BY THE WAYSIDE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 62, 31 March 1937, Page 15

BY THE WAYSIDE

New$ of Interest to H.B. Farmers SOUTHERN H#B. TESTING Following are the March averages of the Southern- Hawke's Bay Herd Test" ing Association: — Herd Average: 2675 cows, 596.91bs. milk, 5.0 test, 29.81bs. fat. Higlxest herds (up to 20 cows) : 10 cows, 531Ibs. milk, 6.5 test, 34.91bs. fat; (20 to 50 eows), 24 cows, 7451bs. milk, 6.4 test, 481bs. fat; (over 50 cows), 68 cows, 6861bs. milk, 5.6 test, 38.41bs. fat; highest cow in group, 14701bs. milk, 5.3 test, 781bs. fat. What We Consume. It has been estimated that we use in Kew Zealand 2 per cent. of our wool, 4 per cent. of our cheese, 10.8 per cent. of our lambs,- 18.5 per cent. of our butter, 24.6. per cent. of our pork, 51.5 per cent, of our mutton, 73.2 per cent. of our beef (the last named being a comparatively minor industry). Grass-Drying. In.the Old Country grass-drying — one of the latest phases in farming operations — is regarded as a new way of taekling the old problem of saving summer keep for winter consnmption, and it is also a way to the production of concentrated feeding stuffs on the farm without reconrse to the plough. N.Z. Wool Exporfcs. New' Zealand wool goes to more than 20 countries in large enough quantities to warrant mention in the statistics of .the trade. Our wool finds its way all over the world either as raw material or as clothing, Great Britain is still our greatest purehaser, but there are many other nations which look to New Zealand as a more or less constant sourc® for wool supplies. foot-aaid-iMouth. Feeding stuffs from' overseas a fe blamed by many British authoritiea for foot and mouth outbreaks in England. It is pointed out that during the war when Britain was uhable to import feeding stuffs from overseas the country was, singularly free of the disease. Above all, the refuse/ of Argentine meat is also blamed for the Introduction of the disease germ. Farming leaders say that the Government is guilty of not adopting measures that could, be put in force without seriously Ineonveniencing those whose intere3ts were far too closely studied. Dehoraing Calvcs. In South Africa, recently a new method of dehorning calves has been successfully adopted. The horn buds on the young calves are burned out by means of a heated copper rod. This rod is hollowed out at the end to fit on to the horn bud. The rod must be well heated and pressed firmly on to the hom bud, the hair around which must previously havo been clipped away. If carefully done, the operation leaves a clean, sterile wound. Some smear the wonnd with a uixture of equal parts of linseed oil and lime water.

Greosoting Posts, Withi'n 12 months a creosoting plant should be in operation in Botorua on a commercial basis for treating fencing posts. The Minister of Lands, the Hon. F. Langstone, made a statement to this effect, to a Whakatane deputation. He said that three plants would be installed, two in the South Island and one in the North Island at Botorua, which would be the main station. The Minister added that many of the State forests needed. pruning, and when they got the creosoting plant under way he thought those prunings would supply 100,000 posts a year.

Curing Bacon at Home. Tho those who long for real homecured bacon the following recipe will be a great help. For sides not exceeding 601b. sprinkle 4oz. of saltpetre on the sides and rub well in with 41b. of salt and 8oz. of brown sugar, taking care to put plenty of salt into the pocket of the forearm. Lay the sides rind down on a cool cellar floor where ' the temperature does not exceed 42 degrees Fahr. (preferably 36 to 38 degrees). At the end of fonr days remove the salt and repeat the process. Leave for from 12 to 20 days according to the degree of salting required. At the end of this period remove all salt, dry and cover with muslin. Hang to dry in a cool, dry place. If the bacon is to be smoked this should be done at not more than 90 degrees Fahr. For a long smoke, say a week, aim at 60 degrees Fahr. Home of N.Z. Wool. At Mana. Island, off Porirua, the first wool clip of New Zealand was pro* duced, and this was 102 years ago states an sxchange. Captain Cook endeavoured to establish sheep in New Zealand away back in 1773," and of the sheep he shipped. at the Cape of Good Hope for this purpose only one ewe and ram survived, These were landed in New Zealand, but died from eating a poison plant. Tliirty years later Samuel Marsden brought a few Merinos from Australia, but they did not long survive. The first successful effort to establish sheep in New Zealand was that of John Bell Wright, who brought 102 sheep from Sydney and landed them on Mana Island in Porirua harbour in 1834. This saw the commeh.eement of New Zealand 's wool industry. In 1835 he ship^.jd hit. clip, described in a Sydney japer, as "a small piece of wool,/' to Sydney, where it was sold.

Three years later Bell had from four to five hundred sheep oa his island run and shipped four. bales of wool to Sydney in that year. "Drink More Milk." Publicity is telling on fresh milk saies in England, writes a Londort correspondent. So, also, is the growing publio confidence in the goodness of the supply. B-ifc perhaps the biggest factor is the increasing purehasing power of the industrial centres. The liquid milk saies during the past three months, compared with a year previously, show the following increases: — Novemher, 913,689 gallons; Deeember, 1,606,436; January, 2,018,066. The Millc Board has received many encouraging replies to the telegrams which it gent recently to 100 large firms drawing attention to the special value of milk as a drink during the influenza epidemic. In some cases, it wasstated definitely that the regular milk drinkers had eseaped influenza, and in one instanee, where 60 out of a staff of- 1600 were away on sick leave, the others were drinking 1130 bottleS of milk daily. Young Farmers. The -Young Farmers' dubs showed satisfactory progress last year. Many new clubs were formed, particularly in the North Island, where the movement has broken new country. The year concluded with 118 clubs in the Dominion, 60 in the South Island, and 50 in the North Island, and the membership was nearly 3000. The New Zealand- Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs is keeping in touch with its members by the issue of monthly leaflets.