JO .\o\'.. 1 910.] Dairy Yahie in SJion' Slock. 703 



slump in the tomato industry. It is consoling to know that the same 

 thing was said in respect of fruit-growing a few years ago. but that in- 

 dustry was never in a more flourishing condition than at present. Toma- 

 toes may be used in such a number of ways as a hdusehold commodity 

 that they will command a sale where many other fruits would fail. Com- 

 mercially, they may be canned, jammed, sauced, dried or sold fresh. So 

 as soon as a surplus of production occurs over local demands the way will 

 be open for the manufacturer to compete in the world's markets. 



DAIRY VALUE IN SHOAY STOCK. 



/. S. M c F adzean, Dairy Supervisor. 



A very common comment heard this year at the Melbourne Royal Show 

 had reference to the apparent slump in the selling prices of .some classes of 

 dairy cattle. Good show stock in good condition found ready sale at satis- 

 factory figures. That there was other stock hard to quit was no doubt 

 true; and many good reasons might be found for this. 



Throughout the whole of Victoria the dairying industry is flourishing. 

 It has come to stay. During a few years past there has been more or less 

 of a boom in some classes of dairv stock ; and many very ordinary animals, 

 from a show point of view, have changed hands at prices beyond their 

 value for dairying. 



Many people a!v slow t(^ discriminate l)et\veeii good and inferior stock. 

 Every roan is not a Shorthorn ; everv red-and-white is not an Ayrshire ; and 

 every fawn is not a Jersey. Each mav have something in its appearance 

 that warrants the supposition that it has de.scended from the breed that its 

 colour is distinctive of ; but that does not class it as " pure-bred." Every 

 breed has peculiarities of form, as well as colour, that mark its individuals: 

 as., its own; and, even though their breeding may conform to recognised 

 lines, there are manv animals whose shape does not approximate the 

 standard set for their particular breed. 



Again. e\erv cov»- of each milking breed is not a good producer. There 

 are many culls to be met with in every breed — animals that are almost 

 worthless as dairy stock. Such cows should not be sold for dairy pur- 

 po.ses ; but should be fattened for the butcher. If this were done the 

 milking qualities of our pure-bred herds would improve rapidly. 



At the Royal Show a lot of rough-looking cattle were brought forward 

 for sale. Among them were many well-bred animals ; but. compared with 

 other stock of the breed that were shown in good condition, these rough- 

 coated, badlv-fed specimens looked — to the uninitiated — the veriest of 

 scrubbers. With every kind of stock, appearance and condition go a long 

 wav towards bringing satisfactorv selling prices ; and the breeder who over- 

 looks this fact stands to lose therebv. Ill-conditioned animals will only 

 bring their full value under some extraordinary demand. 



Everv vear those engaged in dairying are becoming better \ersed in 

 what are known as the milking points, as well as in the show points, of 

 dairv cattle. An animal that two or three years ago might have found a 

 buyer on account of its colour now requires something more than that to 

 command attention. Few dairymen will bid for coarse, leggy, or slab-sided 

 cattle, no matter what their colour mav be ; for these conformations are now- 



