THE DEMAND FOR JERSEYS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 854, 28 June 1910, Page 8

THE DEMAND FOR JERSEYS.

"VyHAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD 1 . .■:•..-. ; ';m : -:do.-v'-. I - ■■■■ [To ; the" Editor/] S4r,-pCompiaiuts been made in Taranaki and other parts of • tlio' . Dominion' i'iliat ,-tiKe." 'Goyer.nimeait or Sta,ie arc competing against the fa-r- ---' inejp and private'.'fcfflterp'rise- for pedigree Jersey cattle,,..Next.,to. p l;ho wool mai';ket; thero.;is' probably'iif.'.other industry of suciiimporiaiioo: to/the Dominion as the' "dairy' 'industry £'.itherefore, it should be assisted by.<fjho,rState. Any produot from ..tlio soil, sent to foreign markets, nrust bring a return of foreiga capital, which this Dominion wants every time'. "I-The Agricultural Department, hi, tlio interest of tluo'farmer, and the Dominion in paTticular,"by -'establtehiag breeding depots;.-,wherovfannera can procure a purebred sire or dam, at reasonable price "or within tliereacß" of ordinary dairymen, does what is good for tho farmer,' and any product coming from the soil must be food for the Dominion. Therefore, the greatest .good'for tho greatest numbers.. I would oven, gofur..tlier aaid saiy the Government or Agricultural Depao-tment are not going far ono'ugh in.tin's diTectirai. ' 'It is hot. so-.many iyears ago that the ■ Jersey'. cotv was', a' diilg' in tho Ta.rana.ki district, bat to-day slio; is the most valuable hi the province. It was commonJy urged that the Jersey was too . delicate for the district, but since then the order of .tilings Iras changed. Tlio Jersey is found to bo less susceptible to disease" than the Shorthorn breed. Tho Jersey to-day is recognised to bo tho ideal type for the butter-f»t. The farmer lias discovered flat it pays to feed, and giv.o more attention to his stock, ,bnt, tho advanco is only in its initial'stage. .One fact about the'great .demand for tho. Jersey is that long graces : are being, paid, which ■■ places.,

thorn beyon-d tho roach of the ordinary farmer or dniryinan. This "to my miml iiS where the Department can do a great amount of yood to all concerned in the dairy business. Tlio Agricultural Department, by importing those of undoubted pedigree and test, breeding and selling same at prices within tho reach of ordinary farmers, would confer one of tlie greatest boons to tho butter industry, to tho settlor, and to the There is a feverish desire on tho part of brooders. to gain possession of the best Jersey blood in tho Dominion, paying as high as 90 to 100 guineas each. I These prices place -the sire- or. dam be- : yond the reaeJi of ordinary settlers. 1 Tlio State or Agricultural Department could breed and sell at 40 to 50 guineas, and, roinomboring that a. ''bull is half ' the herd," in two to three yea-rs could '■ have a "grade herd" yielding half as '. much again in butter-fat with less ; cows, thereby carrying mc-re stock on ;. the- same ground with better results ! financially. Tlio Jersey, being a small ■ consumer, and turning that food to the ■ best results, i.e., butter-fat; owing to 1 the rapid expansion of dairying, every ! settler or farmer could not begin with purebred animals throughout, but all J herds could be improved by clioo&ing . sires judiciously. This is where tho Agricultural Department could assist ; materially. Tile Hon. Thos. Mackenzie, ■ &peal;iiii.g'at tho Palmerston North Dairy Show, said the Department of Agriculture has £1500 to purchase some of the beet Jersoys in England. With your kind permission, I .will have something more 'to say oh this subject. Thanking you in. anticipation,—l am, etc., ■ A. TIEIKEI.