THE DAIRY SHORTHORN.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1304, 6 December 1911, Page 10

THE DAIRY SHORTHORN.

VIEWS'OF AN ENGLISH BREEDER;

A well-known English exhibitor of Shorthorns, jMr. J. j>. Shirley, expresses the. following vioivs on tho Shorthorn dairy c-o«-;—"bho.should not be an overgrown animal. As a rule, a very large cow does not jfjvo more milk than ono of medium .size, and the larger the animal the more iood she. requires. If the same quantity of milk is given by the cow of medium ! sizu, it must therefore be an economy to havo hnr. The dairy cow ought to have a good depth of body, stand on short legs, possess a hide with n nico touch—the te'xtiH'e of the udder as well as the skin of tho cow should Lo thin—and, lastly, the cow should retain tho Shorthorn character, as you have your steer calves that you. breed from her to consider. With respect to bulls, iu eases where a dairy pedigree bull cannot be bought, there is a danger in purchasing ono promiscuously either in the market or at the Shorthorn sale, is to the lirst, you run a risk of buying nn animal that hns lost nil the characteristics of a Shorthorn: ,'infl as to the second, yoii m.iv buy one with nil tbe nppea-rance of a' Shorthorn and none of the milking qualities. It is. of the utmost importance that a purchaser should know nil about the herd to*.which the bull belongs, and take care that it is one in which n, dairy-Shorthorn sire- is used, and the herd noted for heavy milk yields." ,

■ Mr. Shirley believes'that dairy cattle will be more and more sought, and said he would like to impress upon dairy farmere one thing. That was, keeping milk records. . ' ■. . ■■•'.