COW TESTING.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1238, 21 September 1911, Page 8

COW TESTING.

VIEWS OF. ANOTHER EXPERT. Acting on the suggestion thrown out at the Dominion Conference, the Canterbury Farmers' Union has taken up the qtiestion of cow-testing. An address was given before the - union last Saturday by Mr. J. Brown, agricultural in6tmctor. Mr. Brown pointed out that in keeping cows it was essential that only thoso.should be kept which would yield something moro than sufficient to meet, tho cost of their keep, and the only way to ascertain whetlicr all tho cows iti a herd were profitable was by testing the milk of each individual cow. A cow must yield a certain amount, of butter fat in order to pay her way and a little more. It had beon. suggested that tho testing business should be taken up by tho Farmers' Union, but he did not think it necessary, that the union should do it. Any fanner of ordinary intelligent® could do ihis own testing All the boys whom he liad instructed at the District High Schools could carry out the test quite easily. Testing was not an expensive business, costing only from, Is. to 2s. per cow per annum. A Babcock tester was required, and a supply of sulphuric acid. Ten pounds of tho latter could .bo bought for 55.. o.nd that would be sufficient for 25{fKests. It had been Fiiggesfed that an association might be formed to carry out these teste, lie did not know whether the Agricultural Department would subsidise such an association, but if so, mlvantage should be taken. of such assistance. The association would then appoint a tester to visit the herds onco every three weeks. In order to work in this way there must lie absolute unanimity among the farmers interested. If they could form an association, tliey would require to. pay a tester as well as defray the small cost of the testiug materials. A Valuable Breeding Guide. In addition to ascertaining the butter fat yielded by each, cow, 'tho test was valuable as a guide in breeding future cows. As a .rule a cow -which"was'a heavy milker would throw a calf more likely to develop into' a good milch cow than would -a poor milking cow, but when "a cow was a very high producer (abnormally so), with a fair percentage of butter ;i'»t, the chances wore that her power _to reproduce would bo weakened in. which case it would not follow that the calf would develop into a cow worth keeping - That was ono of tho things to be guarded against. Thero. was a pliysocological limit. Since 1893 in Denmark, and ■ since 1903 in, Scotland, the work of cow testing, had . made greatprogress. But in ' those countries they were working with purebred cattle, anil ho thought- that in New Zealand an attempt should be made to get herds of purebred cattle. That was the first step to be taken. If they had purebred herds, they would be iu n better position to go in for testing. _ Testing by one man who 'would go his rounds once every three weeks, would take up 'a considerable amount of time where milking machines were used, as only one cow could be milked at a time when 1 her milk had to bo kept separate. Ho was afraid that few farmers would bo willing to lose so much time. But there was nothin gto prevent ee.ch farmer making his own tests. He.-would test part of tho herd each week, whereas a travelling tester would ;have to do them ■ all at once. Another point against the itinerant tester was that when lie was going his rounds formers would bo apt to vie with oiio.-another in getting good records, mid in order to beat his neighbour ono farmer might go in for special feeding, milk early on the day of the -visit of the tester so'as to get a big flow of milk at tho evening milking, and so on. Tho results would bo published at the end of the year, and tho farmer who obtained, very big ' records, and was breeding for sale, would got a long price for his stock, though, as a matter. of fact, his stock,-would probably not be as good! as that, of his neighbour who had not resorted to any tricks. If an assoriation were formed, .care should be taken not to bolster up tricks o£ that port.

Mr. Talbot (chairman) mentioned that at the conference of the Farmers' Union it was said that tha vnluo of some herds •had been doubled through testing. He took it that there should bo two or three ■ testing stations for a district the size of . South Canterbury.. Mr. Brow'n said that 18 farms would lw the limit for one toster. Continuing, Mr. Brown said that the wages of a tester would bo about .C 2 a week, and he would require to .be kept at the farms he visited, one farmer driving him on ■when lie had finished nt his place to tho next. He knew a few farmers who did their own testing, and they did not find it a great deal of trouble. It was quite true that the value of some herds in tho North Island had been doubled, as a result of testing. A Babccck tester would cost about .£5, the sulphuric acid a few shillings, and two hours would' require to be set aside once in three weeks to make the tests and write the results down. If 18 farmers would combine in a district it would pay them to got a tester. How Testing is Done, Questioned at the close of his address Mr. Brown said the method of testing was as follows:—In dealing with a herd, of say 50 cows, take about half a <;up of milk from each cow, and put it in as many bottles, 'a distinguishing mark lieing piit on. each bottle to correspond with each cow. As a rule it is found convenient to take samples of both night and morning milk and mix them .so that tho one test will suliice. Care must, be taken to see that the fat is properly distributed through tho milk if the latter has been allowed to sit for a time, as would be the case when the cveniug's milk is being tested the following momfng. A measured amount of milk must bo taken in a Babcoci; bottle provided with a tester, and sulphuric acid must bo added with the acid measure. Then the bottles must bo rotated until the liquid goer, a dark brown, after which each bottle must be put in a pocket in tho centrifugal machine. Rotate it for or.e minute, and tho fat, being tho lightest ingredient, will bo thrown to the centre, that is, into the neck of the bottle! Then hot water is added to bring the fat into the graduated part of the neck where tho result of the test can be read. Tho legal standard of milk in New Zealand is 3.25 per rent, of butter fat, while in tho Old Country it is 3 per csnt. • •