THE RURAL INDUSTRIES OF NEW ZEALAND.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume 22, Issue 3814, 22 February 1899, Page 2

THE RURAL INDUSTRIES OF NEW ZEALAND.

Under the above heading a series of articleeie being published in the Sydney mail In which the 'ollowing remarks are made re the needing of cattle and pigs m this Although the breeding of Shorthorns has made great strides of late years, the best of this class ar& reckoned the milking Shorthorn. In a short whilel will give a description oF a Herefordherd, one ofthebestin Australasia, also of the Polled Angus, but as New- Zealand is a dairying colony, dairy cattle, naturally are of the greatest importance. As to which breed is best opinion is greatly divided, but the preponderance is toward the Shorthorn, then the Ayrshire, and a cross of the two. Jerseys or Alderneys only play a secondary part. But there is also a large tot of nondescript dairy cows, that although they aTe useful during their lifetime should, for breeding purposes, be set aside. If the colony means to be the premier of the group in the dairying industry it must be able to show the best daiTy cattle. The Ayrshires there have made a name for themselves and are well known in Australia, where a number of importations testify toNewZealand'sreputation. Sir Robert, White Prince, Baron of Oxhill, Baron 2nd of Drumlanrig, Master Jack, Laird of Cockpen, are a few of the English and Scotch importations, but I was told by a Scotch visitor that he saw as good Ayrshires in New Zealand as in Scotland. What I noticed most particularly is the leaning towards a good deal of white in the colour* a>o a dislike to a mottled hide. But I fancy that the Aryshires are not receiving the attention of former years; some of the noted breeders have dropped out, and there is more of a tendenoy towards the milking Shorthorn. There are certainly a handsome lot of cows still in New Zealand, but since my return I visited one of the South Coast shows and saw some cows there that could not be beaten anywhere. Victoria is- also making a bid for supremacy in Avy shires. The Jersey in New Zealand holds her' own, and, on the whole, keeps her shape better than in Australia. The other breeds do hot require special mention. I cannot say that there is anything special to write about pigs except that more, and, perhaps, too much, attention is given to the Tarn worth breed. He is an ugly beast at the best, and it is a pity to see good Berkshire sows used to cross with. Eor bacon he is in the front rank, and if breeders would only try to breed a shorter snout variety they would obtain what they want without resorting to an outer cross. Yorkshires are much in favour, and* thrive well in both islands. But, as I have stated, with the exception of Tamworth, New Zealand has little if any, superiority over the other colonies in the breeding of pigs.