POINTS IN SHORTHORNS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume 1, Issue 8, 14 February 1914, Page 2 (Supplement)

POINTS IN SHORTHORNS.

THE NECESSITY OF GOOD "HANDLERS." '-J It has often occurred to the writer that among the present-day breeders of Shorthorns, sufficient importance is not. attached to the great point of' "good handling." Great importance-was attached by all the old breeders'to that very important point, and any beast" with a hard hide and rough hair had but little chance of winning in a show yard, and still less of being used as a sire in any of the famous herds of byv gone days. In later times, and more especially since the Scotch-bred; cattle' have all become the fashion, less attention has been paid to the soft, silky coat and pliable and mellow skin which years • ago were considered necessary attributes to every good' Shorthorn. The Bates; cattle, as we know, were always noted particularly for their "good handling' * qualities. . - i ; i ' * Cattle, with straight wity- hair, hadling almost like a dandy brush, do not show true Shorthorn descent, and that kind of hair and skin is no doubt a legacy that has been handed down from some remote ancestor not of Short- ' horn blood. A true-bred Shorthorn "handles" .. differently to any other breed, and the thick, furry coat r ' feeling as soft as the fur on, a rabbii,- is not found on polled Scot, or a Hereford. Then,, again, the skin should b<e: : pliable" to the touch —in fact, it shoulfli handle like a glove; withal it shoulcV be of good thickness. A thin hide > delicacy of constitution. But it is not only as good f eederß thatw" good handling" cattle are paramount, but also as "good There is] hardly any doubf'tnat nearly,: if not quite, all the celebrated breeding bulls and cows of the past and of .the;presentage, have been, and are, of particularly* good "handling" qualities. • :■'*

The writer has had considerable experience of the progeny of aniniatls that have been particularly good in that respect, although of no great merit in other points. He can well rfemember some years ago being very struck by the excellence of soiriei calves •belonging to a neighbouring farmer, who only kept just commercial 1 stock, but who generally used a pedigree bull. These although only out of ordinary common ; dairy cattle/ were possessed of all" the character and superiority: .<rf th«fbest-bred Shorthorns. Their were*&s good; anyone could .fwish tosee, ancl the'&re, was just a moderatelooking, plain-coloured bull of very good breeding, and Out 'of a first-class herd, 'but the writer was-convinced then that [his superiority as a sire was due to his "handling,'/ > That point was -perfect. His coat was ~as soft as a cat's, his skin just like a glove. And, again, as another instance, some very good,-young bulls were sold from a certani hefd bred from the same cow. One of these bulls up to a short time ago was at thbjhead q£ a jested- e'stariciain Bouth itmerica, and before he was exported he won: numerous prizes and left very good stock, in this country, and .the writer had rtwb or , three"; very 'good <calves by ' him. When the herd -was dispersed the writer was struck' -with the plain appearance of the dam of these good young bulls, but—and here again was the,secret—she handled as ho other beast in the herd And only the; other day„the writer inspected a first-class herd belonging to an old frieTid,~aHd—was much struck by the great excellence of some of the calves, all of which, by a certain sire, showed marke'd superiority to the others. The sire of these calves," although looking thin and under the weather, and having no great points about him, yet handled like a glove, and. had true character.. Some of the other sires handled differently, and their stock also was different, and this must go to show how important "good handling'' is inbreeding. The writer would much ..prefer, t:o use as a sire a bull with "character" and mellow touch, even if deficient in many other respects, than a show bull that was course in his handling; and com-mon-looking animals, with ~ straight' backs and well-set-on tails, are all : very well in.their way, but, one mustv.have quality and', character with them or they will be uncertain sires. Good handling is a sure sign of quality, without which no purebred beast is worth breeding from. Auother bad point apparently on the increase is that of "slack loins."* Many a good animal is deprived of those honours that would otherwise be its due solely on account of that dipping in the loins when standing, which shows an uneven formation. An animal that cannot carry its back well and maintain the straightness of its r top line when standing still, although good in every other respect, is never likely to win honours in a show yard or to breed winners. It is, in fact, a point that is. almost certain to come out in the progeny; 'and oh that account, is one to be avoided if possible. It is a point that is unquestionably difficult to'breed out; but a gtfod loin is a very important park, of the beast, and in breeding strong, and good width should be aimed iat', 1 In former times the loin was considered : the one great point in a'good animal'Trom a butcher's point of s view, and if an animal was possessed of a strong,' wide loin, he was deemed good enough in' other respects. The writer has ofterTbeen; told of a celebrated judge of stock in his-native county who was bIJnH and who officiated very.joften at many*of the leading shows all over the country. Being blind, he naturally had to.trust to his hands, and he* usually" only felt the loin and the touch, and if: iftey were- to his mind it was good ehbu'ghj arid it was said that he seldom} } if ever, waß wrong in his,judgment. , si That says much for the im''good handling" and & good' Strong loin.