FARM AND DAIRY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXI, Issue 307, 11 December 1931, Page 15

FARM AND DAIRY

NOTES FOR THE WEEK. WORLD’S BEST LAWN GRASSES. The splendid possibilities in an export trade in pasture grasses —for New Zealaud is declared to have tho best perennial rye, tho best cocksfoot, and probably the best white clover in the world for pasture purposes—is being generally realised but it is not so wellknown that in Chewing’s fescue and in browm top we have the two best lawn grasses in the world, so says the Empire ’s leading authority on grass, Professor Stapledon, of Wales. There is in Britain a Research Station for Greenkeeping, at St. Ives. Here, every grass thought to be suitable for golf greens has been tried out under all manner of conditions. After advocating the use of only tho bents and finer-leaved fescues, Professor Stapledon refers to the "profoundly supoestive experiments at St. Ives, most striking being the plots of Nc>. Zealand bent (brown top) and New Zealand Chewing’s fescue.” He then states, "It would seem not unlikelv that in these two grasses (New Zealand Chewing’s fescue and New Zealand' bent or brown top) we have ready to hand—for the seed of both is harvested on a commercial scale in New Zealand—two forms which to a marked degree conform to the tentative principle which I have enunciated and which may be expected to blend in an admirable manner if sown together as -the sole ingredients in a seed mixture.” High Testing Cattle. There is a very striking resemblance in the dairy cattle population of Victoria and of New Zealand, the Australian state concentrating very largely upon the higher testing class of cow just as farmers in this Dominion are doing. A census taken last season shows that 08.7 per cent, of the herds in the Victorian Cow Testing Association were headed by pedigree Jersey bulls, a pre vrtion which is probably even exceeded in New Zealand. The Worst Dairy Animal. In referring to the big losses on dairy farms through the separator not running properly, an American refers to the badly-running scoarator as "the worst dairy animal.” Certainly the losses from this cause must be considerable. The member of a group herd-test-ing association has no excuse as he can have his skim-milk tested by the herdtesting officer and thus knew whether his separator is running properly or whether it wants attending to. Molasses fox Stock. Experts do not attach very high importance to molasses as a food for stock, though they agree that it is a very good thing to put them in good condition. In the past, more than tho present time, the treatment of hay with molasses water made the hay a good milk-producing food, and it is highly probable that sprinkling molasses on much of the grass being used for ensilage (applying the molasses to each layer) would make a very much higher quality of silage for milk-producing purposes. It would certainly assist in the making of the sour type of silago that is declared to be so desirable. In Hawaii, extensive experiments arc being conducted to try out molasses as a stock food, and with the most encouraging results. The Jerseys. The standard herd records of Victoria arc similar to the New Zealand semi-official records, with the important difference that if the Victorian breeder of pedigree stock wants an official record of production he must have every cow in the herd tested. The 1929-30 Standard Herd Records, the receipt of a copy of which is due to the courtesy of Mr. A. H. Moore, of Yarram, show that there were 44 pedigree Jersey herds which averaged 4001 L. of fat or over in the 273 days to which tho test is confined. Three Ayrshire herds reached the 4001 b. standard, two Friesian, one Milking Shorthorn and one Red Poll. No wonder the Jersey is making rapid headway in Victoria and is leaving all other breeds behind. New World’s Record. A world’s record for the 305 days period has just been completed by the American Jersey cow, Golden Chief’s Lady Many, who, starting tost at tho age of six years, has finished out tho ten months with the wonderful return of 893.891 b. fat- Golden Chief’s Lady May, who hails from the State of Oregon, whence have come so many of tho American record breakers, is a cow ■with no small amount of show type. She is a well balanced cow, weighing about 12001 b. and carries a beautiful udder. The sire of the new record breaker was an son of Golden Glow’s Chief, sire of the two ex-world’s record cows, Old Man’s Darling 2nd., R.O.M. 983.681 b fat and Vivo La Franco, 8.0. M. 10391 b. fat Old Man’s Darling “nd is, of course, the dam of the world’s record holder, Darling’s Jolly Lassie, R.O.M. 1141.281 b., while Vive La France is of special interest ,to Now Zealanders in that she is the dam of Vive La France’s Last Son imported to the Dominion about three years ago. The dam of: Golden Chief’s Lady May was sired by: a grandson of Oxford You 91 Do in La Belle’s Oxford Lad, a maternal half brother to T.a Bello’s Girl, who holds an R.O.M. of 9011 b. fat. Thus it will bo seen that Golden Chief’s Lady Mav is no cbaiico outcome of indiscriminate mating but the result of sound breeding methods. She is an example of the essential fact that the good ones of to-day are from the good ones of yesterday.