LICENSING BULLS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19532, 13 March 1926, Page 9 (Supplement)

LICENSING BULLS

THE IRISH SYSTEM. The Live Stock Breeding Act has come into force in ihe Irish Free State, and any person keeping a bull without a license is liable to a penalty of £2O. The Act is very nearly the same as that in force in Northern Ireland and J.dl bulls over nine months of age must be presented at various centres lor inspection, when all those that are passed for license will oe tatooed m lhe ear with a shamrock and number, while those that are rejected will be marked with an “R. ” In a specified district in the South-West of Ireland no bulls but Kerrys will be licensed, with the exception of pedigree bulls of certain breeds, which will be licensed exclusively for the service of cows of the same breed as the bull. The Free State prefers the American “Cow-testing Association’’ to the English “Milk Recording Society,” and the Department of Agriculture is encouraging all owners of dairy cattle to join these Associations. To be recognised under the scheme an Association must have a membership owning not less than 200 cows, unless such a number is impractable owing to exceptional circumstances. The milk has to be weighed weekly, and apparent’./ there is no provision made officially for those who wish to weigh daily. Members have to pay at least three shil lings per cow |‘and such further contribution as may be necessary to defray the expenses of the Association, ’' while the Department of Agriculture v. ill contribute four shillings per cow. The supervisors have much the same duties as our recorders, with one important addition—they have to take samples of the morning and evening milk of each cow and test for butterfat. Butter-fat testing is, therefore an intregal part of the scheme in the Irish Free State. With a view to encouraging the improvement of pedigree dairy cattle in Ireland, the Department have established a “Register of Pure-Bred Dairy Cattle,” in which pure-bred cows of any breed and their progeny may be entered subject to the provisions of the ‘ scheme. Only cows which are of goo<« ' conformation and well-defined type will I be passed as suitable for provisional [ selection for registration, and they | must be entered in the Herd Book ci j their breed. To qualify for registraI tion of a cow, other than Kerry or Jcr- ' sey, must give a yield of not less than 60001 b. of milk and 2251 b. of butterfat, and the average percentage of butter-fat must not fall below 3 per cent. A Jersey or Kerry cow must give not less than 45001 b. of milk and 1601 b. of butter-fat, and these yields i must be given during a lactation period I not exceeding 45 weeks. 1 Owners of registered cows are re--1 quired to have each cow served by a pure-bred bull of her own breed, and 1 to notify the birth and particulars of all calves born. In the case of Shorthorn cows, they must be served by bulls passed as up to premium standard, and the male progeny will be eligible for inspection for premiums under the cattle breeding scheme, as “Registered Pure-bred Dairy Bulls.”

The scheme for encouraging improvement in the breeds of cattle is administered by the various County Committees of Agriculture, and premiums may be provided for bulls of the following breeds: Shorthorn, Registered Dairy, Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, Kerry, and Galloway, provided that they are gualifled for entry in their respective Herd Books or in the Register of Dairy Cattle. The values of the premiums payable vary with the breeds, and the maximum is £25. In addition to the premium, the county committee may make a grant in aid of £2O towards the purchase price of a pure-bred Registered Dairy bull whose dam and sire’s ’ dam have each a milk record of 80001 b., ! or of £lO for a similar Registered Dairy , bull other than pure-bred. Yearling premium bulls must serve at least 30 cows, and older bulls 40 cows at fees of 2/6 (in some cases 5/-). The scemc contains provisions under which it can he tight- . ened up very considerably by the county committees if they so desire, e.g., only tuberculin tested bulls may be used; no other bulls may be kept on the farm. etc. Owners of premium bulls are supplied with posters which are distributed about the neighbourly od. In addition to the premium scheme, the grant loans at 5 per cent, for the purchase of bulls when necessary. I Like the cattle scheme, the scheme for encouraging improvement in the I breeds of pigs is administered by eouI nty committees. The premiums are I worth between £5 and £lO for the iirst ’ year, and between £4 and £8 for the second year, and as a rule the service fee must be 2 . At the present time 423 boars are located under the scheme, in addition to 51 placed directly by the Department in the congested districts. The department has also placed 95 sows in-young in these districts at reduced prices. Under the horse-breeding scheme (adI ministered, like those for cattle and I pigs, by the country committees) the I same idea is apparent, and the breeding of Irish draught horses is especially encouraged. Under the scheme stallions arc not actually subsided, as they are in England and Ulster, but approved stallions are registered and nominations to them are given to the owners of approved mares. Thoroughbred stallions, calculated to produce weight-carrying hunters and high-class harness horses, may be registered for any county, as I may Irish draught and half-bred stav < lions. Clydesdale and Shire stallions were registered this year in the districts in which they were registered last year, but otherwise they were only accepted for registration in the counties of Cavan, Donegal, Dublin, Louth, and Monaghan, and in the district comprised within the radius of ten miles of the city of Cork. In other districts within the area on which Ireland’s ieputation for breed of horses mainly depends, the Department were only prepared to register a limited number of Clydesdales where there is a special need for heavy horses. Mares for nomination must be bonafide property of farmers iu the county concerned, and preference is given to good young mares under six years of age. As a result of the inspections carried out all over the Irish Free State,

16,000 bulls have been licensed for service under the Live Stock Breeding Act. The total number of applications received was 20,500, and 20,000 animals were presented for inspection, the remainder having been sold or otherwise disposed of prior to the date of the inspections. The number of rcje«-tiens amounted to about 4,000. ?