THE JERSEY.

Shannon News, 24 April 1925, Page 4

THE JERSEY.

MU H, E. R. WATSON DEMONSTRATES TYPE. LEVIN JERSEY CLUB’S DEMONSTRATION. The second annual Jersey demonstration, under the auspices oi the Levin Jersey cattle-breeders’ Club, was held at Mr J. H. Taylor’s farm at lhakara, yesterday, when Mr H. E. B. Watson, official lecturer to the N.Z. Jersey Breeders Association, delivered an address, the interest and instructive features of which compelled the closest attention throughout. Between seventy and eighty farmers attended', breeders being present front as' far afield as Paraparaumu and Shannon. Unfortunately the unsettled appearance of the weather in the earlier part of the day prevented many who would otherwise! have been i present, from attending, this applying j more, particularly to the wives of farmers, whose attendance at the preceding demonstration, had been a conspicuous feature of the occasion. A light luncheon and; afternoon tea were supplied free to all by the Jersey Club, and*was a contributing feature to the success of the day., Mr Taylor’s fine herd of Jerseys, the quality of which .is well known m the district, were generously placed at the disposal of the demonstrator foi the purpose of illustrating the points of the breed. IMPORTANCE OF THE, BREED. Mr Watson, who was introduced by Mr R. L. Horn (Kuku), president oi the Club, opened his lecture by expressing the pleasure it gave him to attend a district when such enthusiasm prevailed for the brefed as in Levin. The Jersey breed was, he stated, one Qf'the great factors in the dairy industry of New Zealand, an industry ' which returned to the Dominion, an annual total qf nearly £20,000,000. There were in New Zealand 460,000 registered and grade Jersey cows which would give some idea of the prominence of the breed. It had been said in years past that the Jersey was only the fad of the time, and would in a few years go the way of all Other fads, hut years had gone past and the Jersey was still popular. The great importance of the Jersey in New Zealand and of the breeding of pedigree cattle, arose from the fact that through the improvement in the standard of dairy stock it was possible to work such an improvement m the returns available from a given area. As he had mentioned previously the industry returned annually some £20,000,000. By an increase of only 5 per cent, in the production, .a further £1,000,000 would be received every year by the dairy farmers of the Dominion. Ten per cent, would give ££,000,000, and yet 10 per cent, was by no means the maximum which could be obtainable by even a very'slight effort in the direction oi improved breeding apd care. [Applause).

CONSTITUTION. The importance of constitution was emphasised at length by the lecture)'. It was. sometimes found, he said, that a cow ; of unsound constitution would yet be a high-production animal,. but it would too often be found that her faults of constitution woul.d be accentuated in her progeny. It was essential when commencing breeding to

get the foundation right, and as the milking cow. was. an animal on which there was an immense and sustaineu drain it was of prime importance tliai constitution should he one of the main considerations when purchasing. Mr Watson then went on to explain the points Of a dairy oow which de< noted those qualities. No dairy farmer, he said, should buy 'cows once he had become established. Too often, he said amidst laughter, he woiuld find that in doing so he was getting a bonus in the form, of the oilier man's mistakes. The Jersey oow was recognised as the highest testing cow in the world: by looking after her constitution she could be made a large and consistent milker, but it was necessary before this could be done that the shape of

• body consistent with milk production Should be secured. Plenty of heart room, width behind- the shoulder, arid depth from the back tQ tire under line immediately behind the shoulder, were essential if the cow were to have the vitality which alone would, enable her tQ stand up to the work of high production. Next in importance was that the milking cow should be of a distinct milking type and not a fat production type. Every animal was put on the earth with distinct characteristics—some leant towards beef production, and some towards butterfat. A cow with a tendency to go to beef might certainly produce well f° r a year, or for a few: years, but after a while, it would be found that she gradually followed her natural tendency and turned the food she consumed into beef and not into butter fat. The beef-producing animal was essentially heavy on the top line, wide in the back, heavy in the hindquarters, and lacking in the great depth and width beneath which were characteristic of the dairy cow. The milk-producting animal on the other hand required more room for tlie heart, because, it must be emphasised that the strain on the constitution was enormous, and. must reverse the beef type entirely. She should be light on the top line, and wide and heavy beneath. Other characteristics were a strong jaw, plenty of room between ribs whicli should slope backwards towards the quarters, and a great distance between the last rib and the hip. A large prominent placid eye, long slender neck, backbone, high and prominent, skin fine of texture and loose, and an udder well carried along the abdomen, and broad and well sus-

pended, were oilier essential points 1 to' look fqr. Regarding the udder, I which it would be conceded was the most important point in the cow, it was necessary to see that tlie animal was wide in the hips, and long from the hip bones to the tail, so that the udder would have the necessary room for development. In fact, the lecturer emphasised, every point indicated > as being necessary in a dairy cow, | were given not because they had be-

come a habit, but because without tiiose points, the cow would he lacking m some important particular. SHOW POINTS.

There were besides these, continued Mr Watson, the Show, points which might be described us the characteristics of tlie breed. Everyone recognised that these points did not help the cow to produce one extra pound of biutterlut, but insistence on them safeguarded tlie type of the breed. Without insistence on these characteristics it would, after a few years reach such a stage that at the shows there would be no distinct breeds, but the whole daily section be shown in one class. The lecturer contended that thei’e was no necessity to sacrifice utility in order to obtain the show points, whatever might have been iin the past. The ideal show-ring Jersey, at the present time, was an ideal dairy type, plus certain characteristics, such as tlie dished lace, etc., which coiuld be retained ijy tbe breeder, provided the necessary care were exercised. If a breeder found that lie was breeding type without production characteristics, then tlie sooner he scrapped las stock and obtained a fresh foundation from the many strains in the Dominion which combined both, the better lor everyone. Mr Watson dealt at some length with line-breeding, which he advo.cated, provided it was first ascertained that the constitution was right, both on the male and female side. If this were neglected, or in the hands of a careless or inexperienced breeder, the results might be disastrous, but given intelligent handling, linebreeding perpetuated the good qualities of the strain. Hearty vote s of thanks to the lecturer, to Mr Taylor for the use of his property and stock and to the Jersey Club for having arranged the demonstration, concluded the lecture.