The news=record. [volume] (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon) 1907-1910, 1909-05-22
Home Course In
Modern Agriculture
XIV Breeding Live Stock
By c. v. GREGORY,
agricultural DiVfsion Tos0a Stare College
copyrsh 1902 by American PressA
: Breeding Live Stock
By C. v. GREGORY.
Copyright 1909. by American Press Association
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little account, however, unlces the
bull has the proper form. The s
and hind quarters Of beer ~ .. !
are the parts that produce the
priced meat. Great width all
the back, especially over the
good spring of rib, plenty of dep
and short legs are points that slAU
be looked for. Long legged bulls u
usually narrow and rangy The
are Of little value as meat, so the
shorter they are the better
Quality is shown by fineness of
hair, pliabilty of hide ard not too
much coarseness of shoulder. head
and bone. An animal with good quail
ity will furnish a better grade Of
meat. and there will be less waste in
killing.
Thickness of flesh is one of the
most important points to look for.
BY this is meant not fat. but the nat
ural covering of lean meat Fat can
be put on during the feeding period,
| but lean meat cannot. An animal
that Is thickly muscled at the begin
ming Of the feeding period will fur
| nish carcass that will be well mar
bled with streaks of fat and lean,
while another on the same feed will
put most of his fat on in the form of
tallow.
| These same points are the essential
ones to look for in the selection of
| hOap
wide, deep, blocky form. fine quality
and thick fleshing are just as impor-
tant In these animals as in the bull.
OF course 1t will be impossible to
| find an animal that Is perfect in all
points. If the females in your herd
are badly lacking in any particular
be sure to select male that is espe-
cially strong there. On the other
hand, slight weakness on the part
of the sire in a place where the fe-
males are especially strong may be
overlooked. An animal that has any
very serious faults. however, should
not be considered for moment.
Dairy bulls lack the fieshing and
compactness that characterize beef
animals. Low setnass and extra
width of back are not so essential.
Constitution, as shown by deep
chest. wide on the bottom and a
roomy barrel. is important. A clean
head, smooth shoulder, fine limbs and
pliable skin show the quality that is
so necessary in a dairy animal. The
most important point is prepotency.
A strong chest, masculine head and
large rudimcntary teats are all indi-
cations of this. The best way to fore
cast dairy bulls prepotency, how
ever, is to look up the milk and butter
producing records of his dam and
granddams. A bull out of high pro-
duclng COW will almost certainly be.
get heifers that will be high yielders.
The most important points to look
for in draft horses, which are the
most profitable kind to raise on the
farm, are power and endurance. Pow
er Is indicated by size, compactness
and heavy muscling, especially in the
hind quarters. Endurance is shown
by strong constitution and fine quail
/ ity, especially of limbs.
Strict observance of these points in
the selection of sire of any kind will
give you an animal that will in few
years bring about great improve
ment In your herd. Pedigree should
not be neglected entirely in picking
out sire. Its chief value is in show
ing that the animal is pure bred and
that his ancestors were of the type
which you wish to develop in your
herd. To determine the latter point,
however, requires longer study Of
herd books than most farmers have
tine for. If you put the chief stress
upon the individuality of the animal
and file the pedigree away in a drawer
where IL can be referred to when nee
essary you will not go far wrong.
When you have found an animal Of
the desired type do not hesitate too