The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1904-09-08

than any other COW, and yet the writer
is inclined to think that it is still neceS-
sary to say a 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 ina mas
been said in her favor, is nothing but
a phantom, a delusion and q snare.
Theoretically, it is very we'll TO say
that we want a COW hat will give a
nice flow of milk and at the same time
drop a calf, which, If it happens TO De
a steer, will turn out to be a feeder as
good as though it had been dropped by
a good beef COW.
There are thousands of small farm
ers throughout the middle west today
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 nave been impressed in
some way or another with the fact that
the real dairy COW is an animal alto
gethere too delicate to be bred and fed
by them. Many have a notion that these
dairy cows are 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 a mistake. Dairy animals are
not weaklingS; they are not more sub
jeCt to disease than are any other
breeds of cattle. Good cattle Of ny
kind need good care; you cannot eX-
pect to raise Il first class animal with
! scrub care. There are plenty of strong,
vigorous animals among any OF the
dairy breeds.
The trouble with most farmers is
hat they like the o of q nice fat
COW better than they do II of a strong
dairy type, which is not 4 model Of
beauty and symmetry as 10 form. es-
pecially rot if viewed through a beef
r~aiser's glasses. IF, however, she is
viewed through glasses of a good dairy
| man, Who admires her, not on account
Of her symmetrical outline, but rather
because of the number of dollars she
will bring in, the question becomes
| quite a different n
To the young MAJ who is beginning
to found a dairy herd. we would say
Don't breed YOU COWS to a beef ami
NAL. No. don't do it. Don't imagine
nat you can get q dual urpOSe bull
among the beef breeds. 1t is true that
there are occasionally individuals in
these breeds hat are fair mixers,
sometimes good mixers, and occasion
ally excellent mixers. But after all,
they are few in number and the very
worst of it all is that even though you
40 get IL Dull llOIll d SoOu lillih Sllhli
that bull. ten to one, will get calves
totally unsuited for the dairy. Why
should anyone expect anything else;
Have these COWS and bulls not beer
bred for beef for generation after gen
Grafton? Are they not valued because
Of their square blocky, beefy type? Is
it not the ambition of every breeder
Of beef cattle to produce animals o.
perfect and faultless form from the
butchers standpoint? Certainly it is
II no one would attempt to dispute
it.
The requirement Of a beef animal /:
that it must Jay on flesh at the leas'
possible cost n put it on In such
places where the highest priced cuts o
meats are formed. The beef anima
must make beef and fat out of it's foot
and to the credit of the breeders OF bee
cattle let it be said that they have sue
ceeded in a remarkable manner in TIM
respect. Beef and milk, however, arr
two different things and can be pro
duced most economically by animal
specially adapted for either II or tn
other.
Whoever advocated breeding draf
horses to roadsters with the expecta
ton of getting something that woult
be more serviceable than either Of tn
parents? II you were to ask even tn
best friends OF dual purpose COWS t
DluulSly describe 10 you eHaClly "ild
to look for when buying such an am
NAL, 1t Is safe to say that they coul
not do SO, for they do not Inow them
selves. There Is, perhaps, no stronge
friend Of dual purpose cattle tina Pro
lessor Thomas Shaw of Minnesota an
even he has come to the conclusion !
a recent editorial in the ST. Paul Far
mer that there is no standard for gen
eral purpose or luz purpose cattle.
says: AS it now stands, every breed
er has his own standard and the far
mer is at sea" Professor Shaw say
further: 1T is certainly high tim
that all general purpose breeders let L
know where they are at. They shoul
at least ga their calves by hand; mil
their cows and give us some milk rec
urds that they may know what the
can do, or stop palming OF their stoc
as general purpose"
Coming from a man like Professt
. Shaw, who for years has advocated II
Qua purpose COW, these facts mea
much more than had it emanated fro,
! one who never favored such cattle ar
l dairy farmers could hardly find a be
4 ter excuse for abandoning their futi
:. chase after dual purpose cattle. The,
T Is no question in our mind that II ia,
. mers would substitute good dairy sire
}, for those they are using at preser
t they would soon raise the average pr
9 duction per cow from $50 to $50 poun'
Q of butter per rear and increase the II
profits per COW at least $40 per ye
t above her present earning capacit
. suppose the steers raised from COY
. bred to dairy bulls are worth a gre
b deal less than those from COWS bred
g beef bulls, which they are, what ste
8 will bring a profit Of $50 over a
9 above the feed it will lake to get h!
n ready for the market in two and on
3, half years? And yet this Is what
q would have to do in order to make t
70 beef combination as profitable as t
y dairy type, even though the dairy ste
were given away, provided we are &C
rect in saying that dairy sires wo,
l. raise the average butter yield from
s. to $50 pounds, and we certainly I
e lieve this to be a conservative estima
The great trouble with the farmers
J. that they do not know what their co
~ yield; If they would only keep a rect
40 Of the yields Of their cows for a f
years they would soon learn tina da
a blood counts.-Twentieth Century f;
Nv mer.