OCR Text |
Show DAIRY lALUE OF A PURE-BRED SIRE Pedigree Bulls Get Calves Far Superior Su-perior In Dairy Quality to Those of Local Animals. (By W. R. GILBERT.) Although the general run of dairy cows are of no definite breeding, they are not necessarily the worse for that. Good dairy quality 1b a natural characteristic char-acteristic which Is hereditary to an eminent degTee. A long line of ancestors an-cestors of dairy character on both Bides of the family tree is quite sufficient suf-ficient to Insure good dairy quality of the offspring. Dairy character has been developed by careful selection. It Is not a quality qual-ity originally inherent In any one Champion Holsteln. breed, although some breeds prove themselves more amendable to the influence in-fluence of selection than others. Dairy farmers are fully alive to the Importance of heredity in this respect, and although they favor cattle of certain cer-tain breeds, they fight shy of cattle of those breeds from pedigree herds. This is because they have found that pedigree bulls in many instances get calves far superior in dairy quality to the calves of locally-bred bulls. The Influence of an unsuitable bull Is very far-reaching, for his heifers do not show of what they are capable until three years after his Introduction. Introduc-tion. During these three years, that bull, if he Is a wrong one, will have been destroying the dairy character that probably took many years to establish. estab-lish. The reason why pedigree bulls In the past have failed as popular sires In the dairy herds Is to De attributed to a great extent to the cattle-show3. Breeders of bulls for sale, naturally look to the show yards for publicity and success to bring their cattle under un-der the notice of the buyers. Bulls of dairy strains at one year old, the usual age for exhibiting, do not fill the eye with the same effect as the beef type, so tney do not appear ap-pear In the prize list and are branded as Inferior accordingly. |