The Dairy Industry.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 7, 9 January 1904, Page 4

The Dairy Industry.

Mr 1.. S. Christ it*, oi South (ii|,].s- | lwi: I, givi-s tlx. l i-s-ult of soiim. oi Lis conclusions to the jYlelhiourne Leader after an all-round trip Home and Iback through Denmark and Siberia. Mr Ohristie, who is 81 yi*ars of age, p,ives some interesting liigmes respective the tluriii'y industry in the aU>ve couivtriii'3. Whilkj in IVnnmrk he stayed for some time on the,estate of Mr J. Hansen, near Copenhagen, who milks 800 cow.s, and here he had an excellent opportunity to observe the up-to-date methods we lw-ar so much alAiut. 'Jhe cow.s are only fed on natural pastures for four months during the year, then they aro tetl\eved in rows about -Olt apart and shifted several tinws during tlva day. TJx' of tho year tliey u.re housed in comfi'ortajblc slieds with concrete floors, but no stalls. They aro chained to burs, and stand with heads towards each other, with ! a fj.ussagvi of some four feiet Lvtween to pi.'i'mit of 'J'i.tvd l!yci!:iij<T to the feed box al the hea-A oi each cow. T'h'ere is also a water trough to every two cows ; which i.s kept lilled with tho purest water. The milking is done entirely 'by women ami g-irls. Each cow's udder is washed before milking, and—observe this, ye milkers for tihe creameries and factories of New Zbaland—oach milker washes her hands after each cow. A slate is hung over each cow, whereon' is written tho weight, of each milking. The causo of any variation is carefully inquired into by tlw manager of the shed, and upon any ailment of the cow being detected she is at once moved and attend-ed by the vet. Mr Ohri»tie remarks, as other writers have done, that the Danes send away nearly every of their own hig*. class * butter, using for themselves margarine and skim milk cheese—and latterly the cheap Siberian Imtter. Passing on through Itussia and Siberia Mr Christie draws attention to tHi rabidly increasilng output of the latter coujvtrv. In 1895 the estimated [)roduction was 0.000.000fb, while >a«t ><ear no less than 9<it,000,00011) weie made, of which 07,200,0001b were sent to Loudon. Mr Chric.vt'V concludes Vy sayinig t-lmt if we wish to hold our own a-gainst the keen coniix»tition of the near future we must amend our methods in many ways, chief of which, we UOieve. must be in the direction of greater ckninliness in milking and the surroundings of the sheds, a more rigoroiuscuJilinig of the cows.awi a greater improvement 'in our pastures. The first feature will enable factory man,aigiers to imjirovo the ((uaHtj' of our bfutter, and tho last two will improve the Jqyant'ity and thereby the profit to tho producer.