196 ;\'^rr south wales. 



Some of tlie Herd-book entries refer to animals worthy, in point of 

 profit, to be inscribed on any Dairy Roll in tbe world; and the progeny 

 of such stock are sought for by dair^-men in all parts of the colonies. 

 Space will not permit me to speak on the breeding of these cattle ; 

 but, in the " thirtys/' Alex. Berry imported for this purpose several 

 high-class bulls from England, both Durhams and Ayrshires, also 

 Holsteins. At the same time Mr. Howe, of Glenlce, was dairying 

 with a fine herd of Ayrshires, and many noted importations have been 

 made covering the intervening years. The basis of the Illawarra 

 breed is, undoubtedly, the milking strain of Shorthorns, crossed 

 according to the exigencies or judgment of the dairymen, chiefly with 

 the Ayrshire, sometimes Holsteins, and latterly with the Jerseys. 

 Some of the best herds, however, claim to be still pure Shorthorns. 

 There is no doubt that the higher type of the Illawarra cow of to-day 

 is admirably adapted to local conditions, and a decidedly profitable cow 

 for Australian dairymen. 



We give a portrait of " Honeycomb," a typical beast of this breed, 

 bred by the late John Lindsey,of Kembla Park. Her test record is 

 84i lb. of milk per day, yielding 4 lb. 4 oz. of butter, or 29 lb. 12 oz. 

 per week. With such a profitable strain of cattle we felt no surprise 

 on receiving a letter this morning from a dairyman supplying a factory, 

 which said : '^ My herd is worth from £18 to £12 each annually, 

 according to the price of butter." 



Want of space precludes me going into the matters of the rearing of 

 calves, pigs, and poultry, which are inseparably attached to our dairy- 

 farms. I may briefly say, however, that the skim-milk is generally 

 utilised with other products in the rearing of pigs for bacon or the 

 butcher ; and it is considered by many farmers that on an average 

 these pigs pay the annual rent. The poultry and eggs, similarly pro- 

 duced, are regarded by thrifty housewives as equal to providing for 

 the sustenance or clothing of the family. 



Possibilities and Means of Extension. 

 The great expansion which has taken place in the dairying industry 

 of the Colony of late is strikingly illustrated by the fact that notwith- 

 standing the severe drought which has existed here for months, whereby 

 some thousands of cattle are reported to have died, and many factories, 

 both large and small, have had to close for months for want of milk, 

 the output for the whole Colony both of butter and cheese for 1895, 

 as far as may he judged by returns up to the present, appears to 

 have been as large, if not larger, than for 1894. Not only have the 

 local demands been well supplied, but the imports of New South Wales 

 butter in the United Kingdom between 1st January and 21st December, 

 1895, were 30 per cent, more than during the same period of 1894, 

 and exceeded twice that of 1893. It is, therefore, just to suppose that 

 had we been favoured with an average fine season all through, the 

 output for the past year would have been surprisingly large. The 

 dairy export trade of this Colony has grown hitherto but slowly, but 

 from the large areas of lands and thousands of cattle that are now just 

 entering the industry, there cannot be the slightest doubt but that in 

 the immediate future it will be one of our most important sources of 

 income, and may expand indefinitely and rapidly. 



