Farm Notes.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4450, 17 August 1909, Page 4

Farm Notes.

BACTERIA AND MILK.

THE NATURE OP BACTERIA.

Bacteria are the smallest and most minute forms of life. They exist practically everywhere, and when they enter the bodies of men or animals many of them produce disease, and the fight against them has to-day become the most important, one that sanitary science is engaged in. When these little organisms attack matter from a creature source outside the body they produce putrefaction, fermentation and chemical change. Like all plants, they require food and moisture for their growth and multiplication, and although sunshine kills many of them after a certain time, yet warmth causes them to grow and multiply rapidly, whilst great cold kills them, and coldness hinders their increase and spread. Advantage is taken of this fact to check bacterial growth in milk by refrigeration, which is generally practised with all fresh drawn milk nowadays, by which process it is cooled to about 40deg C. » Germ life has many forms. Some of the organisms are round in shape, and occur singly, others live in pairs, or exist in chairis, bunches, or have Vyhip-like tails with which they move or swim. Rod-shaped and'; spiral bodies^known as bacilli are also common.'

Bacteria grow in different ways. They may develop in length or throw out bodies called spores, which grow into adult organisms. The young offshoots are not so easily killed by great heat or cold as their parents. Micro-organisms multiply quickly, so that a small number of them under favourable circumstances and in a few hours may produce progeny almost as numerous as the grains of Band 6n a big seashore.

KITCHEN GARDEN.

How the Gardener may Spend his Time in Wet Weather.—Here, with about the busiest months in front of us, and any amount of work to be done, work is completely stopped, and it is of no use to attempt to pursue any gardening operations. However, there is plenty of work that can be done under cover, such as looking over the various tools, turning over seed potatoes, and getting everything 5u readiness for the heavy and necessary spring work. Work for Fine Weather. —As soon as the ground is fit to walk upon, all the growing crops will require weeding and forking between the rows, while sowings can be made outside of broad beans, peas (of any kind now), cabbages, cauliflowers, turnips, car* rots, and various salad plants. Rhubarb sets can still be planted, and the ground must be rich and deeply dug, while care must be taken to only just cover the crown.

Prom reports which have come through from the dairy factories, it Appears that coal in those institutions is ousting firewood as an article of fuel. Five years ago it was only an odd factory which used coal, but now nearly all the managers believe in it, and use it as much as possible. West Coast coal was used years ago in Wairarapa cheese factories, and its consumption has increased extensively in the Taranaki district. A ton of coal, for factory purposes, is stated to be Worth more than two cords of wood. The butter in store in New Zealand Ott July 31st was as follows :—Auckland, 6560 boxes ; New Plymouth, 3890 ; Patea. 1120; Wellington, 2382; Lyttelton, 495; Lunedin. 1698; total boxes, 16,145. The quantity in store on July 31st, 1908, was 17,031 boxes.

An illustration of the profitable nature of dairying is afforded by the returns complied by Mr W. Vosper’s manager for the teti monthly period ending on the 31st July last (writes a Cambridge correspondent). The herd, which is a Shorthorn one, averaged for the season 61. Including butterfat, calves and other incidental sources of revenue, it returned to the owner no less a suui than .f/93, which works out at the shlendid average of £l3 per cow. If dairying is a tie, it certainly has pecuniary advantages that must be highly gratifying to those engaged in it.