enuutry u hose welfare depends on dx o:;ports. We must specialise an*.'. g‘*l the maxitHunt ot civiler from the one aiiima!. The finin' cow must m« k tml not put on Mesh while m Midi work. If she does she is rob hi ng h-v owner. :i.nd on our high-priced land he needs ail of the profits lie can get. Jt does not pay to keep any i.'.d: the special ( |;i.ire lype t.f cov* in si cl»iry herd, for the 'herd testing essocuUions are -oil* srant ly proving ihat the large ..Hal purpose el.I Style of heavy hipped cows me duds. They fail mostly is slayers. Semi-oiiicinl testing and herd-testing has dianged ilie type in Shorthorns, mid North Island breeders n.ivo for a lengthy period, and South Islanders are now following them, bred a special m;ipose type of milking She them. THE ENGLISH TYPE. .lust ns testing has changed 'he type j,. re so i lie popular mi Ik-recording so* ririh s in Kngia mi arc working a change ili ere. Listen to }.*■•, I rom a great Cngiish miihorily who reprimands the -e-»v tnrv ■• i* the English Red T’olle 1 Society for his statement made in criticising the win of an Ayrshire cow at the London Dairy Show that Ayrshire ’attic could not he said to be as useful m the average farmer as ire heavier fleshed animals. "Mr Clarke” lie asserted ‘ * does not seem to know that many farmers concentrate on milk so'ling mrl do not desire to raise steers for beef, as milk pays better than beef, for the foou consumed in making beef is not utilised in making* milk. The question is not so much the old and still unsettled problem of the single or dual purpose, is the dignity of our breed societies, and the dose, co-operation of all agricultural:-;: Mr Clarke, as the excellent otlici.il representative of one breed, could better employ his facile pen than belittling I or criticising another breed, especially j when suvli breed has beaten his in open j petition. During the last few d*iys h ti :i s bee a frequent and not impartial ,-i • -i i’.te liritish Friesian breed es■>t’Ci;;Jiv ,<ii:ee II <I a Velopci 1 the lmbil e.i ■villalug the Dairy Show, but it is to ■>e hoped that he will not commence f> ■ri Incise Ayrshire* and so endanger iis ■>wn good name and the enviable r.*pu- ■ alien of his newspaper, and weaken ■he strong fetters that bind all British ■ireed Societies together to work along' ■omiiion lines for the national good.” ■ ft. is most interesting and educative ■o ibid an English authority stating ■lint ‘ * food ri.iiismaoil in making 1.-i f not utilised in making milk,” w l * ch to further elaborate, the equivalent saying tbar a cow which maintains in heavy flesh during* her ntilk■ig period is an unprofitable type for ■lie dairyman. In our lingo siic is a ■nbber cow—she robs the dairyman of ■ is N.Z. MILKLNG SHORTHORNS. ■ Last week reference was made to the ■ki.rbuiarn strain of milking Shorthorns, ■ml particularly to the great family of ■in- strain known ns the Melbas. It. ■him enqdiasised that North Island ■fliortlrorn breeders, at their wits end lor sires capable of* maintaining the ■ reductive power of their herds, turned ■ > the New South Wales bread. This ■train is held by the originator. Mr J. Hi'. Cole, to Ik*, a pure English ShorrHiorn. Air Cole has used in his wm k oi. ■eveloping this strain full pedigree Hires, but the foundation dams’ pedi ■roes are not traceable. He has bred so ■long within his herd, however, that it ■is not material now that the dams’ Ppedigrees run out, except, in this way, I that many Ainldntul and Manawatu breeders, ami some South Islanders too have cows which they claim, and the appearance of the slock supports the claim, to be clean desceuda.nts also of V old English stock. Mr Cole’s types do ' not .however, show .jnsi tin* same chav- I actor as English .Shorthorns of the present day, but mated to the right class :of female they leave the goods, and L what is more I lie sires of the strain Ilea vc producers. To-dnv tlie home of ■ Ih* milking Sliorthorn is undoubtedly ■ n the Waikato. At the recent HamiiHon and Auckland Shows, this was well Horn oust rated. There annually is made H display of milking types that is an ■lueation to the dairymau-broedcr. And Huch herds as the Alessrs Kanstcad ■ros.’ herd at Matangi. the .State’s Herd at Pukekohc, and Jas. ParkinHon’s herd at Opotiki are most valuable Hissets to the Dominion. These herds Have been built up or maintained for Hinny years on English Shorthorn blood, ■he record butterfat producer of tho ■ominion until lately was Ran stead ■lros. ’ agtnl cow , Alaniaroa Princess, a H ran<l-< Intiglilcr of tlio imported English I fbred sire. Red Lord. This cow pro* (Tuce.'l 15.95!.7 lb o.t‘ milk and 700.761 b of fat. Being disappointed with the .sires bred in their herd, the uHatangi breeders selected the Ruakura bred sire, [Dominion Esau from tlm Darbalara strain of sires, but from the best N.Z. bred producing cow, Jean of Ruakura in the Slate herd. The latter cow afterwards produced 5301 b of fat* under test.. THE RECORDS BEING MADE. To-day the Maiaagi breeders are reaping their har\ e.sr, for a senior three-year-old daughter of Dominion Esau, named Matangi Ruth IT. recently established a Now Zealand record for the breed by producing 11032.71 b of milk ami 717.5f11b of fat. A .junior two-year old daughter in Quality I \ has also produced M,5721b of milk and 5911 b of fat, and during Iter test won the Cham pi unship at the Hamiltou Show. This year on 1.0:4 again -he has produced as a junior three-year-old, 14765.91 bof milk and 691.531 b of fat in 289 days, giving 701 b of fat in her flush month and 651 b in her ninth month. Thus she is a great stayer, but she is not of the dual purpose type. Still another daughter of Dominion Esau hold the

New Zealand record in her class. This i**t tin* jun hit I'ctt:-vi:t!tr-oitl X'TatU'V it, vvltt.-lt lit;proUiittftl* E>.s»;s.7lb of'milk titt.l (iti.S.iMl!t t. Mr .raotex i’ttrkittSf.it’s Oimglitfrs' of hi,: i,,„r| cij DmI .ala rtl bull nt-.t .ktitig uhuw.l. siiiiilnr tvt.rlt. althruigli si ill vmttt—. Whott otto (•.(insiders the well; ‘of these Milking .shorthorns, and thinks also of the re~eor.ls made already l.y N.Z. Ttiesitms. -Jerseys and Ayrslti res. can the (jliostion be as to which is ;ho best breed. Is Iheie a best l.rcc-lf The mi'iter dees not' think so. Kor if so, is it believable that a Wilkin- Shorthorn v.'ntilti produce. 100.90L8. Ol’ I'AT in usii MOJTI’U. This in the latest achievement creditoil to the breed in New Zealand. The cow responsible is Mr -J. A. Melville’s GletHilorpe Lady. in her first month on test .she produced •’Odilh. of milk Q1I(1 05.31 b of fat in 30 titles, and the above tally with 23701 b of itiilk was her production for the second 111 day month. This cow, like the Ibtttsl rad Bros.’ great producers, in being milked throe Times daily. Bast season when tried out with twice daiJv milking she producer <>7 11b. of fat. Mr Melville lias another cow whicli tinder .similar conditions last year produced (1.411). of fat. "• 1 1 i s vrnr sA—has produced 92.-1 ]li of fat and 97.781b.' in two respective months. Outstanding a niinals are not too common in anyone breed, and for that reason, no one can nay which in the best breed;. Seiniolticitti testing ami herd-testing are daily proving that practically “all good dairy cows are built on the same keel.’’ Apart front heads, udders, teats and colour marking, dairy cows of all the leading breeds are markedly alike, even if they vary considerably in size. .Moreover, tlte best dams of reproducers are 111 n(-1 1 alike in temperament. J.'xpecienco has shown that dairy cows efficiency for breeding or at the pail, is associated with certain commonly ricooItised anti well-defined characteristics of form and behaviour. There are, of course, exceptions to the general rule that the wcdgS-shnped typo, a roomy barrel, a thin neck and lean thighs, wide apart hip joints, and a large, wellshaped udder arc tho primary indications of dairy cow excellence. A feucows like some geniuses, certainly do defy conventional classification. On the whole, however, pure-bred or high-grade dairy cows are essentially identical in most of their major characteristics, by which they tire known and identifiable. I’he rapidly increasing knowledge of: this fact accounts in part for the remarkable development and expansion whicli the dairy caltle industry lias undergone pttrlicularlv in llte North Island in recent years. It will grow more rapt fitly and more substantially in the future if the owners of pedigree breeding herds will work together, as they are beginning (o do. through their oi ganisnf ions. Even where they mac differ' .they are not far apart." Tlieit larger interests are tied up together. Competition has made co-operation necessary. i',, increase the popularity of an e/iicieitr dairy cow tvpe is more useful and productive than'to vaunt a - | pnganda in Eit nr spirit has had its day.