Daily Kennebec journal., 1894-12-08
THE CLOSING SESSION
OF the Dairy Convection al Farmington-The
Meeting Very Successful.

Pennington, Dec. 7.-(Special).-At
the evening and last session of the dairy
convention, last evening. Prof. 6. NJ.
Gowell, who has charge as instructor oi
the State dairy school at Orono, gave the
closing lecture of the meeting. He gave
history Of cattle, so far as history ha:
made any record, from our first knowledge
of them all along the line of improvement
down to the present time. He was listened
to with close attention from first to last.
Only little part of the lecture can be
given at the present time In his remarks
Mr. Gowell said
Since the English-speaking people had
any history at all down to the 18th cen
tury, we find no mention made Of cattle
as distinguished by origin, race or breed.
They are mentioned as domestic animal:
simply, furnishing a portion Of the food
of the people, and articles of traffic, and
there all allusion ends.
OF the domestic animals belonging Il
the genus Bas, we have two primary groups
the Bas Indians, the humpbacked cattle
Of India and Africa, and the Bas Taurus,
the straight backed cattle common ever
a small, hard -heshed, long legged, uncouth
animal with great activity Of foot and
horn, and possessed of "A keen instinct OF
seIf-prcservation. Specimens of these
early animals stil survive ana may be
seen confined in parks in the north of Eng
land They still retain the wild charac-
teristics of their remote ancestors The
prevailing color is white while of few of
tI,. b,tis D., ra croatn Tbny rpot,Jrn at tx
years old, and when dressed, weigh about
$50 pounds.
The certainty with which these wild
creatures reproduce themselves shows that
nature alone can MAINTAIN standard Of
excellence through her laws of natural
selection, but, unaded, she cannot i'm
prove upon this standard.
In support of this law, the cattle of
Texas give the best evidence. They are
the same today as they were $50 years
ago, when brought over from spain to
Mexico.
The influence Of soil, climate and local
ity may, to some extent, have produced
the difference between the different breeds
of cattle, and the physical development or
deterioration is perhaps, primarily due
to the influences of soil, climate and local
y,
working through these means. Recently
they have been improved by domesti-
cation and artificial selection.
1t must always be borne in mind that
the power of prepotcncy, Nyhatever the
mother may be, will mainly depend on the
bulls physical vigor and soundness of
constitution.
Very much of the difference in animals
~, toI ~,
are sufficiently powerful, in the changes of
food and habit which necessarily follow,
to account for nearly all the varieties
which have been produced
We cannot pass from the colder parts
of Europe to the warmer without mark
ing the progressive diversities of color,
from light compilations in the North to
the swarthy tinge in the South.
In the case of quadrupeds, the effect Of
climate on their covering is very marked
In the warmest regions, the domestic
sheep produces scarcely any wool, while in
the coldest it has a dense, warm covering.
Thence we may conclude that animals
from the same breed, placed in every in
habtable country on the globe and left to
themselves, will, in the course of time,
through their offspring, adapt themselves
10 Inc requirements Ol llt sun anu CliHlsttt
to which they are transferred
England, with her mild climate and
fertile soil, has given to the world more
of the improved breeds of animals than all
other countries combined
Bakcwcll, by in and in breeding greatly
improved breed of cattle now called the
Shorthorns. The Ceilings Brothers sue
ceeded Bakeweli and by continuing along
ls,,,- .a,l
this famous breed.
After II herd has been established, close
in and in breeding results in a loss of
constitutional vigor in the offspring.
What we have to do is the elevation of
breeds already established.
The breeder of the present day does not
practice in and in breeding, but procureS
his males from within the limits of the
breed, only assuring himself that they are
far removed in relationship from the ami
mails of his own herd.
Tho principle of breeding the best to the
best has not resulted satisfactorily, but
the best results have been effected by
selecting and breeding together animals
of the highest individual excellence in the
particular quality sought, and whose
family records show their relationship to
an ancestry possessed of the same quail
tics
query whether we dairymcn of Maine
have in past years been acting upon the
right principles in the breeding of our
dairy animals
Twenty-Five years ago, we had only
large. coarse Jersey COWS, with broad
chests, rugged hips and large udders that
were almost phenomenal rs butter pro-
ducerS. Instead of inbreeding those crea-
lures and pcrpetuating the type. we al
lowed ourselves to be influenced by the
popular craze for black points and solid
color.
Intstead of clinging too the best blood
we ever had, we reached outside and
brought in bulls with fashionable names,
and the result was like the changing of
the course of a great river by the inflow
ing water from small rivulet. Bulls
with great names but weak pedigrees
have not tended to improve our stock.
We have many excellent cows in Maine,
today. but doubt, aside from what has
been effected by improved feeding, the pro-
portion OF the good to the poor is greater
than it was a quarter of a century ago,
Closing Exercises-A hearty and unani-
nous vote of thanks by the board of agri-
o,,1,,,r,, ,pI y;Sito-s was uiypp rp th. riti-