What special steps have been taken by New Zealand dairy-farmers to improve their cattle I do not know, but, inasmuch as the great dairy-competitions in England have conclusively shown that there are milking-cows of the highest type belonging to all the Hading breeds, and that it is possible, by careful selection, to obtain not only deep but rich milkers, I am of opinion that the Government of the colony could do no greater service to the agricultural community than to purchase a small number of carefully-selected animals of the Dairy Shorthorn and the Ayrshire breeds, for the purpose of improving the milking-properties of New Zealand cattle. There are numbers of landowners and farmers, both in England and Scotland, who possess herds of cows, many of which yield, in the case of the Shorthorn, from 700 to 1,000 gallons per head, and in the case of the Ayrshire from 700 to 900 gallons per head per annum. As, however, there is no herd-book for dairy-cattle, by the aid of which a purchaser would be able to select bulls with milking pedigrees, I would suggest that a few of the heaviest milking-cows obtainable should be purchased for the purpose of breeding bulls for use in the colony. If a dozen bulls were selected—and I believe considerable difficulty would be experienced in obtaining bulls which were known to be bred from milkers of the very highest type—the colonists would not receive the same guarantee of the milking-properties of the strain which each bull would represent as would be page 76 the case if bulls intended for their use were bred directly from the very finest milking-cows which could be selected and sent out to the colony for breeding. A score of males and females of the two milking-races to which reference has been made would virtually form a Government breeding-herd, which might be attached to the agricultural college or to an experiment-station, and they might become the nucleus of a greatly-improved race of cattle. Many cows have been exhibited at the London dairy-shows which have exceeded a yield of 60lb., or about 6 gallons, of milk daily, although under circumstances which must have diminished their yield. During nine years eighty-eight Shorthorns have competed at the London shows for milking-prizes. They have averaged 12.87 per cent, of solids and 3.71 per cent, of fat. In 1887 the average of fifteen cows was 13.18 per cent, of solids and 3.89 per cent, of fat. In the same year seven of these, cows and heifers, exceeded 4 per cent, of fat. One cow gave 4.5 per cent, in the morning and 4.9 per cent, in the evening another gave 4.4 per cent, in the morning and 5 per cent, in the evening; a third cow gave 5½ per cent, both morning and evening; and a heifer gave 6 per cent, at each milking, her yield of milk on the same day being 43.2lb.; and yet farmers are content to goon making 3 per cent, of butter from their milk. Of the sixteen Short-horns which competed for the milking-prizes in October, 1888, none averaged less than 3 per cent, of fat, whereas twelve gave over 4 per cent, at one or both milkings, nine gave over 4½ per cent., and four over 5 per cent. Most of these were heavy milking-cattle, and of the greatest value for the improvement of colonial stock. On one occasion I selected eight animals from some twenty head of Dairy Shorthorns which had been collected for the purpose by a dealer, six of which were cows of about five years of age, and two heifers. They had been fed solely upon hay for a few days, and had recently calved. The following statement shows the quantity of milk which they gave during two and a half days' test, showing that 18½lb. of their milk made lib. of butter:—

	Evening.	Morning.	Evening.	Morning.	Evening
	Lb.	Lb.	Lb.	Lb.	Lb.
Roan Belle	26	23	24½	21½	20½
Roan Heifer	20	20	18½	20½	18½
Lady Jersey	22	15	20½	19½	19
Daisy	19½	21	14	17	14
Beefmaker	17	14	15	14	13
Patchy	25	21	19½	20½	19
Giantess	22	22	18½	19	18½
Alice	21	18	22	17½	13
	172½	154	152½	149½	136