ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18566, 26 November 1923, Page 13

ON THE LAND.

DAIRY GRADE SHORTHORNS. MORE ATTENTION /NEEDED. [BY TELEGRAPH;—OWN COMIESrONDENT.] », f'[ ,•' TB AROHA, Saturday. The judge of the Shorthorn cattle at the Thames Valley Show, at To Arohasounded a note ■ 4 warning to dairymen. He lamented the neglect of the dairy grade Shorthorn class, and expressed ft fear that the run on pedigree stock,, if carried to excess, will later result in weakened constitutions!, herds. At recent stock sales in this district the demand for daily cows, close to profit, has slackened, and as a result prices have weakened. The warm rains which fell during the week-end have had their desired effect on the pastures, and the growth during the last few days has been remarkable.

KITMETI DAIRY HERDS.

MORE PEDIGREE ANIMALS. \ _____ [BY TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.] KUMEU. Saturday. Further arrivals of- pedigree Jersey cows and bulls have taken placo this week. Two cows, which are at present under semi-official test, arrived to the order of Messrs. Foulds and Garry, who have arranged to have the tests completed here. Mr. Garry has also purchased a pedigree bull, which is closely related to Pretty's Flirt, the cow which has produced 10101b. of butter-fat for one lactation period, creating a Jersey record for Australia and New Zealand. While many pedigree Jerseys have been brought into'the" district during the past few months, local breeders have been sending some highly-bred Friesians* out of the district. One "breeder has sent no fewer than seven trucks of this well-liked breed to purchasers in other districts. The weather recently has favoured the growth of pastures, and feed is abundant. The local herds, as a whole, are looking extremely well, and butter-fat yields show promise of constituting a record for these parts.

DAIRY COW COMPETITION,

BAY OF ISLANDS AWARDS. tBT TMJWIIAPH.-r-OWN COBR»3POJfniSNT.I • WHANGAEBI. Saturday. There were nine entries for the dairy cow competition at the Bay of Island Show at Waimate yesterday. The maximum points allowed according to the classes were butter-fat 80 and type 20. There were two cows to each_ entry. In making the award the Cwo cows wiih the greatest butter-fat production were allowed'the full 80 points and tho others wero worked out in proportion. To each result so obtained the type points were added, and the result were as" follow :-~ Mr. F. Philips' A and B, 5.0031b. butter-fat, 80 points; type. 15 points; total 95 points, 1. Mr. W. F. Baldwin's A and B, 4.6211b. butter-fat, 73.8 points- typo, 7 points; total 80.8 points, 2. Mr. A. E. Bedgood's A and B, 4.230 lb. butter-fat, 67.6 points; type, 10 points; total, 77.63 points, 3. Mr. E. L. Hargrave's A and B, 3.8341b. butter-fat, 61.3 points; type, 14 points; total, 75.3 points, 4.

VALUE OF LUCERNE. r ' EXAMPLE AT NELSON. Ono of the most striking examples of the value of lucerne in the Kelson district ia that in connection with St. Mary's Convent farm in Brook Street. A few years ago it was impossible to feed one horse and 14 cows off the place, but to-day, with 12 acres of lucerne, five Lorses and 28 cows are kept. The lucerne was planted on what was formerly waste land, which the farm manager considered was not worth £10 an acre, but for which at present he would not take £200 or even £300 an acre. The manager gave the land a • dressing of 22cwt. of lime - per acre. He had not manured, and only a portion of the 12 acres was inoculated. His experience was that inoculation made very little difference.

BAY OF ISLANDS SHOW. FINE QUALITY OF HACKS. [fly TELEGRAPH. COBRESPONDENT.] I KAIKOHE. Saturday. The Bay of Islands Pastoral and Industrial Association's 36th annual show was held at Waimate North yesterday, when, notwithstanding the squally and boisterous weather, there was a large attendance. ■ *: ' The feature of the show was the number and quality of the hacks that were entered. The cattle pens were not as full as is usual, and in many classes the exhibits were disappointing, many of the entries being in comparatively poor condition owing to the exceptionally hard winter that has been experienced. In the dairy classes Jerseys predominated, and some fine animals were shown, but, many of the bulls entered were. not up to the standard that one would expect to see in such a fine dairying district. The competition in the sheep classes was poor, but the quality of many of the exhibits was high. The lambs penned, especially those suitable for freezing, were a fine ■ lot. The prize for the champion hack was awarded to Mr. R. Bindon's Lady Muriel, a horse which, the judge stated was fib to meet in competition the best of its class in-Jtfcw Zealand.

FARMS AT WHATAWHATA. FERTILE WAIKATO DISTRICT. (B_ TELEGRAPH.— CORRESPOND ] HAMILTON, Saturday. The township of Whatawhata lies in a basin of fiat, well-watered and wellfarmed country eight miles to the west of Frankton. The business, premises and dwellings are situated in the midst of fertile farms, many of which have many pretty shelter belts. A typical Whatawhata farm is that of Mr. J. T. Kempthorne. The area consists of 73 acres, and on the farm are kept 37 cows, 4 horses, a bull ar-d a number of yearlings. The soil is deep and heavy and is very difficult to till at times. But it responds well to top-dressing, and as the result of annual dressings of slag and recently of super and guano, up to ; 3cwt. to the acre, the farm is in excellent heart. Supplementary feed in the way of hay and Imperial Green Globe turnips and Italian rye have been of value in keeping the stock in exceedingly good condition. Ten pounds of ryegrass was sown with the turnips. Maize and soft turnips were sown in November, and these were fed off in February. Italian rye and oats had been found to make very pood hay. The milking shed, 75ft. long, is situated in a handy position away from tie homestead and near ti;e stream. The milking plant is operated! by electricity supplied from Horahora, and an important feature is the water-heating appliance, which is a great convenience. It is very inexpensive and costs only £4 per year. Mr. Kcmpthorne has a good herd of mixed grades, which last season gave an average of 277.71b. of butter-fat.- Several cows are making a very good showing thisyear. A well-bred Jersev bull is +hf> herd sire. As Whatawhata has no dairy factory, the cream is carted daily to toe Frankton factory. ; „, v „