The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-08-03
The Milking Qualities Of ShOrt.HOrns,


The Milking Qualities Of ShOrt.HOrns
Without any desire or intention to
ldisparage by what we shall say the
claims of any other breed of cattle to
pre-eminence in the dairy, we wish to
say that those. who fancy the short
horns without merit IN this particular
are the victims of a great delusion.
Originally the short-horns were main
tanned, in part, for their. dairy, qualities,
and it was as possessing these Qualities
in high degree that they first came in
to great prominence. The herd of
Thomas Understanding of which
sell for such fabulous prices, that it
would almost seem as if they belonged
10 some other order of animals-were
brought together and kept for years as
dairy cattle; and among the. earliest
things we know of them is the match
less quality of the butter that was made
upon the farm. .. -...I .
BY some singular means, many breed
ers in later days have come to place
low estimate upon the milking qualities
of their cattle. Calves, of course, they
must have, to prevent the business from
breaB ing down altogether; but as soon
as possible the youngster was removed,
and the dam encouraged TO put on flesh
by every art and appliance that could
be brought to bear. The result of such
treatment, continued through genera
tions, has been to dwarf the develop
ment of many animals in this .-particu
lar, and to reduce the average of milk
ing capacity to a minimum. We have
had too many cattle in the hands of
parties who, when stripped of all dis
guises, must fairly be set down as
traders, and not breeders. The dollar
in sight, and how to get their hands
upon it in the shortest time, and with
the least trouble, has occupied their
thoughts to the exclusion of all regard
for the proper and evenly balanced de-
velopment of their cattle. To get the
calf, and feed up the dam for show as
quickly as possible, has been their rule.
And, besides this, there has been an al
most universal carelessness in the Sc
lection of crosses to perpetuate and de-
velOp the milking capacity of the ami
mails. If the bull were Kirklevington
or a Rose of Sharon. q Duke, an Ok
ford, Booth, or some other strain
whose pedigree happened. for the time
to be fancied, no question was asked
as to whether his sire and dam were of
milking or nOn-milking family. And
thus the great body of short-horn own
ers drifted away, gradually but surely,
from the true standard of excellence.
But the condition of the short-horn
COW that makes her poor mixer is a
purely artificial one, opposed to all her
natural inclinations and tendencies, and
so she responds promptly to the efforts
of the breeder who makes the effort to
bring her back to her old natural habit.
And the time is near at hand when the
breeders of Short-horns will be COM
PEELED to pay more attention to /" milk
ing qualities when it will be said of
an animal that her dam made so many
pounds of butter in a given time; the
dam of the sire gave so many thousands
pounds of milk within the season,
and the grandsire was the sire of
the first-prize mich COW at such
and such fairs-the first among
an hundred entries. There will
be more music IN this, and more dollars
in it, than in the senseless twaddle
about the pedigree with which every
lip is loaded now. Farmers have no
use for cows that simply raise a calf.
They require a cow thats will raise a
big, stout calf, and more than pay for
their keep besides at the pail. This is
the kind of COW the breeder of short
horns must provide, and when it comes
TO be generally known that short-hOrn
cows will do this, the demand for them
among plain, practical farmers will sur
prise the mostsanguine.-Na National Lire
Stock journal.