COLOUR IN CATTLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8482, 5 February 1891, Page 3

COLOUR IN CATTLE.

The distinctive colours of the various breeds of farm stock is a somewhat interesting subject for those whose proclivities ; tend in that direction. Take, for example, the colours of cattle—the whites, blacks, reds, roans, duns, yellows, etc. In the old country whites are only found in certain counties, blacks being common in Scotland and Wales. Reds are found chiefly in the south of England, and include Sussex, Devons, and Herefords. Jerseys and Alderneys are mostly dun or yellow ; some herds, however, are smoky colour or black. Holderness cows are roan, or speckled with red and white. Holsteins are dun mixed with white. Shorthorns vary in colour, roan and white prevailing, though some are red. Dutch cows have invariably a white sheet over a black body. Ayrshires are generally brown or brown and white. Gallaways are black, but white is the predominant colour of Swiss cattle. The colours of the respective breeds of cattle are, as a rule, retained so long as there ,is no cross-breeding. But once crossing takes place, or another breed is introduced among a herd of pure breds, then colours and other points are sure to change. Here, for instance, is a curious case of what effect the introduction of a belted cow among a herd of doddies had in changing the colour of the black cattle. A person started away -to Keillor to buy a milch cow for his father's foreman. "There," he says, "I purchased a Black Polled 'belted' cowthat is, a cow with a wide white belt round her girth, resembling a sheet. On her arrival at the farm, I turned her into the pasture with the Keillor doddies and greybreasted Jock, where she remained till September, when she was then transferred to the dairy lob. Jimmie Thomas, the old cattleman, although he could not read the Bible or any other book, had heard .of Jacob's spotted cattle, which he used to quote to me in a very serious and decidedly imperfect manner. 'He did all he could to impress on me that I was ruining my father's cattle by allowing the belted cow to be in company with the black doddies, and that next year's calves would be all black-and-white. This, added Jimmie, is the way Jacob ruined hia doddies. Jimmie was not far wrong, for. certain as the calving season came round! five of the black Angus cows produced belted calves—cows that grazed with and. were served in the presence of the belted cow the previous summer. He gives another instance, as follows :One of my father's most celebrated Angus cows, known' as the Crathey heifer, was an excessive milker, consequently she was added to the dairy establishment. Among the dairy cows was a pure Jersey. The Crathey heifer and she were tied in the same stall. Their mutual attachment became very strong, and when grazing they were always side by side. Both were served by an Angus bulL When the Crathey cow carved her calf was a perfect miniature of the Jersey cow, even to the fawn colour, the star, in the forehead, the white switch, and the tiny horns. The Jersey calved in May and pro--duced a jet black calf, which Was nothing remarkable, as she had been served by an Angus bull. In ordinary stock of mixed breeds such as we have in this country, it does not follow that a red cow put to a red bull will have a red calf. There is just a possibility that ib may be " pure white. Where a roan bull is running with a herd of cows of mixed colours, there may be a few calves the colour of the bull, bub ib is almost certain that tho percentage of roans will not be large.. In factj save in purebred stock, such as; Herefords, Devons, .and others, particular colours cannot be depended on, no matter what the colour of the bull or cow?. Some of our dairy farmers are using Jersey bulls with ordinary cows. It would be interesting to know with what effect, regards colour in the young-stock.