NOTED JERSEY BREEDER

Taranaki Daily News, 30 April 1931, Page 9

NOTED JERSEY BREEDER

COLONEL BULL IN NEW PLYMOUTH.

VALUE OF ATTENTION TO TYPE.

One of the world’s greatest authorities Oil Jersey cattle; aiid thb best-, known Jersey breeder in Canada, Colonel Brdinptori Bull; pdrt-OWiief of the famour Brampton herd in Ontario, arrived in New Plymouth yfestefday in the course of a visit to the leading Jersey studs of the North Island. He will remain in North Tarafiaki for about 10 days, during, which time hb hopes to see a ntifiiber of TMMiaki’s best pedigree Jerseys. The firm of B. H. Bull and Sons.,, in which Colonel Bull is a partner, maintains a herd of approxiitidtety 800 head at Brampton. Concentrating upon type, which he maintains is the ultimate sine qua non of pfdductibfi, COlonel Bull makes several visits to the island of Jersey every ybdl - ; and supefVlsus importations of cattle into Cdriada oh a large scale. The method of preventing the dahger of spreading fobt-iihd-inouth disease is ah iiitdresting one. Explaining the scheme to a News representative ybstefddy; Colonel Bull said that when it is desired to make an importation of Cattle the fodder is soiit frorii Ahierica on one of the trans-Atlantic ships that cater for this trade. The cattle are shipped from Jersey on a cross-Chanriel ship, and from this smaller vessel the live cilrgb i§ trilhsliippbd to the Idrger one at sea, usually.ih the, locality known as Southampton Water, the cattle being lifted across in slings. _ In consequehee of the great care exercised, both Jlifsej’ and Canada were free from this dread disease.

As ill Nbw Zealand, Cd.rid.da. hall its problems, such as riiaihniltis arid other afflictions, to fight, said Cbloribl Bull. One of the most important institutions fdi* ifiipfdviilg the quality of the stock was one that had apparently not been undertaken at all in New Zealand. It was a scheme by which a register is kept of specially accredited free-from-tuberculosis herds. Such a precaution was particularly valuable to the Brampton herd, the milk from which was all sold either as niilk; br is crianr when separated. There are thousands of these accredited free-froiii-tuberculosis herds ih Canada and the States, and international interchanges pf stock, providing tlib herds are accredited bnes; may be carried out without the usual formalities. Before a herd is ddniittbd as an accredited one the stock must be tested three times in the course of a year, the first test to be carried out under supervision. If a tuberculosis reaction was establiSlied in any one of these three tests ahOther year had to elapse before further tests could be carried out and the herd accredited. Suspected or unknown stotk wits tested, isolated for 60 days, and then tested again. Every noted breeder had his herd accredited. With such a difference in the climatic conditions in Canada and New Zealand—iri Cdnadd. the stock had tb bb artificially fed and housed for seven months of the year—it was only to be expected to find ah excellent class of Jefsey iii New Zealand, said Mr. Bull. Since landing at Aubkland lie Had visited a nuiiiber of Jersey farms ill the Waikato and was agreeably surprised with the very high standard of production that' had been attained, lie thought, however, that an improvement in type would be an advantage. In the United States and Canada breeders wbre edneeiitrating milch more strongly on proven bulls than did the breeders in New Zealand, with the result that all the best bulls were going from the island of Jersey to Canada and tlib United States. It d'as quite a common thing for the better class mature bulls to realise from 2(101) to 6(j(JO guiiieaS.