PEDIGREE BREEDING FOR PROSPERITY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 277, 23 November 1927, Page 23

PEDIGREE BREEDING FOR PROSPERITY.

: Up io the beginning of the present century tie breeding of pedigree stock was looked upon by the average fanner as merely an expensive and fascinating hobby for rich men, and to some extent the idea was justified because pedigree breeding had been carried on for many years without due regard being paid to those utilitarian qualities without which no animal is of any practical use to the rent-paying farmer. During the last few years, however, a great change has taken place in the views of farmers towards pedigree breeding, and it has now come to be realised that the only safe and sure way of live stock developing consists in the use of pedigree sires or in -breeding on pedigree lines. ; ; More Pedigree Stock.

There are many great authorities on agricultural questions who strongly ad-| vise farmers to have nothing to do withi breeding pedigree stock, but to stick to the -commercial side of but they fail to grasp the fact that pedigree breeding has its commercial side, just as much "as, breeding non-pedigree stock, and that if-a farmer breeds at all it must be safer for him to breed on pure-bred lines than otherwise. A great many practical farmers have taken up pedigree breeding since the war, and we have only to look at the greatly increased numbers of pedigreed dairy herds, flocks of sheep and herds of pigs, to realise that farmers are no longer blind to the value of pedigree as a guide in breeding operations. Breeding from nondescript stock without any regard ,to pedigr f ee or the use of pedigree sires has been the cause of our ordinary commercial stock being of so jow a standard of quality as to be a disgrace to the nation with such a reputation as ours for producing, high-class stock. The increased use of pedigree sires, especially in respect of cattle and pigs, has been responsible ( for the improvement noticeable during the-last few years, but there is still much to be done before our commercial stock can be said to have attained the desired standard of quality all round. From a commercial poin£ of view, the farmer who consistently uses pedigree sires and, in the case of a dairy nerd, for instance, retains-his own heifers from tune to time to replenish his herd, is on the right path for improving and developing his stock, and equally so is he "*ho, in cross-breeding for beef, uses pedigree sires on the best bred females he can find, but at the same i time in breeding for milk or beef, the I , breeder who sticks to purebred stock will | L find himself on safer ground. , Breeding pedigree stock is an art, and a high form of art, inasmuch as it is the guiding, controlling and developing of some of the hidden principles of nature so as to produce animals *s nearly perfect in form aB possible, and it is the guidink force in the development of milk production and. in the production of beef, mutton and pork of th* test quality. To succeed in pedigree breeding needs much thought and a careful study qf pedigree, and many farmers have neither the time nor the inclination to devpte the necessary amount of study to the matter, but nothing short of a careful study of pedigree Will enable anyone to tell with any i degree of accuracy what is likely to be the result of ithfr mating of any two I "This shows how mueh those

breeder# are in the dark who pursue haphazard methods of breeding and pay no attention-to the value of pedigree.

; Vtdjyyt Bleeding Bays. Pedigree breeding; is no longer a fash-1 ionable hobby, but a strictly commercial proposition. The Weeding of dftiry cattle on pedigree, lines has increased to the extent it has simply because it is the only sound basis to^ work upon. A man may pwn .a good mifker witn the-best of records, but Unless she is bred from a of good milking ancestors on both sides, there is no great probability of her breeding anything as. good as herself, and pedigree ensures a succession provided it is carefully studied. It is entirely due to the study of pedigree and careful breeding and selection that our Sure bred dairy herds have attained so igh a standard of merit. Those who still have no faith in tbe value of pedigree should remember that it is entirely due to the work of pedigree breeders that the average production in our best dairy herds has been raised during the last decade so appreciably. It is true that herd testing and semi-official testing have also played an important part, bat it may truthfully be said that it hu been a Combination of pedigree jand testing that has been responsible for the great Improvement" that has been effected in the dairy stock of the country, both in regard to milk and butterfat yields and appearance and as regards beef stock, the wonderful symmetry and [ wealth of flesh carried on the most profitable parts that is now to be seen in the case of all the best bred animals is entirtly due to the work of pedigree breeders. It is quite certain that if our commercial stock is ever to be raised! to the high standard it ought to attain, pedigree breeding will have to be 'Still further extended, and there must be no sires used other than those that are pedigree bred. There has been a vast improvement in the commercial type of pig since pedigree pig breeding was so enthusiastically £aken up after the war, and we rarely see nowadays the razorbacked, hard-feeding.type of pig that was formerly so much in evidence. Farmers will find that a "combination of pedigree with skilful feeding will beat the ordinary haphazard methods of breeding that so iany of them have purIt must be remembered that all pedigree stock has its commercial value, so that if at times-'nothing much extra can be gained on account of pedigree, pure-bred animals should always be worth more than common-bred ones in the ordinary market on the score of quality. Pedigree itself, too, has its market value. Certain strains of blood are sometimes in greater request than others and command more money, but it is never wise blindly to pursue Fashion in pedigree breeding. : She is well known as a fickle goddess. ■

VARIETY IN MANURING.

Just as in the feeding of the animal it is advisable to regard the variety as an important factor in-ration construction it is. probable that, itt the feeding of the plants, advantage is gained by the use of judicious mixtures of fertilisers. One can hardly draw a correct analogy, but it would appear that, Under practical conditions, at any rate, there is good reason to employ at some time or other more sources than-one of a particular manuri&l ingredient. For the growing animal it is essential to supply protein, and probably the best results are obtained from a mixture of animal and vegetablederived proteins in order to secure the rapid growth-rate which is desirable. For the cow, the use of slow-acting fertilisers alone, unless these had been applied a considerable time previously, cannot be

regarded *» the beet policy for attaining the optimum developments of roots and growth of,, the seedling plant. In the growing of «ropß it iB not only necessary to consider the immediate demands of the "plant, but also their requirements during the whole growing period. Even this is not sufficient, as regard must be taken of the fertility of the soil. It is, therefore, necessary to include in the manurial treatment fertilisers which are likely to meet adequately all these demands. For this reason mixtures of superphosphate and steamed bone flour are employed; sulphate of ammonia Is used at sowing time and nitrate of soda for a top-dressing; and on certain soils it is customary and advisable to use even slow-acting sources of nitrogen and phosphoric acid with « view to maintaining soil fertility and catering for the needs of the plant in its later stages as well as for future crops. Farming with dung alono is not practicable to-day, and, whilst every use should be made of the available supplies, it is generally true | that better crops in respect of both quantity and quality may be grown by means of the judicious use of ovganic Fertilisers and artificial manures together, than by the use of either of these alone, jver a number of years. As with, feeding stuffs, our knowledge of the com para* tive values of different sources of fertiliser ingredients is not sufficient to justify the slavish following of any itandards and, within reason, the farmer *rill in general be advised to construct lis system of manuring, having regard io his soil and the other influencing factors, to include some of organic and some >f artificial origin; some quick and others ilow of action; some alkaline and others icid; in a word with a view to preventing sxcess of any depressing factor and insuring that the needs of soil and crop ire supplied adequately throughout the 'otation.