NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 4028, 26 May 1931, Page 12

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

New Zealand Cheese. Cheese is a good and cheap food, and should certainly be a much larger- item than it is in the diet of New Zealanders. The trouble is, as Lady Fergusson remarked at a Dunedin meeting, that it is hard to get good cheese although it is produced and exported in thousands of tons. It certainly is curious (comments an exchange) that New Zealand should be the world’s largest exporter of cheese and yet when we want a really tasty bit we often buy importations from Queensland, Switzerland, or other countries. Massey College has been showing the way in manufacturing specialty lines, and for long there has been one factory making good Stilton; but “one swallow does not make a summer.” While the New Zealand industry for the greater part will have to continue producing Cheddar as the bulk of the output, more enterprise could be shown in developing fancy cheeses, which, once established, should prove more profitable to the producers than the regular line. Milk Producing Food. The value of a. succulent food for cows during the autumn and early winter is a well-recognised fact. Given an abundant supply of silcculent, palatable food, we find that cows will continue to yield a good supply of milk. Lucerne and silage .may perhaps be given pride of place in any list of foodstuffs suitable for milking cows once the grass has commenced to. “go off.” Bran, however, is high up in the list, and is greatly favoured by milk suppliers who aim to keep up the milk yield to consumers in the cities. It has been found that an addition of 21b of bran to the forage ration increases the milk yield by about a gallon. per week. If dairymen have to purchase foodstuffs for cows, bran should certainly be considered. Its value when it is desirable to carry along cows in milk for a lengthy period during a dry season is invaluable. The necessities of the raw milk trade demand that artificial feeding be resorted io when the herbage is innutritions in a dry and backward autumn in order that the required average may be drawn from the cows regardless of grass or weather. In mid-spring and ■sxunmA- we find that ’ the natqg-al pastures provide adequate feeding, and at times in a favourable autumn. Later when the grass Ims pre-. bably seeded there is not infrequently a . lack of essential milk-producing elements.' These must be supplied in order to secure good results. Of course, artificial feeding will be determined by the nature of the season. Bran may with advantage, if obtainable at a reasonable price, supply the cow's requirements. A few pounds daily mixed with the available food substances (chaffed) will make an immense difference in the yield of milk. If, however, the production -of wheat in the Dominion falls away very considex’ably, it is more than likely that the price of bran will become excessive. Bran, if not a necessity, is at least a capital stand-by in times of drought, enabling a dairyman to maintain Lis output of milk with its equivalent increase in butter-fat, The matter of the quantity of bran fed per cow will depend'in large measure upon the nature of the feed available —anything from, say, 11b to 31b daily per cow.

liquid Manure. For tlie stimulation of fiowenng plants, vegetables, and all kinds of garden growth nothing is more valuable than weak liquid manure applied in small doses .occasionally after the soil has been moistened well. Do not use it on dry soii, as there is a danger of injuring the fine, fibrous roots which run comparatively close to thq surface. Much of the liquid manure on farms is permitted to go to waste. This can be prevented by putting the manure heaps on hard bottoms, so that the moisture which percolates front it will not be lost

in loose soil. With the heap some kind of catehpit should be provided to prevent any superfluous liquid from draining away. Where the heap is constantly made in the same place it will pay to make a proper tank, so that whenever the latter becomes full it can Ire used somewhere or else thrown back ou to the heap. . Liquid manure is too valuable to be allowed to run away, whether down a drain or into the farmyard pond. If it runs into the water that horses and cattle may drink it xvill do much harm. Proper pits, specially built to take the manure as it is made, are rarely to be seen on any farm, yet when manure must be kept some time before it can be used there can be no better investment, especially in these days when manure is so precious. Such a pit, built of concrete walls with a base of the same material, will pay for itself over and ovex- again, and xvill pay better still if a cover of some sort be provided. Most of the manure heaps i a this country lose half their value through di'ainage, excessive wet, and the action of sun and wind before they are carted on to the Tand.

Live Stock Auctioneers. The management of the various live stock businesses in the Dominion have good cause “ furiously to think.” A fewyears ago a lot of Yioney was made in the stock business. Last year business slumped considerably, xvhi'le this year their operations must be resulting in a loss. As a result a number of firms operating in the Wellington province have proposed to combine in a new company to carry on the stock business with a staff of from a quarter to a half of the agents and auctioneers employed by the members of the company, with a similar reduction in the number of motor cars and amount of travelling expenses incurred. It is hoped to pass some of the savings on to farmers by reduced commission. The new company xvill undertake the selling of live stock both privately and at auction in the Manaxvatu, Rangitikei, Wanganui, and Wairarapa districts and elsewhere. The Associated Live Stock Auctioneers. Ltd.. ,xve understand, will undertake the selling of live stock on commission, whether at auction ox’ privately, in sale yards or on the farms, and the drafting of fat stock for freezing works. The company will also conduct land agency business. The head office xvill be in Palmerston North, with branch offices and agencies where needed. The directors will be representative of each of. the constituent companies, and will appoint the staff from among their present employees. Only experienced auctioneers xvill be employed, with a sufficient number of capable agents, drafters, and drovers to to ensure the interests of all stock owners being adequately cared for. Yards will be maintained in a high state of efficiency and ample accommodation paddocks will be available. The companies will continue individual operations in stud stock or horses and buying stock for export. As hitherto,, they will retain their individual wool and produce businesses. The financing of clients will be carried on as hitherto by tlxe subscribing companies individually, ' so that present financial arrangements need not be disturbed. Existing personal relations between those companies and their clients will thus be maintained. The Associated Live Stock Auctioneers, Lid., will not make advances, selling only on the usual terms of payment. The subscribing companies will ensure that it has ample capital for its requirements, and for financial assistance clients may apply to. any of the subscribing companies. It will be evident therefore that sales conducted by ihe Associated Live Stock Auctioneers, Ltd., will have behind them ;x volume of credit hitherto unequalled in the Dominion.

It is confidently anticipated that the savings accruing from this rationalisation of business will enable commission rates to be reduced from the date of operation of the company, tentatively fixed as July I next. ■ Full service, reduced rates for selling, saving of clients’ time and effort, continuance of financial assistance, maintenance of personal relations—these facto should ensure welcome and recognition by all farmers (hat the Associated Live Stock Auctioneers. Ltd., is a rational development by which they also will benefit.

AGRICOLA