THE DAIRY SHORTHORN.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 35, 18 March 1914, Page 11

THE DAIRY SHORTHORN.

In the course of an interesting paper read before one of the English Chambers of Agriculture, Mr G. Taylor expressed an opinion on the good qualities of the dairy Shorthorn which will receive considerable support from believers in the breed in New Zealand. He said: In the olden times we had a sharp division between the milk and the beef Shorthorn. To some extent we have it to-day, for both of these qualities in the red, white, and roan are cultivated by the provision of special classes at our leading shows. It is a good sign when breeders realise that the Shorthorn is not intended for one purpose only, but that its extraordinary adaptability should be turned to whatever use the farmer finds for it. When Amos Cruickshank gave to the world what is known as the Aberdeenshire type of Shorthorn, to a very large extent he revolutionised that breed, and the wonderful successes which followed the Scotch animal, and the progeny of the Scotch cross in the show-yard, temporarily diverted attention from the other highly important qualification of milk production. - But that could not last very long, as there were too many enquiries for bulls of long pedigree and of daiiy type-r-that is to say, with milking blood in their veins, td enable breeders to neglect that highly important quality in the Shorthorn. There is room enough in England to-day for all sorts and all conditions of live stock, and if we are still able to maintain what might be called the local breeds- of domestic stock in a flourishing condition, surely it is not too much to expect that the enthusiasm of breeders will find a place fo? Shorthorns that will produce milk, as well as Shorthorns that carry beef. WHAT TO LOOK FOR. When establishing a herd of pedigree milking Shorthorns', one must naturally look to the cow with dairy characteristics. I would place jfirst and foremost a kindly head and shapely bag, with well-placed teats. Constitution must not be neglected, and I place great importance upon tjhe selection of bulls if you intend to breed a milking herd. I . think whatever the extra cost may be,' it is money well laid out if anyone biefore buying a bull will go to the herd "where he is bred and see the cows in the herd milked. In laying the foundation of a herd one naturally. looks a a good deal to blood, and in a milking herd the old Bates families are essential. Yet one cannot altogether —having regard to the foreign demand for .long pedigrees and to the high prices paid for really good bulls-r-neglect . the Scotch cross. If I' may draw from, my own experience, I may say that one of the best bulls I ever used was got by a Cruickshank sire. This was Beau Sabreur, got by Leonidas, and going back to the bid Knightly Charmers. One cannot expect bulls bred with a strong milking pedigree to look quite the same as those which are the product of beef strains alone. These latter one expects to be much thicker and blockier near the ground and deep through the heart; but if we get bulls of ample frame, with .their lines right and colours good, with a nice amount of flesh, we . have no ; difficulty whatever in finding customers at remunerative prices. Here I might perhaps be allowed to say a word on the question of milk and beef. My experience leads me to the conclusion that milk and beef are very difficult to get right throughout the herd —that is to say, one naturally expects in a herd which is devoted solely to pricing animals of a beef type to find *tHem more perfect there than in a herd whose chief duty is to fill the pail, and vice versa. We must therefore maintain the ideal of milk and:beef in the :r one animal. This can be got in individual cases, but, as every practical breeder knows, our heaviest milkers often make the poorest show of flesh, so that .I think we ought to be content that our pedigree dairy Shorthorns while they are filling the pail should perform that duty satisfactorily, and when they go dry show a ready aptitude to on flesh. 1 I should not say altogether that the pursuit of milk and beef in one animal is altogether illusory, 'for so long as the Shorthorn is th& Shorthorn, we must necessarily cultivate both qualities but he would indeed be a fortunate man who could' find all the best qualities of the dual .type combined in one herd, as we occasionally find them in individual animals. 1