Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-10-31
Stick to One Breed.

Permit me to suggest that the advice
to breed cows to pure-bred sires onl!
needs to be supplemented always Will
the further recommendation to breed t.
males of the same breed. The writer
has observed the breeding of COWS In th'
vicinity where he lives for more thar
half century and during all that tim'
pure bred bulls of different breeds have
been used very largely, the use of scrubs
being only exceptional, yet the result il
general lot of scrubs of all sorts anG
descriptions that, taken as whole, ART
in no respect ahead of the native cow
kept in our boyhood days. A few mer
have adhered strictly to single breed
and have built up herds, mostly oi
grades, that are uniform IN appearance
and are profitable and a credit to their
owners, but the general run are as indi'
Gated. The difference in value is mark
ell as well. At auctions these high
grades sell for s75 to ss5, while cows OF
no particular breed sell for $50 to $50.
And what is true in this vicinity is
also the case doubtless throughout the
country generally. In comparatively
few localities is there any concerted ef-
fort towards building up single breed,
but in most sections pure-bred males are
kept to a greater or less extent, yet in
the larger part of dairy sections scrub
cows generally predominate.
Some peculiar ideas seem to prevail
respecting the results of cross breeding.
For instance, there is a theory that a
cross of Holstein and Jersey will pro-
duce COW that will give large mess of
very rich milk. While such COW may
be obtained in some instances, yet the
more probable outcome to be expected
will be COW giving the Jersey quantity
and the Holstein quality.
The hereditary tendency In breeding,
it is understood, is to revert to the origi-
nal type, and the original type in cows
was an animal that produced milk suffi-
cient only to rear the calf to the age of
SIX or eight months and then 60 dry the
rest of the year. By a long course of
wise and careful selection, the various
breeds of cows have been built mp from
such an animal as that, and when an at
tempt is made to break away from any
of these lines of selection the tendency
is reversion to that original COW. II
any one doubts this just let him look
around at the nondescript breed of COWS
that have resulted from this manner of
crossing and he will find abundant con-
firmation of this fact.
If man starts out and breeds first to
a Holstein, for instance, in order to gain
quantity of milk, and then to Jersey
for richness, and then to a Shorthorn
for size and beef qualities, and then to
some other sire because it is most con-
venient, as is the thought In most in
stances in breeding, the outcome is like
ly to be lottery, the character of which
nobody can guess. Such course Of
breeding is breaking into all lines of he
redity, any of which may crop out, and
no sort of uniformity of form, or color,
or productiveness may be expected.
These are the ideas generally followed
in breeding cows, and the results any.
body can see by simply looking around
him. In fact, if man has scrub COW
that is a good producer 1t Is question
If be would not do as we'll to breed ber
to a scrub bull with no particular prepo.
tencies rather than to cross her with q
sire with strong tendencies in marked
contrast with her own. She would be
more likely to fasten her own good quail
tiles on her offspring in the one case
than the otber.-Edward Hutchins In
Hoard's Dairyman.