FIRST CENTURY OF DAIRYING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 



and Red Lincoln bulls on cows that bad been bred from Longhorned, 

 Durham, Ayrshire, anrf Longfiorn crosses. Air. Duncan Beatson fol- 

 lowed on practically the same lines, also Mr. Andrew McGill and 

 Mr. Evan Evans. Lomax used the Durham and Lincoln breeds, and 

 was followed by Messrs. Gdorge Brown and Andrew Thompson, both 

 of whom used Lomax bulls on crossbred Longhorn cows. It might 

 be inferred that the Durham, Longhorn, and Lincoln bulls gave the 

 outward appearance to those celebrated herds only, whilst much o-f 

 the constitution and the nervous system or dairy system was pro- 

 vided by the Ayrshire and Longhorn crosses that existed in most 

 of the dairy cows. But it must be remembered that the Ayrshire 

 bulls of great quality, which were plentiful in those days, and largely 

 used with the Durham and Lincoln cows, and which were productive 

 of much good, were very different from those of the present, day. 

 ever, their usefulness was largely increased afterwards for the better 

 when their progeny was mated with Longhorned Durham bulls. We 

 have also at present a few such examples. We have also excellent 

 results from Jersey bulls ,or Ayrshire cows. 



We may try to theorise on the origin of our Illawarra breed of 

 cattle, and dispute one with another with respect to their true origin, 

 and those who know the least will, generally speaking, say most, and 

 conclude \vilh the often repeated remarks, "They are nothing but a 

 cross between an Ayrshire and a Shorthorn." But such men never 

 saw the South Coast herds in the latter end of th-e 'forties ai^d the 

 beginning of the fifties, and, what is worse still, they never had many 

 opportunities of chatting by the fireside with those who did. During 

 those years three-fourths of the dairy herds of Illawarra were com- 

 posed ot either Wentworth's or John Terry-Hughes' Longhorn and 

 Durham croi-ses. There were far and away more Longhorns than any 

 other breed in Illawarra. Mr. Henry Badgery, of Vine Lodge, P>ong 

 Bong, and his neighbours Edward and William Shipley wen- largely 

 stocked with these Longhorned-Durham cattle, and they were scat- 

 tered from Bong Bong to Twofold Bay. These Longhorns were an 

 ideal general purpose cow. They could rear a calf better than any 

 other breed, and give two buckets of milk every morning -for cheese 

 making. We have the authority of Mr. John Russell, of Croome, 

 that at the commencement of their cattle breeding experiments, both 

 Andrew McGill and Duncan Beatson had herds composed of three- 

 quarter bred Longhorns " Bailies" the old settlers used to call them, 

 perhaps without the slightest knowledge of their origin. 



The weight of evidence goes to support the view that the dam lias 

 much more influence on progeny than most breeders are aware, be- 

 cause the history and pedigrees of herds have been carefully com- 

 piled only on the bull line, which is a mistake. 



The dam, whilst dividing influence with the male at conception, has 

 the foetus almost completely under her control until the birth of the 

 cal-i. The air the dam breathed, the food she ate, are quite : mlepen<- 

 dent of the male during the whole period of gestation. The first male 

 having fruitful intercourse will influence subsequent offspring. The 

 writer is an advocate of always breeding from the best animals >l 

 both sex, and, however conflicting our experience, one's reason dic- 

 tates most emphatically that every dairyman should do his utm<t to 

 obtain the best sire. Which is the be.M >ire ? Surely the animal that 

 produces the best cattle for our special purpose ! Most authorities 

 adhere to the principle of always using a purebred sire in their herd. 

 We have, however, observed some very remarkable instances of the. 

 excellence of somewhat crossbred sires. For instance, Mr. Kuulk's 

 bull, bred by Mr. Kvan Kvans. of I'enrose. Dapto. and reared on the 

 tableland south < -i (i.Milburn until about four years of age, although 

 probably purebred. \\as, however, a patchy red roan in color, small in 

 sixe, yet big bodied in comparison, po^-essing small bone, a vigorcu-? 

 eater not inclined to put on fat, of very sound constitution. This hull 



206. 



