TOPICS OF THE SHOW GROUND.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 49, 21 November 1907, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE SHOW GROUND.

WHAT THE FARMERS ARE SAYING.

A TALK ON A BULL

SHOULD DAIRY FACTORIES PROVIDE HIM? SOME GOOD SUGGESTIONS. "Why don't the dairy factories provide their suppliers with an imported stud bull?" a6kod one farmer of another at the Wairarapa show. "It would make a great difference in the milk yields of the-herds." "No good," replied tho other. " Dairy factory directors are the wrong men to make a success of it, In any case, why import?" "You think we have as good stuff in the Dominion?" " Not altogether. But you know what you are buying in tho Dominion. You can, at least, test the milk yields of the cows the bulls afe bred from."

"It is certainly risky importing on show records only. You want a reliable person at the other end to selcct." " It is risky to buy 011 appearances at any time. I paid £40 for a heifer- at a show lately because I liked her looks and wanted her calf. Now I would not breed from tho calf, because I have since milked the mother. She is; disappointing. Yet she looked very promising." "There have been some good imported bulls. There is K.C.8., imported by tho Lancaster.?. Tho Lancasters havo hitherto had very little worth showing, but 1v.C.8. has betin so consistently getting good stock that I expect to sec them scooping tho pool in their section as soon as tho progeny are ready." "Why doesn't somebody come along," in-tor-posed a third party, " and put down £1000 for importing a good Jersey strain for Mr. M'Nab's- " "Oh, 09010 off," said No. 1, and the congregation swiftly dispersed. A SQUEEZED LEMON. HOW. DAIRYMEN TREAT THEIR COWS. "Too many dairymen treat their cows just like machines, with no constitutions to damage, or like a squeezed lemon," said a dairy farmer to a Dominion representative. "Q'hoy milk them to exhaustion, and then turn them out to rough it in tho cold winter months on the hills. I have a Jersey cow which, feed her as I like, turns it all into milk, and won't put on flesh at all till she goes dry. If I wore to turn her out then f am suro she would die. Tho few dry months aro my only chance to put hor into condition. Cows of that sort aro very valuable, and pay well for carofnl treatment."

Which usually they don't get? "No. They send them awny to tlio bleak country nroimd Gladstone for the winter. Dairymen will ncvor succeed till they wintor their own stock .it home." Do you grow all your own feed? "Every bit; nnd sell some, too. There is not the slightest reason why every other dairy favmershould not do the sumo." ACAIMSJ THE ROMNEY. "The West Coast people seem to prefer tho Romney. What do you think of it, nsked n Pressman of a prominent, Lincoln breeder. i( "I must say I don't like it," ho replied. 'It always seems to be too hairy. The best

sheep T ever raised were Leicester-Lincolns. Tlio Lpicostors themselves are rather light for our lniuls, but with the Lincoln they mako the most profitable of all sheep, both for wool and for mutton. But the Homney cross brings out a lot of coarse hair." HIS ONLY REST, THE DRAWBACKS OF THE MILK TRADE. "Why don't yon open uj> a trade with Wellington in good, clean, rich' Jersey milk at 2d. a quart above ruling prices?" asked a Dominion reporter of a Carterton dairy farmer. "There are people in Wellington who would willingly pay for rich, creamy milk that loft no sediment of dirt at the bottom of the iug." "I'm too lazy," was the reply. Lazy! "Yes, I like a rest once a year. So 1 send all my milk to tho factory. I arrange for my cow? to como to milk together, and go dry together, and then I get two months' rest—about April, May, or 'J'uno. It is our only chance of a holiday. If I supplied milk to Wellington, I would have to keep tho supply going all the year round." MONGREL-BRED BULLS. "Wo must have nothing but pure-bred bulls," said a "cow-pimchor," who runs a pure-bred herd. . "Tho dairy farmer who uses n cross-bred bull is doing no good to his herd. Grade cows are valuable; they give better milk yields than pure-breds; but grade bulls do harm."

They have a class for grade bulls at Wauganui Show. 'les. lint I think it ought to bo discouraged." SPOILING THE LINCOLN. '■'I don't expect to see tho Linoolns so good this year as last year." said a prominent Lincoln authority. "Tlie reason is this: —A couplo of years ago tho farmers began to want,a heavier class of sheep, with heavier, stronger wool. Thero consequently arose a demand for Lincoln rams which the supply could not meet. Prices went up, and inferior rams were therefore saved for use that would otherwise liavo been rejected. Their progeny will bo now noticeable in the flocks. Moreovpr, there aro plenty of speculative men of 110 principle who would, buy up Lincoln rams, put them on heavy crossbred ewes, and sell the progeny as Lincolns. I know a man who sold a : hundred so-called Lincoln rams were .therefore saved for use that would months 1 ' old. Last year, after soiling all my spare sheep that were fit for breeding, T put the balance—tho rejects that I would not have sold to anybody for breeding—for sale by auction, without reserve, and they fetched as much as tho others had done, That shows what tho demand was. The demand is still good." BREED TESTS. A POPULAR IDEA. Mr. Edward Eagles, the owiier of a wellknown Jersey herd of cattle in Wairarapa, strongly favours tho breed test'suggested in The Dominion last week by }tr. A. Buchanan. "It is just what we want," he said to'ono of our reporters. You tlunk tho breeders would take it "p.;;. „ "yes." AY hat would be the conditions? " The men in tho different breeds should have conferences and select teams of animals to compete. The competing teams should be kept on ono farm for at least 120 days, and tlie food consumed should bo charged against them at market rates.',' You would be willing lose their mills supply for that period?" ."Oh, yes. The) breeders would be .-keen enough in tho competition for tha't. I liopo it will come off." . ..