ESCUTCHEON THEORY

Taranaki Daily News, 31 August 1935, Page 24 (Supplement)

ESCUTCHEON THEORY

• RESULT OF TEST OF TIME. r A SOUNDER FOUNDATION. . The escutcheon theory, put forward by Francis Guenon in the early years of the 19th century as a means not only for the selection of high-yielding cows but also df beefing animals, can hardly be said to have stood the test of time. With the advent of milk recording less has been heard of the escutcheon, though therq are still certain breeders who believe in it. Within recent years several scientific inquiries have been made, and with one exception none of these show any con-elation between the shape of the escutcheon and either the yield or th» quality of the milk. Man is always striving for a short cut by which he may reach his objective. If high milk production could be shown to be associated with certain external characters then the task of the dairy breeder would be made lighter. Considerable investigation of this ques-tion-has been made, particularly in the United States. But until definite information has been obtained it would be unwise for any breeder to trust to external characters as a means of determining yield. When intelligently interpreted the yields of the immediate ancestors of an animal provide a far sounder foundation for improvement In actual fact the labour and expense involved in herd-testing is more than compensated by the increased yield which the intelligent breeder nay thereby obtain.