PRACTICAL PAPERS—SHORT HORNS. 
3 11 
SHORT HORNS AS MILKERS. 
The impression has been prevalent with many that short-horn 
cows are not good or desirable milkers. There are, of course 
many short-horn cows that are not good milkers ; such is the case 
with the native cow and all other classes of cows, unless it 
may be that these which have been bred exclusively for milking 
purposes are an exception. Of this I am unable'to speak. Short¬ 
horn cows are, generally speaking, good milkers when this quality 
is desired and the proper means taken to develop it. Some fami¬ 
lies, noted for these milking qualities, have been bred for that pur¬ 
pose in connection with the beef producing quality—that is, some 
breeders of short-horns who had a desire for milk producing stock, 
have cultivated that quality along with the broad-back size and 
early maturity, belonging to the short-horns. The cows of this 
class, when kept in milking condition for nine or ten months in 
the year, and fed highly on milk-producing feed, will not look as 
handsome as those in better flesh ; will not be what are called show 
cows, for they will be in low condition, but will yield largely of 
milk, and when dried off will feed up rapidly, becoming choice 
beef. Their male calves also make good beef steers, having all 
the requisites necessary when in good condition to bring the best 
price in the market. 
Mr. Thomas Bates, before spoken of as one of the early and 
most successful English breeders of short-horns, hadTnany excel¬ 
lent milkers among his cows, and always strove to promote the 
milking qualities in his herd. Many pure bred short-horns in this 
country at this time, whose ancestors date back to the Bates herd, 
are choice milkers ; other families not descended from the Bates 
herd are equally good milkers. 
Lewis E Allen, in his Herd Book, makes’the statement, that the 
dairies supplying the city of London with milk use grade short¬ 
horns almost entirely. The Shakers of Union Village, Ohio, who- 
have been long known as among our most successful butter and 
cheese makers use short-horn cows for dairy purposes. The milk 
dairies about Cincinnati are composed largely of grade short¬ 
horns. The stable of one of the Cincinnati dairies was burned sev¬ 
eral years ago, consuming along with the building and the hay 125 
