GREAT RECORD COWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13745, 9 May 1908, Page 8

GREAT RECORD COWS.

Breeding is a great thing but individuality :* is greater. Tho individual taleijt of ot» ' child in a family may bo groat hut how often do wo see no particular sign* of-it in' r H tho brothers and sisters. While it is trim ,l " that the prime object of all breeding should -v bo' to make large individuality a general fj trait, still there ore « great many failures. Because one cow in a family mate a great record is no very strong iign that, all her relations are going to ho just as' great also. - ■ Princess 2nd, the great .Terser cow, math 4-7 pounds of batter in seven day.?, it is said. Yet Professor Massey, editor of th« ■ Practical Farmer, says he owns owned » sister of Princess 2nd which would not pro. due© three pounds in seven days. bo it goes. Tho temptation to make an excessive record is a dangerous tiling to the to* herself and her offspring. It usually results in making a non-breeder of the cow us it diet of Loretta D. But, we believe, it lie ii;d» . vidital talent of the cow is the great sou re* from which she derives the power for Isrvp performance, if it has not been exhausted in demonstration, she may impart it to her offspring, providing sho is rightly mated. But we would value » male calf from such a. cow higher than a female. As a rule the sous of- great producing ■ cows have in turn produced better cow« than the daughters, unless they were bred to largo producing sires. The positive or potent quality goes down on the male >ido more than on the female side. But tho mother, if she is to convey her talent, must not be weakened by excessive U<ta» tion. Wo have an instance in our own herd. Tho best cow we have has given as high as 11,092 pounds of milk, making 672 pound* of butter in ten months. We have owned her for several years, yet. we have never ■ been able to get a calf from her that would live. This she did on ordinary feed. We 0 . lieve her largo milk yield has weakened her power to produce strong, vigorous Offspring, yet she is a strong cow herself. So wo say it is best not to run wild over largo records. They serve grandly to show what individual cows in the breed, can do, but their value beyond this is somewhat doubtful. f THE VALUE OF MOLASSES. Prof. Thomas Shaw, the great live stocli expert, says on this subject: — The veal value of molasses in feeding in greater than chemical analysis assigns to it. since when mixed with other foods it adds to the portability and so increases 'consumption. Ii is probable that, henceforth . nearly all tho molasses made at sugar beet, factories will be mixed with the pressed pulp and dried before it is put upon the market. Tho product thus prepared is ready for feeding ov simply mixing it with other foods* or adding it to them dry. but more commonly with all tho water added, that it will absorb. The objection to feeding a substance so sticky as liquid molasses poured' over the feed is thus avoided, more or less of which adheres to the feed boxes and in summer attracts.many flies. . ; For cattle molasses is being used in increasing quantities. .Mixed with dried blood, it aids development in calves that lira being prepared for the block. It furnish™ an excellent complement to such food as cotton-seed meal when fed to cattle that are being fattened. Tho product has been much used in preparing animals for exhibition. It has thus led to increased consumption of the other food, and improved tho glow of the coat. It is commonly poured over meal, or, what is better, over meal and cut fodders mixed. It is frequently diluted with . water before thus mixing it. As a food for milk production it is fed in small quantity*. Dried molasses beet pulp may yet be wed extensively as' a supplementary food _ foe dairy cuts summer and winter. 1.-nlil more light lias been obtained, however, its to its influence on the breeding properties , of animals, it should bo fed with prudent", . caution, more especially to young animals intended for breeding. 7; In feeding sheep molasses has not been much used, but, recent experiments at the Michigan experiment station have shown . that dried molasses beet pulp had c feeding vijlue for fattening sheep even higher than , ' that of corn. To swine molasses has been fed success--fully along with skim-milk. Its use, how- ;, ever, in feeding swine will probably he? . limited, as an appetiser is less necessary for swine than for the other' classes of farm >' animals. . - •', For horses molasses is probably more vainable in feeding them when at work than in • feeding any other class of farm animals. v ] Not less than two quarts per day of en no molasses may be fed with advantage to work horses and mules for prolonged periods.' ■; The molasses is diluted with three time* its bulk of water, and poured over the morning and-evening ration. It is common to feed a little bran along with cane, molasses to cor-. reel, a tendency to constipation, which is said to result from feeding it. It is claunec that it is nutritious, healthful, and eeono mical. It may yet bccomo popular to feed it to horses that are being wintered on products coarso and cheap, and fed in the cut form. - BREVITIES. Brood mares and foals should he provided with shelter from the cold wind and rain. No business can bo so badly mismanaged _ as farming, and still give the mismanager a living. But this is no reason for trying to reach the limit of bad management. , > The physical and mechanical condition ot soils is improved by applietions of lime > >' makes the soil looser, warmer, and mon friable, more easily tilled, and not to nam* to crust on the surface. Cold, stiff clayi are wonderfully improved by its action. To some extent the isolated lives of farmers make them in a way dependent on each other, but apart from this neighbourliness has been a strong characteristic of the community for generations, and fortunately modem changes have not altered it very much. , Lime may be said to bo the leavening or . enlivening element in the soil, for if this constituent is lacking no crops can be sucicm-' fully grown, no matter what care may he - taken in tilling the land, no matter what other fertilising constituents may be applied.' Whatever the shortcoming of farmers may be, it can safely be urged for thorn that tin J are neighbourly, and sympathetic, one with ail- >( : other. In other words, the spirit of borrow . and lend prevails amongst the fraternity to > « ; greater extent than it does in other lines ot . business. ' ' i Good farm work or road exercise is as important for tho stallion as for the mare to gut successful breeding. It ia the good farm work that makes the draught mares good;, breeders. The high market prices for good . geklings should arouse stallion importers, breeders and farmers to rally to more rational breeing methods. In the butter test at t!io lowa State Fair five Holstcin Frisians, three Jerseys, and one Bed Poll cow contested for the prizeThe owners were allowed to use their discretion as to folding, but drugs and condiments were 'prohibited. The Holateins took first- and second prizes and a Jersey tho third. The better inspection of meat is 000 of • the crying needs of the day. It i-> essential that municipal abattoirs should be entablished all over the country, and wo are very glad that public opinion on the subject is becoming increasingly insistent, 'lb© connection between diseased meat and .-.nicer is one that cannot be ignored. A very simple remedy for mange in horse* is to wash the animal twice weekly with warm soap suds, then bathe with any disinfectant, such as one part carbolic acid to id parts water. Continue this treatment till th« trouble is overcome. In washing the animal with soap suds, seo that tho solution is rubbed into the roots of every hair. 'litis can. best bo done with a coarse brush.