Interesting Developments

Cattle Raising In

New Guinea

When the Montoro sailed for New Guinea on April 7. she carried a young Shorthorn bull, consigned to Kavi eng, and purchased bv Mr. H. Adams for the improvement of his herd of mixed Shorthorns, on the west coast of New Ireland.

Good work has been done steadily, dur ing recent years, bv plantation owners in New Ireland and the eastern end of New Britain in the improvement of their cattle, with the result that almost pure bred herds are being successfully main tained. free of disease, on an increasing number of plantations. Where some vpars ago. most of the fresh beef avail able was of the dark tough, unappetising stuff obtained from the Cebu cross, to-day meat of high qualitv is obtained regu larly, and many plantations have them own milk and butter supply.

Mr. Adams, who has spent a good deal of time and money in collecting informa tion about stock-raising in the Mandated Territory—he has been there for 20 years —believes that the secret of successful cattle-raising lies in a good water-sunnly.

In New Ireland and New Britain, streams of clear, pure water come down from the nearbv mountains, and the resulting pasture is clean and sweet, and cattle thrive on it. But. where there is no supplv of mountain water, or where the island is small and sandy, the cattle do not thrive, and soon become victims of disease.

At one time, it was thought that the only chance of successful cattle-raising in New Guinea lay through the Cebu cross. But the experiments of Mr. Adams and other planters suggest that catPe may yet be raised in the bigger, moun tainous islands with the same success as has been attained in Fiji; and thp possi bilities, therefore, become rather impor tant.

The little town of Fakfak, on the south-western coast of Dutch New Guinea. It is the Administrative centre for the Division. The Government buildings are in the centre and on the right, and the Chinese shopping area is on the left.