FARMING IN HAWAII

Shannon News, 19 April 1927, Page 4

FARMING IN HAWAII

IDKAL milk supply. Dairying as carried ■<on in the Hawaiian" Islands, was described byMr. A. J. Glasson, of. the Fields Division of jhe Department of Agriculture, who returned to Hawera recently after a six weeks' trip to Honolulu. Mr. Glasson said he had been puzzled as regards where the milk supply for Honolulu was obtained, since the dairy farms seemed to be few and far between, and the areas in each case were comparatively small. He., however, was privileged to visit one of the largest certified .dairies on the island where 300 cows were kept. The property consisted of about 50 acres and the only crop growing comprised 20 acres of alfalfa (lucerne) which was situated on the flats so that it could be irrigated, since irrigation had to be carried out on account of the small rainfall on the lower portions of the island. The lucerne in question, said Mr. Glasson, had been down for fifteen years, and the crop was cut every 30 days, so that the annual yield from the field was 80 or 90 tons. This was sufficient to supply the green feed for the herd. Feeding the Dairy Cow. For this dairy 100 tons of Alfalfa hay were imported every month at a cost of £7 per ton, and Mr Glasson said, that in view of this, a quart of milk in Honolulu cost from Is 3d to Is 6d, as compared with 5d in NewZealand. In addition to the green feed and Alfalfa hay the cattle were fed on concentrated foods, such as pineapple bran, made from the crushed skins or husks of pineapples and from waste products of angar, with the necessary mineral salts added. The dairy buildings were up-to-date in every respect and beautifully constructed. The cows were first brought in and fed and, while they were consuming their rations in the stalls, they were given a "bath" with a hose, and a brush before the milking operations were commenced. The water was never cold enough to give the cow's system ,a shock, and Mr. Glasson declared that when the washing had been finished there was no particle of dust nor were there any loose hairs remaining on the animal. From the feeding stalls the cows passed on into the milking bails and were machine milked. The milk was put up in sealed bottles. Mr Glasson spoke of the thoroughness of the sterilising of the bottles done by means of machinery. He explained that the bottles were plunged in turn into cold ,tepid arid boiling water, and then put through steam, after which they were gradually cooled off and carried to the fillers where they were filled with milk and then distributed. >'"'