JERSEY BREEDERS' ASSOCIATION

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 81, 14 July 1910, Page 7

JERSEY BREEDERS' ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of members of the New Zealand Jersey fc/'uttle Breeders' Association was held in the Town Hall, New Plymouth, yesterday. There were 40 members present, (ill parts of the Dominion. Mr. J. A. McCrea (Palmerston North), president, occupied the chair. Several apologies were received from absent members.

ANNUAL REPORT. The annual report was read as follows: There has been a considerable increase in the membership during the past year, | in all 31 members having been elected and two resigned. Volume VI. of the N.Z. Jersey Herd Book was published during the year. The total number of cattle registered in the herd Books are 520 bulls, 988 cows. On behalf of the Editing Committee, the Council desires to draw the attention of breeders to certain matters in connection with the entries of cattle in the Herd Book., All entries must be made by the owner, on the forms provided for the purpose by the Association, and must be correctly tilled in and signed, otherwise the entries will be returned till corrected, it is absolutely neces|sarv that Jersey Herd Book numbers only should be tilled in wherever asked for on the forms. In the case of okl animals, or those being entered for reference the first time, there should be attached to the entry form all documents thu owner possesses, such as sale notes and receipts, breeder's pedigree or certificate, etc., together with an affidavit testifying to their genuineness. There is also one other serious matter that must be stopped at once, viz., the attempt to carry on a name by means of numerals on the part of more' than one owner at a time. Sav a breeder adopts Rosebud. He continues 1, 2. 3, and so on. Then he sells Rosebud 6th. The purchaser must not continue the Rosebud line by further numerals. The name Bilberry is a ease in point, and is bound to cause confusion in the future. The council will confer with the local branches at an early date on the adoption of a system of registration of exclusive names or prefixes as is adopted by the English and New Zealand Kennel Clubs.

Reference to the Editing Committee, Messrs F. E. Watson and J. C. Lane, would not he complete without mention of the indebtedness of the Association to them for their attention to this important 'work. Mr. F. E. Watson? from his close connection with Jersey maueia for many years, is an encyclopaedia on the subject, and has most generously contributed special articles for the New Zealand Farmer and the pamphlet published by this Association. Early in the year the scheme for testting the milk and fat yield of Jersey cows was approved by the council, printed and issued to members. Mr. H. E. B. Watson, of Tai Tapu, was the first member to avail of the-provisions, with satisfactory results. Full details will appear in the' next volume of the Herd Book.

Continuing the practice of allotting champion medals for bull and cow entered in the Herd Book and competing at an agricultural show last year medals were "awarded to the Taranaki A. and P. Society. ' Local sub-branches have been working at New Plymouth, Auckland and Carterton. With the extension of the Association, conveners have been appointed for Stratford, Hawera, Wanganui, Whangarei and Cambridge, and it is expected the accession of membership in these districts will ensure a keen interest being taken in Jersey matters'. By the aid of the sub-branches your council should be

able to obtain a consensus of opinion

representative of the breeders, which will be valuable jn considering many schemes I yet to be taken in hand. I In view of the development of the I Association, your council deemed it. expedient, in the interests of its government, to increase the couucil to seven. This was done in accordance with the rules by notifying three vacancies on the council, and which are in course of being filled by the usual members' ballot, | Messrs Eagle and Booth retain their ' seats, while the president and vice-presi-dent will be elected at this meeting., A pamphlet on the Jersey has been recently published and is now available for general issue. By the balance-sheet you will notice that the revenue for the year amounted to £244 Os 7d, besides cash of £OS 5s 7d brought forward from the preceding year, and the total expenses, inclusive of printing Herd Books, £146 os 6d. At the en J of the financial year there is a credit balance of £169 OS Bd. The sum of £IOO has been placed on deposit with the Union-Bank of Australia, Limited, for twelve months, and the surplus over liabilities amounts to £331 Is 4d. Your council think the finances eminently satisfactory, and congratulate the members on having attained to such a position from the small beginnings of eight years back.

The president, in moving the 'adoption of the report and balance sheet, said:— It affords me much pleasure in having such a large attendance at this, the eighth annual meeting of members and the first held under the system of holding the annual meetings at a different centre yearly. It is very gratifying indeed, gentlemen, and it shows that the Jersey has proven by sterling merit preeminent qualities for the betterment of the dairy profits, and so we have not only a record gathering for any one breed association but a record of which we can well be proud. Back in April, 1002, a meeting was held in Palmerston North for the purpose of forming this association. It was supported by the Jersey pioneers. It took some time to get into working order the rules, Herd Book 'by-laws, and applications for registration, so that the first four or live years were slow and tedious, but the foundations of the Association were carefully devised and ■well laid out; to-day we are reaping the benefits of the foresight shown liv those who assisted the Association with careful administration. The work has increased very much. Some idea of the Editing Committee's duties alone may be gathered when I learn that there is a total of over 500, forms lodged for volume 7 of the Herd j Book. The substantial position of the Association financially is excellent, and the accumulation of funds will help the council to undertake important work in the near future in your interests which has hitherto been impracticable. There are many features of the Association on which I could offer some additional remarks to what appears in the report, but I don't want to take up very much time. The references, for instance, to local sub-branches indicate how the council desire that the local committees will confer with the. members in such a wav that much valuable information and assistance may be gathered from all parts. Tt will help the Association and pive members a practical interest. Quite a large number of members have been elected during the year. Since Mav 31 a further number have been elected. 1 foresee plentv of work for the comincr council, and that is one reason for increasing the; number, to , seven. The council lake a keen interest in the work,

and foresaw tha necessity of providing a large council to attend to the many matters that must come along. It will interest you to have a summary of the revenue and expenditure since the inception of the Association. The first period was twenty months ending December, 1905: Receipts £O6, expenditure £7l; VM: £l)2, £64; 11)07: £81), £9O; 1908: £155, £B9; 1909: £154, £140; 1910: £315, £146. In 1905, 1906 and 1907 there were liabilities outstanding each' year from £4O to £6O; in 1908 the Association made substantial headway. In concluding his remarks, the president thanked the council for their assistance and help and also paid a tribute to the excellent work done by the secretary. Mr. Corrigan seconded. Mr. J. G. Batchelar (Palmerston North) also congratulated the council on the satisfactory position disclosed. I The report and balance-sheet were unanimously adopted.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS. Patron, Lord Islington; president, Mr. F. E. Watson (Palmerston North); vicepresident, Mr. A. 11. Halcombe (Urenui); councillors (three vacancies), Messrs J. A. McCrea, A. Buchanan and S. R. Lancaster (Palmerston North); auditors, Messrs Rutherford and Connell. THANKS.

On the motion of Mr. E. Griffiths, seconded by Mr. S. Shaw, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the retiring president, the council, secretary and treasurer for their efforts in the interests of the Association.

PURIFYING THE HERD BOOK,

Mr. E. Grffiths then moved the notice of motion standing in his name —"That regulations be altered to provide that the fees for all animals entered for registration which at the time of application are more than twelve months old, shall be double the ordinary rates, and that no such application be registered unless and until the animal has been inspected by and unanimously approved by a committee of three expert members appointed by the council for the purpose. | The approval of such committee shall be recorded by endorsing on the back of the application form: '(Date and place). We the undersigned have this day inspected the (cow or bull, and name) referred to on the front of this form, and as the result of our inspection are of the opinion that (he or she) is a pure-bred Jersey and should be accepted for entry in the New Zealand Jersey Cattle Breeders' Herd Book.' This endorsement to he signed by each committeeman." In speaking to the motion, he said that breeders were jealously desirous of maintaining the purity of the Herd Book. It had been said that anyone who wished to swindle could do so. Weil, that was perfectly true, but if they had hard and fast rules to guide them, the Herd Book would be of far greater value than if kept in a loose fashion. It might perhaps be hard if such a rule as suggested came into force at once, but he would agree to it being held over until June 30, 1011, as regarded cattle of 18 months old, but regarding cattle of 3 years old and over, hejvj,<ild like to see it enforced at once.

Mr. R. E. Bannister (Palmerston North); in seconding, endorsed the remarks of the previous speaker, and said it was absolutely necessary to take such action in the interests of young breeders, who certainly needed encouragement.

Mr. Lepper could not see the use of the resolution. Who was there in the room, he asked, that could definitely tell a pure-bred from a grade Jersey? Mr. G. H. Foote said something was necessary. He understood pure-bred Jerseys had iheen imported: from Auckland, and they had white tongM.es! Several speakei-s: Why shouldn't they have?

Mr. Foote said he always understood that no pure-bred Jersey had anything but black tongues. Mr. Linn objected on the ground that the motion looked as if they could not trust the breeders.

Mr. W. Mi Tapp (Auckland) said his branch was unanimously of opinion that they 'could not go on with this matter at present. It was impossible to ten the difference between grade and purebred animals. They would have to trust to the honesty of the breeders. In reply to a further question, Mr. Griffiths said the person applying for registration would have to pay cost of inspection. Some members objected on the ground of expense. Mr. Saywell thought the resolution a good one. If anyone dug up a cow eight or nine years old that had not been registered, he would 'be quite prepared to pay a registration fee to have the animal registered. Mr. Batchelar thought it was a step in the right direction. A desultory discussion then ensued, the question of inspection apparently being the bone of contention. Mr. Griffiths then cut his motion and moved "That regulations be altered to provide that the fees for all animals en tered for registration wiiicn at the time of application are more than twelve months old, shall be double the ordinary rates." This was seconded by Mr. Tapp and carried. He then moved the latter part of the motion, reducing the inspecting committee to two, which was seconded by Mr. Bannister.

Mr. Lancaster moved as an amendment, "That after June 30th, 1911, no cattle over the age of twelve months at the time of application be registered in the Herd Book."—Mr. Tapp seconded this.

Mv. Griffiths withdrew his motion. I The .chairman said tliat during the I past eight years anyone that had Jerseys | had had an opportunity of registering. I Xow that Jerseys are so prominent, I cows that formerly were not considered I worth registering wanted to be regis- ! tered.

The amendment was carried. The meeting then discussed a recommendation by the Manawatu sub-branch —••For future entries and transfers in the Jersey Herd Book all entries must be. approved by a committee selected for the purpose by the local sub-branch to secure the following points: (a) That no mal-formed animals, or animals not conforming to the correct type be admitted to registration; (b) that the council formulatp some scheme of branding or identification so as to secure purity of pedigree. ilr. E. Griffiths moved as an amendment, "That all future entries and transfers in the Jersey 'Herd Book be sub-j mittcd to local branches for confirma-] tion.-Soeondc'd by Mr. R. E. Bannister and. carried. . Mr. Griffiths moved. "lliat no imported animal be entered in the New Zefr land Jersey Herd Book unless the application be supported by authenticated pedigree and export certificate signed by The vendor and Jersey-breed society of the country from which the animal is shipped.—Seconded by Mr. Corrigan and carried. Mr Tapp moved as a remit from the -Vuckiand sub branch, ''That the council i H . recommended in consequence of several irregularities in pedigrees having been reported to instruct the subbranches to collect information and report to the council on any animal appearing in the Herd Book and that the councif deal with all cases in accordance

with the by-laws.—Seconded by Mr. C. Clarke and carried without discussion. BRANDING.

Mr. J. O. Batchelar moved, "That in future no transfer be accepted either for record or 'bleeding purposes in the New Zealand Jersey Herd Book unless such animal is plainly ibianded or numbered with breeder's registered brand, according to the Stock A; ." In moving this, he° stated that b\ not having ensile brawled they might easily have a grade animal rung on to them. A rambling discussion followed regarding methods of branding. The chairman remarked that very soon it would be impossible to see the animal for brands. Finally an amendment, proposed by Mr. Tapp a»d seconded by Mr. Lancaster, was carried to the effect that the committee approve of branding, and that the question be handed over to the council to devise some scheme in connection with same.

GENERAL.. Mr. E. Griffiths moved that the Association pay travelling expenses of all members of the council when amending any properly called meeting of the council—After considerable discussion, in which it was pointed out that the expenses would be very heavy and the finances of the Association would not be able to stand it, the motion was withdrawn.

(The remit by the council, "That in future no motion ibe received for the annual meeting unless such is in the form of a remit from a local branch, and that such remit be first approved by the local branch at an ordinary meeting," was seconded by Mr. Tapp and carried without discussion.

Mr. Bannister proposed that it be a. recommendation to the council that the secretaryJsiV#aj'y be increased to £75 per annurri,'Uiil that the auditors receive £2 2s per annum.—To be daalt with by the council. The next meeting "will be held in Auckland.

Mr. E. Griffiths.'afterwards rear, a paper on "The Jersey as a dairy cow." which was listened .to. and which; is elsewhere. At its conciusi3n\;M£: Griffiths was accorded a hearty •v^e''of thanks, hi responding, he stated that he was always willing to help the Association in any way possible, and if members in return wished to help they might do so by testing their cows at least once a year. A vote of thanks to the chair terminated the meeting. SMOKE CONCERT. About forty were present at the smoke concert given by the Taranaki breeders in the White Hart Hotel, and a most enjoyable time was spent. Mr. A. H. Halcombe, vice-president, presided. The following toasts were proposed | and duly Dionored: "The King," Mr. A.i H. Halcombe; "The New Zealand Jersey Cattle-breeders' Association," proposed | by Mr. E. Griffiths and responded to by 'Messrs. McC'rea, Eagle and Batcheior;! |"Taranaki Breeders," proposed by Mr.] Lancaster and responded to bv Messrs. E. Griffiths and A. H. Halcombe; "The Visitors," proposed by Mr. S. Shaw and responded to by. Messrs. Lane, Watson and Tapp; "The Press," proposed by Mr. A. H. Halcombe and responded to by representatives present; "The Host," proposed by Mr. Halcombe and responded to by Mr. Clarke; and "The Chairman," proposed by Mr. Dingle. During the , evening songs were rendered by Messrs. Millar, Watson and Lane, and recitations jby Messrs. Eddie and Griffiths. Mr. I Lane played the accompaniments.