FARMING.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 2749, 16 July 1883, Page 3

FARMING.

THE BREEDING AND BEARING OF CATTLE. (By T. Quickly m the Field.) Mr G. (Toodorham, of Monewden, Suffolk, read a paper lately at the Framlingham Farmers Club, on the breeding, rearing, and fattening of cattle, speaking particularly of the red-polled Suffolk breed and its cross with tho Shorthorn, or, as Mr Gooderhom urged, with some other pure breed. " Uso what bull you like," he observed, " but be sure and use a pure-bred of some sort, either a Shorthorn, Red-polled, Devon, Hereford, or Scot. Do not breed from a mongrel." In this respect Mr Goderham's practice agrees with that of the famous feeders m Sussex, whose system of producing young beef I had the pleasure of describing m the columns of the Field some time since. They, too, prefer puro bulls, which they use upon the best countrybred cows thoy can find ; and m tho case of several well managed lots of calves, the offspring of large Shorthorn dairy cows without pedigree, by a pure-bred Shorthorn bull of good blood, costing not more than £30, the weights at twenty months old were equal to those of the heaviest young bullocks of the same age at the SmitliGeld Show. If young bullocks are well-bred — pure-tired on tho sido of the sire — and out of good lar»e cows, they will reach the heaviest weights even of our showyard reports, if properly "trained." I was pleased to nolico that the practice of Suffolk agrees so closely with that of Sussex. But the former is still to some extent a dairy district. It boasts, at any rate, of a native breed of dairy cattle, and the lecturer accordingly recommended the use of a pure-bred Suffolk bull, "if you want good milkers," because the milk-diving tendency of tho red-polled Suffolks has been long fostered. It seems to me that the opinion or a gentleman, who is himself a successful breeder of the red polls, and who spoko from hig own experience, would bo useful outside of Suffolk. Thera are farmers who would smile at tho idea of the bull influencing tho milking qualities of its offspring ; but there is no doubt whatever that m some herds whero the meat making tendency has been " fontored " for several generations, the milking qualities havo snfferod, and tho bulls of lhat particular strain of cattle, having acquired hereditary tendencies adverse to tho yield of milk, they transmit their inaptitude — so to name it— to their descendants. This is Mr Gooderhiun's experience, and accordingly ho advised his neighbors as followB: — " If you want your calves for grazing, you cannot do better than use a purebred Shorthorn bull ; if you want good milkers, you mnat breed by a pure-bred Suffolk bull for a good milking strain." In order to securo good milchers, he suggests another precisely similar to that of a breeder and feeder of note, whose herd on tho banks of the Arun is noted m its district. In each case the system, no doubt, suits the circumstances of tho particular farms on which it is pursued; and, as milk has become more important than ever as an article of farm produce, and the system m question is designed to increase its flow m mixed farming, I propose briefly to explain it. [The lecturer doscribed his system, butnot his farm, leaving tho adoption of his plan to whomsoever it may suit.] Like many other farms at the present time, within a hundred miles of London or other great towns, milk is produced on his farm as well as moat. In the case of tho occupation on the Arun, there are tolerable pastures on the riverside, and a chalk hill abovo, which is very grateful for the large quantity of manure that the feeding of young cattle produces. The heifers are fattened as well as tho steers, but before being thus condemned to tho stalls and shambles, their owner, as a dairy farmer on tho rivor«ido, though he may be a sheepfarmer and a turnip-grower on his chalk lands higher up, carefully ascertains their milking properties. "I would express my belief," says tho excellent and practical authority already quoted, " that no heifer ought to grazed until sho has had one calf." That is just what my friend on the Arun says, and for the same reason — because the calf tests tho milking qualities of the young mother. If she proves a good milchor, she is drafted into the dairy ; if not, she runs on the pastures — speaking of the Arun side — with her calf by her side, and they are both fattened together, the calf going to market sometimes as early as thirtoon or fifteen months old. I could give here some carefully compiled figures and statistics relating to the Arun Farm, and obtained on the spot ; but I compile and write m tho hope that farmers will read, and they will do ao more readily perhaps if I quote Mr Gooderham. Ho says that a barren heifer, fat, at two and a. half years old, will do well to weigh fifty stone and make L 25, and he adds, quoting his own concise language: — "A barren heifer, fat, at two and a half years old, will do well to weigh fifty atone, and make L 25 ; but, supposing she havo a calf at two years old, and you do not think she will make a milcher, graze her and her calf, and at three years old sho and her calf will make L4O -viz., the heifer will weigh from forty-four to forty-six stone, and will make from L2O to L 23 ; her calf, will weigh from thirty-six to forty stone, and will make from LlB to L2O. This also shows that a heifer with her calf will pay about 10a por week for her last year's keep, being quite as much as a milch cow. A two-year-old heifer or steer that has been running without cake or corn will m general bo worth from LI 2 to Ll4. Now, put the heifer aud calf at three years old at L4O, and that will leave a good 103 per week for hor last year's keep." Mr Gooderhani speaks so tersely and to the point on another part of his subject, that I cannot refrain from one more quotation. He says : — "It is folly to keep any but the best milchers, as these small-bag, small-teated, three-quarter heifers will pay to fat, while those with big udders, teats long arid square, set well apart, give every prospect of being good milchers. Keep them and breed her by a pure-bred Suffolk bull from the best milking strain you can find, and ten to one she will breed you some raro milchers. Do not let your heifers run until they are twoanda half or three-years old before they produce a calf ; for by so doing they get a propensity to fat, and very rarely turn out good milchers. I know they got bigger and better-looking cowa ; but that is not what is wanted. In these depressed times especially we want animals for profit ; and, therefore, breed your heifers young. I prefer my heifers to calve when they are from twenty-two to twenty-four mouths old, as these generally make the best milohers, and pay something like Is per day for the last year's keep. This would be entirely lost by the heifer being allowed to run until she is three yearaold." . . Mr Gooderham's advice m rearing calves up to the period of their becoming beeflings applies to all parts of the

country, especially to the cold eastern counties, and it reminds me that the fiirm build inga, which are absolutely necessary for carrying out this system, need not be costly. Tlio warm, comfortable sheds of some of the Sussex gentlemon to whom I have referred are homemade erections, and cost but a trifle. Even good feeding will fail m this beef manufacture without nice dry sheds for sheltor ; and a straw roof, bo it remembered, is a snug one, however primitive it may be compared with a slated covering, and stuffed hurdles make warmer walls than brick, or even marblo ; and when these elements of homely architecure are turned to account m leisure hours by your own otherwise idle men, the coat of the accommodation per head is but small. Thecalf should baremoved from itsmotherat birth and reared by hand with a gradual diminution of tlio mothor'a milk and increase of other nutritious food. It should get, later on, beat linseed cake, hay and clover, cut with a little sweet straw or pea haulm, mixed with pulped roots. It may be summered on the mixen clover-seeds and pastures, or kept m the sheds on the soiling system, remembering that exercise is desirable for the young heifers ; while the steers, which will certainly be attended at two years old or less, will be brought forward most quickly to the best weights if they never quit their sheds. The methods of feeding are multiform, and I will not lengthen this essay by discussing them m detail. The importance of the art and practice of rearing young stock has been forced on the attention of all occupiers of heavy land farms by the difficulties of their position. I visited a very large farmer lately, who renewed his lease last Michaelmas on very favorable terms, his land being heavy — a man of great skill and energy, who can farm such land if. any man can, having been always accustomed to it. Of courso ho was troubled by the long-continued wet weather, and one of Ilia worst worries, he told me, related to his large staff of laborers. " The poor fellows must not starve," he said, and so lie was doing the best he could with them ; but thoir labor could not be profitable during the wet weather. We looked at the pastures and the large head of young cattle which my friend is rearing. Both the pastures and the practice of rearing are comparatively new m the neighborhood. They were both occasioned by wet seasons, and the low price of wheat ; and what can my friend do better, as he said, than increase hia pasture and his herd, and reduce the number of his laborers — with beef, too, at 10s per stone of 141 b. In some districts there is a difficulty m obtaining calves ; but if better calves were bred m theso districts by the use of better hulls, if they were of that sort which would eagerly be sought for rearing, though they cost 50s or more at a fortnight old, instead of being only worth 20s or 30s, the practice of fatting them as veal would be abandoned. Veal must sell a groat deal dearer than it does at present to induce a farmer to continue giving a 50s calf milk worth what it now is, when at eight weeks old the animal will only sell for about £4 10s. He may not be a keen calculator, but the price of the young calf would tempt him to dispose of it if he be not himself a rearer and feeder, though 20a for a mean calf may not induce him to break his rule of making veal. An immense advantage would result from raising the standard of the breed of cattle m certain districts, and one of the results would bo the check to a wasteful practice — tho giving of milk to an indifferent calf for tho sake of dragging up its value, without any calculation of the cost of the process. I may add, on this subject, that £2 extra cost for a good calf results m £5 additional valuo for the bullock when fat, without any greater consumption of food. A question hero naturally arises, how to obtain a good pedigree bull for use on mixed farms which could not easily maintain such an animal, tho number of the cows being small. I believe this difficulty could readily bo removed by co-opera-tion, — several farmers clubbing together ; and I have known cases where land proprietors have aided their tenantry by tho purchase of bulls for lending among them without charge. There can be no doubt that tho system of management adopted, a3 we have seen, both m Suffolk and Sussex, involves the right principle m regard to breeding and rearing. But it requires good calves, and plenty of them.