CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



where it is impossible to take special care of the cattle through bad sea- 

 sons and winter months. 



Herefords, except in a few instances, have been bred entirely for beef. 

 One great object of breeders is to have their animals as wide on their 

 chine as possible, so as to carry good full crops when fat, and no cow 

 will niilk deeply unless it is made like a wedge the lighter neck and 

 forepart the better. If attention were paid to the Hereford as it has 

 been to the Shorthorn, they could be trained to milk well and deeply, 

 and the richness of the milk is not gainsaid ; but whether they would 

 excel the Shorthorns or become equal to the best of them it is difficult 

 to say, nor do I think it worth while for breeders to try ; at all events 

 so thinks another Hereford man. They stand first and foremost as a 

 beef-producing race, and perhaps it is as well they should for the pres- 

 ent take their stand on that, but if any breeders fancy taking up the 

 milk line, they will probably in a great measure succeed. 



Herefords for crossing. A celebrated breeder of Herefords in England 

 recently addressed the following queries to a gentleman who had tried 

 the cross of a Hereford bull on Shorthorn dairy cows for several years: 



1. Of calves got by a Shorthorn bull or by a Hereford bull, which fatten the quickest 

 and which are the most valuable if sold fat to butcher f 2. Of heifers got by a Short- 

 horn or Hereford bull, which do you consider the best for milk, having regard both 

 to quantity and quality, and in quality both as regards cheese and butter? 3. As 

 to the produce generally got by a Shorthorn or Hereford bull, do you find any differ- 

 ence as to their gain of flesh or ability to thrive both at grass and in yards ; and, if 

 so, state fully your views thereon ? 4. Do you find any difference of size in the prod- 

 uce ; and, if so, which are the largest animals the Shorthorns or those the result of 

 the cross with the Hereford bulls ? 5. Do you think there is any difference as to hard- 

 ness or as to liability to disease between the Shorthorns and the animals resulting 

 from the cross with the Hereford bull; and, if so, to which do you give the prefer- 

 ence ? 6.. Does the offspring of the cross with a Hereford bull generally follow the 

 marking of the sire or of the Shorthorn dam ? 



The following were the replies received: 



1. I consider those got by a Hereford bull. 2. Heifers got by a Hereford bull are, 

 I consider, equal to the pure-bred Shorthorn for the production of milk, both as re- 

 gards quantity and qualify. 3. My experience tells me that produce got by a Here- 

 ford bull out of a Shorthorn cow feeds quicker both on grass and when put up to feed. 

 4. Produce obtained by the cross, as mentioned in No. 3 (viz, by a Hereford bull), is 

 the larger of the two. 5. Undoubtedly the produce obtained by using the Hereford 

 bull is the hardier and has my preference. (5. I find that the offspring obtained by 

 the cross with the Hereford bull follows the sire in color in five cases out of seven. 



The writer adds as follows: 



Having some three years ago bought some Hereford cattle from you, I think you 

 might like to know that they have done remarkably well, though I find it takes a 

 long time to make a name as a Hereford breeder. At the same time that I boug.ht 1 be 

 Heiefords from you I purchased ten Yorkshire dairy covrs Shorthorns from Mr. 

 Gothorp, near Bedale, in Yorkshire, and after these cows had calved I determined to 

 try a cross of the two breeds, which I did by using the Hereford bull I bought from 

 you on the Shorthorn cows. The result was beyond ray expectation. I roared the 

 calves on skim-milk, &c. ; they had a little cake till they were six months old, when 

 they took their luck. At eighteen months old I gave them 4 pounds each per day 

 when grazing (this would be in September). On the 12th October I put them up to 

 feed, giving them 8 pounds of cotton-cake and linseed-cake mixed, and 6 pounds of 

 meal with pulp each per day. The week before Christmas I sold two of them, aver- 

 aging 21 10s. each, and also some Shorthorn bullocks (which I had also bought fiom 

 Mr. Gothorp). These latter were three months older, and only realized 19 15s. per 

 head, though similarly fed. In the second week of January I sold some more of the 

 cross- bred bullocks (they were then twenty-three months old), and they averaged 

 24 5s. Qd. per head, and the remaining Shorthorn bullocks averaged 22 17s. per 

 head, being, as the others, three mouths older. I certainly am of opinion that the 

 bullock obtained by this cross is better than the pure-bred Shorthorn for the quick 

 production of beef. I have also some heifers of this cross about to calve, and they 

 carry plenty of flesh, and promise to make equally a good milkers as their dams. 1 

 consider the result of the cross satisfactory, especially on this poor, cold clay eeil, tho 

 grass of which (as you know) will not feed a mouse. 



