AT HIGHFIELD HALL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 74, 20 December 1917, Page 10

AT HIGHFIELD HALL

"WOUNDED NEW ZEALANDERS J. INSPECT HIGHFIELI) DEVONS.

Recently a party of New Zcalanc .wounded officers and men from the New Zealand Military Hospital, Honi- . '.chitrchi Essex, who were particularly interested in cattle breeding in New ■Zealand,-paid a visit" to Hignfield Hal to see, Mr. Charles Morris's herd ol Devon cattlc. They were remarkably keen, and took many snapshots ancl particulars of the animals shown tliem, (They .-expressed themselves extremely satisfied .with; what they saw. Unfortunately, Mr. Morris was ill, i.ut was .able, to have a few words of welcome .and a few: particulars of Devon cattlc read to tliem on hia behalf. Mr. Morris remarked:— . ."I welcomo you especially for having como across the seas to fight with the Mother Country 'against the common enemy.. What an enemy! If we hac umpires in warfare lie would have been turned out in the first round for hitting below the .belt. I also wclcome you as an agriculturist, and I have the .greatest pleasure in showing you my Devon herd. I- would like to put be- ; / fore you a few points in regard to Devons. They arc, I believe, as good 1 a combination _ of constitution, size, milk, and quality as any breed in Eng- , land. In 'support of my statement as to constitution, I would point out that on a station in Queensland in a bin drought, where twelve Devon hulls and sixty of another breed wore kept, forty-eight of the other breed died and only two, of the Devons. "As to size, a Devon steer I exhibited at the London Fat Stock Show in ■ 1915 was the heaviest beast in the show of all breeds, namely, 19cwt. 2qr. 211b.. "at two years and ten months rid. "As to milk, at the Royal Show at Bristol, 1913, a Devon cow gave the greafost quantity of milk against nil breeqs, and the quality was highly commended. Many .large Devon herds in _ Dorsetshire are kept entirely for •dairying purposes by Messrs. Ohick and ■others, but mine, as,l say, are bred for dual purposes. ...; " _"As_to quality, Devons generally top . 'the price for English beef in the homo markets, and I would mention that . they are now the second largest breed ~in England in numbers. v — "And whilst speaking of Devons I - must refer you to a little blot in the ' agricultural history .of 'New Zealand. yTt .is that they have very few Devons. I have only shipped a few to Mr. W. ■ ~T. JBirch, of/Thoresby, Marton. Now :.it is not the fault-Of the breed, : for vthey'are making rapid strides in alv most. every part of the world. I had • a wounded Australian Fere recently. 'He breeds a-.good many Devons, but says he cannot keep up the supply of ' bulls to equal the demand in bis dis- . triot. . Well, 'if he is spared to see this ■ : war over I am going, to fry to help him .. aut of his difficulty. ■ •' "Now, I want to get in touch with , someone who will put Devons rn a'pro- ' per footing in New Zealand, and if any of you gentlemen or any of your friends are open to consider the matter seri- : ously, come back to me after the war , and let us see if something cannot be arranged. lam not so keen that it ■ shall be HighfieleT Devons as I em that it shall be good Devons from some 1 of our best breeders, and I would welcome as many of you as could come and , spend a 3ay here, and, afterwards, if . you have time, arrange a tour for yon down in the West ,of England, to see some of the fine herds owned by Messrs. Hancock. Skinner, Kidner, and otlicr Targe'breeders. . f i hope all of you will get safely through and return to your own coun- , try, to find all those near and dear to you well. I sympathise with those of .you who hove left dear comrades beihind."—"Live Stock Journal."