654 



Breeding Dairy Cattle. 



[Oct., 



The system of breeding followed in the herd from which the 

 above details were obtained partakes more of grading than of 

 any of the other systems described, and is fairly representative of 

 the methods followed by the progressive dairy farmer. The degree 

 of uncertainty as to inheritance of these qualities is probably 

 less in some pedigree herds where a line-breeding system has 

 been followed, and also less in the single purpose dairy breeds, 

 than in those which claim dual purpose qualities. 



The experience of breeders, nevertheless, has made it clear 

 that cows which are good dairy animals do not necessarily have 

 the power of passing on their own good qualities, either to their 

 female or male progeny. This leads to a most important con- 

 clusion — that the ability of a coiv to transmit its productive 

 qualities is distinct from the possession of these qualities. 

 We may therefore add another to the list of dairy qualities 

 already given — (/), ability to pass on productive capacity to the 

 progeny. From the breeder's point of view, this is the most 

 important of all. qualities, and if, in addition to the possession, 

 to a more or less marked degree, of those qualities previously 

 mentioned, the animals possessing it can be identified, some real 

 progress has been made towards " certainty " in breeding. 



Breeding Value shown by Progeny Records. — Up to the pre- 

 sent the only method whereby the possession of such prepotency 

 can be discovered is by a study of the actual records of the 

 progeny. With dairy stock, this requires a much longer time 

 than with beef stock. It is possible in two breeding years to 

 ascertain with a considerable degree of certainty the quality of 

 the progeny of a beef cow, and still more so of a beef bull. With 

 dairy stock, however, until external appearances can be more 

 accurately interpreted, three or four breeding years must pass 

 before the milk records of the progeny show the actual powers 

 of transmission possessed by their parents. In the case of cows 

 this delay is not serious, but with bulls it means that, as a rule, 

 the sire is slaughtered some time before his real powers as a 

 getter of dairy stock can be known. 



In herds of pedigree stock, bulls are frequently retained until 

 well on in years, but in the past in this country it has not been 

 the practice to determine the breeding value of such bulls by a 

 study of the records of the progeny. It is quite probable that 

 some such bulls have been retained because of their dam's or 

 their own showyard record, or for other reasons which have no 

 appreciable bearing on the transmission of dairy qualities. 



There is some indication that this new point of view in the 



