Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1901-03-07


more attention to this point among
some of the beef breeds would be high
ly advantageous-ther is indeed a dis
tinct tendency in this direction among
the owners of several of the leading
herds of beef cattle On the other
hand, the dairy form can very easily
be carried to an extreme, and result in
a narroWness of chest that fails to af-
ford room for the healthy play Of the
lungs. This defect too is being stead
lily 'reInedied Thus there is a pelma-
nent check to carrying the cultivation
of good properties to an extreme The
ordinary farmer will be guided by his
own requirements in the variety which
he selects, and also in the type of that
variety, or he may find it preferable to
have a cross bred combining the merits
of several breeds in order to meet his
own special needs.
The requirements of trade cause con-
stant changes that are very rapidly
met by farmers and breeders. One OF
the most important Of these in recent
years has resulted from the increased
demand for new milk AS the result Of
the decline in the value Of wheat,
which has led to a great curtailment
Of the area under that crop, thousands
of farmers were compelled to cast
about for new source of revenue, and
many found it in supplying the large
towns with fresh milk, and in this they
were facilitated by the extension of the
railway system, which permitted the
carriage of milk from long distances
That the demand for milk has vastly
increased in towns admits, we think,
of no reasonable doubt though exact
statistics are difficult to obtain. The
change resulted in many COW sheds
in towns being closed, and the farm
ers who took up this branch Of trade,
in which the home producer up TO the
present has a practical monopoly, nee
essarily changed the character of their
herds by developing the milking prop
critics of the cows. This has been
done, and so the most widely cult
waited variety today is the general or
dual purpose animal Of Shorthorn type,
and no better description could be
found. Still, it would be we'll if some
Improvement were made without de-
parting far from the general type. No
doubt the sale OF milk is the main
consideration. and the COW pays her
way from this source, with the added
value of her carcass. But If bull Of
better class and breeding were used
the herd would gradually be improved.
The cows would bring a better price
| when fed off, and the calves would be
| more valuable. A large number Of
| them would be reared, and in this way
there would be effected a much needed
| improvement in the general store stock
of the country. All this could be Sc
| cured without any deterioration of the
milking properties.
| OF course the same type of cow pro-
| duces much of the butter that is used
| In the country, and il is q mistake 10
| think that because large quantity of
butter is imported for populous cen
| ters there is not also a considerable
amount made at home. An extension
of butter production in this country is
perhaps unlikely unless the factory or
creamery system could be extended,
and this seems to be more adapted to
the treatment of eXportable surpluses
collected from innumerable small hold.
ings than to the circumstances of Eng.
land, where farms are generally OF
greater extent and internal markets
| can be reached close at hand. Still II
would be an advantage if the system
could be extended in suitable districts
The advocates Of the Jersey and Gucrn
sey breeds prove cOnc!usively thai
these give the best results where higt
class butter of home manufacture car
be vcnded at a paying price, and this
private trade could probably he fur
ther developed Even ere the but
ter breeds a"p not wholly adopted many
owners of milking herds find it an ad
| vantage to have a few Of them to en-
rich the milk