THE JERSEY IS CERTAINLY ON TOP

Taranaki Daily News, 5 September 1918, Page 6

THE JERSEY IS CERTAINLY ON TOP

To the Editor. Sir, —In your Usue of the '2(ith ult., appears a letter under the heading "Is the Jersey 011 Top'!" and in that letter Mr Muir Hsks what proof I have that the Jprsev is on top. 51 y answer is every proof that it is possible to have, ill every test that hua been made of the various breeds in competition the Jersey eow lias come out on top for economical production of milk, 'butter-fat, casein or sugar of milk, with one exception, and on that occasion she ran second to Guernsey cow! We have never contended that the Jersey is the only cow that, can show a good nett profit, but do contend that the Jersey shows the greatest nett profit of any breed and stands out as the economical producerof butler-fat par excel, lence. Mr Muir quotes figures which are obviously of no value, as they r.te 'based merely,on assumption, and when lie as-' sumes that JBS is a fair estimate of the cost of feeding a cow for twelve months, und that because a few Fresians on semiofficial test have made a better buttejffat average than a far greater number of Jerseys on the- same test, and that therefore each Fresian will pay lor the cost of feeding an extra eow as well as the extra feed they take, he is assuming too much. Any dairyman who lias had an average experience with cattle knows that it cost more to feed a Fresian eow than it does to feed a Jersey cow,-an I I am quite sure of this, that if we had tile figures to show the actual cost of producing the records of these record-breaking cattle they would far exceed the £5 assumed "by Mr Muir to be a fair estimate of the cost of feeding a cow for twelve months. I will go further than that, and My if we had the cost of producing the eemi-offieial records deducted from the gross returns and only the nett profit shown the Jersey would come out on top with flying colors. I would just like to say right here that the figures quoted by Mr Muir are most unfair and absolutely of 110 value for the purpose of comparisons. To begin with, there are far more Jersey semi-officially tested than Fresians, thus giving the latter an advantage when striking an average. Secondly, the average production of but-ter-fat for Jersey cows of all ages holding Government certificates of record is over 4001b5., not 353 as quoted by Mr Muir.' Thirdly, cattle producing under semi-official conditions are not all on an equal footing. For instance, some breeders work under herd conditions, that is to'say, their cows are required to put up their recovds under normal herd conditions, i.e., no special care, no forced or grain feeding. Other breeders work under herd conditions up to a certain point, but are careful to'give a little extra care and attention to the animals under test,' whilst some breeders are right out for big records and force their cows to the limit. This being so, it is obviously useless to use semi-official figures as reliable data for purposes of comparison. I submit, Sir, that the only tests worth having when comparing the relative merits of the breed are those made u- '•>]• equal conditions, i.e., same handling. no feed, same climate conditions, and where cost of feed is taken into consideration and th» nett gain is shown. From time to time tests of this nature have been made and the Jersey has come out on top, with with the 6ne exception that I have previously mentioned The most recent test of this nature was made last year by the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station and resulted in a further and vineing proof that Jcrsevs are superior to other breeds as economical producers. I will quote from "The Monthly Bulletin" of the Ohio .Agricultural Experiment Station: "The test covered a period of 1 year, and an average of I*> 7 Jerseys and 131 Folsteins were on test during the test period- - ' The following Ylat-a is f.s':on :rom the conclusions drawn as a result of this test: "The Jerseys consumed 30.22 lb. of dry matter and 10.62 lb. of digestible nutrients, and the ITolsteins consumed 40.-4-2 lb of dry matter and 20-34 lb of digestible nutrients for each pound of fat produced. According to the figures given as a result of this test, the Jerseys produced 3.5-> lb of total iolids on a total of 16.46 lb digestible nutrients consumed. The T loisteins produced 2.'GG lb of total s;Kds on a ration of 13.92 lb of digestible nutrients. Per 1,000 lb of live weight, the Jerseys consumed 19.0 per cent more dry matter. 18.2 per cent more digestible nutrients, and produced 1.2 per cent more milk, 2.10 per cent more solids, aiul WI S eeilt moTe fat than the Holsteins." This is, I believe, the most recent test that has been made, and proves couelusively -the ability of the Jersey to make good. Now, Sir, while I think of it, Mr Muir challenges me to find a dozen Jerseys producing over <IOO lbs of butter-fat in thf twelve months. Until readini his letter I had never given this matter it thought, as Wg records are not much in my line. I am a believer in the .■prsey not because she is a producer •>f larger quantities of dairy products ♦ban any other s breed, but because she has the ability to produce them at a greater nett profit than anv other breed, so, as I said, this matter had never entered my mind. Nevertheless I think I can quote a dozen without anv difficulty: Madam Mavtlower 7(13-41 lb fat,' Sabean TTT. <525.38 lb., Duchess of Lnvinsrton 000.10 lb., Mag-TH-t's Waif IT. 004 lbs. Worksop Tielle 024.3-1 lb, 'HilWesf's Hope 016.." lb., Pelvedere Kungleam 020.34 lb., Twylish Maid of All Work fiOO/Si lb., T.'enora 085.18 lb., Topsy's Hugset 01.7.00 lb., Lady of Collingwood 730.07 lb., I.p.dy Peggy" 050 lb., and for ffood measure the world's record holder Mere 003.04 lbs butter-fat, 1 year 340 days oid at commencement of test. As for high prices and the fact that "inrigns. .las been naid % ""the best Fresian "ow in New Zealand," that, Sir, proves nothing as to the respective merits of the breeds. Although a

Jersey pow may not have «old for , SCO crns. in >ve'w Zealand I know this, . had I the best Jersey cow in Now Zoai ln-.fl 501 guineas wouldn't buy lier l : Moreover a "juicy mmj? steak" from . i!he host Jersey would never adorn my ; dinrer table, for the Jersey is a spec- [ la! purpose cow, bred expressly for the 5 purpose of producing "milk, 'butter-fat, . etc., economically, and by the time , she has finished her course as a porsisi tent producer and reprodueer, her owner has no need to seek to reimburse J himself hy selling her carcase jis a comestible. In conclusion, T would ) like to quote the records of probably - the greatest cow in the world. And '• she is a Jersey! Sophie lath, of Hood ftirm, at the a ? e of just on thirteen vearj has just produced in a Year e K.MU ft of milk, t«tin g g i32 ' f ™ e At two years two months she <rave t 0W - 2 ,. 1b milk a nd 395.5 lb of "fat. t j'ouv times in her career she hasi ex- „ ceedeft 1,000 lb of butter. Here ar« Jib* figures of her annual yields of f 4 tj

305, 570, 854, 931, 099, CSO, 847. And while giving tho.ss great yields she lias been consistently breeding and lior progeny are proving themselves chamnkms at the pail and at a, recent siile one of licr grand-daughters brought over- £2,ooo—rather" better than New Zealand's nest, —but prices pvove nothing as to the respective merits of the Jersey and Friesiau. The proof of Jersey superiority is by work performed. Judged by that the Jersey is certainly on top.—l am, etc., FRANK RANFORD. Stratford, 27th August, WIS.