POINTS TO REMEMBER

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12314, 6 April 1933, Page 5

POINTS TO REMEMBER

AMONG THE JERSEYS INSTRUCTIVE DEMONSTRATION. Yesterday afternoon several .wellknown farmers, a number of ladies, and a party of some twenty boys from Pahiatua District High and Alangatamoka Schools were privileged to attend a most interesting demonstration on tlie Jersey Dreed, the farm of Air F. V. Bryant, Ruawliata. Air Bryant introduced the speaker, the well-known Jersey judge, Air H. H. Phillips, of Te Rehunga. Air Phillips was well qualified to speak on the Jersey breed. Alany years ago he had' travelled the country with Air H. E. B. AA'atson, perhaps the best authority on Jerseys New Zealand had known. Since that time Air Phillips had added to his knowledge the fruits of Many years’ experience both a-s a breeder and as a judge of dairy cattle.

Air Phillips spoke with the conviction of a real enthusiast aud delivered an entertaining address which kept his youthful audience keenly interested throughout. The Jersay cow was increasing production in every country in which she was found, which was surprising considering the conditions under which the original Jerseys were bred. The climate of the Island of Jersey was temperate and yet the Jersey had made a name for lierself in quite severe climates. A Jersey Islander with a farm of ten acres was a squatter, so it was clearly a land where intensive fanning had to be adopted. The cattle were not allowed to roam at will but were tied up to graze. When the people of Jersey found they had cows producing the richest nnlk in the world they set about safeguarding their treasure. No cattle were imported into Jersey except for the slaughter house: no animal which was exported was ever allowed back, so jealous were they of preserving the purity of the breed.

Jersey Island was only twelve miles by six and a half, and yet on it twenty-four to thirty shows were held every year. This plan nad done much to improve the tvpe or the breed.

In judging Jerseys five points Had to be considered. A cow was a Tiara working animal, more so than a draugh t v horse. A cow worked twenty-four hours every day and three bundled and sixty-five days a year without even a spell on Sundays. So a dairy cow must have a good constitution. A second point to consider was that of capacity, for, generally speaking, the more a cow at , e more Butter-fat she produced. Jhirdl.v, said the speaker, a cow must have good digestive apparatus; fourthly, an adequate eirculaton ; and lastly, must possess a dairy temperament, that quality which made a cow turn al] she ate into butter-fat.

? hll,lps , tllen proceeded to elaborate on the points a iudo-e ut" hJT SKI , er a Mos .t i ,,d ges looked at the head first. The no.se should he square and tlie nostril well disi ’ T t,le windpipe should he veil developed, and there should he thorax to allow ample room for heart and lungs. These points decided whether a cow’s eomstit,,tion was good or bad, whether she could stand up to the hardship of could not ' 10 " ° r " hether She

The cow’s capacity wa*s shown Lorn "l 46 ’ ,a tron f ja ,»; ; a body long Rom shoulder to hip bone ; flat aJ ii. ri J' a - and "’-ell sprung: a -mod The Z" b r C *n O,I S to al >do,neu Jhe state of the digestive organs 1 ;vr ,d . by , th? feel '" the 1 i- 11 ! . " should he soft and pliable. The hair should he silky the heart mter f st '"S to note that the heart and lungs of a small daily cow were usually larger than those same organs in a bin £ a n reintu"eK n ’ dairy had Tl?e K l th f e bottom lines of the'bodv' 1 Die beef animal bad a larger conn latum along tlie top li,>es Lows are something like men ” continued the speaker. “Some do ”°V?re whet! or to-morrow come ° energy.’” ° tWs are of life and rp illustrate the point Mr Philwho wafablfto can do e r II ° "hot tew men a mob aessf uHy pick out from was i'o,n£ e" e,,t - v i the heifer that npi • 1 uiake the best cow nearby 1 ' tm? S I>,an to sit on a feed Tlie a,id wateh tlie animals still 1 + ne which seemed never ' ’"t ' va s always moving round Hr verv "n" aS best animal. ment <lon ii mndo a tals o h‘ d Ked i hbd ’ ! th ® speaker instaneown ‘‘&fmY S °»TheforeTtl V* t 1 h^,orp rather,” he is daylight ”® “ Wa ’ V ns 1500,1 as Further indications of dairy fernpernment were to he seen in a U,TI. hold eye, a dished head narrow between the horns. “If you have n j’r hea vilv-boned head and not dished between the eyes, treat her with respect,” advised the speaker. “S-he lias a nastv temjier.” A good dairy cow shoiild have a straight t.oj line; fine, angular hip hones (“the kind you can hanjr your hat on from ten yards awav”*> and a fine tail. * ’

Ihe udder was a most miportnnt point to consider for the farmer received someth in <r only what the cow put Into her udder (and not very much for that at the present timeU The udder should he caught well up l>ehind and lie carried well along the front. Again,

it should not be a case of “all bottle and no ginger beer.” The udder should decrease much m size oil n.ilking and should then be soft and elastic.

The speaker then enlarged on the escutcheon theory, in which, lie considered, there was much sound judgment. In touching on the choice of a good bull Mr Phillips pointed out the sound practice adopted in the home of the Jerseys. A hull was picked not on his sire’s show ring performances but solely for the cows that were behind ' him. “Let me see the mother of the bull” was always the i ©quest of the Jersey Island breeder.

During his address Mr Phillips demonstrated the various points from cows of Mr Bryant’s fine herd. One of these, Jersey Glen Dinah, ranks fourth in the four-year-old class in tlie New Zealand Jersey Breeders 5 Association semi-official test _ior January. This cow produced 1 9. • lbs of fat for the month, and tor the eiglity-five days she has been under test has produced 2161bs of iat. This great cow- is certainly the tyne of animal that the New Zealand dairying industrv wants.

At the conclusion of the demonstration Mr G. L. Stafford expressed tlie thanks of those present to Mr Phillips lor his absorbinglv interesting address and to Mr F. V. Bryant, who had made the gathering possible. All present were much indebted, also, to the Woodville Jersey Breeders’ Association under whose auspices the demonstration had been given.

Mr G. H. Brown, speaking on behalf of the farmers, regretted that more were not present. Mr Phillips was one of the foremost judges, certainly in the Wellington province and farmers, in these times, could not afford to miss sm h ait opportunity. ‘No wonder farmers are badly off when thev miss chances like this.” said Mr Brown, warmly. The votes of thanks were carried by three rousing cheers. Later the visitors were entertained to afternoon tea by Mrs Brvant.