Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1915-06-22
The Contest for Records.

Il
Records of dairy cows are more com
mon these days than pedigrees. Where
ever a group of breeders or dairymen i,
found, statements will be heard giving
the production of various prominent
cows and of those belonging to the sew
eral members of the group. This il
commendstory and an encouraging fac
tor in the development of the dairy COW
The work of this creature is to produce
fat and the only way to measure her eff
cheney is to determine how much milk
and fat she can produce when given the
right kind of treatment. Not all cows
given the right care and feed will return
a profit for feed consumed and money
invested. 1t is a settled fact that both
the cow and the man caring for her must
be capable, or disappointing results fol
low.
In the making of large records, it Is
an open question how much is due to
the COW and how much is contributed
by the man. Our leading cows, both in
short and long distance records, have
exceeded the anticipation of the most
ssnguine believer in cowology. Record
after record is being smashed. New
champions are almost as numerous as
English sparrows, but differ in that they
gain distinction with less noise and COM
motion. A few years ago the 30-lb. COW
that is, production of 30 lbs. of but
ter in seven days-was looked upon
with admiration and astonishment. To-
day we talk carelessly of the 40-lb. COW.
1t was but yesterday that we had a
chance to speak of the 1000-lb. COW, the
butter record for year, but now we are
looking forward to the 1500-lb. COW.
The present development of the spe-
cial dairy breeds represents intelligent
application of breeding principles for
hundreds of years, but the past ten
years hold the distinction of making un-
usually rapid gains in milk and fat pro-
ductiou. The question naturally fol-
lows: Has the gain been due to the nat
ural development of the animals or to a
better understanding, upon the part OF
the feeder, of the requirements necessa-
~ to obtain phenomenal yields, or are
both factors contributory to the gain in
productions? There is no question but
that feeders have better understanding
of animal nutrition and that through Sc
lection animals have improved.
The desire to contest and to excel is
strong. The special feeder has been de-
veloped and in some instances special en-
vironment provided. The contest for
high records is placing the cow under a
most severe test and against which no
objections can be raised, provided the
pratice will bring stronger and more ca
psble cows and indicate true develop
ment. Do you men who are striving for
worlds records believe that the practice
of securing such records will develop
class of cattle for those who keep cows
for dairy purposes only? Will these
practices develop class of cattle that
will have higher producing and better
breeding qualities than the more moder-
ate methods, but at the same time good
methods, os feeding will produce? Are
we sure that our best development
comes through forcing the mother to
exert every effort to produce an excep
tional record, or through her care when
she is nourishing the f9tus, or by care
full methods of feeding the calves from
birth until they are fully developed, or
through proper mating OF animals?
The feeding experiments at the Wis
consin Station indicate strongly that
feed influences the development of ami
mails to very large degree, and what
might seem an Insignificant variation in
some element produces either strong or
weak animals, depending whether the
element is omitted or provided in the ra-
ton. A ration made from the wheat
nlant only for eSample prOduces weak
and crippled progeny and the cows be-
come emscisted, have fits, and often die.
Iu our anxiety for excelling in the rec
ord contest of to-day, let US remember
that unless rightly done it may bring Sc
we're penalties for to-mOrrow.-Hoard's
Dairyman.