Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1915-09-14
Stick to Essentials.

This business of breeding dairy cattle
is an important one in many ways. IL
is therefore very important that the
men who engage in it should have sound
and correct ideas concerning 1t. What
are the essentials? First, dairy quality
BY that we mean a we'll defined heredity
through ancestry for the giving of milk.
Milk is the fundamental question in a
dairy COW Of the milking breeds. 1t is
an internal and not an external PROPOSE
ton. 1t is not indicated by color OF the
hair, or nose, or tongue, or tail. 1t is
something deeper than these meretri-
cious surface characteristics. Yet for
all that We see men every day paying
| more attention to such shallow consider
ations than they do to quality, constitu-
| ton, and sounduess of health.
These latter are the fundamentals, the
true essentials, and we are to be guided
towards them not by mere faddistic no.
tions but by process of knowledge and
reasoning based upon live experience.
The solid color craze, with black
tongue and switch that prevailed so long
with Jersey breeders and seriously hand
icapped the dairy development OF the
breed for so many years, is conspicuous
example of what faddism will do. NO
sensible man believes that such notions
were in the least essential to the growth
and development of a superior Jersey
COW or bull.
On the contrary, they obstructed such
growth and development because they
had nothing to do with the problem in
any manner whatever. No Jersey COW
was any the better as milk and butter
producer because she was Of solid color
and had black tongue and switch. Yet
this tendency to wander of into more
faddistic notions has prevailed to Ger.
tain extent among breeders OF all
breeds.
The dark nose with Guernseys is
counted to be blemish and at once de-
tracts from the essential merit and value
of the animal in the estimation of buy
srs of pure bred Guernsey cattle. There
is no sound reason for this notion. 1t is
a mere fad, and silly one at that. On
the Island of Guernsey no regard is paid
to il whatever for the reason that those
people are sensible enough not to throw
non.essential distractions in the way OF
the true development of their cattle.
And now this faddistic disease has
broken out among Holstein breeders and
their cattle are bought and sold and
calves sent up or down in proportion to
the amount of white the animal pos
sesses. A dark Holstein loses value, a
white Holsteiu gains in value, regardless
of their quality from the dairy stand
point.
The AYRSHIRE breeders of Scotland ran
away with themselves on the stupid fad
of breeding their cattle with short teats,
and so set most worthy breed back for
years most seriously in public estima-
ton. Everywhere that these faddistic
ideas prevail in the breeding of dairy
cattle it hurts and hinders the prosperity
of such enterprise. They would not ex-
ist for a moment in the minds of sensible
men IL they were governed in their
breeding operations by true ideas of
what is essential in the production Of
good dairy COW. They exist only be-
cause of silly and stupid ideas of what is
fashionable.
Purchasers allow themselves to be
governed in their selection by q lot OF
mistaken notions of what Is really es.
sential to the purpose for which they
are investing their money. The mis-.
chief comes from not having clear and
intelligent ideas of what is essential in
the breeding of dairy cattle. Breeding
associations can do great deal in the
standards they set up in opposing these
harmful tendencies in the development
of their cattle. .-Hoards Dairyman.