FARM AND STATION.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13233, 29 September 1908, Page 2

FARM AND STATION.

. _« ("Weekly Press and Referee.")

AMERICAN JERSEYS. The Americana have considerably improved the Jersey cow in milk and butter production, and this has evidently been done to some extent by increasing her size. The Missouri Agricultural College have a wonderful cow, Pedro's Estella, that in the twelve months ended June 21st last, produced 11,0631b of milk and 605,8541b of butter fat, tho average per cent, of fat for the year being 5.476. This cow was three years and eight months old at the commencement of tho test, and her weight was then BSOlb, and increase ed to 9601b at the end of the year. A few English-bred Jerseys compete in the trial at the Royal Show for cows exceeding 9001b live weight, but entries are usually confined to the.class under that weight. Pedro's E&tolla'g production of butter fat for a year is claimed to be a world's record for a Jersey of her age, the previous best record being |5181b. Meesrs Griffiths and Cornwall, of New Plymouth, have a remarkable Jersey cow that has given 675Jb in a milking period, but I do not know her ege or how long the milking period extended. This cow in a two days' test in July last gave 87.601b of milk, with a test of 6 per cent, of butter fat, and she is, I believe, bred from American stock. At the milking trials at the last Royal Show in England, the largest amount of milk given by a Jersey in 24 hours was 48.621b, but tho butter fat test was only 3.85, while the ©ow with the highest' test, 6.30, gave only 31.751b of milk. These two cows were third and second respectively in the milking test, the winner giving 41.871b of milk with a 4.70 test. Show-yard-milking tests are not always satisfactory/the cows seldom doing their best, but, on tho figures, there are Ameri-can-bred Jerseys that would be difficult to bc-at by English-bred cows. On the other hand, it must be taken into account that the Pedro's Estella was specially fed. The average amount of grain fed per day was about 141b, or a total of 51101b d'ueing tho year', which consisted mostly of corn, oats, bran, and oilmeal. A portion of the time some gluten feed and corn hearts and a small quantity of cotton seed meal was also fed. Tne following is the complete daily ration as fed during the throe months of August, September, and October: —'Green clover and green corn, 301b; 101b; alfalfa hay, 101b; corn chop. 21b; oats, l§lb; bran, 31b; oilmeal, Hlb; gluten feed, 21b; middlings, 2Jlb; cotton seed meal, Jib; salt, 3oz. During the winter months the ration consisted of corn silage and vilfalfa hay with a mixturo of corn, bran-, oil meal and oats for grain. How she would have kept up her yield under less generous feed, it is, of course, impossible to say.