2C0 



Butter Tests. 



[JULY, 



the Jerseys seemed especially prone. The greater number suc- 

 cumbed to tuberculosis of the intestines. During the same time 

 one Shorthorn cow only had to be got rid of as unsound. 

 Another objection to the Jerseys is the well known one of the 

 loss of carcase value on death. It is true that while she is in 

 profit the Jersey as a butter-maker will give a considerably 

 higher return than the Shorthorn, but when her days of useful- 

 ness in this direction are ended, or when from abortion or udder 

 troubles she has to be discarded, it is impossible to convert her 

 into a saleable carcase of beef, and our experience at Bickenhall 

 was that the Jerseys realized no more than from a quarter to 

 a half of what a Shorthorn or cross-bred cow would fetch when 

 fat. A further source of loss is met with in the disposal of the 

 bull calves. In a strictly pedigree herd, where such are reared 

 for stock purposes, this loss would not be felt, but under the 

 ordinary conditions of farming the birth of Jersey bull calves is 

 little short of a calamity, since they are useless for castrating 

 with a view to rearing and fattening. The heifers can, of course, 

 be reared for the dairy, but the bull calves must be sold for 

 what they will fetch. At Bickenhall we were able to sell them 

 for 2s. 6d. a head newly dropped, or sometimes for as much as 

 £i each at one month old. In one season we were particularly 

 unfortunate in the matter of the number of bull calves born, 

 no fewer than nine of the twelve Jersey calves being bulls. If 

 instead of being sold for a few shillings a head these calves had 

 been Devons or Shorthorns and worth say 30s. per head when 

 dropped, or if they had been castrated and worth £y or £S per 

 head at the end of- twelve months, the effect on our balance sheet 

 would have been appreciable. For these reasons, therefore, and 

 in spite of the fact that the Jersey cattle kept at Bickenhall 

 gave a really fine yield of butter, they could not be pronounced 

 profitable, for the extra return which they gave in butter was 

 more than eaten up by the losses from deaths, barrenness, birth 

 of bull calves, and so on. Where, however, the climate and 

 situation are such as to suit the breed so that the most serious 

 objection, namely, that arising from their delicacy of constitution, 

 is removed, and where moreover butter and cream command a 

 good price, the keeping of Jerseys, if good of their kind, would 

 appear to be a most profitable undertaking. 



J. H. Burton. 



