THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



081 



South Oevans and Racehorses, 



INTERVIEW WITH MR. WILLIAM KENWOOD. 

 By Ergates. 



MR. WILLIAM KENWOOD, as many 

 know, is a Mooi River man. Thern 

 he has been f-irmiug for twenty-three 

 years. Prom the Rosetta railway station 

 the homestead is to be seen, as is also that 

 of Mr. Bede Crompton, another Mooi 

 Kiver farmer of lengthy experience. Mr. 

 Kenwood's hou e is but IHO feet above 

 the level of the river, and the coldness of 

 the situation durini^ the winter is indi- 

 cated to the \iaitor by the absence of gums 

 and wattles from the clumps of trees 

 around the house. The climatic coldness, 

 however, has this recommendation — it is 

 healthy for stock. 



South Devons. 



As a cattle breeder Mr. Kenwood is 

 enthusiastic about South Devons, and 

 thir, is -what he said : — 



" I have bred from the South Devon 

 for eight years, and no better breed 

 could I have for milk, butter, and for sale 

 to the butcher. They are splendid beef 

 cattle, and the beef goes down to their 

 hocks and their knees. In England it is 

 nothing unusual for cows to give five 

 gallons, or thirty bottles, a day. I am 

 quite satisfied with the improvement of 

 one strain, and by and by the herd will 

 be one of the best in the Colony. South 

 Devons are very hardy, and, in saying 

 that, I claim, as a Mooi River farmer, to 

 be in the position to give an opinion. 

 They promptly respond to extra feeding, 

 to which, as all know, common-bred cattle 

 do not. All whom I know who have 

 tried South Devons are thoroughly satis- 

 fied. The cattle come through the winter, 

 as their condition shows in early spring, 

 better than any other cattle I know. 

 They are the most docile cattle I have 

 ever had to do with. Grade cattle sell at 

 good prices ; two-year-cld heifers, for 

 instance, selling at about £20. It must 

 be remembered that the South Devons are 

 a totally distinct breed from the North 

 Devons, and of late years great care has 

 been exercised to keep the breeds separate. 

 The North Devon is an animal for beef of 



the very highest class, is small, beautiful 

 in appeai'ance, and is favoured almost 

 exclusively by wealthy land-owners for 

 ornamental rather than profit qualiti s. 

 As milkerp they are decidedly poor. Into 

 the South Devon Herd Book none are 

 admitted unless they are certificated, and 

 among the requirements of (he commis- 

 sions who give the certificates is absence 

 of white except in the brush of the tail. 

 They make capital trek oxen. I was in- 

 duced to go in for the Devon breed by 

 the success of Mr, Tom/ Hall, and upon 

 the question of the North or the South 

 breed my mind was open until I fosnd 

 out the difference in characteristics." 



" What bulls have you had, and what 

 was your luck with them ? " 



" ' Oeneral II.' was the first Devon I 

 imported, and he died of pleurisy. 

 The next was ' Councillor II.,' and he 

 died of redwater. Then came May's Blos- 

 som, and he died of some liver complaint, 

 but not conclusively diagnosed. My 

 present bull is Ruler, Vol. VI. Herd- 

 book, No. 1,058, and was calved 10th 

 March, 1898. His two ends are perfect, 

 and sirloin is splendid. He has the finest 

 limbs of any bea-t I have ever seen im- 

 ported ; he is active and of a quiet dis- 

 position. IIow long his career may be I 

 cannot say. He has been 2^ months in 

 the country, and has been ill twice, the 

 first time from gallsickness and the second 

 from liver. These sicknesses, I imagine, 

 must be due to the sudden changes of 

 temperature ; if a day is exceptionally 

 hot an imported animal should be brought 

 in and housed till the sun weakens." 



Milk. 



"No ; I am not selling milk ; the price 

 is not good enough considering the present 

 value of cows. I milk once a day, chiefly 

 for the purpose of quieting the calves. 

 The cream from that milking not required 

 for the house goes to the Nel's Rust 

 Creamery. The calves run with their 

 mothers all day and at night time go into 

 a large paddock," 



