THE JERSEY BREED.

Putaruru Press, 2 June 1926, Page 6

THE JERSEY BREED.

A LECTURE OF QUALITY. Mr. Missen Expounds Principles. f Since its revival last year, under the presidency of Mr. M. Shaw, the Matamata Jersey Breeders’ Club has made several very praiseworthy efforts to further the interests of the Jersey breeders, by means of demonstrations, lectures, and the remarkable entries induced at the last Matamata A. and P. Show. On Saturday night an evening of exceptional interest eventuated, when Mr. A. E. Missen, president of the Jersey Breeders’ Association of New Zealand, attended and gave an excellent lecture. Mr. Shaw said he was very pleased to see so many Jersey breeders present. The evening was the' outcome of a suggestion by one of the members, Mr. D. B. Higgins. It had been left to him to arrange for a visit by Mr. "Missen, who had judged leading shows, and was a breeder, a judge and a tester, and was therefore well qualified to give advice on essential points of the Jersey. i Apologies for absence were received from Messrs. J. W. Amoore, G. Bar- r nett and A. Mouldey (Tirau), and j from the secretary (Mr. H. Lewis). j Mr. Shaw congratulated Messrs. Tuck and J. E. Barker on having brought some high-class Jersey stock to the district recently. The president was appointed as delegate at the Winter Show. Mr. J. F. Vosper, past president, said the Jersey breeders were still sticking to an unsurpassed breed. Some of the best Jersey cattle in the world were iq.New Zehland. A bull costing over 1000 guineas had been purchased by Mr. Salway. The speaker had been a great Jersey fancier, though he had given up breeding pedigrees. When he first came to Matamata with his Jerseys, he and the Jerseys too were kicked out of [ the yard, hut the very men who look- J ed askance at the breed were buying ! them now.” : Mr. Vosper then gave a-few remarks on the value of a bull, which, he thought, was a most important factor. The Jersey breed of cattle, Mr. Missen said, was pre-eminent in quality of butter-fat. There were more Jersey cows milked in New Zealand than all others put together. Probably 70 per cent of the bulls in Taranaki were Jerseys, and this would be : the proportion in Auckland in time. { The Jersey had proved herself to be an economical butter-fat producer. In I 1897 the total value of exported dairy produce was half-a-million pounds, in 1924 the value was £18,000,000. Probably within another 15 years the export value of dairy produce would be doubled again. With improved methods of farming, and more application of scientific methods, there would be a great increase in produc- | tion. Herd-testing had come to stay, and this, and placing a pedigree bull at the head of the herd, must go with testing. “ Feed, breed and weed,” was is motto. Too many cuds were kept in the herd; thos,e culls could not be found unless the feed'ng was right, and then testing carried out. Herdtesting was of paramount importance for the industry. The sooner the scrub hull and the cull cow were weeded out the better for all. Every breeder could raise the production. Within ten years New Zealand could reach the Danish average of 3001 b butter-fat. The ex'ra value would be approximate’y nine million pounds. TYPE AND PRODUCTION. Speaking to the young breeders, Mr. Missen said the worst day’s work he had ever done was to get rid of his pedigree catt’e. A man must breed for type and production both.

One could get production without type, but not type without production. Tire day of the “ doll cow ” with a pretty face and the udder of a goat was gone. Unfortunately, some of these “ doll ” cows hadi won prizes in the show ring. The most important thing for the beginner was to begin right. He must have an ideal, for which a system to work to was needed. Too many young, breeders were led astray by printer’s ink. He was not speaking disparagingly about advertising, for no Jersey breeder would get far without advertising, but the young breeder was too much influenced by the advertising records. STICK TO A STRAIN. The main thing was to pick out a strain and stick .to it. The Shorthorn breeders had given a lead. Bates had established a type by inbreeding and maintained it by line breeding. The young breeder must not attempt inbreeding, as it required knowledge and experience. Line breeding could establish and maintain type. The Shorthorn, Ayrshire and Friesian breeders had done so. They should start in a small way, even if .they had plenty of money. There was more pleasure, satisfaction and honour in 1 breeding one’s own than trading on | another man’s name, and then letting j the line deteriorate. The first essenI tial in any cattle was constitution. If ! he were starting again he would buy old cows, and not heifers; also, a bull with a good butter-fat backing, of the same strain as the cows. They would know by the progeny if the bull and cows were “nicking”; without “ nicking ” there would be a horrible outcross. The progeny would need to show constitution or there would be something wrong. A young breeder who did not understand pedigree and type should take advice from their elders, who did know. They would find other breeders unselfish. They should not be carried away with pretty things, or their money would be carried away, too. He would rather see a man pay 50 or 60 guineas for a bull of the line he required than one j not of line, even if only half the . price. I Mr. Missen then described the various good points of a bull. GOOD UDDER ESSENTIAL. The cow, whatever her other qualities, should have a good udder ; failing that, they should have nothing to do with her ; a long, fine neck and plenty of heart room were desirable. They should keep to one or two strains and get rid of the rest. Breeders should take their cattle to j the A. and P. shows, which were of | great educational value. Most of the judges got their education at the I shows. It was not possible for them to estimate their own cattle without seeing .them pitted against others. The membership of the association was increasing rapidly and numbered 1440 ; animals registered, 3477 males and 5300 females. Mr. Missen commended semi-official testing to all breeders ; the Dairy I Division’s (Department of Agriculture) efforts were not sufficiently appreciated. Every owner of pedigrees should pick out the best cattle, feed them well and see what they could do. Matamata should start a “ Jersey oak ” of its own. General discussion followed. Mr. Shaw said he had found by experience that palatability of food was ivery important ; forcing a cow to eat | barley, moose nuts or some other food that she did not like would not produce good results ; the individual cow’s tastes must be considered. The cow also liked a change of food, and : she should have variety. Milking merely for profits was likely to be- .] come a dull, monotonous business, hut [ if a man set his heart upon breeding | champions, if he had ideals to aim I for, then the life became interesting ■ indeed. j Mr. Vosper referred to the old i “ trick of the trade ” of feeding cows on costly food in order to get high re-

cords and sell at high figures. This practice was likely to be very misleading to young breeders, as the food might cost more than the butterfat was worth. The cost and constituents of all food given artificially should be stated. Mr. R. K. Garland held that the cow which could take the concentrated food and turn it into butterfat instead of into flesh was the cow to go for. Asked by Mr. Shaw what was the greatest danger breeders were faced with, Mr. Missen said it was the danger, on account of the desire for high butterfat records, of sacrificing type for production. There was no need for a heavy cow ; the ideal was the “ big-little ” cow, a big body on a small frame. A VALUABLE SUGGESTION. Mr. Tuck remarked that the Friesian Breeders’ Association paid ha!£ cost of held testing. Should not the Jersey Breeders’ Association do likewise ? ■. Mr. Missen : That’s a rattling good suggestion. It would be a good remit to bring before the council. It has never been suggested to the council to my knowledge, but I will say right away that I will support it. A hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Missen for his excellent address and to the chair concluded a highlysuccessful evening.