East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1912-09-28

use of pure-bred sires and cooper !
alton which may be applied to the |
purchase of an excellent male-not o |
cheap pure bred. Never should the
lew price of an inferior specimen or
ure-bred or OF a grade tempt us |
The great need Is Improvement In the
herd quality, so that each individual
female may be profitable mixer
The immature, poor bull cannot erect
any such improvement. The man
who builds for immediate profit ana
future herd excellence looks for the
good sire. even II the cost Is high. Let
no spider of delusive cheapness weave
its web across any corner OF our
mental vision Of this topic. The In
ferior or low-grade blood can be
overcome quickly by fixed purpose In
breeding by the choice pure-bred sires
of the breed that meets the require
ments of the locality. The half-Dlood
can only give half himself to his OIL
spring, producing only quarter
blood. so that still poorer grades en-
sue. But with the select pure-ored
male and the fairly good grade cow
/ there results half-blood and so per
cent improvement in the first gener-
alton In the second generation there
will be three-quarter bloods and 10
per cent Improvement, while In the
fourth generation there Will be not
merely half-blood, but "a fifteen
sixteenth blood with an improvement
of 93 per cent. or high grades OF
which. for practical purposes, the fe-
males are almost as good as register
ed stock.
"One good reason why the scrub
sire should be rigidly avoided Is be-
cause of the remarkable working out
of the principle of atavism, whereby
the traits and functions. often very
undesirable. that marked some remote
ancestor of the poor sire, Will ire
auently crop out in the bulls Off
spring. In poultry and swine, some
curious characteristics of alien blood
have been dscerned even after ten
and twenty years. There is too much
at stake in the modern high-class
business of dairying to risk the cheap
! grade sire. as there is no knowing
what poorer qualities he will intro
duce that will take time and expense
to eradicate, besides cutting down
immediate profits. To use him is to
. breed down He is first and last far
too expensive a proposition for any
real dairyman.
"The extra value resulting from
the use of the good pure-bred dairy
sire has been figured out so otter
that it should not be necessary tC
dwell on the point. II the sire Is re-
sponsible for only an additional forty
pounds of butter-fat, or 1000 pounQs
of milk per COW, the net increase from
herd of twenty cows will be nearl!
5000 per year. This, if three of foul
herds are concerned, the price of {
first-class sire is far more than re-
paid the first year The scrub bul
will not help the individual in any
community to such an extra income
The aim should be at least 900
pounds of butter per COW annually
Why do so many of our dairymen re-
main content with 200 pounds or only
13O ponds?
zone great advantage to the whole
district arising from community
breeding is the fact that buyers are
attracted No one buyer wants tC
travel scores of miles to hunt out
or pick up just few casual goot
specimens of stock but as the district
gets known for its own breed, there
the buyers will flock, knowing they
can obtain choice animals in gooC
qualities. This fact is we'll known il
r older countries. No importer woulC
dream of going to Herefordshire fol
Ayreshires, neither for Jerseys woulC
he go to Durham or Devon.
Then too, the price obtained b!
the community will necessarily b,
better, as the cattle are of highe
= grade. We may rest assured that "a
community breeding is practiced, tina
] district will get excellent advertising
= Practically any district can make
name for itself: can secure state AM
\ national reputation as a center 70
the best types of cattle, just as quick
ly as this community breeding
taken up in earnest. Cooperation il
this matter should appeal to ever
dairyman. We all need the help o
our fellowmen. 1t is difficult, tedi
I Gus and expensive for an individual {
build up name and reputation as
breeder. The organization of severa
men carries more weight and NOR
power to accomplish an end than tn
efforts of several men working indie
pendently permanent organization
of dairymen in any district with
fixed resolve to eliminate every scru
bull and to support community breed
ing will do untold good.
"Co-operative work will assist 1
arresting and stamping out disease:
Will protect all members in purchas
ing as we'll as In selling stock, an
Will quickly bring prosperity to tn
district. 1t naturally goes hand /
hand with the present excellent COW
testing work, and any creamery ca
easily be made the center for orga
nization
Il THE plan in operation In sever,
sections of the United States is Yer
simple. Farmers may club togethe
In an association and buy three G
more pure-bred dairy sires of tn
same breed and not related. Thes
sires are then placed in differer
sections of the community, each sir
In the care of a competent dair,
man, selected by the members of III
association. Each sire will be avail
able for the herds of a numhar of al