Farm and Garden.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 89, 3 July 1908, Page 4

Farm and Garden.

DAIRYING METHODS. PREVENTING CONTAMINATION. There is a noticeable tendency, both in dairy and factory practice in New j Zealand; f> observe the strictest supervision t > prevent bacterial contamination, and ensure the cleanliness of the milk. The arrangements of some of the farms may not be perfect ; but there are very few factories open to the charge of slovenliness in i the conduct of their business. Keen competition, and the watchful eye of an interested board of directors, personally concerned in the treatment of the milk, keep managers up to . the mark, for the effect of their work is seen in the quality of the butter.Carelessness is ultimately detected in the market. Besides, in each case, the reputations of the managers are at stake, and by the adoption of advanced methods of butter-making, they are now able to make a fairl# : good quality out of very unsatisfao; tory material. The greatest change that has taken place of recent years is the adoption of. more careful .methods in the ripening df cream by the use x>f starters,,and : a .more, uni-> .form- quality-of butter Jias been made 'possible.- ■ So hie of. the suppliers, hpw T: ever, have not yet grasped thej-ijm.-; 'portance of the observance of the utmost carefulness, as is evident from the quantity of inferior>: grade cream that reaches the factories. They rely too much .upon the wizardy-oii the managers in converting bad cream into good butter, and,, in -some, instances, they are too leniently dealt with, receiving satisfactory prices for their cream which is mixed in bulk with cream of a superior grade. As is well known, contamination is most-i ly external to the cow, and the development of bacteria can be largely controlled by the exercise of care. CLEANING MILK UTENSILS. : The most important'factor, so far as we are concerned, in securing a reduction of bacterial contamination, is the proper cleansing of the milkpails. "The washing of such utensils," says Professor Conn, " is no easy task, and it is not an exaggeration to say that upon an ordinary milk form, vessels are not, washed clean. They are, It is true, frequently scrubbed with warm water and soap, but no such washing will result in removing all the bacteria." No amount cf scrubbing and rinsing will get rid of these micro-organisms, and it is only where there is a supply of steam that cleanliness can be made certain, hence the suggestion t-hat "no creamery should depend upon the farmer to wash milk cans." All. tint the dairyni n can do is to wa£h his utensils with hot water and sal-soda, give them a thorough rinsing afterwards in clean water, and- place them inverted in the sun until used again. Nine out of ten farmers moisten the udder before milking, and in a diagram prepared by the Connecticut expert, the value of this practice is strikingly shown. The udder should not be left wet, but simply damp. The alternative method brushing tb?.caty. jvst before milking—has not anything like the same "good result'. It simply stirs up the dii't and dust, leaving it floating in the air in a position to settle readily in the" pail, with the result that there is an actual increase in the bacteria fathef than a decrease. Commenting upon the use of milking-machines as a means cf reducing contamination, the writer states that where they'have in* telligently used, they have been found to be efficient in producing a much cleaner quality of milk. The manager of a large Victorian factoiy, in a district where milking-machines are; not uncommon, came to the coriclusion that the quality of the milk suffered, and that on that account there was a strong objection to the use of the machines. There is no doubt that.it is much more difficult to keep the apparatus thoroughly clean than it is to keep the pails clean,' and , its use by a careless ' man would inevitably result in the greater contamination of the milk. "It requires very great care," Professor Conn states, "in cleaning and sterilising these machines, in order to produce better results than are produced by handmilking, or even as good; but they can be cleaned, and if care,is.taken to sterilise properly all of the apparatus, better and more reliable milk can be obtaiiicd by the. use of the rnachines." Stripping ,is. never neglected, for one or two .important reasons. By stripping thoroughly, however, many dairymen do not know that they are helping to increase the purity of the next milk drawn...- If a considerable quantity of milk is left in the udder,. has v a tendency to hasten the development of bacteria in the udder; so that the next milk drawn Contains"' more than it otherwise would. THE 6AIKY.

The location and construction.of the dairy are matters that cannot be overlooked, and regarded as unim-* portant. Where the cream is only forwarded to the factories ,twq pr three times a week.Mf'is essential that the building in which it is temporarily stored should be suited to the purpose. Professor Conn points out that " it should be in a light, airy location, unconnected with stables or living rooms. The floor should be of cement with good drainage. Windows should be abundant to let in plenty of light, covering at least 15 per cent, of the floor space. There should be a satisfactory plumbing system, both for furnishing an abundant supply of clean water and for carrying away wastes, the latter being as important as the former. That a dairy should be kept clean hardly needs emphasis ; but it cannot be too strongly brought to the attention of all interested in the handling of milk. Constant cleaning of all utensils and vats, floors and wells, with hot water and soap, and steaming of all cans, bottles or bails in which milk is placed must be recognised as a necessary condition for a properly kept dairy that shall furnish the best of milk." Where the daily supply of the milk is the business of the farm, aeration is becoming in Victoria a genera! practice. Cooling is essential. Aeration improves the flavour of milk, and dispels some of the odours that are commonly present; but it does not decrease the number of bacteria.

Cooling", however, checks the development of bacteria. Bacteria grow rapidly at a. temperature of the animal's body, wry slowly at temperatures below 50 decrees, and scarcely at all at the temperature of freezing. Milk, when just taken from the cow is, therefore, iii a condition to stimulate the growth, of bacteria. lis immediate reduction in tern per; l .!', ire, on the other hand, is followed by the immediate reduction in the growth of the bacteria. " The value of the immediate cooling of the milk is primarily in making the milk keep longer, and not in rendering it more wholesome " is a point to be emphasised. Any method that cools the milk rapidly is satisfactory, and a very common -practice is to immerse the cans in a tub of cold water, taking care to change the water once or twice-after it warms' up from the heat of the milk. ... In" large dairies, the cooling is done by running the milk over a metallic surface'" that is artificially cooled. This cools and cerates the milk at the same time. •

The value of cattle foods depends largely upon their digestibility. There is more protein in straw than in maize fodder, but the latter is' more 'digestible; Some coarse foods are valuable; h6 I weyer, i - in, assisting to digest 'the,conceatra>lied:,foods by giving bulk the massj-andv separating, the maespecially wheh ,the coarse ijfppds are' reduced to a' fine --condition: Ev'eri'lf but' a portion:of the straw foodl digested,-Hhey are -''prepared for; the manure- heap by the animals, and are thus increased in/; value compared, with wasteful, use., - Anyone troubled with insects in grain. stored in bins, or " shot" in the granary,.may successfully deal with their extermination' in a very simple way, as Prof. : 'Ewart's weed of the Mississipi Experimental Station has shown. This ,is done by simply sprinkling bi-sulphide of carbon. It kills by,..means of > its fumes (this property is well-known by those who have rabbits tb deal with) and being liquid, and heavier than, air, is easily manipulated; ■ Simply sprinkle sufficient bi-sulphide on the top of the grain, and the fumes sink through to the bottom.' This has been used at the rate of one ounce of bi-sulphide to the hundred pounds of grain, or a pound to the ton; but experience has shown that a much smaller quantity will do the work.

Sheep yarded overnight before being trucked will carry much better those loaded straight off the green feed. Abortion in animals has been proved to be caused by the entrance into the system of a vegetable microorganism.

It has been found that 561b. of sheep manure is equal, as a fertiliser, to iOQlb. of ordinary farmyard manure, being richer in nitrogenous substances than that of the cow or horse, ranking next in ammonia, and richer in the phosphates than guano or the droppings of fowls. i

The Fruit Garden. Now that the real wintry weather hasi ses in and the soil is becoming chilled, the planting out of evergreen fruit trees should be postponed until springtime, but that of the hardier deciduous kinds should be gone ion with immediately. In light, sandy soils trees may he lifted without much difficulty, even .while the ground is dry, but in heavy ones it is a little more difficult to transplant them without injury to the roots. While it is still too early to start the general, pruning of deciduous fruit trees, the smaller fruit may receive attention at an early date. No broad rule" v cah be laid down for the pruning of the gooseberry, because the numerous varieties differ so much in habit; some kinds grow erect, others are of a pendulous habit, but the majority. of them are midway between the \two extremes. The fruit of the gooseberry is produced upon both the last season's wood and the spurs from the older branches. Most of our growers , make-the mistake of training the bushes on the stems which are-two dwarf, instead of them being a.foot or two in height. In England gooseberries are being grown as low standards, and also espalierfashion, the same as fruit trees are grown, r A.'lib.eral pruning is generally needed, particularly so if large fruit be requirecU Thinning of the branches, so that the light and air may freely penetrate,' is necessary, and so is a shortening back of the shoots, but on no account should the branches be allowed to . rest on the ground. Summer ; pruningV .or. rather disbudding of the -bushes,, is advised, as a few minutes spent in this direction saves a lot lof labour at this time of the year. * '