SHOWYARD VERSUS DAIRY FARMERS' AYRSHIRES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2252, 29 April 1897, Page 4

SHOWYARD VERSUS DAIRY FARMERS' AYRSHIRES.

Breeders of Ayrshire cattle in Scotland for show-riDg purposes had their serenity disturbed, and the principles adopted by them for some years past, denounced in telling term?, in a lecture delivered before the Muirkirk Literary Association, Scotland, in November last. The lecturer — Mr Hamilton, of Woolfords, Carnwath — waß at one time a successful breeder and i exhibitor of Ayrshires, and in recounting his ' " experiences gained in the breeding and feed- I ing of Ayrshire cattle " unhesitatingly declared that the Ayrshire as now too often presented in the showyard is not what she might be, and that it is the only breed of stock in Great Britain which has not been improved duriug the past 40 years. His, it appears, is not an individual opinion only, as in the debate that followed the address it transpired that the late Mr James Park, of Decbmont, a noted breeder, Mr Alexander Wilson, Langfaulde, Mr Drysdale, Fairfield, and many other breeders and judges of repute have long been impressed with, and fetill firmly hold similar convictions — viz., that the Ayrshire breed at its best a 9 a factor in the commercial side of farming is seldom now represented at leading shows in Scotland. Thiß is admitted by the Scottish Farmer in a leader commenting on Mr Hamilton's lecture, and a remedy suggested. " The first great change," our contemporary says, " must take place in the system of judging ; men must give the awards with which tbeir everyday practice coincides. It has been again and again acknowledged by judges that they awarded first prizes, and even championships, to cows that they would not keep in their dairies at any price. This appears to us to be the greatest of all anomalies, and until some change takes place here it will be the cuty of all interested fo point out the abuses to which the Ayrshire is subjected. Lst the judges once for all set the fashion of giving the prizes to animals such as would make the beat prices in the auction ring, and not many years will elapse until bulls will be found capable -of breeding the kind of animals wanted. They are being bred now, but ' their owners have to rest content with the reward of prices, and go without the reward of prizes. They have to remain in obEcurity while the prize-winners are koowc far and near. , Prices and prizes, however, should never be divorced, and the men will deserve well of Scottish agriculture who will have tho courage consistently to award the prizes to the animals I they would purchase if looking out for a dairy cow " ! In his introductory remarks Mr Hamilton said it was not his intention to move in smooth waters, but to point out some of the anomalies and seeming contradictions connected with the breeding of Ayrshire cattle. It is from 40 to I 45 years since he commenced breeding and showing, and he yielded to none in his admiration of the Ayrshire breed. Times have j changed, and the Ayrshire cow, among other ; things, has changed, _and it is tbe duty of the breeder in the altered circnmstaucc-s to change also. The auction ring is now & power in the land, and breeders -will requ ; re to adapt themselves and breed cows thai the public will purchase. It is the- duty of the breeder to produce what the public wa'~fc, and consequently the long, thin neck, light forequarters, and small teals must; be relegated to things that were. "We must have our cows shorter in the neck, but the neck must be sweet, aud tightly joined at shoulder and heao, the shoulder blades firmly joined at top and uprune; out as they come down much wider than what has been so long tke prevailing fashion. Tney must be well filled up behind the shoulder, wilh far greater width of chest, so as to give greater room for the luugs to play, and thus knock out this tuberculosis. One thing tbab should never be lost sight of is to make sure that the stock is descended from a good milking o.tmn.'' Mr Hamilton argued that it is more difficult to breed Ayrshire cattle of the fa»hiou»,ble type thftuaoy

other sock, and that this is owing to the long-con-tinued fashion they are wanted to be grown into. "The shape we want them." he said, "is contrary to Nature, and anything contrary to Nature is difficult to attain." Thin before and bread behind is the ideal. It is easy to breed a cow thin before and thin behind, but when tbe one end is narrow and the other broad the consequence is very often when the one end is right tbe other is wrong. At the commencement rf Mr Hamilton's career as a shower of Ayrshires there was a perfect rage to get a cow . to carry her vessel tight — unless she was what was called a "real verker " she was of no use. At that time competition was so keen the question was not, Whtft can be dona to improve tbe breed ? but what can be done to take the first prize, and it was very soon found out that the lightest vessel could be got with small teats. That is one of the reasons small teats got such a hold of tbe breed ; not tbat showers wanted them, but it was entirely ta get this firm vessel. There can be no doubt this fad has been carried to too great an extent; As tbe Ayr show is the place to see models of the breeds Mr Hamilton took it as a standard, and drew attention to some points that came j under his observation there. One of these he j had taken pa r ticutar note of — two-year-old and ; one-year-old queys taking prizes wherever shown ' at all the principal shows, aud then fading from view. It might naturally be expected that when these beautiful queys came to be in milk, although their vessels and teats might he faulty, that they would have good bodies. But such is nob the case. There seems to be a necessary j connection between a good, well-balanced vessel I rightly put to the body and a good body. None ot these fine yeld queys as a rule, when four or j five years old, take a prize even as an uncalved ! cow. If these yeld queys go as far back when uncalved, tbey will go further back when calved. At Ayr the milk stock are judged in a separate ring from the bulls and yeld queys, and here^ is another irregularity — the eild stock have no family relation to the milk stock, which are bred from quite a different strain — " tli^y can- ; cot claim even a 4-2 nd cousinship." Having j spoken of some of the irregu'arities in the I breeding of cows and queys, Mr v Hamilton proceeded to discuss the plans followed by breeders of bulls. Those that are mo3t successful in taking prizss act on the principles that guide the breeders of the eild queys, and the bulls have almost no relation to the cows in the other ring. The question arises : Why is this the case ? How does it come that the prize-taking bulls have seldom any relation to the best milk cows ? Is a bull worthy of a prlzu if ho cannot j be the sire of a good cow in milk ? No other i class of animals exists in which the prize-taking male animals are not closely related to the prizetaking females. Take horses, shorthorns, Galloways, or any other breeds, or sheep of j any kind — all breeders of these classes ate keen to get the ptize male animals to breed with, but _ such is nob the j case with tha breeders "of Ayrshire?, said Mr Hamilton — " take the foremost stock in Ayrshire for milk cows at tha present time — I mean Knsckdon, — not one prize bull is used in Mr Cross's stock, »nd the reason is, were such used there, Kuockdon would soon lose its fame for g.^od cows. There are facts thab are very well known to those who have observed aud studied the breeding of Ayrshire cattle." When some of these strange things are considered, one begins to wonder whether the bull that sires good cows in milk or the bull that sires good eild stock ia of most advantage to*l the country. The Ayrshire bulk generally used hava far too little ma=culine character. This might be illustrated in many ways, Lub take one point. Ayrshire cows are very apt to become low in the. necks, especially wheu ia lean condition. Mr Hamilton was judging along ' with another gentleman 20 yer.rs ago. The other judge wanted a certain bull put back because hn was high in the nr-cic, Mr Hamilton wanted to place him forward for that re«so'i ; a third judge was called, and the masculine-neck bull was un- j placed. Bulls continue to be judged tor beuiby, ! not for what would bh beneficial in thtir slock. ' Many of their bull stirks nowaday* showed litfcle more ma-culine cbarattsr th»n the hc-ifers. It r< quired no great sbretch of the inifigias.tiou to think thnt Nature never 1 designed the male of any animal to show a feminine appeurance. Tu-nmg lrom edversa critriciams, Mr Hamilton, said, wheu they sv.v an Ayr-shire cjw «, short; time cuiV'-d, with her b; 1311b eyec, 1 wide forehead, neck and shoulder truly placed, tighl aud firm back, short *ud sU 1 light hook b >i.es, level and distinc 1 ; ribs, well-spruug broad tbighf", de^.p flank*, fchorb lege, fino bones, with a. firm, lengthy, well-balanced vibsol, teats ' 2iin long hanging pe r pendicularly down, ske ' was not only one of the nio4 beiubiful, bub also one of the most uaef id animals in creation. The only way he kaew to breed a good Ayrshire cow was to have a

bull from a good dam, granddam, and so on ; also his sire mu* t be descended from good cows in every branch of his forbears. In proof of that let them look to Ihe Castlohill and Burnhe-id sales, where one-year-old bulls sold from £30 to £100. He meant no disparagement to high-priced bulle, buta bull oould often be got for a fiver to beat them. They are bought entirely for pedigree, .and the highestpriced ones are selling on pedigree for three aud tour generations back. Seeing that the breed is bo well adapted fot the climate and soil in that part of Scotland, should be au encouragement all the more to do the very best to bring them to the highest state of perfection. There could be little doubt, however, they woro at present breeding two almont distinct types of auimalß— yeld stock and milking Btock. If thty wanted to breed a good milk cow, they had to work from a good milking Strain.