CORRESPONDENCE

Southland Times, Issue 19101, 20 November 1923, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE

Letters must be written in ink and on one ■ide of the paper. Unless a signature, not necessarily for publication, accompanies a letter as a guarantee of good faith it will not be considered. An asterisk attached tn the signature to a published letter denotei that some portion has been deleted by the Editor, a right which is exercised in questions of public policy, libel, good taste and Jalr play. THE BATTLE OF THE BREEDS. To the Editor. Sir, —I was highly amused to read the letter that appeared above Mr Gibb’s signature in “Live Stock and the Farm” on Saturday morning. In fact I have been rather struck by the letters that have appeared in connection with the much maligned Edendale Cup. They appear, to my mind, like the snarling of the dog underneath at the top dog. If my information is correct the Friesians would very nearly have a mortgage on the said cup, even if all the points were allotted to butter-fat, and nothing at all for milk. Now, instead of writing this cheap sarcasm and trash, would it not be better for these Ayrshire and Jersey breeders to go quietly to work and lower the Friesian records, which should not be so hard considering the much richer milk they are credited with giving. When they do this I think even the Friesian breeders would be prepared to listen to them. As for Mr Gibb, surely he is not aspiring to carry off the production prize at the Invercargill Show when the only cow he has put under semi-official test he withdrew as there were grave doubts about her producing enough to qualify. Would anyone credit that after reading his letter? Now, if this is Mr Gibb’s best cow, what must his worst be like ? Since then he has made no other attempt, which speaks for itself.

I do not intend to pull to pieces all the stupid points Mr Gibb raises in his letter, but in one part of it (I don’t know where he received his information from), he, in not agreeing with Mr.Eadqs as regards the most suitable quality of milk for cheese making purposes, sets himself against the best authorities on the subject that we have in N.Z. or any other country for that matter. In connection of the low Friesian tests ported up at the Edendale factory, he omitted to tell us how much better the tests were of any of the Ayrshire herds. At Menzies Ferry where there is quite a number of these high-testing Ayrshire and Jersey herds, the highest test recorded for October was 3,6. This falls a good deal short of the much-talked of 5 per cent, milk. One of these Friesian men that Mr Gibbs is digging at for having a 3 per cent, test happens to have a 3.3 for the first half of this month. So these high-testing herds have not a great deal to spare. Now, about that sale of pure bred bulls held some time ago at Edendale. The Friesian breeders could have sold their animals had they been content to part with them at the price the Ayrshire men did. They didn’t, because they happen to place some value on them, and in dairying, like any other business, to get the best you have to pay for it, though as is often the case the dearest is the cheapest in the end. When I state that there are several two-year-old Friesian heifers in New Zealand with as good a record as the champion Ayrshire cow, and one or two better, I ask what more proof is required? As for the cost of production when these other breeds lower the Friesian records it won’t be through consuming less foed than the despised black and whites. There is a little excuse for Mr Weir holding forth, as he has done something to help along the dairying industry but he would do well to copy Mr Eades style and leave the personal element out of it. I am, etc., A STUDENT OF THE BREEDS. BOOK AGENTS AND OTHERS. To the Editor. Sir, —In your Monday’s issue I noticed a statement credited to Mr F. Bartram anent the usefulness of life insurance and book agents. Mr Bartram must surely have been misreported, for one can hardly conceive a man of his attainments and ability making such a sweeping assertion. Only to-day, in conversation with a master plumber, he remarked to me that nowadays all tradesmen must keep themselves up-to-date in the respective lines of occupation, and it is mainly through the effortti of the book canvasser that he is able to do so, as the latter has the opportunity of introducing the latest works to his notice, which otherwise he perhaps would not know were in publication. Then again, apprentices in practically every trade may procure invaluable text books at a very small cost, and there is no doubt about the usefulness of the books to them. I am, etc., G. W. BRAXTON. 103 Earn street. SANDY POINT DOMAIN. To the Editor. Sir, —I trust your timely article on the Sandy Point Domain in your issue of this morning will receive the earnest attention it deserves. It will be a thousand pities

if the services of Mr C. Smith, the forestry expert, cannot in some measure be retained. I had the pleasure and privilege yesterday afternoon, along with a number of other business and professional men, of being shown one part of the Domain by Mr Smith and hearing him expound his scheme. The fruits of his work are already apparent, and if continuity of his ideas can be maintained there was not one of yesterday’s visitors but who is fully convinced that the scheme as detailed is a sound, practical, commonsense one, and what is more, a payable proposition. Of course, those in authority and the people of Invercargill will need to have vision in the matter, and be prepared to spend money, but the amount will be a modest one compared with the benefits that will accrue in the years that are to be when the dreary waste of sand of to-day is a fine forest of pine trees. This is no Utopian ideal; the council already know by experience in their Lochiel and Rakahouka properties, how pine trees thrive in the sand, and evidence is plainly forthcoming at Sandy Point that what has been done elsewhere under expert supervision, can be done in our Domain. Without some such systematic work to stop the drift of the sand, no improvement in the harbour may be looked for; further silting up is its doom. Dredging will be mere waste of money when there is a moving sand dune which has gone forward 13 chains since the last survey, carrying countless tons of sand toward the estuary. This seemingly irresistible march of the silent sand, can be stopped if scientific knowledge on the subject can be applied and continued. A village on the seacoast of France was being overwhelmed by an advancing wave of sand, and in Invercargill at the present moment may be seen a photograph, showing the church, with the mark up to which the sand had buried it. A second photograph shows a smiling village free from sand and the worshippers entering their church by the door. There is no “drift policy” abgut these French villagers; they sought the best advice, followed it, and saved their homes. Mr Smith’s report and suggestions for the future will come before the council in due course. I am convinced that it will be a most valuable one, so I trust the very widest publicity will be given to it. Councillor Farrant, who has this subject very much aX heart, may be trusted when this time comes, to create a healthy public interest in the scheme so that an intelligent vote may be cast if necessary. From personal experience I can say that after hearing Mr Smith speak, and having seen with my own eyes, what has and is being done, the solving of the problem of our local “Riddle of the Sands” is a most fascinating and intriguing one. Should opportunity offer to others like as came to us this week to pay a visit of inspection to Sandy Point Domain, let them tarry not but go forth eagerly. I am, etc., WILLIAM QUINN. P.S.—-May I suggest to Councillor Farrant that he Giganise more trips like to yesterday’s, so that others may have of the pleasure and profitable experience that was ours in such full measure.