WEST HIGHLAND CATTLE IN NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2509, 16 April 1902, Page 9

WEST HIGHLAND CATTLE IN NEW ZEALAND.

CLAREMOXT HERD.

Br FORBES Burn, F.H.A S. iftee Illustrations elsewhere in thi< i--uc ) The Claremont estate, the property of Mr (■' 11. Rhode=, is situated about nine miles due west from Timaru, and is w idely and favourably known for its system of fanning. To admirerb of purebred cattle, however, Claremont holds out even more attrapti\e inducement-, oi it i~ the home of a tiio-t -tlcct lieid <f Kyloe-. 01 Wc-t Highland, i -iti.lt- The foundation of tins herd wa-. laid some nine or ten years ago by the importation of one bull and three p_o.vfc fiom the best stiams 111 Scotland. The-e animals are still to the fore, and bhowing almost as much life and gaiety as the day they left their native heath. Their progeny, too, inherit the characteristic- of this noble biced of cattle, combined with robust constitution-. There i» no deficiency 111 any of tho coltjin.il-brod Highlander- 111 hair or horn, and 111 size of frame they rather outstrip than otherwise their progenitors. The herd at present number- 30 all told. A few heifer- have been sold, and stcera at 15 month- I'ai.e realised £12 A barren heif«*r, four ycai- old. from this herd, biought £26 10- in the Chrifctehurch fat stock market. The imported cows having been served before Ica\ inn Scotland by bulls, of different &trauii, aud the u-e of a bull foi two t,ca tons has obtained from Victoria, being gi\en ample scope for judicious cro-^ing of the different blood represented in t'ui herd. Mr Rhode-i. with the true tpint of an enthiioiast, has no wish to conserve his valuable strains, but 13 most willing to exchange with others who possess herds of pine We-l Highland cattle Many mcjuirie- have been made from Southland, where there aie a few herdr, foi young bull? The grazier a*d the butcher may find object le-sons by a visit to this herd. That the cattle aie "' doer= " i« n strong evidence, and the low-set, longbodied animals eairy beef to the heel 0 . The quality of Kyloe beef, a- is well known, is uniiirpa--ed. Die old imported r-ow Sk' ac i\'" 1 of the liTcl) 1- a beautiful specimen of the We-i H'ghLnt'er, and carries her acea c c we}} 'l\i:~. cow »r.a a great prujt'talci 111 .Sc-< tl.1 1 1 Ml.aumcl&Ji (No. 2 of the h-iu). another cf the imported rovv = . hrf-. brc.i 1 1: o - 1 profitable, Iv-t'j in rcgar.l U> 1 in, 1>" :• id iiuahty of her pro n 2:i> 'J he phoic of th." cow sliovva l.i-r to lie a worthy repre-er.tativc cf he,- br. m!. but harJiy d<--= lipi ju-tiee, as the *.»hot<>, wciv taken a few wfc'«.-» a£O, at a boason of the year v, hen th<^ amma!s are far from c-anymg; tlioir lull coat of htir. A two-yoir-olj r>l ick heifer, by the Yic-tori'iii-bred bull o-H of Mha-.imca'ecri. is full of qualify and charat t"i, 3U-3 pion-iscs to a valuable cm. Of much mlerest is a jjair of red t>tiexT« one a thre*- jtcm -«lti and

the oilier a iwo-year-old. For svihvtauce and quality their equal would be hard to find. I hare hud opportunities of seeing ail the principal fat stock shows in tho old country, and I consider that the three-year-old, "when properly finished, will be equal to anything I have seen there. 1 should like to see these two bullocks exhibited^ at the Melbourne Royal next August in tne fat stock class, i am sure they are worthy of the enterprise, and it would be a splendid advertisement, alike for the Highland breed and tho colony that produced them. At the homestead 1 interviewed the lord of the harem in the imported bull Duntulrn, who, despite Ins years, shows what an amount of breeding and quality lie posses°es. He stands on wonderfully short legs, has great length and depth of body, with beautiful quality and quantity of hair, and is a brindle in colour. In the eyes of experts tin two-year-old brindle by this sire, out of a daughter of No. 2 cow that was sired in Scotland and calved in quarantine fulfils nearly all the conditions to qualify him for the fiist order of merit. This bull has been sold to a Southland breeder, and will provide an illustration as to what the Cldie mont blood i= worth. A real shaggy, typical bull calf, by Duntulm out of No. 2 cow, cannot fail to attract the notice of the visitor. He was calved in the latter end of August last, and ha^ every appearance of sustaining the credit of the herd. The Highlanders on Claremout are not pnmpered in any way, and graze on the steep slope* of Mount Horrible, which is exposed to the southerly blasts. The herd possesses a quiet and settled disposition, which maj be accounted for by the fact that many of the cows are milked. The calves are tied up for a few weeks, and the yearlings are brought into the yards and handled. Mr Rhodes, who is now on his way to the old country, intends sending out a bull of t!<e best blood obtainable, so that therf will be uo probability of the Claremont Highlander* losing their well-deserved reputation. In the hands of Mr Marhepon, the manager, the herd is in safe keeping, as he thoroughly understands, from Home experience, tho management of this biced of cattle To anyone interested in West, High land cattle a visit to Clarcmont will be a source of pleasure.