Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1911-03-17

Dairying, State Agricultural Col
lege Of Washington
Many dairymen have given no other
thought to the sire than that he was
necessity in bringing the cows to
their milk. Any kind of sire would
answer this purpose, and when it
came to considering the offspring, the
sire was never taken into considera-
ton. A heifer was saved from the
herd because her dam was a good
producer, and when perhaps no one
knew or even cared from what sire
she came. The poor dairy sire, then,
lis directly responsible for our hav-
ing so many Improbable COWS at the
present time.
THE sire is half the herd" is a
saying, the truth of which is vouched
for by all progressive dairymen, and
in the using of good, pure-bred
sire on grade cows, as the great ma
Jority OF the dairymen should do, he
is more than half the herd" for his
characteristics are firmly fixed by
continued breeding along the same
lines, while those of grade COWS are
not, and his characteristics appear
much more prominent in the off
spring.
In selecting a dairy sire, the fol-
lowing points should be considered
(D pedigree. (2) purity of breeding,
(S) type, (D prepotency, and 60
health.
Purity of Breeding: Under no con-
sideration should anything but a
pure-bred sire be used. We cannot
discard the grade COW, for there is
but very small per cent Oh .the COWS
that are pure-bred, and they could
not begin to supply the demand for
dairy products, but as one sire is
enough for about forty COWS, and as
he alone will have as much or more
influence on the offspring as will the
entire forty cows, it can readily be
seen that it is quite possible to meet
the demand for sires from the pure
bred herds that we have and also to
see that purity of breeding is of
much more Importance in the sire
than in the dam.
Pedigree: Dairymen, as a rule, save
the heifers from their best cows,
realizing that they will make better
cows than would the heifers from the
poor cows. The same thing is true
of the dairy sire, that is, the better
his ancestry is the better he should
be. First of all, one should consider
the merit of his sire's mother as pro-
ducer also the daughters of his sire,
and grandsire. All of the females, as
far back as they can be traced, should
be considered. The further back
continuous records can be traced the
better for the animal.
Type: By all means, select sire
that is distinctly masculine. This is
noticeable in the head and back of
the animal. He should have a bold,
bright eye, and well arched, mas
culine neck. From the shoulders
backward he should have the same
general outline as the dairy COW. He
should carry no surplus flesh, but
should always be strong, vigorous,
active animal.
Prepotency: Prepotency is the
term that signifies the power which
an animal possesses Of transmitting
its characteristics to it's offspring.
Unless a dairy sire is prepotent, he
is useless, no matter how fine an in.
dividual he may otherwise be. The
purer the breeding the more likely he
is to be preponent, other things be-
ing favorable. The full value of a
dairy sire Is" never known until he
has heifers at the producing age, and
for this reason middle-aged bull is
much better than a young one that
has no descendants. A good individ-
ual should never be destroyed until
he is too old for service.
Health: The health of the dairy
sire must be given careful considera-
ton. Any predisposition to disease
makes him useless, for this would
more than likely be transmitted to
his offspring He must be free from
contagious diseases, as it is possible
for the sire to scatter contagious dis
ease to all animals in the herd in a
very short time, and extreme care
is necessary in handling and caring
for him.
We are facing shortage of dairy
cows in the United States and If a
man expects to have a good herd of
COWS he must raise them rather than
buy them. For this reason the dairy
sire should be selected with the
greatest care, and the points which
have been discussed in preceding
paragraphs should be carefully con-
sidered.