THE MILKING SHORTHORN

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 115, 20 June 1914, Page 2

THE MILKING SHORTHORN

TYPE TO AIM AT. In more recent years the difficulty of securing purebred Shorthorn bulls of a definite milking- strain has led in many cases to the Shorthorn being discarded in favour of what may be termed the "special purpose" breeds. The fact remains, however, that many of the earlier strains of Shorthorns known to this country were noted for their milking properties, and that even at the present time, notwithstanding the booming of oth<*r breeds > and the large sums of money expended in strengthening them by the best imported strains, the majority of the crossbTed herds being milked in the Dominion at'the present time show distinct traces Of Shorthorn blood. It must be admitted that in many cases the breeds have been so intermixed—a bull of Ta different breed being, repeatedly it is difficult to say to what breed the milking-power must be credited. This fatal change of blood has been more marked during the past five or six years. Up till that time the Shorthorn character dominated the blood of the majority of our crossbred herds; whereas at the present time it is difficult to find a herd of cows of a good Shorthorn standard and this only where the, owner has consistently used Shorthorn bulls.

years ago we had a splendid type of milking Shorthorn, bulls available, but, ' unfortunately, cheapness was the main consideration, and with the consequent lack of appreciation at that time of the purebred dairy sire it did not pay to breed them. In those days I have taken calves a few days old from heavy milking Shorthorn stock to the saleyard, 801b to 1001b each, and on , a number of occasions have had to accept a few shillings a head for them.

The popularity of the breed from a dairying point of view has suffered considerably of late years by the difficulty of being able to purchase purebred Shorthorn bulls of <■ undoubted milking-blood. The formation of a Milking Shorthorn 'Association,' which intends to introduce the important principle of breeding according to actual performance, and only registering the progeny of stock having officially checked milking records will assuredly have the effect of removing this*difficulty. When the dairy farmer is able .to purchase a milk record Shorthorn bull we may expect to see a boom in this great general purpose breed. The feeling is widespread that if only a supply of definite dairy Shorthorn bulls.could be depended upon, the development of Shorthorn herds would make rapid headway. The increasing value of beef stock gives the-Shorthorn cow an added value, for there is no denying the fact that of. all breeds -of dairy stock there is no other which equals the Shorthorn fbfc'producing steers-' which it will pay to fatten.,

From this it is not to be supposed that the type of Shorthorn favoured is that being developed by the breeder of beef stoek, and decorated by judges in some of our dairy Shorthorn cow classes at agricultural shows, but the Shorthorn cow which is distinctly more of a dairy type than a beef type. " While the value of the Shorthorn steer is appreciated, it is the milking value of the dam. that must be the main objective.

The sensational reeord of one or two exceptional animals will not make a herd so profitable as the returns from a herd of good uniform production—a collection of average but persistent milking cows. After all, it is what a cpw will givo in a year which determines her value, and it is the,average production of the whole hc"rd which decides the farmer's profits. > The special purpose cow is certainly a payable proposition when she produces in a year the extra quantity of milk (or'butter-fat) over the general-purpose-type to make up for failure to produce a steer it will pay to fatten, but the question of profit must be decided on the herd, not on any individual members of it. The only Shorthorn cow which it will pay the dairy farmer to consider is the deep milking type. It may be well, therefore, to describe the ideal,to aim at.

Look to the head'first of all: it is invariably the index of the whole animal. It reflects the character, and especially the constitution. ..There should be a good width between the eyes, and these should be large and placid. A good muzzle is much to be desired. The nostrils should be. large and the mouth capacious. Good, breathing capacity is necessary to a good constitution, arid a large mouth is. essential to a strong feeder, a qualification a cow must possess if she is to manufacture milk on a liberal scale. It was generally remarked by old authorities that the heavy milker always carried a dished face. As a matter of fact, it was the dished apearance provided by the large eye and the expanded nostril which gave rise to this expression. As, to constitution, the. head provides : an admirable index, of which ;the eye and the nostril are the chief features. Indeed, to the keen judge of dairy type■the general appearance of the head and the way in which it is carried i* a powerful key to an animal's capacity, ami this applies to the bull even more than to the cow, though many of our breeders of purebred stock do not attach to this portion of an animal the importance they should. Next to the head the heart-girth should: be looked to, for this must be good if a strong-coiistitutioned beast is to be secured, and however well built a cow from the milk-producing point of view, she cannot be considered if she has not the power to produce to her maximum capacity. The bull should be particularly -strong at this ■ point. 1 have known a bull of weak- heart-girth that never left a jloug-season • milker. The barrel is the* next character to-which importance mifst be attached. Unless a cow has the "boiler" capacity she cannot be expected to manufacture a large quantity of milk.. In general conformation the animal should be as wedgeshaped as possible, as distinct from the

blocky type of beef-producing cow. She, should'" be wedge-shaped in that she should be fine at the fore-end and ibroad at the business end. The shoulder should be sharp, whereas ,with the good beef-animal the hand may be placed between the points of the prominent shoulder-blades. The loin should be wide across, and there should be a good length between the croup and the buttock. The thighs should be fairly fine, and be sufficiently wide apart to allow room for the bag. The "milk" veins are of more importance really than the; udder in determining milking capacity. As a matter of fact, the actual size of the udder has little to do with milking power. The veins should be prominent, and extend as far forward as possible to the milk-portal, or milk-well, which should be large enough to admit the full tip of the middle finger. The, veins should • run well into the udder. A prominence of veins on the udder itself is, an excellent sign. I have noticed that-the majority of exceptional milking cows have veins on . the udder to a marked extent. The udder should be of a fine texture, falling away to,loose folds when empty; the other extreme being an udder as big. after milking as before. I have seen some, <of the poorest cows with the biggest bags = in the herd. There are other more or less fancy points in 4>he judging of • a cow which need not be discussed here, such as length of tail, certain indentions in the Spine,, etc. It is said that cows will milk in all shapes, and ■ that therefore it is a mistake to attach too-much importance to milking points. There is, however, one exception to this: a good and consistent milker will never be found to be an animal of s weak constitution. ,

In; judging a cow it. is a mistake to attach too r much importance to minor points. : Given; the right expression and character in the face, a good wedge shape,- the desired heart-girth (and other points indicative of constitution, particularly in the head), a big barrel, and the right texture and vein-develop-ment, other points may be more or less disregarded. After all the only definite guide to milking capacity is the year's production of milk and butter-fat. In many cases excellent cows, according to conformation, have failed at the bucket.

But the method, of early management, especially in the heifer stage, should be known before condemning accepted rules for the judging of dairy form. Many a very promising dairy cow has been ruined as a heifer by being brought in in the spring and prematurely dried off because of the absence of the necessary succulent feed m the summer.

It is a mistake to discard a bull until his stoek have been tested. Several dairy farmers I know have sold for slaughter bulls which-have sired the best stock they ever, possessed. I, myself, purchased a four-year-old out of a draught of eattle being sent to the boiling-down wdrks, and this bull left the best milking stock I ever bred. Especially is this important in the case of pedigree dairy cattle, where the male stock will be; worth keeping for breeding purposes* Of course, it will be necessary to have another :bull to serve the heifers, but if the; old bull has, proved himself a good dairy sire—and really good dairy, sires are very hard to get—it will pay to : keep him, if only to serve a dozen cows. In the of the Shorthorn cow it is imperative that the' heifer should be done well with her first calf. To bring the heifer in early is essential if the animal energy is to be diverted to milk production.to its utmost extent; but this implies every care being taken, especially in the matter of feeding, to have the heifer in as strong a condition as possible when the first.strain of calfbearing is plac ed upon her., Especially, too, should she b6 fed. well during her first lactation period,, for the length of this season invariably determines the length p£ suceefediiig ones. With the, brihgin'g-in "of the heifer at an early age it is always advisable to delay the breeding of the Sec6nd 'calf, this in order to give" her a chance to get in the best condition before another milking season, while it also r serves the purpose of encouraging a lengthy 'first season's milking. The Shbrtliorii is a fine dairy beast, but it is a'beast that must be well treated if it is to give the best returns.—W. Dibble, in "Journal of Agriculture.''