Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-08-19
Value of the Pure-bred.

rior to the scrub in many ways; the most
important of which Is Its greater pro-
ductive capacity. Not all pure-bred ami
mails are superior to the scrub from the
standpoint of production, but the major
ity are. Some of our breeds of dairy
cattle have been selected and bred with
this particular end in view for as much
as thousand years, and all four of the
principal breeds are old enough to be
very prepotent. According to the law
of ancestral heredity, the longer breed
is selected and bred with some particu-
lar aim in view, the stronger the traits
of character become. Can there be any
doubt then as to the productive capacity
of the pure. bred dairy COW?
Perhaps the second greatest factor in
favor of the pure-bred is the certainty
that excellence will occur. The breed
ers' only practical means of controlling
heredity is through the selection of
breeding stock. He Can only make use
of this means of control when he knows
the ancestry of his breeding herd. The
ancestry of the pure bred is open to him
for study from the pedigree.
ENVIRONMENT AND ANCESTRY.
The two great factors that determine
the individuality of particular animal
are the environment and the ancestry.
No thinking dairyman will deny that the
ancestry of an animal has greater in.
fluence upon the value of that animal
for breeding purposes than the environ
meut. In other words, the dairyman
would rather risk getting a good indi-
vidual from registered herd than from
a herd of indiscriminate breeding, even
though both herds were kept for milk
production and both we're given the
same care.
The great productive capacity of the
dairy cow has been made possible largely
through an improved environment. She
cannot produce to the limit OF ability
without the best kind of food supplied
in abundance; neither can she do her
best without proper housing and care.
The pure-bred is little superior to the
scrub il she is not given the proper
treatment. The farmer who expects his
COWS to produce butterfat on a ration OF
straw and corn stover, and at the same
time exposed to all kinds of weather, has
no business with pure-bred animals.
The experience of just such men has in
many sections done more to discourage
the breeding of pedigreed stock than
any one other cause. The man who
makes the most profit from pure-bred
animals and does the breed the greatest
service is the man who gives his herd the
best of attention in every detail. Dairy
sires of merit can only be produced by
giving proper attention to the females,
and what has been said in regard to en-
vironment is of equal Importance with
males and females.
THE SIRE.
The sire is generally more than half
the herd. Most breeders pay more heed
to the selection of herd bull than to the
selection of the right kind of females to
breed to them. More improvement can
be brought about in this country by the
use of the right kind of bulls than by
any other means. 1t costs but little to
breed to the pure-bred, and the results
that come from the use Of the right kind
of dairy bull are remarkable. When
pure bred sires are used on a herd OF
common cows for six generations, we
have ninety eight and seven-sixteenths
per cent of pure blood. The animal
thus produced resembles the pure-br
iu every way so far as appearances 60,
and through the continued use of regis.
tered sires all the good qualities OF the
pure-bred are secured. The only great
disadvantage is that the animal cannot
be registered and consequently is worth
less for breeding purposes than the reg
istered animal. 1t should also be borne
in mind that improvement ceases in the
grade herd when the grades are used for
sires.
From the commercial standpoint, the
breeding of pedigreed dairy cattle has
alwrys paid well when properly carried
on, and there is little reason to think
that it will ever fail to do so. As time
goes on the type of farming in the Unit
ed States gradually changes. The
grain farmers of the semi-arid west find
that grain farming alone is no longer
profitable on the high-priced land.
Many of these men take up dsirying be-
cause it pays them. The demand for
dairy animals, as we'll as the demand for
milk and its products, is greater than
ever before. The newly established
breeders associations are doing great
work in calling the attention of the
farmers to the merits of the pure. bred.
1t Is hardly a question of can / afford q
pure-bred dairy herd, but rather can 1
afford to be without one.
THE DAIRY HERD.
The value of the pure-bred dairy herd
has been briefly discussed. Some farm
ers will hold that it is better business
policy to select the good mixers to re-
tain in the herd from common COWS.
This is an erroneous idea. When we
begin to look about for the paying herds
that have been built up in this way, we
will find that they are hard to find.
This is not saying that there are no
common cows that are high producers,
but that there are few herds OF such
cows. The establishment OF paying
herd of scrub cows Is long and expen-
sive process. It can only be done by
keeping individual yearly records, and
uecessitates selection from large num-
Der Of individuals. After such herd of
females is established there is no GER
tainty that their offspring will inherit
the milk producing trait; consequently
IL the standard is to be kept up, constant
elimination must be carried on.
There is no argument against the pure
bred. 1t is more profitable to own five
good pure-bred cows than twice as many
ordinary cows. Lack of capital has
forced many farmers to buy cheap, COM
mon cows, because with many the
wrong idea prevails that it is numbers
rather than productive capacity that
counts. American farmers are getting
away from this idea, and more people
are coming to know the true value OF
the pure-bred dairy animal.-Frank A.
Hays, Iowa, in Hoard's Dairyman.
Clover Is as much an egg producer az
II is producer of milk. It Is rich In
nitrogen and mineral matter. Having
high nutritive ratio, 1t is equal to barley
aud almost as high as wheat. Its action
is to extend the food ration, reduce the
too concentrated grain food, and prevent
the accumulation of internal fat. The
second crop, or ''rowen" clover, is tn.
hast Clover should be cut when in full