OUR DAIRIES.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 580, 3 February 1882, Page 2

OUR DAIRIES.

No. 5.-Mr CoiJj McDonald's.

Amongst the dairy farmers oC the Peninsula, the President of the Fanners' Club, Mr Coll McDonald, takes a prominent place. His farm, as most of our readers know, is situated at Waitiui, and could hardly he better suited for (lie purpose, being well irrigated, and producing the most luxuriant pasturage. Wo should much like to see this and the neighboring farms with mulherry trees planted at intervals ail round the paddocks, and have no doubt that before many years are past this will be the case. At all events the trees will grow »yell onouirh, for some were planted last year by Mr McDonald, and are looking \vell.

Mr McDonald's home farm consists of 245 acres, but lie lias also 170 acres higher ii, , ) the valley, which is, however, at present leased. On the home farm there are only cattle and horses. The caitle are a good lot, nearly nli being bred on the place, a two-year-old grandson of Marrowfat being specially worthy of notice. Sixty-four cows are now being milked, and there are some 70 head of other cattle on the run, including some 47 calves reared this season. Mr McDonald's young cattle certainly do him credit, and he attributes this to the fact tint (hey are liberally fed at first. He gives them about a gallon of milk night and morning for two months, and reduces this gradually the third month. Of course ihis is an expensive method, for each calf costs about Is per day, but Mr McDonald is sure it is better in the end than whey feeding, to which he attributes the many small and inferior cattle that are reared on the Peninsula. The farm is subdivided in an admirably convenient manner into four paddocks, two of which (the furthest from the house) are in use during the day, the smaller ones adjoining the homestead being , tenanted at night by the milkers. The cows are always kept in two lots, eacli of which is brought in separately for greater convenience. There are some small paddocks for the calves and for other purposes next the homestead. One may here remark on the fencing used by Mr McDonald. It is a paling fence, and the palings are kept in their places by wire-, two oil which arc woven in and out at both top and bottom. The wires are fastened to the posts, so that each panel can be separately removed. This fence has been found both inexpensive and effective. The stockyard is large, substantially built, and well drained. Before use the surface soil was removed. The house is a very commodious one, and surrounded by a neat paling fence. The ■ dairy is immediately adjoining the house, being, in fact, under the same roof. The room in which the cheese is made, aril where the presses art , , is a iong, lofty, spacious apartment. At one end is the Witter tap, the tables for binding the cheese on, etc., and at the. other is the great vat in which the milk is kept and set, the drippers, and other apparatus, and against (lie wall stand the presses, of which there are thrse, two being double screw presses and the other a single iron lever press. The.se presses, as well as everything else in this room, are of course kept scrupulously eluan, as the slightest dirt tends to taint the inillc and deteriorate the cheei-e. ['here are four windows in this room, so that there is plenty of ventilation. These wiudo.vs were originally intended to open over the box in which the curd is cooled, but ay the sun shines on this part of the building towards noon, it was found to be the wrong aspect, and the curd is consequently cooled in another room, which is on the shady side, and communicates with the dairy by a door, It is so arranged that a draught of air is continually passing over the surface of the curd, which speedily lowers its temperature. The cheese-room is spacious and well ventilated, being capable of holding from four to iive tout) tons of cheese, and wns filled at the time of our reporter's visit. Then; is a defect, however, in it, wiiicii Mr McDonald proposes suoctly to remedy, and that is, there in no fireplace in it to raise the temperature in cold weather. As a substitute two large kerosene lamps, or rather stoves are used, but they are not so good as a Ii re. In order to keep the dairy cool the boiler is outside, but ko close adjoining that a shutter can be opened by the neraon making the chee.-ie, and vessels dipped into tiio copper without having to leave the room. This is a capita! arrangement, and (ends in no small degree to keep the dairy both cool and clean. A door opens from the dairy to the milking shed, and copper house, which in a model of cleanness and order. There are seven bails at present, but others are in course of erection, which will be placed under v new shed to be GGl't long, The stalls are paved with stones, raid slope down towards a paved gutter, which separates the shed from the stockyard, and being on a j slope all impurities are at once removed. The leg-rope used are of hide, with a ring, and are made on the place, being much more lasting and better than rope. There is a screen between each bale to keep the milkers from getting their clothes dirty, by splashing or otherwise in muddy weather. The ealiVued is very warm and comfortable, and full oli cocksfoot straw, and the calves arc Jet out two by two to I their drinking places, after which another ' door admits them to a paddock. There is v gre.it water tap over the copper, with which tho drains can all be (lushed at will, and any other cleaning work done. Tin's water supply is urn; of the features of Mr McDonald's dairy, and no doubt, tends in no small degree to its success. It is the most delicious water it has been ; our lot to titste, and proceeds from a spring I about a (jil'irter of a mile, from the house, ; higher up the aide of the hill. The spring is arched with stone and carefully fenced, arid gives double as much water as ca;: lie used throughout the year. In the spring i is a pipe with a broad cud like the rose, ; a flower pot, ami at the end of this rose is a line wire netting to keep any : impurities from into the pipe. The pipe is led to the house and for the greater part of the way is under- . ground, but at every paddock (here is a ; tub which is kept constantly filled with ] the water for the benefit of tho stock '■ \

The cattle much prefer this water to that, in the creek, never touching the bitter whf.n they can g«t the former, and it is recoi'dud that some of them made a gi-.'ui. Mi-;s wh mi the spring was lenee i in. Th-.: making is conduct.'!! in this manner, ihe younger milkers, or learners, take the cows first, wash their teats with the greatest cue and then having them thoroughly dean commence the milking. The more experienced "n mils then take the cows to see they are properly dried oil! The night's milk is placed in the greit vat and in the centre is placed a tin cylinder through which n stream of water is kept flowing j till the temperiture of the milk is reduced to 80 degrees, at which heat it is allowed to remain. In exceptionally hot weather the water is running through the cylinder ; the whole night. This system, Mr Coll i McDonald considers far preferable to set- [ ting the milk in pans. When the milk is i set in shallow pans a great deal of cream rises, and thero is a great deal of trouble in heating it and returning it to the milk, and wi.at is more it never seems to make tho milk attain its former richness. When the milk is set in one large vessel however, ths cream is so thin it can bo stirred in and the milk so set makes richercheese. The whatever weather it happens to be the acidity being regulated by adding more or less sour whey. Tli.to are generally about 120 or 130 lbs of curd. On a hot day some 2£ gallons of sour whey are required, but in cold weather as much as 4-{- gallons are used, but the general quantity is about 3£ gallons. Mr McDonald uses part Hansen's Extract and part rennet, and he bega our roporter to state that he thinks Hansen's Extract exceedingly good. After adding the rennet the surface of the milk is disturbed now and again till it thickens to let the cream dou n. After it thickens it is not disturbed for an hoar, enough curdling - matter having been added to bring it to a proper stage by that time. It is then cut across with a long knife and afterwards broken to the proper size with a shovel. It is then allowed to settle and enough whey taken off to heat up to 100 degrees, the rest of the whey being run off through a syphon. The whey is carried through a long pips from the vat to a tank in the neighborhood of the pigsties, from which the troughs are filled. There are two strainers through which the whey passes so that none of the curd shall be lost. The further progress of this stage is judged by the state of acidity the curd attains. Instead of removing the curd into a dripper it is heaped up in the centre of the vat and the sides of a dripper with the bottom out is placed over it and a weight applied. After suffxwhey has been extracted, the cheese is ground and salted in the cooler where it is left till the temperature drops to 65 or GG degive.«, though sometimes it is not possible to make it so cool. The curd i« then placed into the chessofs and pressed in tins usual way. The chessets at Mr McDonald's contain 25.i> ami sGps respectfully, and he makes about 120 ibs of eheeso daily, or some ten tons annually, as he commences cheese 'miking in f .he middle , of cieptembtii, .nd sto;.;- \>a. tl't , i-< of : .<->i\y, making his wt; 1:' r -n "<;.'■' o.' ':■■■■-

ter after !.iuu dale

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i-hee-e i." put ',:< l\)-' ;'i|i';.::-; on liv- Si.-'/o.'iii day to take mit wrinkles in the cloths. The vat used is of kauri, and, in order to keep it perfectly sweet, it is scraped every day with glass, which removes all impurities. Mr McDonald keeps a register, in which he enters tho particulars regarding the inakinu of tho cheese, and he- requests buyers to tell him which they preler, so that he may he guided by these records. Every cheese has its special number, so that there is never any doubt about the date of its manufacture. Our reporter gives the following sample of the way the register is kept:—

3 o ■; ,J [> 5§ '"o '§ o" °i ~"117 £0 II O r-5 f~ CO^O^i ?i_2J___ " co O o> -* v % Oj O ii S G g Q ti (S ? U j^ t'3 L_ 2aj -o « - B -£ o ~ 5 v p ; o ** "Si«j

The time from the milk being set to the salting varies from 2},- hours to 4h hours, according to the: wtuther. Tho cheese is bandaged very crei'miy, and lard is always us?d instead of biit'or in gransinj; it. kr McDonald (hink-s tiw.t not, only ilard the best for tiiit; ]>urpose, imii. it prevents the iieco.s.-my of taking away av.y cream from the cliecse, which ho thinks most niuU'-sir.'ibie. i'ne cannot conclude without testifying to the great kindness shown to our reporter by Mr M■•Donald, who appeared to bo anxious to give every possible information. The reputation ol : Mr McDonald's cheese hi shown by the fact that tho lowest, prica it realised in Dunedin this year was (id, and the great majority brought SM.