The Dairy.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 3, 28 September 1907, Page 2

The Dairy.

ABOLISH THE COWSHED. A GERM-LADEN DEATH-TRAP. This is the refrain of a remarkable article written for tho _" Nineteenth Century" by Lady Priestley. The article is entitled ''The Homes.of our Food Supply," and tho distinguished writer has in her mind the .report of tho Commission on Tuberculosis..' Not for New Zealand. New Zealand, with its mild climate,: is not so shed-ridden as the old land; and, with the full knowlcdgo of the benefit of covers for the animals to wear in tho paddocks, tho..temptation to bver-houso our stock is very small. The article of Lady Priestley, however, is of such a startling character— and, moreover, has its good lessons— that we aro led to give it prominence. A Scathing Indictment. ".We have," she writes, " only to look at the farms all over Great Britain and Ireland to see for ourselves that" (in spite of the advances of science and hygiene) " they havo never changed, and remain to-day what they have over been, Acts of Parliament notwithstanding. . . Owing to longestablished custom, we have come to regard our farmsteads as picturesque objects in the landscape, planted there by Nature for artists to' paint.

But where Art is dumb, Science steps hi bohind those pastoral scenes, ana tylls tho tale of cattle bred in disease, g .'azed on contaminated pastures, loused within walls saturated .with cvnturics.of disease germs,\denied the sunlight which might neutralise much, a.id condemned within these terrible walls to breathe air from, the square ir;to which, all filth-and infected'exci'eta are thrown and collected to form ' plant food ' for the fields." Tho Unhappy Calvas. " When calves aro born they are usually separated from their mothers, who moan and weep, as did Rachel for her children. But the farmer is inexorable: ho has to make, his profit out of the milk wliile it is plentiful, and tho unhappy offspring havo to endure semi-starvation on diluted or skim milk until turned into tho fields to feed for themselves.' In common with many human ' infants who aro denied- their mothers at this critical period- of their lives, they simply scrape through to. join the ranks of a deteriorated race, and give birth in due course to others. Thus history repeats itself, and yet all the while enlightened men arise up' among us to consider what can bo done to save infant mortality, arid improve the' human race." '^ Tuberculin Test. "Tho careful precautions, adopted by the conim.issio.ners, to obtain only healthy "cattle for their experiments, show that they wero fully-aware of tho enormous number of tuberculous animals in this country, and their statements as to the valuo of tho tuberculin test as a means of diagnosis provo its reliability and .importance. '- "It requires no great effort of imagination to ..seo that within a short timo tho testing with tuberculin of all cows supplying milk will possibly be made compulsory by law." The Open-air Cure, ; " To do any' practical good," she continues, " we must go to'.the-foun-tain head, tho farm, and establish properly qualified veterinary surgeons to examiuo tho ( cattle with tuberculin: to separato tho healthy from the unhealthy, and, further, to start fresh breeds, in sound and sanitary conditions. Many: experienced authorities aro in favour of dispensing .with byres and leaving -the cattlotoonjoy tho privilege of open ,air, summer arid winter, day and night. ' Open sheds- might • ho erected 'for shelter in bad weather, but if' turned out in summer, thoy soon become accustomed to the change's of season. In fact, one farmer, who has already adopted the open-air. treatment, asserts that .ho'has found no harm come even when a calf is born out in. the field in ( pouring rain." Decrease of Milk Only Temporary. , " It is found that the .first, year the cows giyo. loss milk; but subsequently, whon ;Nature' has provided them, with thicker coats, they boar tho cold remarkably well-, and yield more milk as they get hardier."' v ■ . A Crushing Conclusion. " It is scircely to bo expected," concludes her ladyship, '.' the humble farmer could grapple with the intricacies of science, but it would bo something gained if ho could bo made to realise at last that cleanliness paid better than dirt, and that . adherence • to modern laws brought better returns and fewer losses than holding to tho traditions of his forefathers arid centuries of' death-dealing ignorance" ' ,' The Case of New Zealand. Hero, again, tho remarks do not fit our The, New Zealand farmer, as wo know him, is well able to grapple with some, at least, of "the intricacies of science." Although ho can hardly ' bo asked to pose as an expert pathologist and chemist and vet. all at. once, - ho has, at least, a smattering of what "-albuminoid ratios" mean, and the bacteriology of the dairy aro not, to him, quite Greek. Yet one who has • seen a typical old-fashioned cowshed, as they grow them in tho old land, will admit that Lady Priestley is touching tho spot. In many places, the procession of cows, as they como in to the-milk bail; troop knee-deep through a sea of solid' and fluidfilth, odoriferous and splashy—and, no doubt, gormy. . Each carries a modicum of this stuff up to the milker and convoys it in frequent doses to the milk .pail by. means of her restless tail. ■ Tho. English far-, mer treasures tho muck of his cattle yard, ' and does not realise how it poisons tho milk. ; On tho whole wo are glad to bo living in' New Zealand, where these things are dono differently. . , The Case for the Calf. It is strango that through the Manawatu and' Taranaki territories calves should bo counted by some farmers not worthy of their feed. Last year (up to May last) one Stratford salesman passed on to tho tanner no less than 36,000 calf skins, while in o single sale last Monday at Stratford Mr. Newton King sold 12,000 calf skins. Nearly 50,000 calves■" in two instances cut out of our beef supply of tho future, and probably fed to pigs or buried I The total destruction in all quarters for a year must be enormous. Why aro the calves not worth keeping? It is said that a calf takes more milk to rear than a pig, and is worth'less money when finished. That may bo true, but tho explanation does not cover the whole ground. If ca.ch of these calves was sired by a good milk-pedigree bull the heifers at least would, make valuable additions to our dairy herds, and tho outlook for the dairies is now bright chough to make everything choice worth preserving. A dairy farmer may easily: lose in twelve months on an unprofitable milk cow all that it would cost to mature a calf, and in these days of cow-testing n'ncl milking-strains there is.no room for .'robber cows. Something wants explanation in this wholesale slaughter of tho calves, 'file statement made in our first issue by Air. Gilruth, the Chief; Government Veterinarian, that an export firm will give "os. a head for

hand-fed calves two months old, to test tho London market, provides a legitimate outlet for the bull calves, ami wo may licar less of big sales of calf skins in tho future. The destruction of.dairy calves .in these times of a, dairy boom seems to.indicnto that tho Government is not, opening up. fast enough additional land suitable, for tho dairy industry, in ordor to absorb the incroase. . The condition of stock in some parts of the districts referred to has lately been unfavourably reported on, but with the present recovery of the pastures this will be remedied. It is considered by some that too much is expected from tho pastures and ton little from tho silo. To-day is a good time to sit dowii and think over the silage question, for good feeding at all times, especially in dairy districts, means money. It is the little extra weight of food per day that makes the profit. Wo understand it is tho Department's intention to establish silos on tho Experimental Farms for instructional purposes, but it would he a valuable movo if the construction of a silo were to bo included in tho experiments it is proposed to initiate on private farms in various farming centres.

CHEESE FACTORY SITES.

There is a strong probability (writes our special Wai'rarapa representative) that the Dalcfield Cheeso Company will dispense with its refrigerating plant, which was installed about two seasons ago with tho object o'f providing further cool curing. Tho fact that the refrigerating machinery may have to be ■cleared away N cannot bo'taken as a proof; that the scheme is a failure. .According to some experts it appears, that the trouble is owing to the fact-that the factory has-been built on soil much too moist,, which affects the curing process. It is stated that tho Belvedere factory is also built upon soil much too moist, and the farmers in both districts may have to face tho task of changing the sites of the factories. Tho Taratahi factory has a curing room, of brick and concrete, banked with earth from five to'nino feet. Tho factory is erected, on dry, alluvial soil. Tho Parkvalo factory is also excellently situated except for tho fact that its' curing room is too much above ground, or rather too susceptible to the sun's rays. Greytown has another well situated factory, with an admirable curing room. It is generally agreed that tho Dalefickl and Bolvedero cheese managers can hold their own with any iu New Zealand, notwith-. standing tho disadvantage as v to curing; and finally, cheese makers in tho Wairarapa may take heart an tho fact that at tho present time they have tho best. reputation of any makers in. the Dominion.' This statement is proved by tho fact that the Government cheeso instructors do not intend, to pay many visits this season to the AYairarapa, the reason being that in the opinion of tho exports further tuition is not,nearly so necessary as in other portions of New Zealand.