GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1000, 15 December 1910, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

■It is.freely reported that the Taraaafei.Dairy.Employees'. Union has amalgamated with, tho " -.-Wairarapa,. Slana,watu;. and -.Wellington "Union, with the object' of forming one strong - union for the,jvhoJ.e district. . The secretary of the union,' Mr/. -J. • Roberisou, • proposes visiting Taranaki about the matter..

. . In; consequence of ..the last two seasons ■ being favourable for breeding, rabbits ] are- greatly -on the increase (says, the ] 1.; . Alfredt-o'n correspondent -of a Waira- t .rapa. paper),-.and a few- settlers are getting uneasy about them .and contemplate laying poison. for • them early ■ ..in February. ! . Anew creamery- is to be erected on the ' Kimberley Eoad,' at. the corner of the " Arapaepae Road."(says an' exchange). : Work: will 1 be proceeded .with at once. It is;being erected.-by the-Levin Dairy: Com- : pany in response , to 'the representations of. the-dairy farmers of that. neighbourhood. - The creamery, which will bB used : as- a-skimming, station, Will .be .of .great ■ utility to the fanners of that locality. ; . j -.■"'Farmers'in the Oakura (Taranaki) dis- j trict say .that"grass'is plentiful. They .. .are .-all .busy", now getting their winter . crops in. - j ' ■ The" caterpillar pest has again put .in ;an appearance;in;many of. the-paddocks, ■ . says;-the Ela'xbourne' correspondent, of. the "Marlborough Express.": At present only ..the ..beard; .'and:, flag.'of. the .-grain '-are be- . ing., attacked, and j there is. a. chance that •' . fit;least; the early-sown crops will be ready .; for -.harvesting-before -the grubs: have grown .sufficiently to . do-serious damage. : ; The later so\vn crops have come on well sinco. and .will yifcld a fair return'.if harvested without damage.'. ". VA well known Manawatu cattle .breeder 6aid'a'few w'ise words at Stratford when ■ he-advised the A. and P.' Association to ' procure as judges men who were used to . -tho,special lines they, judged.. .J.len who !\Voula'.undertake to. judge, anything were ,met'with,'/.but- it .was-.unwise to utilise them. .'.v.-■ r -• : Mr. Sydney.'Kidman, the. "Cattle King" . of; Australasia,- has written" to-''Mr. -P. -Eairey,-of, Nelson;:; a L very interesting letter, ;in which.he.mentions that .he holds ■the; world's"record for the heaviest bul- . lock, v and is now - supplying Broken Hill : with':fifty . bullocks a week,- as well- as ■ 6tpck-. for Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, ' and; Adelaide: : Mr. Kidman has-had. as .. many as 13,000 head of cattle on tho road I at one time, 'all ..of his own fattening, and he. tells :Mr.'- Fairey ;that he has-just, sold •200.0 fat bullocks, for . .£40,000, avid pur-, chased a station five miles-squaro in area , with 30,000 cattle and COO horses; In .the /cattle-are included 14,000 fat bullocks. Every yoar Mr. ICidman has a horse sale ■ at Itapinga,. South Australia, at which 2000-horses .of. his own breeding are auc- '- Honed.—"Colonist." . • The- question l whether the quality of cows''milk is influenced by the quantity yielded has been the subject of investigation by Professor Wilson, of the Royal College, of-Science, Dublin, whose report has- been .published in pamphlet form as part ol their scientific proceediugs by the'-.Eoyal Dublin Society. Professor Wil- ' ■. ; son lias' made, an exhaustive analysis of the..milk-records published ■ by' tho Ayr- . shire.Cattle'Society, and finds The quality of, milk' is in no way -dependent oil the quantity. ' It is, a common belief among <iairy-farmers : that heavy milking-'coivs ,ar6-likely to give milk of poor'.quality, arid that: rich.,milk-will be obtained, from . c6\v's. whose yield is small. .-Professor Wilsmr has . examined the .. records of nearly 3000 cows, and has classified them

according Ho the. quantity and quality of the milk produced. From the table which he lms'corapilcd it is at onco evident that yield has no influence on the quality. The cows are divided into four groups, according to the. quantity of milk they yielded, and iii every group the proportion' of the cows that give poor, medium, and rich milk is very much the same; so that with these Ayrshire cattlo at least—and there is no reason to suppuso it would be different with other breeds— tho .conclusion that quantity and quality of .milk aro independent of each other ;is .justified.