The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-07-16
The All Purpase Cow.

Western Rural: Writing from Wiscon-
sin a correspondent says that he wishes
to stock ND with all purpose cows, and
asks us to tell him which breed to Sc
lect from. In reply we would advise
him to select the Hereford, Short-horn,
Holstein, Galloway, Polled Angus, Red
Polled, or i'm fact any other breed that
comes handiest. In other words we
would say that the ideal all purpose
COW is creature of pure fancy and will
never be anything else; and so far as
present breeds are concerned, one fills
the bill about as well as the other. The
COW that gives as much milk as the best
dairy cow now bred and as much beef
as the best Hereford or Short-horn now
bred, will never exist. In creating the
beef breeds their dairy qualities have
been greatly impaired. In creating a
dairy breed from the Hereford or Short
horn their beef producing qualities
woold be impaired. Naturally the Here
ford and Short-horn are excellent milk
ers; and these characteristics could be
revived to their fullest, but mt the cost
of the prominency of their present
characteristics. we should take the
Holstein- Friesian and breed her so as
to bring out more prominently the
quality of beef production, we should
unquestionably injure her as milk
producer. Indeed we have viewed with
regret the tendency in some quarters to
pay particular attention To an increased
beef development in the IIOlstein-
Friesian. Do not attempt so unwise a
thing, gentlemen, is our advice. You
have one of the best cows i'm the world
and IN some important respects the very
| best. Let well enough alone and be sat
istied. The HOlstein-Friesian fills Il
place that no other COW does fill and
none of any other breed now existing
can fill and it is very important place.
| Let her breeders be careful that they
do not do the world, the cow and them
selves the injustice ofimpairing qualities
which have made her 80 famous.
In considering this frequently discuss
ed subject of the ali purpose COW, the
question always forces itself upon the
mind, il such a COW after all desirable?
cow that il could be possible To create
desirable? If we could have a Short
horn giving as much milk as the Hol-
stein gives and still produce as much
beef as the ShOrt-horn now produces, it
would be a different matter. We cannot
have that. Our all purpose COW must
give little more milk, and less beef, or
more beef and less milk Is that kind
of animal really to be wished for? Ii is
doubtful. The dairyman wants milk.
He makes the dairy business. He
studies 1t and surrounds himself with
the "fxings" to do the business. lie
feeds TO produce milk, and the more
milk he gets the better he is off. In
nine cases out of ten if his mind was
conferred part of the time upon the mat
ter of producing beef, the dairy would
be neglected. 1t is the men who con
fine themselves to specialties who sue
ceed best rs rule, and there are good
reasons for it. As Il general thing il
does not pay to have too many irons in
the fire, trurer saying than which was
never uttered. Beef production and
dairying, 1t is true, are SO much i'm line
that some may say that attention can be
given TO both without detrIment to eth
er. But we think that it must he con
Guided that business will pay for
every moment of thought that IL given
to it, and if that il true, then we must
guard against division of thought and
energy.
Nor does the beef producer want
milk. AS rule he would rather not
have it than have it. Three quarters OF
the beef producers, and probably more
would not be bothered with the dairy
and certainly there are circumstances
that are not at all unusual, that would
make the dairy undesirable and un'
profitable. On the other hand there
are circumstances under which the
dairy IL so profitable that every ounce
of feed that went directly or indirectly
i'm the direction of making beefanimal
would represent loss. Well, do sucl
circumstances exist on our farms? Yes
On the average farm the conditions are
such that both the dairy and beef pro
ductiOn are not equally important ant
true business enterprise and economy
wouldd ictate that we bend our ener
gies toward the development of the side
that is most profitable. In other cases
even when both sides might be made
equally profitable-the farmers taste
runs either in one direction or the 9th
er. Hence, the best all purpose COW
that we can possibly produce is not tn,
highly desirable creature, after all, tina
we sometimes nictnra hnr tn lao