HYBRID CATTLE.

Southland Times, Issue 21073, 3 May 1930, Page 15

HYBRID CATTLE.

CANADIAN EXPERIMENTS. Recent reference was made to experiments in Canada in connection with the crossing of beef breeds of cattle with the native bison or buffalo. The initial experiments were not very successful, since births of male calves resulted in a very high percentage of mortality, both of cow and of calf, and the males that lived were sterile. The female hybrids, however, were successful animals, fertile to either bison or domesticated bull, able to ‘rustle’ for themselves in bad weather and on scanty pastures, and producing a very good grade of beef, somewhat like that of the Aberdeen Angus. Moreover, crossing these hybrids among themselves produced an F2 generation, to which the name of “cattalo” was given. These exhibited the useful qualities of the first crosses. It now means that further experiments have been tried with a view to avoiding the

high mortality consequent upon the firstcross. Some Central Asiatic yaks were introduced and mated with bison and with European 'cattle, and the hybrids mated in various ways thereafter. Here there was no mortality, and the animals flourished, being described as “singularly rugged and hardy.” The experiment, states the Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture, is still in too early a stage to sty what are the commercial possibilities, but the breeding experiments are certainly interesting, and have resulted F2 and F 3 generations, some of the animals even containing European, bison and yak blood. The dominance of the white face of the Hereford is a noticeable feature of the queer-lookitg animals produced.