Dairy Stock at Weraroa

Horowhenua Chronicle, 21 January 1911, Page 4

Dairy Stock at Weraroa

THE MAKING OF A PRIME HERD. In an interesting article entitled "Making a Dairy Herd," the Mana\vatil Times editorially prints tiio following farts and comments: — The groat point of interest al Weraroa just now is the dairy nerd that is being built up there. The Hon. T. MeKen/.ie lias been paving particular attention to it and intends to pay still more. He has the I lolsteins at Weraroa, and is doing the same with the .Jersey herd at Ruakura. At Weraroa there are also some milking Shorthorns among the good cows, and one ShorthornAyrshire cross, whieth is putting up good records at the pail, and is a curious mixture of both parents -a stocky, thick-necked cow with a big vessel. The herd is hand-milked on contract, and well Plonked after by the family that has it in hand, a.s the docility of all the,'boasts and their measured tramp in profession to and from the bails indicates, while they are in excellent condition. The Shorthorns are purebred, one a perfect straight-backed beast, yet a good milker, but the prido of the herd is the Holsteins. These are to be the characteristic feature of the Weraroa herd. Hitherto the bright particular star of the farm has been the handsome little cow 'Mary, the New Zealand record milker. Kvery dairyman knows her, and she stiil stands nobly up to the pail with all her eleven years, but she doesn't disdain now to lean against the partition, 011 the other side of which is 'being milked her rival, and supplaniter as Queen of "Weraroa. a big, characteristically marked Holstein, wihicli looks as though she had just stepped from the frame of an old Dutch picture, so fixed have been the characteristics of tlic HolsteinFricsian breed for centuries. She has already returned a profit of L'SO after allowing for her cost, keep, and so 011. Her first calf sold for €73, and she lias another valuable one at foot. Her milk record from August 7th to December 7th (four months) Avas 791)81b5, with an average test of 3.0 and with "butter fat at I.od, and the skim milk, the return is C'lG -Is lOd. She is keeping tha.t sort of thing going and promises to eclipse all records on the season. Yesterday, as the writer watched her being milked, sh-o was rapidly filling her second big pail.