1906 . 
TLIE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
755 
MORE ABOUT POLLED DURHAMS. 
Polled Durhams are distinctively an 
American breed of cattle. There are two 
sorts of Polled Durhams, known as Single 
Standards and Double Standards. The 
Single Standards arc the result of cross¬ 
ing pure Short-horn bulls on the native 
mulley cows, and recrossing their hornless 
progeny .with pure Short-horns until at 
the present time Single Standard Polled 
Durhams are practically pure Short¬ 
horns, having but a trace of native blood. 
Of course such animals cannot be record¬ 
ed in the American Short-horn Herd 
Book, but only in the American Polled 
Durham Herd Book, hence the name Sin¬ 
gle Standard. * The Double Standard 
rolled Durhams, on the contrary, are 
eligible to record in both Herd Books. 
They arc the result of breeding pure 
Short-horns that were hornless; “sports” 
in the vernacular. In 1888 Captain W. S. 
Miller, of Elmore, O., purchased from the 
McNair estate, of Minneapolis, twin polled 
heifers, Nellie Gwynne and Mollie 
Gwynne, calves of the cow Oakwood 
Gwynne 4th, and also a polled bull calf 
King of Kine out of the same cow. Oak- 
wood Gwynne 4th herself had very light, 
loose horns or “scurs.” Captain Miller, 
using these cattle as a foundation, was 
very successful in establishing a herd of 
hornless Short-horn cattle with a tend¬ 
ency to transmit polled characteristics. 
About 90 per cent of the Double Standard 
Polled Durhams on record trace to Cap¬ 
tain Miller’s herd, although a few other 
"sports” have left their mark. 
In 1889 the American Polled Durham 
Breeders’ Association was organized for 
the purpose of recording the pedigrees of 
polled cattle having the characteristics 
and a certain per cent of pure Short-horn 
blood. The percentage of such blood 
necessary has been increased from time 
to time until now no animal is eligible to 
record unless both parents are already re¬ 
corded in the American Polled Durham 
Herd Book, or one parent recorded there¬ 
in and the other parent recorded in the 
Short-horn Herd, Book. The latter part 
of this rule leaves the door open for the 
introduction of fresh Short-horn blood, 
obviating the necessity of inbreeding to 
an injurious extent. Polled Durhams 
being essentially Short-horns have the 
characteristic Short-horn colors and con¬ 
formation. Their heads should be per¬ 
fectly smooth, without a trace of horn or 
scur, and should be gently rounding at 
the crown—not pointed, as in the Red 
Polls and Angus cattle. As milkers they 
vary as do the Short-horns, but in the 
Middle West more attention has been 
given to the development of the beef-pro¬ 
ducing than of the milk-producing qual¬ 
ities. However, some Polled Durham 
cows are extraordinary milkers. Every 
one, whether breeder, feeder or dairyman, 
now recognizes the advantage of hornless 
animals and the humane w^iy is the best 
for obtaining such results. Breed off, 
not saw off the horns. The prepotency, 
or the ability to beget- hornless calves 
from horned cows, varies with individual 
bulls. Some bulls have a record of 95 
per cent of polled calves, others less than 
50 per cent. I am speaking now of bulls 
bred, as most of the best ones are, “pretty 
close to horns.” 
That Polled Durhams are growing 
more into popular favor each year is 
proved in at least two ways. First, from 
1889 to 1900 something less than thirteen 
hundred pedigrees were recorded in the 
American Polled Durham Herd Book, 
while from 1900 to the present time, 1906, 
nearly ten thousand pedigrees have been 
accepted. Second, the extraordinary de¬ 
mand for young bulls, especially in the. 
West and Southwest. Breeders find it 
difficult to supply the demand; in fact, 
most bulls are sold before they are 
weaned. The one and two-year-old rings 
for Polled Durham bulls are scantily 
filled at the State Fairs, and at the Chi¬ 
cago International Live Stock Exposition, 
because the owners are using their young 
bulls, they cannot spare them away from 
the farm. Everything that can be said of 
the undoubted superiority of the Short¬ 
horn as the “general purpose” or “farm¬ 
er’s cow” applies equally to the Polled 
Durham, but the latter has the advantage 
in the absence of the useless and dan¬ 
gerous horns. _________ breeder. 
PRICES FOR PURE MILK. 
While The R. N.-Y. is to be com¬ 
mended for advocating pure milk for city 
sales, would it not also be wise to urge 
that milk be sold for what it is? Pure 
milk may mean that it contains 2 x / 2 per 
cent of butter fat, or it may mean five per 
cent or higher. I have seen the former 
condition occasionally, and have recently 
visited several dairies where the latter 
figure represented the average for the en¬ 
tire month of June, a month when tests 
are supposed to be at their lowest. There 
can be small justice in compelling the 
man with the five-per-cent milk to sell on 
the same terms and in even competition 
with the man who sells milk containing 
only half as much nutriment. Should the 
dealer take 80 pounds of the five-per-cent 
milk and add 20 pounds of skim-milk he 
would have a compound testing one-third 
higher than the required legal test in New 
York State, but he would be liable to 
prosecution, fine, perhaps imprisonment, 
and to a revocation of his license. The 
dealer who might have milk that tests 
three per cent as he receives it from the 
producer can put his product on the mar¬ 
ket and sell it at the same price as that 
at which five-per-cent milk is sold. It is 
not for the sake of the dealer that a more 
equitable adjustment is demanded. The 
trouble is that those farmers who have 
high-testing herds arc hit and hurt by 
this unjust condition. Another class that 
is injured is the one that has been advo¬ 
cating the breeding of higher testing Hol- 
steins. Those who have been striving to 
bring Holsteins up to a four per cent test 
have had their labor for their pains. Still 
another class to suffer is the consumer. 
If the lowest test is to sell as well as the 
highest, the purchaser will get the lowest 
just as fast as the producer can get his 
herd in shape for it. This condition will 
be detrimental in the end for both pro¬ 
ducer and consumer. The only logical 
solution of the present untoward condi¬ 
tion is to require all sales to be made for 
what they are. If a man is selling high- 
grade milk it should be so understood; if 
lower grade, let that fact be known. Some 
oranges sell at 15 cents a dozen, others at 
60, because there is a difference in the 
fruit. There isn’t that difference in 
grades of milk, but there is a difference. 
New York City and neighboring cities 
are supplied with milk not only from New 
York State, but largely from Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey, and to some extent from 
Connecticut and Massachusetts. The four 
States other than New York have no such 
law as the one referred to. Dealers there 
are at liberty to add skim-milk until the 
test reaches three per cent. They can af¬ 
ford to pay their patrons more for high- 
testing milk, and when there is sufficient 
competition they do it. This places New 
York farmers at a disadvantage, and, ap¬ 
parently, can only be overcome by the 
plan mentioned. If a man has four-per¬ 
cent milk let it be known by the con¬ 
sumer, and if the test be higher or lower 
let the precise facts be known, h. h. l. 
Warranted to Give Satisfaction. 
GomhauWs 
Caustic Balsam 
Has Imitators But No Competitors. 
A Safe, Speedy and Positive Cure for 
Curb, Splint. Sweeny, Capped Hock, 
Strained Tendons, Founder, Wind 
Puffs, and all lameness from Spavin, 
Ringbone and other bony tumors. 
Cures all skin diseases or Parasites, 
Thrush, Diphtheria. Removes all 
Bunches from Horses or Cattle. 
As a Human Remedy for Rheumatism, 
Sprains, Sore Throat, etc., it is invaluable. 
Every bottle of Caustic Balsam sold is 
Warranted to give satisfaction. Price $1 50 
per bottle. Sold by druggists, or sent by ex¬ 
press, charges paid, with full directions for 
its use. HTSend for descriptive circulars, 
testimonials, etc. Address 
The Lawrence-Wllliams Co., Cleveland, 0, 
Blood Flour 
Shadeless pastures and swarms of 
pestering flies make life a burden and 
growth impossible for young calves. 
The Right Remedy 
Calves should be kept in cool, dark stables during 
the day, and in luxuriant pastures during the night. 
Through this trying period they should be fed 
Swift’s Soluble Blood Flour (Protein 87%). Costs 
less than a cent per day. Write for literature. 
Swift & Company, U. S. A. 
Animal Food Department, Desk 3 
Union Stock Yards CHICAGO 
1111 / an* _ . — _ 
"'Sooubi.e" . 
BLOOD FLOUR 
•UAaAKTtCB A*4l.rStS 
f«OTCII *t , 
•ownm f - “ 
MAmrACTimtD ’Ae 
SWIFT WfiOMPAlff'jJ 
*T. JOitrti <1 MOt 
Havana Low Wagons 
All steel, made to last; wood gears also. Save high 
lifting, hard pulling, avoid cutting up fields. Tires any 
width up to 8 inches. 8TKEL WHEELS furnished TO KIT 
OLD GEARS. Write for free booklet. 
HAVANA METAL WHEEL C0„ Box 17. HAVANA, ILL. 
The WAGON to BUY. 
Properly con¬ 
structed. Saves labor, annoy¬ 
ance and expense of repairs. 
STEEL WHEELS VEWk 
Your address on a postal will bring you free catalog. 
The Geneva IVIetal Wheel Co., 
Box 17, Geneva, Ohio. 
TRADE IN YOUR 
INFERIOR SEPARATORS 
Many users who would like to change their inferior 
machines of various kinds for a new 
BE LAVAL CREAM SEPARATOR 
do not understand that while such second-hand machines 
have no salable value the De Laval Company makes very 
fair “trade” allowances for them, just to get them out of 
the way and through this illustration of the difference 
between good and poor separators stop the sale of others 
like them in the neighborhood. Nobody is defrauded by 
their re-sale as they are simply “scrapped” at their real 
value. 
Then there are thousands of DE LAVAL users who 
should know that they may exchange their out-of-date 
machines of ten to twenty years ago for the very much 
improved and larger capacity ones of to-day. These old 
machines are rehnished and sold over again to those who 
d n’t think they can afford the price of new ones. 
Write in a description of your old machine—name, 
size, serial number, and date purchased—or else see the 
nearest DE LAVAL agent about it. 
The De Laval Separator Co. 
Randolph & Canal Sts.. 
CHICAGO. 
1213 Filbert Street, 
PHILADELPHIA.' 
Q & 11 Dhumm St., 
SAN FRANCISCO. 
109-113 YOUVILLE SQ. 
MONTREAL. 
General Offices: 
74 CORTLANDT STREET, 75 & 7 tOUONTC)T REET 
NEW YORK. 
14-16 PRINCFSS STREET, 
WINNIPEG. 
