The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1904-09-09
rhe Dual Purpose Cow.

is inclined to think that it is still neces
sary to say good deal more about this
COW in order to impress upon the dairy
/ men as strongly as possible the fact
that this animal, in spite of all that has
been said in her favor, is nothing but
phantom, a delusion ana a snare
! Theoretically, it is very well to say
that we want a COW that will give q
nice flow of milk and at the same time
drop calf. which. if it happens to be
steer, will turn out to be a feeder as
good as though it had been dropped by
good beef COW.
There { e thousands of small farm
crs throughout the middle west toda y
who milk from 10 to 20 cows who are
| convinced, or think they are convinced
that they have these dual purpose cows
and that they are the best cows they
| could raise under their peculiar condi-
tons They have been impressed in
some way or another with the fact that
the real dairy COW is an animal alto
getherc too delicate to be bred and fed
by them. Many have a notion that these
dairy cows arc subject to tuberculosis
or some other disease and thus wholly
unable to withstand the usage which
they are prone to give to their herds
This is Il mistake. Dairy animals are
I
jcct to disease than are any other
breeds of cattle. Good cattle of any
kind need good care; you cannot ex-
Pc. " lai9e ~ iirst CLASS animal with
scrub care. There are plenty of strong,
vigorous ahiihais among any or the
lilly oreeuS.
The trouble with most farmers is
that they like the looks of a nice fat
COW better than they do one of a strong
dairy type, which is not a model of
neauLy ana symmetry as to form. eS-
peciany not il viewed through il beef
I'ilser glasses. III, however, she is
Nt"eu through glasses Oh Il eood dairy
mn II. VINO auinires hef, not on account
OF her sS1nmetrlcal outline, but rather
pcrause OF the NUMBER OF collars she
VII prlnS m me question becomes
qunte Il Inherent one
10 me young man VINO is beginning
10 lound II dalfy hefd. we would say:
Ion oreeu your COWS 70 a Deel am
MAJ. NO. doh I 40 IT, Don't imagine
tiat you can get duai purpose Dull
among the beer breeds. 1T is true that
mere IRE occasionally individuals IN
THESE p'eeuS mat are lalr mixers,
sometimes good mixers, and OCCASION
any eNcelIeht mixers. But after all.
theg are rev IN NUMBER ana the very
worst or 1T al is that even though you
40 get Dull from a good milk strain
thht BULL ten to one, will get calves
totally unsuted for the dairy. Why
should anyone expect anything else?
Have these cows and bulls not been
bred for beef for generation after gen
Grafton? Are they not valued because
of their square, blocky, bcefy type? Is
1t not the ambition of every breeder
of beef cattle to produce animals of
perfect and faultless form from the
butchers standpoint? Certainly it is
and no one would attempt to dispute
it.
The requirement of beef animal is
that it must lay on flesh at the least
possible cost and put it on in such
places where the highest priced cuts of
meats are formed. The beef animal
must make beef and fat out Of it's food
and to the credit of the breeders of beef
cattle let 1t be said that they have sue
ceeded in II remarkable manner in this
respect. Beef and milk. however are
two different things and can be pro-
duced most economically py animals
specially adapted for either one or the
other.
Whoever advocated breeding draft
horses to roadsters with the eSpecta-
ton of getting something that would
he more serviceobla than either Of tho,
parents? If YOU were to ask even the
best friends OF dual Durpose COWS to
infinitely describe TO YOU exactly what
-
nal, il is safe to saw that thew could
not do so, for they do not lnow Them
selves There Is. perhaps. no stronger
friend of dual purpose cattle than Pro-
fessor Thomas Shaw of Minnesota and
even he has come to the conclusion in
IA recent editorial in the ST. Paul Far
mer that there is no standard for gem
eral purpose or dual purpose cattle. He
says: las it now stands, every breed
er has his own standard and the far
mer is at sea-" Professor Shaw saws
further: TT is certainly high time
that all general purpose breeders let us
know where they are at. They should
at least rear their calves by hand: milk
their COWS and give US some milk rec
urds that they may know what they
can do, or stop palming off their stock
as general purpose"
Coming from a man like Professor
Shaw, who for wears has advocated the
dual purpose COW, these facts mean
much more than had it emanated from
one who never favored such cattle and
chase after dual n,1rnosa ca .rtIi T pe.e