j^OS IHK GARDEN A-ND FILLD. 



® XKe Farm ® 



~? — 



Breeding of Cattle. 



One lliiug ought always to be 

 considered when men start out to 

 buy pure-bred cattle (says a wri- 

 ter in Hoard's Dair_viuan; — that is, 

 that the knowledge, skill, and cha- 

 racter ol the breeder are about as 

 imi)ortant as is the animal they 

 are to buy. There is a wonderiul 

 difEerence l>etween being a real 

 breeder and one who simply mates 

 male and female. The art and 

 I)hilosophy of breeding is a very 

 deep question. Une man's cattle 

 show almost aUvays a progressive 

 qualitv. The are the product of 

 sKilful, intelligent mating. Another 

 man gives no thought to the deep- 

 er ];lias^s of the (piestion. He 

 simply breeds pure-bred cattle to- 

 ga tUer ; there is no intelligent 

 adaptation of means to ends, rhe 

 average capacity of his cattle 

 shows a hit-and-miss result that is 

 very confusing and disappointing. 

 It IS right to say that there will 

 be fully enough failures even with 

 the most thoughtful and compre- 

 hensi\e bree-ders. What must it 

 be with men who bestow but little 

 thought or study up. n t.ie deeper 

 jihysiological problems that are 

 involved, and which vvill have their 

 way. Take, for instance, this mat- 

 ter of keeping two or more bulls 

 in a breedmg herd. The question 

 of a successful." nick is an all- 

 important one. Vet in almost 

 every herd of cows there wi,l be 

 foimd a certain number wluch do 

 not nick well with the head of the 

 herd. An ol)servant breeder will 

 note this. iMate them with another 

 sire, and with the most of them, 

 at least, the result will show a 

 decided improvement in the 

 strength and \igour of the off- 

 spring. 



♦ 



The Advantages of Testing 

 Milk. 



There are three factors in con- 

 nection with the management of a 

 dairy herd which help to make up 

 its value for ])urelv dairy purposes. 

 First the quality of the offspring, 

 second the cjuantity of milk, and 

 third the quality, or richness in 

 fats, of the milk. The first _ of 

 these is a matter of slow evolution, 

 and can only be worked out to 

 advantage by following the laws 

 of selection, and by breeding in 



such a way as to steadily improve 

 the herd. Selection is the key- 

 stone to impro\ ement by breeding, 

 and it follows, therefore, that we 

 must ha\e a sound basis for selec- 

 tion. Selection may be, and is, 

 often based on the law of correla- 

 tion, or a study of outward points 

 of the animal. These points, how- 

 ever, do not always follow rigid 

 laws, and are sometimes mislead- 

 ing. I'erformauce is a much surer 

 guide for selection, or, in other 

 words, the quantity and quality of 

 the milk. Instances innumerably 

 have been known of cows which 

 show nearly all the outward signs 

 of being heavy producers of milk 

 rich in fat. The monthly tests 

 have proved her to have the lowest 

 average of any cow in the herd. 

 On one farm there may be one 

 animal on which alone the owner 

 must have lost more than w'ould 

 have paid for the testing of the 

 whole herd for many years. The 

 owner might know that she was 

 not a particularly good milker, but 

 it is almost a certainty that had 

 he been aware that she was so 

 unprofitable she would not have 

 been kept on so long as she has 

 been. Her good looks hav© saved 

 her, whilst other better milkers 

 with less appearance have evident- 

 ly been sacrificed. Indifferent 

 milkers should be weeded out when 

 \oung, sa}' at three or four years 

 old, and not kept until taev are 

 ten or twelve years old, as is far 

 too often the case. The work of 

 testing invariably brings to light 

 a large number of quite unprofit- 

 able animals. These, like the poor, 

 seem to be always in evidence, and 

 it is only by systeniatiic work of 

 this kind that they can be effective- 

 ly eliminated. 



— The Babcock Test. — 



The \alue of the Babcock test 

 in connection with the work of a 

 herd depends mainly on the fre- 

 qiicncy with which the animals are 

 tested, the numlier of milkings 

 from which the sample is taken, 

 and the accuracy with which the 

 test is carried through. Many have 

 ^^■laimed that two or three tests, 

 made at intervals of several 

 months, with the weight of milk, 

 will furnish a fairly accurate basis 

 for estimating the fat yield of a 

 cow for one year. l<>perience tcnd.<^ 

 to prove the contrary to be the 

 case. In several instances varia- 

 tions of more than one per cent, 

 have been detected between the 



February, 1914 



tests oi one month and the next, 

 without any apparent cause. Some 

 months the tests for certain cows 

 w"ill be far above the average, and 

 some months much below. If a 

 test happens to be made at such 

 a time, and another is not made 

 for several months, a very incor- 

 rect estimate of the capacity of thu 

 cow mav result. Experience indi- 

 cates that once a month is as sel- 

 dom as tests should be made, 

 and that tests made less often 

 than once in two months cannot 

 safelv be used in jua lu, ui the 

 productive capacity of a cow. 



— Another Factor. , — 



The second important factor in 

 the value of the test is the way in 

 which the sample is taken. Where 

 cows have be^n tested ffdm day 

 to day unaccountable variations in 

 the percentage of fat have been 

 noticed. This has led to the con- 

 clusion that the sample should be 

 take from several milkings. The 

 most convenient way seems to be 

 by taking a small portion of milk 

 from each of several successive 

 milking, and using this mixed or 

 composite sample for the test. A 

 sample taken from six successive 

 tniilkings in each month seems to 

 give good results. In Scotland a 

 societv exists for the purpose of 

 supervising and collecting the re- 

 sults of milk records of dairy 

 herds. These are chronicled in the 

 annual volumes of the Society, 

 and as a result it has been demon- 

 strated that the increased return 

 from one average cow over that 

 of a single poor one will more 

 than pay' all the cost of testing 

 the whole herd. It is quite pos- 

 sible that something of a general 

 kind might be attempted in €^e 

 same direction in this State, so 

 that farmers might be aided in 

 acquiring the knowledge as to 

 which of their cows it pays to 

 keep, and whicli they might find it 

 ])rofitable to draft from the herd. 

 —Elder's Review. ^ 



These Heaters are very largely 

 used by the Government, Tublic 

 Institutions, Hospitals, and lead- 

 ing Citizens of the State. They 

 are High Recommended and giving 

 every satisfaction. 



Manufacturer of . 

 Patent Bathheaters, Baths, Wash- 

 troughs, etc., 



139 0'CONN?XL STREET, 

 NORTH ADELAIDE. 

 'Phone 3190. 



