DAIRYING IN JAPAN.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1013, 31 December 1910, Page 8

DAIRYING IN JAPAN.

WHAT THE YELLOW MEN ABE • DOING. • The "Dairy World" (London) gives, the. Mowing interesting information concerningtho dairy industry in Japan, to which a considerable - number of American-bred cattlo Have been exported " , There aro. in the country nearly ono arid a quarter million cattle, or nine per square mile. This number is small compared with England, but it must bo remembered that the consumption of 'meat: per head per year m Japan does iiot exceed , one and tlireofourths pounds, against tho ono , hundred and eighteen pounds in _ England. The eattlo were formerly chiefly used for draft purposes and the making of manure, arid were-neither good as meat producers or milkers. Improvement is being.brought about by tlio importation of stock from America and England, the cstablislinient of, Government farms, subsidies to farmers," and inspection for tuberculosis. At tho end of 190S there \£ere nearly 4500 foreign cattle in tho country, mostly Holsteins, Ayrshires, and Shorthorns. . These are already, having an influence on the milk yield, and a certain amount of butter, .cheese, and condensed milk aro made, but it will bo somo ' time before imported dairy produce can. be done without. The Marquis Mayeda .owns a number of farms aggregating nearly 5000 acres, which are used for tho improvement of dairy cattle, fodder growing and forestry. Tho chief breed kept is tho Ayrshire, ■ first . introduced by tho Agricultural : College ,of Sapporo. This breed -is'..considered most suited to tho climate of. Japan. Tho milk is sent twico.a day to Otarii, being sold at about Is. 4d. per., gallon. The breeding of Ayrshires has been most successful, and a,cow has been sold for over £100... '