PIONEER BULL IMPORTED TO LEVIN

Chronicle (Levin), 4 November 1947, Page 4

PIONEER BULL IMPORTED TO LEVIN

History And Cbaracteristics Of Galloway tattle The first of its kind ever to be imported into New Zealand in nearly 100 years of cattle raising, a 20-mbnths Black Galloway bull comes to its new owner, Mr. E. R. Winkler, of Levin, tomorrow, after being in quarantiiie on Somes Island since it arrived in the Dominiori - on Octobey 4 tfrom Scotland.

This pioneer bull, "Perseus of Lochurr," won second prize for animals of his class in the show and sale at Castle-Douglas, Scotland, in February of this year. Galloway cattle are particularly suited to marginal hill and deteriorating country. Their origin goes back into the mists of antiquity. Some claim that they are the direct descendants of the polled cattle of Scythia, of which Herodotus wrote about 400 B.C. The Scots are safd to hav.e migrated across Europe through Ir.eland and thence into Scotland and they may well have brought their cattle with them. At all events though all records were lost by fire in 1851 oral testimony handed down for generations confirms the statement I that the pure Galloway is always hornless and any trace of scur is I taken as an indication of impure blood. So flxed is this character jthat the progeny of a purebred Galloway bull with any breed of horned cows should give polled calves. No other breed of cattle will equal the Galloway in this respect.

• Prior to 1877 the records of both Aberde'en Angus and Galloway were retained by a Polled Herd-book for Scotland and in that year the Galloway Cattle Society was formed to manage a Galloway Herd-book. This action may have been unwise when viewed in retrospect for whereas the A.A. breed became so popular in all cattle raising countries of the world— particularly the N6w World — the fine qualities of the Galloways were overlooked and certainly not advertised by their breeders. The chief characteristics which it is expected will create a demand for them in New Zealand are: Extreme hardiness; equipped by nature to withstand the rigours of a severe winter by virtue of their soft woolly undercoat for warmth and a good coat of hair to shed the rain; ability to feed, rear and breed a calf and thrive on a greater variety of herbage than other breeds and eventually produce the carcase of "mottled" or "marbled" beef so much sought after by butchers.