FARM AND DAIRY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 76, 20 November 1931, Page 7

FARM AND DAIRY

NOTES FOR THE PRODUCER. agricultural education In view of the f ailure of the edueational system of this country to provide any special educational facilities for young people already on the land, it is interesting to read some information regarding the very suecessful Danish high schools as reported by commissioner of the "ScottishFarmer" to the world's Dairy Congress: — "There can be no doubt that the suecess of the Danes is largely due to their educational system. The - Danish High School is a most important factor in the national life. Only a few of them teach agriculture. Their object is to develop personal charaeter and to make the young men and women true and honest co-'operating Danes. Students of these schools are not eligible to enrol till they are 18 years of age, at which age they are expected to realise the value of education differently from what they did •at 14 to 15. A feature of the teaching that is stressed is the fellowship between the students and teachers and aniongst the students themselves. The teachers act more, as brothers both in their work and in their play than as superiors. As well as being educative it is thus a charaeter forming institution. Thus it comes that the success of the Danes is built on the sure foundation of charaeter. Britain Eating More Butter. It is declared that British consumers will use 400,000 tons of butter this year as against 372,000 tons last year. Of this huge amount, the Empire will contribute 210,000 tons and foreign countries 190,000 tons. New Zealand will contribute 90,000 tons, Australia 65,000 tons and Great Britain and the Irish Free State 55,000 tons. Last year the Empire (including Britain) provided 182,000 tons and foreign countries 189,000 tons of the i 372,000 tons consumed. This year's British consumption will be equal to 18.721b per capita per annum, against 34.11b for New Zealand, 29.81b for Australia, and 29.31b for Canada. "I am very glad to hear that the butter consumption is increasing," said Professor R. H. A. Plimmer, the famous dietitian, in an interview. "Owing to the presence of vitamins A and D in butter, it is most important that everybody, especially growing children, should have a daily ration of at least one or two ounees. This ration should be taken consistently in the interests of health. I am sure that if the growing demand for butter continues, it will in the course of time result in a marked diminution of such ailments as rickets and thereby prove a boon to national health." Herd Improvement. _ The American authorities have decided to use the term herd-improve-ment in place of herd-testing. Many of those interested in the movement in this country have discussed this matter and have agreed that herdimprovement is much the better term, but having started with herd-testing they realise the difficulty of making the change. Considering the very complete nature kof the New Zealand system it " should more correctly be called "herd improvement," and those in charge of the work, the New^ Zealand Federation of Herd Testing Associations, should make the alteration without delay. Interesting Competition. Owing probably to the complaints being made that New Zealand butter has not quite enough flavour, and that the desirable flavour could be secured if a starter were used in the process of manufacture, the Waikato Winter Show Association has decided to institute a competition between butters made with the use of a starter and without the use of one. The butter is to be made in January, coolstored, and judged at the Association's next Show in June. Full particulars must be supplied of the process of manufactilre. The principal prizes ; will oe two gold watches.

Size of Dairy Cows. The question of size in relation to production in our farm animals is one deserving of fuller scientific investigation. There are not only marked differences between animals of different breeds in this respect, but also within a breed or cross. In the case of the dairy herd there are mixed opinions, some farmers of the writer's acquaintance having a decided preference for a large, or, as it is sometimes described, a wealthy-looking cow. A great many more, however, favour the smaller or less weighty type, for apart from the question of economical production, the belief is well founded that lighter cattle do less injury to heavy land by hoof pressure. Pugging of the pasture, especially in wet weather, is naturally more common with heavy cattle than with lighter ones. The question has been discussed from many angles, and in this connection it is interesting to recall the experiment condueted at St. Louis (TJ.S.A.) to determin'e the comparative profits over cost of food returned by animals of a heavy breed and those of a light breed. For the purpose of 'the experiment, the production of the cows was expressed in pounds of cheese and it was found that the heavier breed consumed 17 per cent more feed Ifor the same amount of cheese than did the lighter type, this increase was more than compensated for by the fact that it consumed 31.7 per cent. more food than its smaller rival. Thus the higher testing, lighter breed had a 14.5 per cent. better utilisation of food than the lower testing, heavier -breed. The experiment further indicated that the carrying capacity of a given area of equal quality and equally managed land was in the ratio of 6.5 animals of the lighter breed to 5 animals of the heavier breed. Expressed in another way, the same area with lighter cattle would produce 73251b cheese as against 63501b cheese produced with the use of the heavier, but lower testing breed. •Mammitis. New Zealand veterinary authorities are in agreement with the leading veterinary1 research workers at Home that the surest means qf controlling uummitis is the biological method,

found to contain bacteria after those giving germ-free milk. The Live Stock Diviskm of the Departinent of Agriculture is inviting farmers to send to the veterinary lahoratories a sample of each cow's milk for examination. Then they will know which cows to watch and which cows to milk last, preferably by hand. It is much easier to successfully treat mammitis when it is taken in the very early stages than when it has fully developed. Real Co-operation. A iheinber of the Southland Herd Testing Association is evidently im-' bued with the true spirit of co-ope-ration. He has . one of the leading herds of the Association. He has offered to give two pedigree bulls to the owners of the lowest-testing herds, the identity of the owners being, of course, unknown to him.