Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-06-06
Breeding Cows for Butter.

Every breeder has, or should have,
some definite object in view in breeding,
and not be content merely with coupling
animals of the same breed, and trusting
to good fortune rather than to his own
Judgment for results. As my taste has
led me in the line of breeding jersey
cattle, [ have tried to illustrate what
Judgment [ possess in developing to the
fullest profitable capacity the quality
that characterizes this breed. The &C
knowledged merit Of the jersey is her
remarkable faculty in condensing in the
same quantity of milk more butter than
any other race Of cattle is capable Of
One of my objects has been to intensity
this capacity rather than to develop an
excessive increase in the flow OF milk.
[ hold that it is required of a jersey
that she make a pound of butter from
eight quarts of milk, to claim rec@gni-
ton as good butter COW; but, at the
same time, it has been far from my am
bition to breed for a yield of twenty
quarts and upward, since my obserxa-
ton and experience have shown that the
increase beyond q limit of sixteen quarts
has rarely produced a corresponding in
crease in yield of butter, and butter ,1'is
the subject Of my story
A Jersey yielding daily q quarts Of
milk, which make Il pounds of butta in
a week, is a good cow, especially a good
mich cow, but the butter product does
not indicate such superior merit for ahe
butter dairy as would seem at the FIRST
impression. There is too much water in
the milk to be handled to obtain the re-
suits which could be reached by a shorter
process. Ir my experiments in feeding
in winter, [ have increased the flow of
milk, in short time, fully one-third by
the use of what is known in our neigh
borhood as brewers grains" but SO ef-
fectually at the expense Of quality as to
dissipate almost all vestiges of cream
This notion may be further illustrated
by the well-knoWn fact that for milk
dairy winter regimen must be adopted
different to that of a butter dairy. Be
sides, it is generally found that those ex-
cessively heavy mixers rarely carry an
abundant flow for any length of time,
and most breeders will admit that their
best cows for yearly results are not their
heaviest mixers. Mr.. Sutiff informed
me that his celebrated cow Daisy, with
her record Of 572 pounds Of butter III the
year gave but Is to II quarts of milk
daily, at her best; but her weil-sustained
yield of butter during the year was un-
precedented. My ideal of good Jersey
butter COW demands daily yield, when
fresh, of Is quarts of milk that make 2
pounds Of butter, with the ability to con-
tinue a coed yield months in succession.
To attain this ideal have my efforts been
directed, and, as evidence that | have not
wholly failed, let me cite a case or two III
point.
My neighbor's Jersey COW Topsey, that
he bought of me as yearling, and for
which predicted "career," yielded Is to
10 quarts daily when fresh, and makes
Il pounds of butter per week. | have
recently tested two of nay Jerseys, and
give the result: Kate Nickleby, six
weeks after calying, and four years old,
gave a daily average of 49, quarts of
milk, and made 49, pounds of butter in
the week. Ida, six years old, and A.
months after calying, gave daily
average of To- quarts, and made 10
will give, think, on grass, in full flush
of milk, 10 to Is quarts, and [ could
possibly force yield of II to Is quarts,
as their mirrors indicate it and their
udders show the capacity, but [ doubt
that | could get a corresponding increase
in butter The daily ration for each
cow has been one quart of oatmeal and
two quarts of bran, on one bushel Of cut
corn stalks night and morning; II quarts
of turnips sitter milking, in the morn
ing, and .about five pounds of hay at
noon. Discovering that they were grow
ing little thin. / gradually increased