Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1920-12-21
AMONG THE FARMERS.
"spsED THE rLow."
Tho Reason.

Il
I"why was the maiden all forlorn2
Il Because her COW had crumpled horn.
II she had raised that bossie right,
And fed the heller morn and night
With bran and hay and silage corn,
She wouldn't have had that crumpled h0rn."
Animal Husbandry Investigations.
For q number of years the Maine Agri
cultural Experiment Station has at the
request of the Maine Dairymen's Asso
citation as voiced through the legislature
been making Investigations into animal
husbandry with particular reference to
dairyiDg. During this time many hun
dfed pages showing the results thus faI
obtained have been printed. There have
also been number of letters In this
series on this matter.
But at the recent meeting ut Portland
the question Was asked what has been
thus far learned from this investigation.
It was not easy to make an 0ffhand
statement covering years OF study and
extensive reports of progress. The fol-
lowing Is an attempt to list some OF the
| things that have been discovered as
there may be other people who have as
vague an idea OF the work and what has
been found az did the inquirer at Port
land:
What are the results sought Al.
though they cover many lines of investi-
CATION the object sought comes down to
just one thing. To determine what sys-
tenn of breeding and management of
dairy cattle will knowingly produce
good type offspring of high milk and
butter.fat yield.
The answer to the main question is
still sought and It will likely still take
years Of patient research for Its COM
plete solution. But the following con.
crete facts are among those thus far dis
closed by this study.
The breeding experiment has shown:
How the colors, fawn, black, red, white
spottipg, muzzle and tongue color, are
inherited. These are important because
even to-day the price paid for properly
colored animal is often much greater
than for poorly colored animal. How
horns In cattle are Inherited. That the
bull contributes equally with the COW
on which he is bred to determine the
milk production and butter-fat percent
age Of the resulting progeny. That
high milk yield is dominant to or blan-
kets low milk yield IN dairy cattle.
That high butter-fat per centage ia recess
sive to or is blanketed by low butter-fat
percentage. Thus II progress in breed
ing 10 to be made both parents must be
Of high butter-fat percentage strains,
one parent or preferably both must be
pure for high milk yield.
The careful accurate analysis of the
raw data of the advanced registries have
shown: Exactly what the herd sires
are doing to increase, maintain or de-
crease the milk yield, butter-fst percent
age or butter-fat of their daughters and
of their SONS. That among other points
for the Jersey there had been no signifl-
cant increase In milk yield, mother to
daughter, q slightly significant decrease
in butter-fat per cent, mother to daugh-
ter. That the Guernsey breed shows
significant increase in milk yield, moth
or to daughter, and no significant In.
crease in butter.fat percentage, mother
to daughter. That the Holstein. .Friesian
shows no significant increase In milk
yield or butter far percentage.
These results, while disappointing In
their answer, point very clearly to the
great need for the information on the
prepotency OF individual sires above
noted. For with the present knowledge
it is by breeding from these prepotent
sires that all progress within the breeds
will be made II prpgrers is made at all.
The results showing the prepotent sires
for these three breeds are available to
all In bulletin form representing some
thing over 800 pages of printed matter.
The studies have shown how milk
yield, butter.fat percentage and the
other milk constants vary with age.
And make 1t possible, for the first time,
to compare with close accuracy the milk
yields of COWS of the same breed at diff.
ferent ages. Have shown that the yields
do not follow straight lines as the Ad-
vsnoed Registry rules prescribe but fol-
low rather complex mathematical
curves. Have shown the exact value of
the short time test and of the physical
Of the individual parts In determining
milk yield.
Studies on the physiology of breeding
have shown: How the length Of gesta-
tion varies in cattle. That the time OF
service has no relation to the subsequent
sex of the calf. That twins are slightly
less vigorous at birth than single births.
That twins are more frequent In old
COWS than young cattle. What the free
martin is and her sex behavior.
Because of the adherence With which
most dsirymen have in the past regarded
inbreedipg the Station has spent much
time In pedigree studies. These show
that inbreeding as customarily carried
on in the breeds has no detrimental
effect. That kinship or relationship be-
tween the sire and dam have no detri.
mental effect. A study of the individual
animals In the pedigrees of the high and
of the low producers have shown that
the animals contained In these pedigrees
are group for group practically identi-
cal. Such being the case the basic prsc.
tice formulated in the saying ''like be.
gets like" is certainly not more than
partly true for cattle.
It took the Maine Station eight years
| to learn the laws of egg inheritance In
poultry. In 1S months several daugh-
ters of hen or of cockerel will have
made egg laying records sufficient to
disclose their capacity. 1t is at the best
FIVE years from the time COW is served
until one daughters production can be
known. And her FIRST calf or her second
calf may not be heifer. In finding out
the solution to the egg Inheritance prob.
lem the Maine Station accumulated data
the analysis of which has rsvolutionized
poultry management. In like manner
data are accommodating that bid fair to
make large changes In dairy herd man.
sgement. D. Woods, Director.
i