PEDIGREE CATTLE.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 588, 30 November 1920, Page 2

PEDIGREE CATTLE.

By A. PARK HORNE. Much ."I* already s volumes aflfre can said this class of animal. ea days of the Dairy Association ccst for herds averaged 2.5 to 3.0eent given by the Babcock tester. 1 day we find dairies composed of r istered pedigree cows returning fr 5.0 to 7.0 per cent, which goes prove the, great advancement in ' .ueais of the dairy man, during period of from 35 to 40 years. Schmidt, in a recent article, clai .or a mongrel cow, i.e., a cow wi ,ut a hope of respectability oi trace of blue blood parentage to >ist" it, but by some freak of nat as produced six gallons of n .aily, giving a 7.5 test. This sfc nent, to my mind, is one of neatest factors in the dairying ustry, and is but one step towa no great necessity for improv ie breeds still more for gaining utterfat, so that by ireful rt*t repetition of the best results mi jo obtained. It has been realij owever, by most farmers that, ely on a repetition of good resi hey can only be expected ffiafi ci ul breeding, which is now-sou or from amongst the pedigree st ve have in the Dominion. Hence eason the dairyman is keenly tu ng his attention to obtaining the t st type and strongest strain of b Wood for his herd so as to prod louble the quantity of butterfat, i educe his cost-of-living bill. No\ Jairyman breeder must first of "all a lover of animals, and must h an eye for the beautiful, which right if the butterfat quality is { jent also. It is right here that i ure offers her reward, and beca the ordinary practical man has that natural eye to see or pick select out of the many of natu offers, so as to make "practical t which nature offers, he loses th oy. The dairyman by introducin great sire to a mongrel herd i possibly produce a plum or a gem the first cross, and may build hopes for the future on such resi Yet difficulty arises which will so effect him financially in the fut because the second cross usually { duces mongrels, and unnoticed deceived, he goes on from bad morse, the herd responds poorly, dairyman becomes poorer, the lam impoverished, the home is negleci the fences in a bad state of rep while the farmer is still learning A.B.C. Thanks be to nature, we h snne judges with an eye to the b and most useful, as well as the b« tiful. And It is only by line b« ing and mating rightly that the t type of the animal sought for be obtained, and I am fully of oj • ion that line breeding is commerci; ■ sound. As has already been stai the proprietor's constructive eye choice must be responsible for result. A keen observant critic naturally a fancy for one or othei the various breeds >n existence, : has a right to slick i,o hto fancy . that direction, because 1 it appeals , l ijs inmost nature, with the res that he can live a golden life , ease. Now, sir, I have given views upon pedigree, and I have b ' closely conrtectcd with it from b hood. I trust .you will pardon me | taking up this valuable space in y I :olmuns. I admit that when so . folks buy a pedigree animal they tti they are right for the rest of tl natural life, and the tongue ne fails to express some lengthy 1 relative to the blue blood he found. For instance, one writer t 'is that his breed can be traced b for thousands of years, while a , torian tells us that when the fl i took place all life on earth was stioyed, except alone sa the only pair of mflking Shorthoi . which were afterwards lam . amongst other animals in pairs oi i certain mountain in Asia r Mil Spreading westwards the breed varied somewhat (by line breedii . by the different ideas prevailing the Continent of Europe. One bree "hose black, another red, anot , fawn, and so on. By line breed ? they lost the original and re-chri J sned the new. It seems to have b . that even in these early days some , Noah's original strain, 4500 ye , 8.C., got into England, and some the ships of Tarsish mentioned in . cient history may have been emplo; > to convey them there. Anyway ' . breed was never lost, and it is i ">f the most highly respected and ; presented for usefulness, and is r true type of what it was, and is "lay. The King's own are among so of the highest class milking Shq horns, so much so that thousands' pounds have been paid ,for them ship to Australia, >kw Zealaj Canada, and the convincing proof that Noah's call were the true emblem of dairymai •Just fancy £4OOO being paid for 1 King's best milking Shorthorn, Ro| Duke. He was sent to the Argenti and we in New Zealand have to cq pete against such stock in other qu ters of the Globe for our butter oi put. Messrs. Reid Bros., of Mo tapu, imported some very good Sho horn milkers some time ago, a many of them are represented amc the butterfat producers of to-d One only example of what our mi inij Shorthorns can do. The Dilwoi sire. Emblem of Pukerimu, has a cord behind his name of a produ< of 6581b. butterfat in one season, N South Wales. That at the price • fat to-day2s 6d per lb., would gi the handsome return of £B2 ss. Wh such sofid returns can be .got fr< pedigree, what is the use of wasti valuable time over crossbreds?