one for commercial purposes. In the original selection, as I have
already observed, the breeder must have in his eye the model he wishes
to propagate. The animals selected should approach the desired type as
nearly as can be obtained; and by careful and repeated selections the
ideal may be reached. The selector must be well satisfied as to
soundness of constitution, especially in laying the foundation of a
show-yard herd. If male or female have hereditary defects of
constitution, their progeny will inherit them. Show-yard stock, being
pampered for exhibition, are more liable than the common stock of the
country to be affected with hereditary diseases. Pedigree is of the
most vital importance. We ought always to prefer a bull of high
pedigree, with fair symmetry and quality, to another bull, though much
superior in appearance, but of questionable pedigree. If the latter be
turned to a herd superior in blood to himself, incalculable mischief
may be done. Breeders have not given the subject the attention it
deserves. I have paid dearly for my experience in the matter. But
bulls, even from the purest herds, will not all produce stock alike.
Some will give a majority of bull calves, others a majority of heifer
calves; some will be famous for getting fine bulls, and others for
getting fine heifers, while others produce little to boast of in the
one or the other. No one can affirm that he has a first-class sire till
he has been tested. If the result be satisfactory, money should be no
temptation; he must not be sold. It must not be forgotten that the male
has most influence in breeding; but without first-class females the
descendants will not shine generally in the show-yard. Breeding for the
show-yard must not be left to haphazard; nor is the breeder likely to
be successful if pride and conceit be his besetting sins. Take the
following by way of illustration: At perhaps a distant sale a fine cow
is bought, or it may be at market. Attention to pedigree is ignored;
the age is perhaps considered of no consequence. On her arrival she is
examined and applauded by friends and neighbours. The inspection may
cost the owner gallons of whisky; but she is to prove a mine of wealth.
Great hopes are entertained of her progeny. The calf is expected to be
first-class. After days of care and nights of dreams and anxious
watchings, with unnecessary aid in calving, the calf at last sees the
light of day. The owner is disgusted at the result. The cow yields
little milk, either for the calf or the family. She is sent where she
should have gone years before--to the butcher. The disappointed owner
in future buys the cheapest animals that come to hand. If pedigree be
ignored, and the sire be of doubtful antecedents, except in an
accidental case, the progeny will be at the best of medium quality; but
by ordinary precaution such loss may be avoided.
Breeding in-and-in has some advantages and many advocates. It is a
knotty point to touch upon. At the commencement I stated that my own
experience led me to adopt a middle course; that experience has not
been in favour of the system. By adhering to it I found that quality
was maintained, and even improved; but size was reduced, and symptoms
of delicacy of constitution were manifested. It may be pursued for a
time, until the type is developed, but to continue for any length of
time to breed _in_ and in, is not only against my experience, but,
I believe, against nature.
In looking over a herd of breeding cattle, I have often seen the owner
or the cattle-keeper pointing out a cow that throws a good calf, and
never threw a bad one, and at the same time telling you how great a
milker she is. It would be difficult to buy such a cow too dear. Most
of the above remarks may apply alike to the home farm of the
proprietor, to the large and small farmer, and to the crofter with one
cow. It is well known to breeders of cattle, and I believe of sheep,
that there are particular races that are celebrated, and upon which you
can calculate that they will never propagate an inferior animal.
Specimens not so desirable will now and again appear, but the blood is
there, and the divergence will not be great from the desired type.
Again, there will be one race noted for producing celebrated males, and
another for producing celebrated females. A bull may be introduced that
is a great getter of bull calves, yet the change may not be to the
advantage of the owner, as the female calves will not be bred of so
high an order. Professor Thury, of Geneva, has written a very
interesting paper on the law of the production of sexes. In a letter to
me, dated 14th February 1864, he says: "There are, if the owner
pleases, two periods of heating: the one the general period, which
shows itself in the course of the year, following the seasons; the
other, a particular period, which lasts in cows from twenty-four to
forty-eight hours, and which reveals itself a certain number of times.
It is this particular period, lasting from twenty-four to forty-eight
hours, the commencement of which gives females, while its termination
gives males. In order that we may obtain a certain result, we must not
cause the same cow to be covered twice in succession at an interval too
short, for the (generative) substance of the bull preserves itself for
a time sufficiently long in the organs of the cow. In the experiments
made in Switzerland we have taken the cow at the first certain signs of
heating, for the purpose of obtaining heifers, and at the termination
of the heating for the purpose of obtaining males. The result of these
experiments is, that we do not yet know what is the relative length of
time which gives females, and the time which gives males; this would
form an interesting subject of examination. I am of opinion that
various circumstances must be regarded as influencing the relative
period, so as to alter the moment of (conception), and that the season
must exercise considerable influence. I am of opinion that in such
questions as that which forms the subject of my little work, we
physiologists should learn much from men of practice and experience,
such as you, who have afforded proofs of their knowledge. The best
results will follow when the raisers and experimentalists direct their
attention to the same object." I would here acknowledge the courtesy
and kindness of Professor Thury in so readily responding to my
inquiries. The experiments conducted in Switzerland were decisive in
support of Professor Thury's theory. In a trial of twenty-eight cows,
it proved correct in the whole number.
In the selection of the male, you will have to consider the faulty or
defective points in your cows with a view to correct them. As far as
possible--pedigree being right--you ought to purchase the bull that is
strong upon the points where your females are faulty. If this is not
duly attended to, the defect or malformation may be aggravated. But
although the bull selected possesses the excellence wanting in the
cows, he ought, of course, not to be very deficient in other points,
else the cure may be worse than the disease. If possible, he should be
taken from a pasture not superior to your own. Docility of temper in
male and female is indispensable. Inexpressible mischief may be done by
the introduction of wild blood into the herd, for it is sure to be
inherited. I have suffered seriously by this error.
To be good behind the shoulder, good in the girth, and well down in the
fore-rib, are the qualifications most difficult to attain. Lightness of
the fore-rib shows a tendency to delicacy of constitution, and strength
and soundness are most important to the success of the breeder. Depth
of rib is more important in the male than in the female. Lightness of
the fore-rib may be tolerated when milk is the object (and many great
milkers are so characterised), but not where the production of beef is
the object. Then you must study to combine quality with weight. Quality
ought to be the first consideration, but we must never forget that all
must come to lbs. at last.
I have already given my opinion as to the shape and quality of a
perfect breeding and feeding animal. I shall only here remark that it
is indispensable in our cold climate that the animals should have a
good coat of soft silky hair to defend them from the cold blasts of
autumn, winter, and spring.
The Rev. H. Berry, in his Essay on Breeding, remarks: "A person
selecting a stock from which to breed, notwithstanding he has set up
for himself a standard of perfection, will obtain them with
qualifications of different descriptions, and in different degrees. In
breeding from such he will exercise his judgment, and decide what are
indispensable or desirable qualities, and will cross with animals with
a view to establish them. This proceeding will be of the
'give-and-take' kind. He will submit to the introduction of a trifling
defect, in order that he may profit by a great excellence; and between
excellences perhaps somewhat incompatible he will decide on which is
the greatest, and give it the preference. To a person commencing
improvement, the best advice is to get as good a bull as he can; and if
he be a good one of his kind, to use him indiscriminately with all his
cows; and when by this proceeding, which ought to be persisted in, his
stock has, with an occasional change of bull, become sufficiently
stamped with desirable excellences, his selection of males should then
be made, to eradicate defects which he thinks it desirable to get rid
of. He will not fail to keep in view the necessity of _good blood_
in the bulls resorted to, for that will give the only assurance that
they will transmit their own valuable properties to their offspring;
but he must not depend on this alone, or he will soon run the risk of
degeneracy."
I agree generally with the above extract from Mr Berry's most valuable
prize essay; but I must take exception to at once using even the best
bull indiscriminately for a large and valuable herd of breeding cows. I
hold that every bull must be tested, and when the result is found
satisfactory, _then, and not till then_, use him indiscriminately
for all your cows. My experience coincides with Mr Berry's where he
says the wise breeder "will not fail to keep in view the necessity of
good blood in the bulls resorted to, for that will give the only
assurance that they will transmit their own valuable properties to
their offspring; but he must not depend upon this alone, or he will
soon run the risk of degeneracy." To keep up a breeding stock to a high
point of excellence is very difficult. The breeder ought to be always
buying and selling and incorporating different _strains_ together.
There will be many blanks, but there will be a prize; and when you hit,
and the incorporation proves a lasting benefit and is stamped on the
original herd, it is a great prize you have won. I therefore agree
with Mr Berry that we must not depend alone upon the good blood of the
bull.
Having done my best to explain how I think the foundation of a breeding
stock should be laid, I shall now give my opinion and experience how
the herd should be treated, and how it should be kept up. The cows,
heifers, and bulls should be kept fresh, not fat, nor too lean. The
calves should have a different treatment. All breeding cattle tied to
the stall should be let out every day for two or three hours, or at
least every second day, unless the weather be very wet or stormy. The
finer the quality of the stock the less rich will be the food they
require. It is only throwing away your means to give high-bred cows
with calf, or heifers rising two years old, a full supply of turnips. A
few to keep them fresh and healthy, and plenty of straw, is all they
should be allowed. Bulls that are apt to accumulate fat should also be
stinted, else they will soon be useless as stock-getters. After
calving, the cows, to secure a flow of milk, should receive a full
allowance of turnips, but the increase must be gradual, as the cow has
been stinted, or ought to have been, before calving. Before calving,
milk-fever, or dropping after calving, is to be guarded against. I have
three or four cases with only one recovery. I now bleed and physic
every cow two or three days before calving. I stint them in their food
two or three weeks, and have never lost one where this practice was
fully carried out.
The lean cow is as apt to go down as the fat one. Some think warm
weather is the cause. I believe it has nothing to do with it. The grass
being generally luxuriant in warm weather, and many cows going off in
milk-fever at that season, has led to this error. Milk-fever may,
however, be produced by giving cold water immediately after calving,
&c. Cows may be attacked immediately or in a few hours after calving;
when four or five days have passed, the animal may be considered safe.
There are different causes, no doubt; but bringing a cow from poor
pasture and putting her on a rich and luxuriant one without stint, or
from straw and giving her a full allowance of turnips up to the time of
calving, are two of the greatest predisposing causes. As an example, I
bought a cow in July off a poor pasture and put her on a rich one; as
she was low-priced I did not use the necessary precautions: she went
down in milk-fever. A respected old servant bought a fine polled cow. I
was walking across the field with him, and we came upon his cow. It was
in July, and the grass was very luxuriant. I asked if he had bled the
cow, as she would calve immediately. He said, "No, I have not; and I
never saw them bled except at Tillyfour." To my sorrow and to the man's
heavy loss the cow died of milk-fever.
Milk-fever is thought by many to be incurable. Mr Sorely, veterinary
surgeon, late of Alford, has been most successful in its treatment; and
if the cows are not very far gone before he is called, he generally
effects a cure. I would recommend those not acquainted with the
treatment of this dreadful calamity to communicate with him. The
symptoms are known by the cow getting restless, lifting her legs and
setting them down again, a wild appearance, and attempting to poke her
keeper: then succeeds a quick motion in the flank; she begins to
stagger, falls, but recovers herself again. This is repeated several
times, till she is at length no longer able to rise. Her head will be
turned to one side; she loses the sense of feeling, and although
pricked with a sharp instrument gives no sign of pain; and if not
relieved, death closes the scene. If the sense of feeling returns, it
is the first sign of recovery. The moment that milk-fever is observed
the veterinary surgeon should be called in. There is little risk with a
heifer with her first calf, and I never bleed or physic a heifer in
calf, because she has not attained her growth. In her case "the
additional nutriment goes to increase of size, instead of becoming the
foundation of disease."
Red-water is also a very fatal complaint among cows. They generally
take it about the thirteenth or fourteenth day after calving. Many
farms are almost exempt from this disease. It is very fatal, but if
taken in time it can generally be cured; heavy losses are, however,
experienced every year by it. I have only had two or three cases of
red-water, and I do not therefore enlarge upon it. My observation has
led me to believe that the theory of the late Mr Peter Smith,
veterinary surgeon, Alford (who gained the Highland Society's prize for
the best essay on red-water in cows), is correct, that the disease is
generally most prevalent on farms where the land is black and of a
moorish tendency. The veterinary surgeon should be called in
_instanter_. Garget in the udder, or weed, is also to be guarded
against. After calving, some cracks and sores appear in the udder; they
get very troublesome. The teats must be drawn and clean milked out;
blood will sometimes appear with the milk; the cow must be secured, if
necessary, to effect this. The udder should be bathed with warm water,
and well rubbed over with hog's lard, and to this treatment the
complaint will generally yield. The too hastily drying the cow, and
frequent carelessness in not milking clean out, are the general causes
of this complaint. It may, however, assume a more serious aspect; the
milk gets coagulated in the udder, and the result will be the loss for
yielding milk of one, two, or more of the quarters of the udder, if the
proper remedies are not instantly adopted. Mortification sometimes
ensues; diseased portions will break off from the udder, and it may end
in the death of the animal. Putting the calf to suckle the cow will be
useful in effecting a cure; but often the teats become so painful that
the cow will not allow the calf to approach her. I cannot impress too
strongly on the breeder that, as soon as symptoms of garget are
observed, the cow must be firmly secured and the teats properly drawn
three or four times a-day. If this is neglected or inefficiently
performed, the result is scarcely doubtful. Very often there will be
only matter to draw, but it must be withdrawn from time to time as it
collects. The teaching of experience is costly in such a case; and here
the care of honest, intelligent servants is invaluable.
When the calves are taken from their dams there is the greatest danger
of garget, and this is always an anxious time with the breeder. The
cows must be allowed to go gradually off their milk, the greatest care
being taken to draw the teats once a-day when necessary. The food must
be restricted till the milk disappear; and as some cows that have been
suckled will not allow their teats to be drawn by the hand, the calves
must be put to them once a-day till the milk cease.
_The proper age for breeding._--The proper age for breeding may
depend upon circumstances, breed, &c.; but, dealing as we are with the
Aberdeen and Angus, I would say that heifers should never be put to the
bull before they are two years old. There is, no doubt, some force in
the argument that by breeding earlier keep is saved; but the answer to
this is that growth is diminished, while calving is attended with
danger. I had six heifers bulled when they were one year old. They had
all difficulty in calving; three of them required assistance, and were
very much torn and lacerated before the calves could be extracted, and
the mothers have never attained the size of the other cows in the herd.
Nor has the argument much force with me that the one-year-old is surer
to stand to the bull than the two-year-old. I maintain that we have
this very much in our own power, and that the two-year-old, with proper
treatment, and at little cost, is as sure to stand to the bull as the
one-year-old, while she will attain to a larger size. The treatment I
adopt with yearling heifers intended for breeding purposes is the
following--and I have seldom or never failed in getting them in calf:
They are not starved to interfere with their growth, but through the
summer, when rising two years old, they are kept on the very worst
grass on the farm, and on the refuse of the grass rejected by the other
cattle, which are removed to fresh pastures. In winter and spring, up
to the time of serving with the bull, they get an average barrowful of
turnips amongst every three, and no more. By this treatment the heifers
will just be fresh, and will stand to the bull as readily as yearlings.
I grant that if you were to put them on luxuriant pasture, and give
them full allowance of turnips through the winter and spring, they
would be fit for the butcher, and not for the bull. The advantages
more than counterbalance the disadvantages. Their parts will be strong
and open, and they will calve with safety; while, on the other hand,
the calving of those served at a year old will always be attended with
difficulty; the parts will often be injured and lacerated, and
mortification of the womb and the death of the animal may follow.
I need not tell my readers that the bull should not be allowed to go
with the breeding cows or heifers, as the almost universal practice now
is to keep them separate. The advantages of this must be manifest to
every one. The symptoms of coition are so well known, that I shall not
enlarge upon them; but if cows are confined to the house, there are
some shy animals that require the greatest attention to detect them,
while the majority are easily observed by their lowing and agitated
appearance. In the former case the animal will not blare, neither will
there be much difference in her general appearance; but her external
parts will be red, and a transparent liquor will be discharged from the
vagina. Let her be put out with another, which will prove her at once.
In some seasons, although the cows and heifers are in a breeding state,
it is, even with the best management, difficult to get them in calf.
This becomes a source of great annoyance and loss to the breeder. A cow
should never be allowed the bull sooner than five or six weeks after
calving; to do otherwise will prove a failure, and will be detrimental
to the animal. If a cow or heifer should miss to stand to the bull
before the end of May, and the weather get warm, it is difficult to get
them in calf; they may run on for months every two or three weeks. Many
a good breeding animal has been lost in this way, and gone to the
butcher, their owner having despaired of getting them in calf; whereas,
if he had had patience until September or October, when the cold
weather sets in, in all likelihood they would have been got in calf. I
had three cows out of four, that had run on the whole summer, got in
calf in one day. An early spring calf is preferable to a late one, and
most desirable; but my doctrine is, that a good calf never can come
wrong. It is trying to the breeder to see his fine cows running on, but
we must not despair; we must not lose a chance, for we will generally
catch them, and sometimes when we least expect it. When a cow assumes
the appearance of what we term a regular buller--when she is running
every day, or every second or third day, or when one or more retire
from the herd and assume the habits of the male--then, and not till
then, does the case become utterly hopeless. I had two fine cows I was
obliged to quit; they assumed the habits of the male, absented
themselves from the rest of the herd, went through the field lowing,
roaring, and pawing the ground with their feet, their lowing being that
of the male and not of the female, and their shapes and looks were
completely changed. Some friends, in whose opinion I have confidence,
think this disease hereditary.
I would recommend, when cows and heifers are not standing to the bull,
to give a dose or two of medicine. A change of the bull may succeed;
and leading the cow or heifer six miles out and six miles in, when
coming in heat, will sometimes be effectual. I was led to this practice
by observing that cows or heifers that had run on the whole season up
to the time of exhibition, when put to the bull on their arrival from
the show, were got in calf at once. I naturally concluded that the
exercise which they had undergone was the cure. I adopted the
principle, and have succeeded in several cases, though not in all; and
I know of some other breeders who have also been successful.
A cow goes nine months with young, generally ten or fourteen days
longer. I have known one go twenty-seven days past her time. They
generally go longer with a bull calf than a heifer. It is almost a sure
sign that all will be right if the cow go past her time; when matters
are wrong the birth is generally premature. Slinking is one of the
greatest pests to which a breeder is subjected. The symptoms are as
follows: a yellow mixed with red, glairy, offensive fluid will be
observed running from the vagina, a flow of milk to the udder, and a
loosening of the couplings behind; in a day or two premature labour
follows. No time is to be lost on these symptoms being observed. The
cow should be immediately removed to a separate apartment, and kept by
herself for two or three weeks. If the premature birth should take
place before the cow is removed, the foetus and after-birth must be
instantly buried, and not only the stall where the cow was standing,
but the whole of the byre should be thoroughly washed over with hot
lime, or chloride of lime. It is well known that if one cow abort,
others are apt to follow. I recollect that almost every cow out of
forty, belonging to the late James Walker, Wester Fintray, aborted. One
half were polled, the other shorthorns.