92 Milch Cows and the Production of Store Stock. 
for non-pedigree milch cows are held, there might be a 
condition — with adequate instructions to the judge — that 
suitability for producing useful store cattle as well as pail- 
filling capabilities, should be considered when awarding 
premiums. This condition might also apply to competitions 
for herds of dairy cows held, alas ! so seldom, by our agri- 
cultural societies. Finally, the dairy and cow-keeping asso- 
ciations might have classes at our national shows for fat stock 
bred from parents having a good record for milk. 
Tests and trials at the experimental stations might be 
carried out — as is, we may mention, suggested in the aforesaid 
letter from Mr. R. Stratton — in England as in the United 
States. It is worthy of note that at these American trials the 
purely “ beef ” breeds did not show to very vast advantage 
over the “ general utility ” animals . 1 All these suggestions for 
encouraging the improvement are, however, merely foolish 
vapourings if great attention be not given to the next con- 
sideration, viz. — 
The Bull Used. 
It is indubitable that, as a nation, we have every right to be 
proud of having the very best sires, but that this does not 
prevent our using the very worst will be obvious to any one 
who will take the trouble to study our own commercial 
markets, and visit those of other parts of the world. 
Any male calf that has been too long overlooked by the 
castrator, and that is not quite good enough to warrant the 
risk of a late operation to alter him, is sure to find a ready 
purchaser in some cow-keeping farmer anxious only for an 
animal to use as a sire at the lowest possible price. It does 
not seem to matter whether he has milk points or beef points, 
or, as is most often the case, no points at all, as long as the 
immediate outlay in cash is small. Such stock may be seen in 
any of our southern or south-eastern markets, and it is 
unreasonable to hope for a good supply of store stock while a 
large proportion of those we bz-eed are begotten by these 
shallow, narrow, bony brutes, which, had they been deprived 
of their powers of pi-ocreation, would never have earned 
any one but a drover a shilling towards profit in their lives. 
If any despot could ordain that only suitable pure-bred bulls 
might be used on the cows that are kept to supply our 
population with milk, the battle would be moi-e than half over, 
and the cry from the feeder for the opening of our poi’ts would 
lose very much of its volume. 
The many objections to the pure-bred sire may be briefly 
answered. On tlie score of expense, five shillings a head on 
Henry’s Feeds and Feeding , page 372. Value of breed in beef making. 
