KERRY CATTLE.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 329, 29 December 1888, Page 4

KERRY CATTLE.

Thk Kerry breed of cattle is probably the moat perfect representative of the prehistoric cattle of these islands which we now possess. One of the characteristics of a Kerry cow is the length of face ; this is alt-o a feature of Bos r Longifrons, the fossil ox found in these islands. Kerry cattle are as a rule a velveby black in colour ; there is, however, an orange shade of red, which is also a pure Kerry colour. It is ajiote- ' worthy lact that black cattle and Drufdical remains seem often to be associated together. In 'Scotland you have the Angus and Aberdeen breeds, both black. In Wales you have the black Welsh cattle, in Cornwall you find black cattle, and in Devonshire you have red Devons, some very dark, and it is probable that •black was the original colour. In Brittany again you have the black .and white Brittany cattle, some of them nearly black. This would seem to show that the cattle of the ancient Celts were black. Kerry cattle formerly extended all along the West Coast of It eland, but from the introduction of Shorthorn blood they have gradually become extinct, excepfc-'in the south-west of Kerry and Cork. This is greatly to be regrettedj as the introduction of Shorthorn blood into the mountanious districts of Donegal, Sligo, Muyo, and Galway has only served to destroy the constitution of the hardy mountain breed, vnd has produced, instead of a superior race, a lot of the most wretched and mi«erablelooking breeds one can well imagine. The peasants of Galway and Mayo now look back, when too late, with regret to the hardy little black cattle. The same danger threatened Kerry, but of late years the people have begun to realise that the half-bred Shorthorns do not thrive on the mountains, and they now use none but Kerry bulls. A trade for Kerry cows has also opened up with England in recent years, and the mountain farmers have found by experience that they can get about 108 a-head more for black heifers than for others. The meritr of the Kerry cow lie in the facb that she is particularly hardy, and will yield a good flow of milk ot excellent quality on pasture where a cow of the larger breed would perish. When she has finished milking she fattens readily, and puts up beef of a very superior quality. Jt has also been found, by carefully -con ducted experiments, that a Kerry cow gives a larger yield of milk for iood consumed than the celebrated Ayrshire breed. I had a heid ot Shorthorns from 1878 to 1882. Finding, however, that my land was not good enough to support them I sold them off, and resolved to try what I could do towards improving the native breed. I purchased about 150, and gradually weeded out the inferior milkers, until I obtained a herd of about thirby-tive good dairy cows. My object was to produce a cow of about 6cwb., live weight, that would give 500 gallons of milk in the year without extra feeding. I have no reason to be discouraged so far, because five of my cows gave an average of 504 gallons each of milk, which Yielded 12 per cent, of cream, and one of my cows gave 9§lb oi butter per week on grast> alone. It is however, to the young stock, carefully bred at Kilmorna, to which I look with most hope. I have used bulls selected as boing out of good milkets, and the results are already noticeable. Five two-year old heifers bred by me after calving their first calf milked remarkably well, considering their age, and the axerage percentage of cieam on the milk of the five was 15.4 per cent.. This was remarkably good on my land, because it is not good dairy land. One cow I sold that only gave 12 per cent, of cream with me yielded 24 per cent, when put on really good land. A Kerry cow is a particularly beautiful animal, with the erect cainage and elastic step of a deer, a coat of rich velveby black, and a general appearance bespeaking activity, hardiness, and thrift. The head is very fine, and the muzzle thin and tapering, gh ing the head a great look of breeding and refinement. The neck is slight and clean, and perfectly free from loose skin. The horns, white, tipped with black, are thin, not coarse, rising upwards from the head; they turn back with a gen tie sweep. The limbs are particularly slender and deer-like, with very tine bone. In all other respects a good Kerry resembles a good type of milch cow. I feel confident that, with care and attention, the Kerry breed may be so improved as belore long to equal the Jersey in the quantity aud quality of milk while greatly excelling that breed in the quality of beef pioduced and hardiness of constitution. We have now succeeded in establishing a register, which will doubtless form the foundation of a Kerry Herdbook. Although the mles for entry in the register wei c necessarily very stringent, in order to ensure the quality of animals enteied, we have received entries from a good many breedex ¥ s so that the prospects of my favourite breed of cattle aie at present decidedly promising. — Piekoe Mahony, M.P. Kilmorna, Listowel, in the Agricultural QazttU.