POPULARITY OF THE JERSEY.

Shannon News, 25 May 1928, Page 2

POPULARITY OF THE JERSEY.

ENTRIES AT SYDNEY ROYAL SHOW. Judging by the number of entries at the recent Royal Show in Sydney, the- Jersey is decidedly the most popular dairy breed in the State of New South Wales. They, were a 3 fojlows: Jersevs t 252 Milking Shorthorns 190. lllawarras 106 Ayrshires 141 Friesians ■■ • 78 Guernseys 54 Judging was in the hands of Mr H. E. B. Watson, oi New Zealand, who was faced with the best showing of Jerseys which Fydney has seen for a long time. The Sydney Morning Herald says: "Throughout the day the judging was witnessed with the keenest interest by the crowds on the stands around the ring. The attendance contrasted forcibly with the attention given by the public to the judging at other rings." Sir Samuel Hordern's Retford Bracken secured the champion ribbon for cows —she is a wonderfully even cow, with a capacious body, sweet head, and a good vessel. She i 8 a daughter of the defunct "Matilda's Noble" and was bred by the exhibitor. "Brown Chief's Cavalier of Wollingurry," won the class for aged bulls and the championship. He is described as having a rib and a flank that put him in a class by himself —the animal is evenly balanced right through. His picture shows him to be a perfect model of a bull, with a great depth of body, a grand carriage, and a head to enthuse over. The reserve champion ribbon went to the well-bred imported 1 bull, Speedwell's Volunteer; he being by Jersey Volunteer,'who is also the ; sire of the imported bulls owned by ! Messrs F. W. Cornwall and G. H. Bell. I A SERIOUS JERSEY LOSS.

Mr F. W. Cornwall, of Bell Block. Taranaki, one of the foundation members of the Jersey Cattle Breeders' Association, and one of its leading judges, suffered a severe loss to his herd recently, when his imported eow "Sybil's Gipsy" died. She was tired on the Island of Jersey, where, as a yearling, she easily won first at the St. Martin's show. Her sire Sybil's Gamboge 4th, winner of the progeny prize judged by the merits of five of his daughters in milk—the most coveted prize at the Island Royal Show. Her dam was a highly commended cow rich in Oxford.and Noble blood. She was imported to New Zealand by Mr E. Griffiths, won first prize as a 3-year-old and reserve for him at the Hamilton Show, and at his sale in 1925 was purchased by Mr Cornwall for 510 guineas. She had two sons by Clarion —one was purchased by Mr N. Moore, of Otago, and the other is at the head of Mr Cornwall's herd. His progeny, though young, have won first prizezs at the Royal and other leading shows, and a daughter was shipped to South Africa. Sybil's Gipsy's last calf was a heifer, and she won first prize at the last New Plymouth Show, so it will be seen that she was a most valuable breeding eow. She was nearly seven years old, and her early death is a distinct loss to the breed. JERSEYS AND GROUP HERD TESTING. The last issue of the New Zealand Farmer says: "A marked feature of group herd testing is that the greater its popularity, the greater tlie popularity of the Jersey cow. Indeed the systematic testing of the grade herds of dairy cattle has revealed more than anything else to the general farming community the merits of the Jersey breed." It points out that at Otorohanga Mr Phillips' herd of pedigree Jerseys led the 60 groups tested by 23 herd-testing associations allied with the N.Z. Co-operative Herd Testing Association, for the month of January, with an average yield per eow of 49.73 lb. fat, being at least 7 lb ahead of the next highest herd. Also it points out that a grade Jersey herd in the same locality, of 50 cows, yielded an average of 57.40 lb fat for the month of December. Another remarkable yield is that of the grade Jersey herd of Messrs Farrow Bros., of Waihou, where 55 animals produced 22,115 lb. fat for the season, thus making an average production per cow of 420 lb. An outstanding feature of this record is that the figures given, are for the factory returns, and do not include the house milk, or' that used to feed the calves—the latter was quite a quantity, for Mr Farrow does his calves well, and quits them at good money. Another feature affecting the herd is that it includes six two-year-old heifers, and 31 second and third carvers. The herd was started six years ago and is headed by the pedigree Jersey bull, Campbell, K.C., whose daughters are proving phenomenal producers.