Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1895-06-18
STATION EXPERIMENTS WITH GEN
ERAl-pUHpOSE COWS

eRAl-PuReOSe COWS.
That the experiment stations In this
country are doing vast amount of valu-
able work no one can question. Still
among the work carried on there is
some undertaken that shows a lack Of
comprehension of the underlying princi-
Piles governing and controlling the cases
in hand. Such experiments, though
carefully conducted and accurately re-
corded, are not only worthless, but may
be seriously misleading. We are re-
minded OF this by bulletin from the
Missouri station, giving elaborate details
and the recorded results Of experiments
designed 10 throw light on some Of the
problems confronting dsirymen In their
work. One of these Is set down 10 be /:
40 compare the value of the beef
type of Shorthorns-represen the
generaLpurpose breeds-with Jerseys"
Now, the party planning such an eN-
pertinent, should, in the first place, have
known that the genuine beef-type Short
horn never represented the general
purpose breed, and never was advocated
for that place by the friends of general
purpose stock. The generalpurpose
COW, advocated by so many, and for
which there is still wide room among
stock men, is cow that will annually
bring large and thrifty calf that may
be sold Young for veal or grown rapidly
up for beef at an early age, and along
with such calf, give liberal now of good
milk. At the same time, when for any
reason she Is no longer wanted in the
herd. she will readily fstten for beef and
sell for a good price.
IL is thus the milking type OF Short
horns that Is the general-purpose animal,
and never the beef type. This Is the an-
imal sought for and advocated for the
double purpose OF milk and stock, and
should have been the animal TO 90 into
the experiment IL such trial WAS TO be
made.
But, in the second place, no compari-
son Of auy value TO any one oan he made
between general purpose COW aud a
Jersey In a single year. la that brief
time only a comparison of their milk and
butter production can be made. With
the general-purpose COW this Is by no
means all. Along with her milk, she is
valuable for her stock, and what il will
do In any direction circumstances may
require. II at any age the COW fails 10
milk production, she Is turned into val
liable beef; her heifers, for any reason
not proving what Is wanted for milk
giving, feed easily up 10 heavy weights,
while her steer calves are wanted FOR
oxen. 4 simple comparison with Jer-
seys OF her milk and butter production
for single year, or for any length of
time. i therefore. no comparison OF
value. and affords little Information
which can be taken as a guide for the
benefit OF farmers. IL Is the whole round
OF income from such 4 herd that must
20 into a comparison in order To DC OF
value. Such work, of course, a station
is not prepared 10 do. 4 comparison In
full OF the value Of different breeds or
families Of animals Is not their work.
There il a wide-felt want at the present
time in our state for the ideal general
purpose COW. She Is wanted, not for
her milk alone, but 10 propagate her
kind in generation OF heifers to take
the place of those whose ranks have been
OF late so thinned and above all, she Is
wanted 10 ill up the barns and stock
the pastures again with the model steers !
which have so long been the pride, and
are again 70 be the profit, OF 80 many OF
our farmers For her value for this |
work in comparison with other breeds, !
no station experiment can be elaborate |
enough 10 afford guide.-Maine Farm