SHORTHORN DAIRY HERD.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5490, 1 April 1910, Page 4

SHORTHORN DAIRY HERD.

SUNNYSIDE EXPEBIiIENT. Ayrshires were discarded in 1 v >ur of Short horns in the Snunysido Menul dofpi-.al dairy herd some two yeais ago. Asaltrge quantity of milk is required for the nse of "the patients, and it was considered that Shorthorns would be mere profitable than Ayrshires, it was hoped thai there wouli be a better demand for young bulls among dairy farmers in Canterbury Purchases of cows and heifers were made from such well-known herds of milking Shorthorns as those of Messrs 0. M. Threlkeld, Flaxton; H. Paanett, Springston; W. Nixon, KU- \ linchy ; E. Ruddock, Southbridge ; and olhers, and a herd of about 40 cowb and 10 reifera has been got together. . The Shorthorn bull, Carpet Princ, imported by Mr Jamea E. Da.venpcri;, was purchased for mating with these cows, and a son of this bull is also being used with the heifers. The herd contains a lot of excellent animals of a pronounced dairy type, but having been obtained from different sources it is, of course, uneven at present. A few Ayrshire cows are still on the farm, and some of these have been mated with the Shorthorn bull. The results of a complete year's milking of the Shorthorn cows are given in the Weekly Press, and are highly satisfactory. The cows all came in late, and missed the spring flush, co that the yields are all the more creditable. The following are returns of milk from a number of the cows, the figures in brackets denoting the number of months the cows were milked:— (lo) 97221 b, (11) 85411 b, (9£) 77411 b, (10) 76161 b, (1U) 73321 b, (10) 71801 b. (9) 68931 b, U) 67991 b. (9£) 65311 b, (11^) 58101 b, (8) 57181 b. (8* 57001 b (heifer), (9£) 55791 b, (7*) 50951 b, (7) 50521 b. (8 48781 b, (10 43461 b, (7£) 40911 b (heifer), (8] 38031 b. The whole of the cowa' milk was not tested for butter- fat, but one cow averaged 6 per cent., and anothei 5 per cent.