THE JERSEY COW

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 119, 6 February 1918, Page 6

THE JERSEY COW

Sir,—l am not in the habit of rushing into print, but I cannot let pass unchallenged two of the. wildest state-ments-it has ever been my lot to see in print. In your issue of January 31 there appears a letter over the signature of one Coleman Phillips, and in that letter occur these statements: "The Jersey I always had a horror of, as its use has simply ruined the dairy herds of Now Zealand." And again: "Jersey'milk is the very bane of our cheese industry." These are two of the wildest statements I have ever seen made. Obviously they are of no value, as .they have no foundation in fact; but in case any reader may have thoughtlessly, accepted them as true, I hasten to assure Sir. Coleman. Phillips that he has made a grave mis* take.

Taranaki is, I believe, considered, to be tho home of the dairying industry. It is also the home of ths Jersey. Why? Because Taranaki farmers know that butter-fat is what they are paid for; and the most economical producer of butter-fat is the little Jersey cow. This is no idle statement, but one that has been proved timeafter time in public as well as private •tests. Not only does the Jersey beat all-comers as an economical producer of butter-fat, but also as an economical producer of casein. This has been proved in public test, and up here in. Taranaki we have amplo proof at our very doors.

The Tariki Dairy Company, a cooperative concern operating a few" miles away from Stratford, and manufacturing cheese of a first-class oven quality, handles far more Jersey milk than any other. Some years ago a. howl went up from those suppliers whoso test was low, to the effect thafc the high-testing Jerseys were robbing them. The champions of the black and whites, and other low-testing catllo were sure that they were being robbed. They contended that the lowtesting cow supplied more casein than, the high-testing Jersey cow, and they therefore wore supplying the bulk or the cheese, while tho Jersey was being paid for it! Tho directors of the. company .approached tho Department of Agriculture, Commerce, and Dairv Industries, and Mr. Cuddie sent Mr.* W. M. Singleton along to attempt to put matters before tho suppliers in their true light. lie pointed ont that the fairest method of payment for cheese was on a lintter-fat plus casein basis, hub that owing to tlm uncortnintv .of tlio casein test, combined with the extra, time and cost required to make it, it was hardly worth while considering it. However,' our low-testing brethren were tired of being "robbed,'] and so determined to have the easem test. Tho Dairy Department gave every assistance. and at the end of the yw it was found that the Jersey was still on ton! Tariki was the. first factory in New Zealand —I believe in tho world to in;stal tho casein test for cheese, and the experiment has proved to he a veritable triumph for the little Jersey cow, dubbed by Mr. Coleman Phillips "tho bane of the cheese industry." In conclusion, 1 would draw Mr. Phillips's attention to tho Biblical injunction: "Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good." If Mr. Phillips will only prove the Jersey cow I am sure ho will hold fast to her, for she is good.—l am, etc., PRANK RANFORD. Stratford, February 2, 1918.