The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1881-07-28
Agricultural.



Ia The latest hcrd catalogue Of Jerseys
that have received, the owner says
There has never i,ccn an individual iesi
made with my animals while Ia my pos
session, strongly oblec,iug to the forcing
Of any animal with strong food for the
purpose Of making large record which
very few people will believe after having
been made This is natural express.
Ion Of the feeling which is spreading
ing among breeders ~ 10 the doubtful
value and equally doubtful authenticity Of
some Of tbs largest reported yields II as
sumes as facts, however, two or three
statements which admit Of dispute, and
which will serve as convenient texts for
discussion. one is that the forcing of
any animal with strong feed'is always nee
essary 'for the purpose Of making large
record The next is that such forcing is
always injurious. The third is that very
few people will believe the results thus ob
tanned
First, il is probably true that the largest
records have been obtained by forcing. al
though the owners OF some Of the most
noted animals have been very reticent as
TO the course pursued in these tests, In
the case OF Eurotas, for instance, where
the proportion ofmilk TO butter seems al
most incredibly small, and whore full in
formation as TO quantity aud description
Of food and mode Of treatment would be
highly interesting, we have, SO far as |
know, nothing at all OF course she was
fel ali she would eat this We may safely
assume-but how much would she cat, and
upon what meat doth this our (bovinel
Caesar feed2n II is pity these questions
should remain unanswered But admit.
ting that forcing has produced the largest
records, are they, for that reason, without
value? Are they not, rather, Of the
highest value of showing the capabilities
of individuals and families and of the
breed? Is it not true that some of the besf
records-by which Imean those most high
ly valued by breeders as indications of ex.
cellence -haye been made on moderate
feed or on grass alone?
| have had little experience in making
separate tests of single cows, and do not
seei how any breeder can proceed intelli-
gently without them. do not remember
ever testing three COWS in succession with
out upsetting my preconceived estimates
OF one or two OF them. The breeder who
undertakes to do without individual tests,
relying on good general average from his
herd, is almost sure to make mistake as to
which are his best cows, He may have in
his herd, without suspecting it, some ami
mails not worth keeping, and others OF ex-
traordinary merit-the fair average con.
cealing merits and defects alike. More
over it is only by tests of single cows, care
fully conducted and often repeated, under
varying conditions of food, weather and
shelter that we can hope to arrive at any
thing like definite knowledge of the best
manner of treating our herds for the eco
nomical production of butter.
These considerations are sufficient ans.
wer perhaps, to the idea evidently upper
most in the mind OF the writer quoted
above that tests and records are useful
only when they are large and can be used
for purposes Of display and advertisements
But the subject deserves a little more par
ticuar discussion than | can give it here.
| suppose every Jersey breeder who has a
particle of enthusiasm about him has set
an ideal standard before his mind which
he will try to reach. Mine, for instance,
is dairy of fifteen pound cows. How am
/ to get any nearer to it than am unless /
test for my own information? The great
est yaluo of system Of testing is not like.
ly to be found in any published results,
but in the substitution of knowledge for
conjecture on the part of breeders. Other
valuable results viii be the overturning of
all fictitious standards OF value, the devel-
opment of much unsupported merit in
families not now rated as highly MS
they deserve and the fixing of prices in
to actual performance
Twill dispose very briefly of the second
point, that, forcing is always injurious, ,
and reserve the third for another paper
The word forcing" is a great bugbear
with many who would admit that its syno- :
nym-the fullest possible development Of
the excellencies of an animal or breed by
the best possible food and treitlnent-is
the keystone of all success in breeding h
What was it but forcing and forcing to the
full extent of the vital powers-forcing
under which hundreds Of weaker animals :
had succumbed yearly-that enabled lro- a
luois to win the Derby and Maud s. to
rot in 2:l03-4p OF course | will be told ]
hat the failure Of these weaker animals A
shows the Inherent yciousness, of the sys- y
,em. Not So 1t shows mainly the want .
II Judgment of their owners, regard the
development Of the dairy COW and the trot.
ing horse of America as two of the most
interesting achievements OF man, in the
thickness with which artificial qualities
lave been rendered hereditary and fixed
IS distinctly transmissible. In that de-
'elopment forcing has been an important
actor. The training of colts, against
which there was such an cutlery few
ears ago, has greatly helped in fixing the
rotting habit, instinct, or whatever You
nay choose to call it, in the breed. So
he training OF dairy cattle, the fullest ros-
ible development OF their milking capa-
titles for some generations. has produced
asnlfs' ~ hich twnniy or thirty wears ago.