9 March, 1908.] Breeding for the Dairy. 145 



a fair quality, its size and quality of flesh permit of it beting profitably 

 fattened for beef when of no further use as a dairy-cow. The Ayrshire 

 has the reputation of being the heaviest milk producer for its size, butter 

 fat not considered ; and the Jersey is acknowledged to be the ideal cow 

 for richness of milk. Something of the same rough description of the 

 principal breeds of sheep might also be put forward, but it would be 

 a rare thing to see an intending sheep-farmer go into a market and pur- 

 chase a flock on the strength of it. Such a proceeding would mean 

 that feeding — the basis of all animal management — had been lost sitrht 

 of ; and the fundamental principles of feeding are embodied in the situation, 

 water supply, and fertility of the farm on which it is intended to place 

 the purchased stock. 



A certain amount of comparison between these two branches of agri- 

 culture — sheep and dairy-f arming^ — might not be out of place here ; 

 though the former is now an old established industry with us, and the 

 latter but of comparatively recent development. The intending sheep 

 farmer, as a rule, will not only make full inquiries as to what class of 

 sheep is most suited both to his district and his requirements but he will 

 usually make the acquaintance of those keeping such stock in the locality, 

 and thereby post himself in all available particulars before making his 

 purchase. He then looks for, and usually succeeds in buying the re- 

 quired number in one line so as to have them as even in size, breed, and 

 general quality as possible ; and if they are breeding ewes they are sure 

 to be mated to pure bred rams. This latter point is literally forced on 

 him ; for long experience has so fully demonstrated the practical neces- 

 sity of pure bred rams that there is now absolutely no demand for any- 

 thing else, and so none are raised. Also, the ram is invariably the 

 highest priced animal in the flock. On the other hand a dairyman is 

 very often too conservative to ask advice from his neighbours, and little 

 inclined to communicate his intentions to them, apparently regarding them 

 in some way as competitors. Rightly or wrongly he may have his mind 

 made up as to what is the best cow for his purpose ; but, at the market, 

 unless he is fortunate in buying at his own price it is more than likely 

 he will purchase those that accord more with his ideas of value than of 

 type ; and often all he has to show for his skill in buying is a certain 

 number of mixed cows of unknown working capability. Not infrequently 

 ,a big cross-bred bull will be purchased at " sausage-meat " price to 

 mate with them, w'hen a few pounds more would have bought a pure- 

 bred animal ; and the buyer finds excuse for himself in the possibilitv 

 of the cross-b'red bull's calves making the better vealers. The result of 

 such a purchase is not hard to foresee. An uneven lot of cows means 

 uneven and therefore unsatisfactory returns ; and in many cases the 

 buyer would have done wisely to have come away without cows rather 

 than invest in animals that were not up to his standard. Such cases 

 are of daily occurrence. With an ideal tvpe before him the farmer 

 should buy only in accordance with that type, even if he is thus com- 

 pelled to attend many sales before his herd is complete. Time spent 

 thus will prove to be time and money saved. If he fails to buy well 

 at first he will be compelled to cull heavier later on ; for evenness in 

 the herd is an absolute necessity if a full measure of success is to be 

 achieved. 



Only too frequently do we see herds that bear out the foregoing as- 

 sumption that, if the owner has any knowledge of cows he must have 



