" THE BREED THAT BEATS THE RECORD."

Otago Witness, Issue 1933, 25 February 1892, Page 8

" THE BREED THAT BEATS THE RECORD."

With reference to the beef-producing and milk-yielding properties of Aberdeen-Angus cattle, Mr J. S. Goodwin writes as follows to the Breeders' Gazette :—: —

Beginning in regular order, the strongest position of the Angus breed lies in its beefmaking tendency. This may be divided into the following sub-heads :—: — Ist. It matures the earliest of any of the beef breeds.

2nd. It makes the greatest gain on a smaller amount of feed than does any other beef breed, which indicates the quality of its constitution.

3rd. It is hornless, and therefore requires less stable room, and is easier to handle than the horned breeds, and from this reason its quieter disposition is one cause of its rapid acquirement of flesh under proper treatment. 4-th. When matured it commands the highest price in Great Britain and America, having "topped the market" at Chicago for three consecutive years. The next phase of the question would relate to the quality of the milk, as upon its richness depends the amount of butter. The milk of Aberdeen-Angus cattle and their grades is of the very highest quality, ranking probably next to the Jersey in producing the largest amount of butter to a given quantity of milk. It has this advantage over Jersey milk : the latter produces a large amount of cream, and when that is taken off, the milk left is very thin, blue, and watery, while the fikimmed milk of the Angus cow is rich and palatable, and has what may be called a "body " to it. The next matter is very important, and that is the quantity of milk given. This all depends. There are two ways of raising calves among breeders of registered stock. One is to let the calf suck the dam until she dries up or is about to calve again. This is the usual custom with the beef breeds, and where the dam does not give enough milk a wet nurse is pressed into the service. It would be folly for a breeder to buy a cow which has raised three or four calves this way, and expect her to supply his family with milk and butter and bring up a calf at the same time. With the distinctive milk breeds, the steer calves are not worth the bringing up, and they are taken at once from the cow, fed skim-milk and oil-meal, and knocked on the head at as early a day as the law allows. The cow is hand-milked at regular intervals, and by that treatment enables her owner to furnish the record-breaking affidavits.

Lastly, the length of time a cow will stay in milk is to be considered. There is the kind which religiously objects to giving milk and makes it a rule to go dry as soon as her calf can eat or is taken from her, and then there is the kind that milks all the year round. There are both kinds among the Angus cows, but probably not so many among the latter as among the Jerseys and Holstein-Friesians. My suggestion is this : — Buy a purebred Aberdeen-Angus bull of one of the families noted in Scotland as " miliking families." One of these is the Nosegay family. I have a grand-daughter in my own herd which has helped to bring up five calves besides her own. The Coquette,the Fy ne Flower, the Advie Hose, the Kinnaird Fanny, and the Ruth families are among those noted for heavy yields of milk. The Etica cow Miss Macpherson 10 months after calving gave nine quarts, while others in the Cortachy herd were giving 18 quarts a day three months after calving. Having purchased the bull, let the breeder select the very best milkers of his present stock of cows, saw their horns off, and sell the rest of the cattle. Then a careful inspection of some of the herds of the reliable breeders of Angus cattle, or an attendance on some of their annual sales, will disclose some purebred cows which are good milkers and which he can secure, and then he can take such good care of his herd as will develop the milking qualities of these cows and of their female oifspring and of the grade heifers — the manner of such care being probably much better known to him than to myself.

Then as to selling his purebred bulls, he must bear in mind that there are fewer Angus cattle in America than of any other prominent breed, and their indisputable supremacy as beef cattle, with the limited amount of oompetition he would have, would enable him to make advantageous sales for years to come, He should also observe that the Angus purebred sales have commanded thobigheit average prices ever since the introduction to this conti* nont.

In summing up, then, the Angus cattle are the best for beef, and the cows give more and riclwr mjik, tb&.n, (hose of any other beef breed,

and the question resolves itself into whether the breeder should buy the Angus cattle, from which ho would get milk and butter for his family, milk for the young stock, steers to top the market, bulls to bring the highest prices, and grades of a uniform colour and beautiful form, or whether he will select a purely milk Jireed which will give him j>lenty of milk worth 5c a quart, butter worth perhaps 15c a lb, scrawny heifers, steers worth 10c a dozen, and bulls which the Farmers' Live Stock Protective Association (a left-hand branch of the Alliance) are authorised by law to kill at sight.