1 Jaw., 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 23 
purposes. We are coming by common consent to believe that the most profit- 
able dairy cow is one built with a certain physical conformation and tempera- 
ment, and that this same conformation is not consistent with the most economical 
production of beef. 
It is told of Booth, the great Shorthorn breeder, that he used to walk down 
behind those magnificent mountains of flesh, where every calf stood between 
two cows, and striking his hand upon their padded rumps, would say: ‘‘ What 
do a few quarts of milk from a cow amount to?” And to-day the intelligent 
dairyman asks: “ What do a hundred or two pounds more or less of inferior 
beef amount to ?” 
THE COW: BREEDS, AND MANAGEMENT. 
By ‘‘ CROSSBRED,” in the Pastoralists’ Review. 
Any farmer who is commencing a dairy farm in a new district has 
generally to make up his mind as to what breed of cows he will adopt. A 
great many squatters influence this selection, but the one that will carry the 
most weight with everyone is the particular breed-which he has been used to 
most of his life. It hardly needs explaining that the treatment necessary for 
the different breeds will vary to a certain extent, and this variation, perhaps, 
amounts to a good deal more than those who have not had much experience 
would think. For instance, the kind of treatment which would go down with 
a Shorthorn would never do for an excitable and nervous Ayrshire. 
Wuicr 1s tHe Best Datry Cow ? 
Taking the show of the British Dairy Farmers’ Association as some sort 
of a guide, we find that the breeds recognised there are the following :—Short- 
horn, Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire, Red Poll, Kerry, and Dutch. 
Of course, it may be added that in any given district the breed native to 
that district should, if possible, be the one adopted, unless the farmer has 
grave reasons for a change in this respect. There are various influences bear- 
ing on the selection of the breed in addition to those already mentioned, for 
instance, as the sort of dairying that is going to be carried on—whether butter, 
cheese, or milk trade—as no one would keep a Dutch cow for butter-making, or 
a Jersey cow for selling new milk, but would, if possible, adopt a Jersey or 
Guernsey for butter and cream, and a Shorthorn or Dutch or Ayrshire for the 
milk trade. Again, the Ayrshire has shown itself exceedingly adapted for 
cheese-making, the explanation being given that while the milk by analysis 
may be similar in composition to that of another breed, yet, as the butter 
globules are comparatively smaller than in the case of the Jersey or Guernsey, 
they are more easily entangled in the curd in the process of cheese-making, 
and thus the cheese is more easily made, and of a more even quality than with 
the former. This particular item is largely due to skill, for we read of trials 
held at the last Chicago Exhibition that the best cheese was made from Jersey 
milk, but it took a great deal more skill to make this cheese than would have 
been necessary with Ayrshire milk For general purposes, and taking England 
as an example, probably the Shorthorn cow is the best, as it yields a fairly 
large amount of fairly rich milk, while the animal fattens after use, and can 
easily be made fit for the butcher. Asa matter of fact, the ultimate destiny 
of the old cows is important, because old cows are a by-product of a dairy 
farm, and the ability to sell them for a good price materially affects the sum 
total of the receipts. 
No one would propose to do much in fattening a Jersey, but, on the other 
hand, the fattening of the Shorthorn is quite a feasible process. 
