Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-08-05
AGRICULTURAL.
MATTER PREPARED SPECIALLY FOB
THE RECORD UNION"
ing for Valuable Business-Ss ed
Ling Pits for Planting.

MIX gwen by COWS OF dinereDt klDds OF
stock. Until within the last half century
the old American stock, or the common scrub
stock of the country, was used almost exclu-
sivelY as mich cows on the farms and in the
diaries everywhere in the u nited States, and
when the question of the relative value of
milk was raised, it only related to the milk
given by different individuals of the same
stock. The common stock Of America was
made up from the importations of stock by
the original settlers of this country. Some
coming from Germany and Holland brought
with them the stock of those countries, as the
Holstein and Holderness. Some coming from
Spain brought with them the breeds Of cattle
most common in Spain. The English and
Scotch settlers brought with them the origin
ais of the stock from which they have since
bred their fine Durhams. Ayrshires. Here
fords, etc. The French also brought
ever samples of their cattle. and
from all these intermixed originated
the common stock of America, changed and
nodded by circumstances of climate, feed and
care. Hence when a cow of the common
quantity of milk, or another one gave snusu-
ally rich milk, the fact had no significance as
pointing to the good qualities of any partic-
ulsr breed. The owner of this particular COW
could not claim for his COW the Ayrshire or
the Durham or the Scotch or the Holstein
blood. He could only claim that he had a
good cow, and he could make no use of his
fortunate possession, except by endeavoring
to increase the number of his mich COWS
from this particular animal and her progeny.
This practice is called selection, and it has
ever been one of the most practical and eff
Gent methods of improvement Of the dairy
and milking stock of the country. However
much any person might improve his milking
cows in this way, they were still only COM
mon scrubs, because they had no pedigree or
distinctive name. No general or national
advantage could be secured by such Indefinite
efforts or accidental good luck The i'm
provements made in stock in England and
Holland, however, were given a more definite
character, and carried with them greater
Significance, from the fact that
the English and the HoIlanders
directed their efforts in more systematic
way, and at an early day begin to keep
observe and record the crosses that produced
the best results. In other words. breeders
began to keep private or individual herd.
books, and to give names to the breeds they
wers prepagatipg. Thus we early hear and
read of the Durhams, or shorthorns, Devon.
shires, Herefsrds aud Ayrshires, and more
latterly of the Jerseys, Alderneys and the
Guernseys in Great Britain, and the Hol-
stein IN Holland. From private herd books
came the idea and the practice Of keeping
national herd books for each distinct breed
or race of stock. The registered cattle now
in America all had their origin in and wers
imported from Europs-mostly from England
and the Channel Islands. Hence all our
comparisons of stock or the produce of stock
or horned cattle have reference to some #
these distinctive imported breeds. The |
breeds claiming most attention for merit
at this time are the Durhams, or short-horns,
Hsrefords, Ayrshires, Jerseys, Alderaeys and
Guernseys and Holstein. Toe short-horns
and Heres1rds are in active competition as
producers of beef, and no other breeds enter
very seriously into this competition. But
the short-horns also claim to be among the
best breeds for the dairy, and hence we will
include them with the dairy breeds in our
comparisons of milk. We, however, know
of but few diaries in this State composed en-
tirely of thoroughbred COWS of any breed.
The dairy cows in the practical dairy are
mostly ErGu6S or crosses between thorough
breds. By grades we mean crosses between
thoroughbreds and common stock, while
crosses between thoroughbred cattle of differ
ent breeds are more properly termed pure
breeds.
We have compared the milk of the Ayr
shire. the shorthorns, and Jerseys, and have
with great uniformity found the quality of
milk from each differing materially. The
test with the lactometer shows q difference of
about ten degrees between the milk of the
Ayrshires and shorthorEs, and about ten de-
grees between that from the shorthorns and
the Jerseys. In other words. if the milk of
the Jerseys is taken as the standard in weight,
then the milk Of the shorthorns is shown to
be about ten per cent lighter, and the milk
of the Ayrshires about ten per cent. lighter
than that of the shorthorns. To express it
in different form the milk of the short
horns in its natural composition contains ten
per cent. moro water than that of the Jew.
seys, and the milk of the Ayrshires ten per
cent. more water than that of the shorthorns
30 that the milk Of the Ay shires in its natu-
raj composition, or as it comes from the COW,
contains 20 per cent more water than that
of the Jerseys. The shoBings of The
laotometer are confirmed in the prac-
teal use OF the milk from these
three breeds in the manufacture of butter.
The came quantity of milk by measure
drawn from the average shorthorn COW will
produce about 10 psr cent. more butter than
that drawn from the average Ayrshire COW.
and SO the same quantity by measure drawn
from the average Jersey COW will produce
about 10 per cent. more butter than that
drawn from the average shorthorn COW. This
gives the jersey COW 20 per cent advantage
over the Ayrshire in quality Of milk for any
purpose. Simply looking at the milk from
these three breeds of cows one can become
convinced OF the great difference in their
iua Ia &c
milk, one from each of these three breeds of
COWS, and stand them side by side when
freshly drawn from the udder. and the con-
trast is really striking and furnishes food for
an interesting study to the naturalist. The
Jersey milk is of deep orange straw color,
while the shorthorn milk is a faded straw
color and the Ayrshire milk is almost pure
white with slight tinge of the blue whers Il
comes In contact with the edge Of the tin
vessel containing it.
The mechanical construction of the milk
from these three breeds of COWS is as different
as is their comparative weight or their com.
parative color or but.er-producing quslities.
All milk is composed of small grains or
globules Of fatty substance inclosed in small
sacks or cases of cscine. In the Ayrshire
milk these globales are much finer or smaller
than in the shorthorn milk, end these
globules in the jersey milk are coarser or
larger than those in the shorthorn milk.
Inc Ayrshire mix. therefore, contains more
of the composition of cheese and less of but
ter, while the Jersey milk contains more but
ter and less cheese. Butter comes quicker
and separates more readily in churning Jersey
milk than in churning milk of shorthorns or
Ayrshires, because the globnles are larger and
have thinner cases than do the glebules
in either of the other classes of milk
The crosses from each of these three breeds
of cattle with common stock develop chsrsc.
teristics in regard to quality of milk similar
to those of the originals. The Jersey, being
undoubtedly native breed, is o much
stronger breeding animal than either the
shortho-ns or Ayrshires, which are both the
result of crosses and are not native breeds
By experience we have found the Jerseys and
the shorthorns to cross WE'LL and to produces
dsiry COW of greater value in the butter or
milk dairy than the thoroughbred Of either
bread. This cross makes a COW of greater
sizs snd capacity, while the Jersey. being the
stronger breeder gives IN the n-oss mr. r,rndDot