THE RURAL WORLD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 524, 7 December 1912, Page 3

THE RURAL WORLD.

ROTATION AND FERTILISERS. Through the judicious selection of a suitable preceding crcp for ths following crop, it is practicable to increase and render mor9 certain the action of the fertilisers applied, and very often to economise. in the outlay for fertilier without diminishing the yield. The advantages of a suitable rotation may be summarised roughly as follows: — Because the roots of the following crop fed in a different layer of the soil to the preceding crop; or Because ths requirements of the crop in the matter of plant lood are different. Because the preceding crop has left nourishment in the soil to be utilised by the following crop. Because the following crop may not be liable to the same kind of insect pests as the preceding. Because the extension and tiori of the root system of the following crop is facilitated by that uf the preceding. Because the physical condition of the soil, as regards tilth and moisture conservation, is much improved by the choice of a suitable previous crop. , THE PERCENTAGE OP LOSS IN CATTLE.

There id one phase of dairy herd management that exists in varying degrees and yet it is one that dairymen are disposed to say but very little about. We allude to the percentage of loss through accident, disease, death and failure to breed, say, for ten years. If every owner of a dairy herd would consent to keep a record uf this lose, we are confident it would show some surprising results. Then if such records would be thoroughly carried out and classified by counties, it might serve to guide dairy farmers in their treatment and management of their herds. The. losses in this way will be found to increase, as a rule, in rather more than a due proportion to the size of the herd. That is to say, ths ration of loss is much greater in large than in small herds. The fact, that aa we increase the concentration of animal life do we thereby greatly increase the hazard to that life, has not been adequately understood by the dairy farmers of the country. For that reason there should be an effort to secure reilable data on this question. It would emphaaiae/we are confident, the importance of a moie sanitary construction and management of dairy stables.

SOURCES OF BACTERIA IN MILK. It has been assumed by many writers that milk, is formed in tne udder entirely free from bacteria. This has' frequently been disputed, and is still a matter of some doubt. However, the beat authorities agree that milk is bacteria-free when formed, unless the udder is so injured or diseased that there is a direct passage way from the blood vessels to the milk ducts. It should be remembered that an injury so slight that it would escape the most careful examination might be sufficient to allow the passage of bacteria. Even if the milk is secreted bacteria-free, it is very difficult to obtain it perfectly sterile. Bacteria work their way into the milk cistern through the opening of the teat and find there conditions under which they can grow and multiply. This growth is ordinarily confined to the lower part of the udder, and the greater number of the bacteria are washed out with the first few strains of milk. Sometimes, however, the growth may extend into the smaller milk ducts, and the last part of the milk will contain nearly as many bacteria as the first.

Inflammation of the udder or fermentation of the milk in the udder rarely occurs, because there is only a very small amount of milk held in the udder, and most of the bacteria found there have little or no effect on milk. It is also true that fresh milk, like the blood, contains some substance which has an inhibiting influence on bacteria. This influence is so slight that it is probably of little practical importance, but it may have some relation to the comparatively slow development of bacteria in the udder. The real contamination occurs after the milk has left the udder. In spite of careful milking, dirt, particles of dust, hairs, even bits of manure from the flanks or udder of the cow, may fall intu the milk. All of these things invariably carry more or less bacterial contamination. Manure usually contains large numbers of bacteria many of them being kinds of which produce vary undesirable changes in milk; and the dry dust of the stable flcor3 contain a great number and varieties of bacteria. This duat soon settles, and an open milk pail catches a surprisingly large amount. But the contamination does not end hare. The pails or the cans may not be properly cleaned, and the corners or seams may hold small particles of dirt or sour milk. These impurities are full of bacteria, which quickly find their way into the milk. The cloth through . which the milk is strained may not have been properly scalded, and the bacteria are not all