DAIRYING. 125 



in the matter, and the urgent necessity that exists for further 

 information. This is illustrated by the results of an enquiry 

 recently made into the history and milking records of certain 

 non-pedigree Dairy Shorthorns in the Reading College herd. 

 The cow Rose, with a milk-yield of 9,125 lb., had daughters 

 by three different sires, " A," " B," and " C," and in each case 

 the daughters proved heavy milkers during several lactation 

 periods, ranging from an average of 7,098 lb. to an average of 

 11,397 lb. The sire " C " was mated with the best milker 

 amongst the daughters, and the resulting cow gave a milk yield 

 of only 6,058 lb. over an average of three lactation periods. 

 Another cow, Fillpail, with a milk-yield of 5,036 lb., when mated 

 with the bull " A " produced a daughter giving a milk-yield 

 of only 1,083 lb. ; this daughter when mated with the bull " C" 

 produced a cow giving an average yield of 7,792 lb. over three 

 lactation periods. Another cow, Bell, with an average milk- 

 yield of 8,225 lb. mated with the bull " A," produced a daughter 

 giving an average yield of 9,891 lb. over six lactation periods; 

 but the progeny of this daughter, when mated with the bulls 

 " C " and " D," were distinctly disappointing, their average 

 yield being only a little over 3,000 lb. 



Further, for the purpose of obtaining a progeny record of a 

 bull, it is necessary to have the milk records of the dams as 

 well as those of the daughters, and the breeding value of the bull 

 can be judged by comparing the average milk records of the 

 dams with those of the daughters. This important point is well 

 illustrated by a reference to the progeny records of two bulls 

 used in the College herd. During the period investigated. Bull 

 " A " had 8 daughters by 8 dams; Bull " C " 12 daughters by 

 9 dams. The results of the examination of the milk records in 

 each case showed that Bull " A " was capable of securing female 

 progeny which gave an average milk-yield of 8,479 ^b. in an 

 average lactation period of 44*3 weeks, and which were at least 

 equal to their dams in milk-yielding power. The heifers and cows 

 got by Bull " C " averaged 6,468 lb. in 38*3 weeks, or failed to 

 equal the record of their dams by 1,533 lb. These figures 

 show conclusively that " A " was much the better bull 

 for breeding purposes. Unfortunately, following the usual 

 custom, he was sold for slaughter before any of his progeny came 

 into milk. 



This enquiry has formed the prelude to a more extended 

 study of the inheritance of dairy qualities from sire and dam, 

 the term " dairy qualities " including not only milk-yield, but 

 persistency of milk-jdeld, quality of milk, capacity for regular 

 breeding, constitution, and the power of transmission of all 



