A DAIRY CHAMPION

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 266, 30 July 1918, Page 8

A DAIRY CHAMPION

NEW ZEALAND COW'S RECORD

SOME BIG FIGURES

i r '» Y.-* Singleton. Assistant-Direc-tor of tho New Zealand Dairy Division, gives, the following particulars of the I New Zealand milk and buiter-I'at cham- , pionj—

In . February Now Zealand's highest ; rnilb record and the leadership in butteri fat for tho Fries Lau senior four-year-old , class were noticed as having be fn Von by AVoodcrest Johanna 'Tehee, imported and developed by Mr. John Donald, of AVest- ' mere. Tho honours of tho milk record : have not Ion,; rested with Tehee, for now ft herd-mate, Westmero Princess Pieterj tje, has come fovward with a production 1 which eclipsoa the previous record by a , wide margin. ! _ AV«stmere _Princoss ' I'ietertje lias fin- ; ished her 365-day test and won a certifi- ' cats on tho following record: Ago at com- ; monoaraont of test, 4 years 15li days; milk, 21,1991b.; butter-fat, 939.781b." This record _ confers on her tho .New Zealand : championship for milk and butter-fat production lor all classes and all breeds. ! The writer knows of no cow outside of i the United States of America which has i equalled this butter-fat record. | Our former highest butter-fat-record I c ow was Manor Beets Daughter "(I of i AsMynn, -with a credit of 863.511b. fat, in ; the Iriesian senior three-year-old class. ' With AVostmere Princess I'iotertje's i achievement Mr. Donald lias the credit of i having bred two _ and developed tliroo , class-leaders ffriesians), as follow: — i Milk. Fat. Name. lb. lb. Westmere Princess Pieter- ; tje 2t,199.0 939.78 AVoodcrest Johanna Tehee 21,483.1 751.95 j Motherland Princess IV ... 19,621.0 805.77 ! AVestmere Princess Pieterlje is from : Netherland Princess by -Paul Pietcrtje. i The dam was all Longlieach blood, while I th< sire WSS bred by Mr. Newton King • from strains .imported from the United • States. These particular strains have : "nicked" woll, jis is further evidenced 1 by the fact that'Netlierlaud Princess IV, ' ' the beat senior two-year-old, is a fulleister to our new champion.

Wesfcmere Princess I'ietortjc carried her calf during ■ 2-17 days of her 365 days on test, ;md was never milked mora than three times daily. These circumstances make her production compare favourably 'with a number of higher butter-fat figures in the United States produced on four-timea-a-day. milking and without regard to previous and subsequent calving. Our new champion dropped her first calf at 1 year 8 months old, and started her present test at the age of •!' years 5 months, after her fourth'calving. It Khoul'l be noted that sho has been in profit each year. Despite the fact that sho dropped liar first calf while too young, sho has grown into a large cow. Her length is greater than that of the old matron Domino 111. She lias a good for heart-girth and from hip to pin-bone. Her height at tho shoulder is much above the average, due in part to the spinal column being raised above the level of the shoulder-blades. Tho prominence of this backbone and its open vertebrno with the cow in good working condition would bo pleasing to some good judges of special-purpose dairy cattle. A broad muzzle, a large body (due to its exceptional length, with a corresponding spring of rib), and a well-developed udder are evidences, even to the uninitiated, that Westmere Princess Pietertje has the physical development for hec work. Her dairy temperament is evidenced by her production, as well as by the possession of large prominent bright eyes, a wedge-shaped cifcancut appearance and a spinal column that is strong evidence that hers is the nervous temperament so desired in a dairy animal.

Westmere Princess Pietcrtje has been mcwt consistent throughout her year on test. That her yield from day to day has varied so little is a great tribute to Mr. Donald's method of feeding and handling his cow throughout such a. period of heavy production. Further, the champion seems to look as fresh as ever, and the writer believes she could again prove her claim to a 90011). butterfat record.