MILKING SHORTHORAS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2734, 8 August 1906, Page 5

MILKING SHORTHORAS.

One of the most important competitions in the English dairy industry is that which is annually conducted by the Bath and West of England Agricultural Society for the best dairy herds hi the district in which its show -of the year is held, and the results of this year's competitions are highly gratifying to the adherents of the "milking shorthorn." The show was heldi at Swindon, and the competition was open to herds in the good dairying counties of Wilts aod Gloucester. In tile class for herds, exceeding 40 head first honours went to Mr R. W. Hobbs, of Kelmscott ; the second to Mr George Adams, of Wad ley ; and the third to Mr J. W. White, of Zeals Park, Bath — all well-known breeders. Of these herds, as well as of several others, the judge speaks in the highest terms of praise. His report states that the winning herd consists of 210 head of shorthorns, mostly, if not all, of eligible pedigree, and the uniform quality and milk yields are alike eminently creditable to the skill and management of the owner. Mr Adams, who is one of the largest dairy farmei* in the country, possessing as he does a held of no fewer than 450 cows of the shorthorn type, was also able to show an excellent record of utility and a general excellence in his stock, which reflect most creditaoiy upon bis enterprise and judgment. A notable feature in connection with Mr White's success is that his 80 cows belong to the Hereford breed, and both tho appearance of the animals and their milking records forcibly belie the common idea that fche Hereford breed is profitable only for beef production, dearly, when properly selected and judiciously bred, the Hereford breed is capable of proving as suitable for the requirements of the dairy farmer as for those of the grazier. The

' advice of Mi- Wilkie, lately one of th» New Zealand Government veterinarians, to a meeting of North Island dairy farmers, to use a cross of a milking strain of Here- ! fords for getting constitution as well as abundant milk production into their herds, was ridiculed at the time, but those who have something more than local knowledge were well aware that the adivioe was good, but its application was precluded by the fact that all New Zealand Herefords were bred foT beef. Perhaps in some future importation of bulls of milking strain the Government or some private breeder may include a Hereford bull from such a herd as Mr White's, which might produce from som« of the good milkers in the excellent Hereford herds the colony possesses the foundation of a line of dairy Herefords which would be of great value in bleak country. The "dual-purpose cow" bogie should not frighten breeders. If inquiry could) be made it would, no doubt, be found that the steer calves of the shorthorn and Hereford dairy herds which were successful in the Swindon competition grow into as good beef as any -butcher need wish for, and is not that better than breeding a calf which, if a male, has to be knocked on the head as soon as it is born? Nobody contends that the use of a bull of milking strain in a beef herd will produce good milkers in the firstgeneration ; but the contention of those who will not admit tlxat tt«re are good milking lines of shorthorns or that milking shorthorns can be bred cannot be upheld. There are in Great Britain, nol only in the North of England and South-west of Scotland (as Professor Lowrie pointed out at the Palmereton North conference), but afcso in the South-west of England, as the result of the aforementioned competitions demonstrated, herds of shorthorn cattle whoi>e pedigrees are as long and os pure as any in the Herd Book, in whose breeding milking qualities have always been the first consideiation. The early history of the shorthorn, under its various local names, show, conclusively that it was a breed famous for deep milking, but for generation after generation the most prominent breeders directed their efforts to developing the beef characteristics of the breed, with the result that m their herds the cows often \va\c i^ot orum-h. milk to rear their cjilm-^. h\ Nuw Z^.iland cheese and Luttcr pay bttttr dm beef, though beef cannot be altogetherignored, and breeders who are endeavouring to raise a race of true mil kin c; shoithorns should have every encouragement. It is quite certain that in the strenuous competition whicb the British dairy farmer has to face, he would not persevere as he ,does with shorthorns if he saw that

another breed -was more profitable. These farmers do not buy beef bulls- for their herds, nor do they attempt to prizes at fat stock shows, but their efforts are directed to developing tli3 milking temperament in their stock, both by breeding and by education, and) in this they are unquestionably successful. They do not talk of dual-purpose breeds, but they go on breeding cows which produce milk in a volume and of a value which is surpassed by no other breed.