CHANGES IN OLD TIME CATTLE. 



production of beef. It would, therefore, appear that it was by takirg 

 advantage of the almost numberless shades of divergence from the 

 semi-aboriginal species our ancestors succeeded in evolving our 

 numerous breeds of cattle. 



A story of the old days of dairying may not be out of place here, 

 as it will serve to join a link in the chain of dairying in Australia 

 say seventy years ago and to-day : " In 1835 1 was a boy of 15 years," 

 says my informant. " My father was the first man to establish dairying 

 on the Lachlan. I helped to milk and draw the produce (cheese) 

 in summer, butter in winter, to market. It took two d lys to get there, 

 and two more to return. My mother used to salt the butter and pack 

 it in calico bags ; then it was placed in casks 01 brine. We used to 

 get two and six and three shillings per Ib. for it. We also made bacon 

 and corned pork. These products would a.l st:md carting long dis- 

 tances. Our dairy was constructed partly underground with a thick 

 roof. It was wonderfully cool even in the hottest weather. We used 

 to have two teams of bullocks, which were worked with harness like 

 3 horse with the collar turned upside down. A hundred miles or even 

 more was easily covered in this way every two weeks or oftener. 

 When I got a herd of my own I at once started to improve their 

 quality. 1 had a pretty good herd to start with, but I wanted to make 

 it better. In the first place, 1 had to find out which we're the best 

 cows in my herd (this was in the year 1848). There was no way to 

 find this out only by measuring and setting each cow's milk separately, 

 which I used to churn in a small vertical churn kept for the purpose. 

 Of course the system was only approximate, but it was practical, and 

 exact enough .for my purpose. By this means 1 selected the best and 

 rejected the poorest. 1 selected sires the progeny of imported cattle 

 of the Ayrshire and Longhorned Durham breeds, be.onging to an ad- 

 joining station. Wild cattle were plentiful in the ranges in those days, 

 and many others likely to go wild. These we used to run into large 

 well-fenced paddocks which had long bush-ienced wings extending for 

 miles in some instances. It was considered good sport in thos^ dull 

 times, and our reward was ample if we managed to capture from 

 fifty to one hundred young cleanskins, as they were termed. These 

 we would hand-feed with hay for a few weeks and by constantly 

 riding through them they would become docile enough an.l could be 

 driven from paddock to paddock on foot. 



" It used to puzzle me in those days," said he, "to supplyi', tflie 

 reason of domesticated cattle becoming so very wild in the com- 

 paratively short space they would be from under control. My curiosity 

 was still more excited over an Arab stallion that escaped into the bush 

 irom an adjoining station. Here was an animal perfectly quiet to 

 ride suddenly finding himself at liberty among a herd ot wil:l com- 

 panions. Although he was descended from ancestors that had been 

 thoroughly domesticated, and in the service of man for thousands of 

 years, yet within the short space of twelve months had become the 

 most cunning in the wild tricks of his tribe. This stallion defied cap- 

 ture until too old to be of any service. 



" But to get back to my herd oi cows. I did not pay any attention 

 as to how my old cows or their heifers looked, no'r did I trouble 

 about their breeding. So far as I can remember, there were all sorts 

 of breeds represented in my herd Longhorns Shorthorns, Herefords. 

 Ayrshires, Devons, with buffalo crosses through them. All sorts of 

 colors were represented, mostly spotted brown and white, red and 

 white, black and white, with a la'rge sprinkling of the brind.e sides 

 and white backs and faces. However, 1 did not care about colors, 

 nor did I care whether they were like camels or buffaloes, so long as 

 they gave plenty of good milk -for a reasonable space of time. In my 

 eyes ' handsome was that handsome did' the co.or of the hair or 

 the peculiar crook of the horn did not trouble me. 1 always found 

 in the ugliest cows, provided they were good milkers, som^chinj to 

 admire or at least something to please. 



105. 



