148 Journal of Agriculture. [9 March, 1908. 



The Jersey is recognised tlie world over as standing unequalled as 

 a breed for the profitable production of butter; and latter-dav competitions 

 have proved that its breeders have also some right to claim for it the 

 same pre-eminent position as regards its milk yield. It is the smallest 

 of the three breeds mentioned, is extremelv docile, a good forager, and a 

 heavy continuous producer of the best quality of milk. 



Bearing the foregoing facts in mind when considering the improvement 

 of such milking stock as are usually found on small farms where the 

 separator is used, and also on larger areas where the amount of sown 

 pasture land is proportionately small, there appears no quicker, cheaper, 

 or surer method to use in conjunction with culling than the introduc- 

 tion of Jersey hulls. Without both large acreage and good pasture 

 there is little chance of a dairyman making a success of two branches of 

 cattle raising ; so his efforts had better be concentrated towards that 

 which is most suited to his conditions, viz. — the production of rich milk. 

 Where large framed cattle have been in vogue previouslv, the ol>iections 

 usually raised bv farmers to the introduction of Jersev blood are em- 

 braced in two distinct and, to them, conclusive points. The first is the 

 assumption that the breed will not stand cold weather ; and the other 

 is that the bull calves so bred will not make into saleable steers. 



The first charge is usually tased on the fact that unless a Jersey cow 

 in milk is either rugged or provided with shelter in cold weather she is 

 apt to fall off in condition. But a falling off in condition does not 

 necessarily mean a falling off in her milk supply. To the dairyman 

 who weighs and records the milk from each cow this peculiarity is easily 

 accounted for, as it is one of the chief characteristics of the Jersey cattle 

 that they are more disposed to uphold their milk yield under variations 

 of the weather than to retain their condition at its expense. On this 

 account the admirers of the breed claim for it the title of " the honest 

 Jersey ' ' ; inasmuch as, though otb.er cattle may by lessening their niilk 

 yield retain their condition, the Jersey can nearly always be depended 

 on to give full return at the pail for all food supplied. The farmer 

 who does not regularly weigh the milk from each of his cows is seldom 

 aware of this, for he has nothing but his memory to guide him, and 

 memory can hardly be relied on to this extent. The Jersey breed has 

 reached its highest state of excellence in England and the United States 

 of America, both of which countries are subject to much greater extremes 

 of temperature than Australia; and where, if there existed anv consti- 

 tutional weakness in the breed, it would soon te brought to light. There, 

 as here, however the result has been the opposite; and the Jersev has 

 far more supporters now among dairvmen than ever. Denmark is looked 

 on as the head-quarters of practical dairying in Europe, and there the 

 Jersev is in high favour. The largest dairy contest of recent years was 

 that iield at the St. Louis (U.S.A.) Exposition from i6th June to i.^th 

 October. 1904, when 45 cows cjmpeted for the prize offered for "the 

 economic production of butter-iat," and 74 cows for the prize for " the 

 economic production of milk," during the 120 days test. Both prizes 

 were won by a Jersey; and the 25 Jersey cows competing were far before 

 all others with an average of /^8 4s. 8d. per cow profit for butter pro- 

 duced during the 120 davs. The winning cow gave during that period 

 580 gallons of milk containing 280 lbs. of butter fat ; and the average 

 for the 25 Jerseys was roughly 498 gallons of milk, yielding 230 lbs. 

 of butter-fat per cow. This is a big average, but the figures are from 



