The Daily News. TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 1904. THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 54, 8 March 1904, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 1904. THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

The reporty of the (iover i mien t oflicers respecting the daily industry contain somg miding thnt is not, pleasant. They ulso show thnt there is still a great deal to he done in the farm yard before the Jeanliness so essential in every stage of the industry is attained. Dealing with Tarnnuki, one of the in^px:' ■.) rs says "Regarding the state nf the milking-iiheds, my report in vhe majority of casofi cannot be favourable. The buildings themselves on the whole are quite suitable for the milking of cows, but the sites, drainage, and general conditions Icit.ve much to he desired. The unfavourable positions inwhkchmanyoflhe.se structures are placed is no doubt due to thoir being erected when the farms were only partly cleared. The buildings therefore were placed on the most convenient piece of land, which unfortunately was often in a holliw, and subject to the drainage of the higher land around it, No doubt when the milking industry was in iis infancy, and only a few cows were kept, these buildings met the requirements of the times ; hut now, owing to the rapid increase of stock, the continual tramping of a largy number of cattle has to-day n<kde such places in wet weather veriuhls quagmires. Im one place I •ec.vmmend the condemnation of the situ and the removal of the loading to a more suitable position, the condition existing here being a serious menace to the public health. Pla.'.es such us these are a serious detriment to the production of a wholesome and good-flavoured butter. Another place I must mention, winch is also bad; the cows before entering the shed walk through a stockyard of mud and manure. Tho owner in this case has promised to erect another building. The majority of farmers here (I am assured) are fully alivo to the fact that conditions such as these cannot be allowed to oxist, on account both of their cwn personal convenience and the quulily of the milk. In many instances improvements have been attempted, and many have actually been made. I am fully aware that in a wet climate, and on soil of such soft nature as exists in Taranaki, the bettering of the surrounding of a cowshed is a ikiflicult problem to solve. The ulmost universal flooring used is wood either in plunk or board. The boarding is preferable to plunking, as it is smooth and more easily kept clean. I have nothing to complain of tegarding the structure of these buildings, the sheds being mostly open, and hifving, therefore, plenty of ventilation. Hut there is ail absence of cleanliness, dry dung being, allowed to accumulate on the posts and the walls, no attempt being made at lime-washing, and manure being allowed to collect often immediately outside the door instead of being taken to a safe distance. Concrete floors are scarce, paved stockyards are, however, common, the oavmg materiul being cobbles ; but these yards have the appearance of being seldom cleaned out, and in some cases filth has boon allowed to iccumulate to a serious extent. Another thhig that struck me was tnut people were trying to do too muchmilking too many cows for the hands employed, unable to get labour, and thus having little timo at vheir disposal during the day to attend to the proper cluansing of their premises. I may sum up the general conditions existing us follows : Ab«? jcu of cleanliness in milking-,shed and cow-yards ; dunghills not suUicieutly removed from premises ; milk-sUnds attached to sheds, or in close proximity thereto. These are conditions which ran be easily remedied." In Wellington district matters appear to have been much worse, as a couple of extracts from the report of unother officer will show " I found that as a rule very little, if any, attempt at drainage had been made ; tho stackyards were dirty, and, owing to insufficient paving and negligence, bad become quagmires. AJannre and droppings were often deposited immediately outside the byres, no elTort being made to remove tiieni to the regulation distance." . . ,

"Thorough straining and cooling of milk is not genurally carried uut. The filthy condition revealed on I c leansing separators may by mentioned as evidence of bhis. Neither do the milkers wash their hands ir (lie udders and teaf« of the cows !»oforo starting to milk. r J'he practice of "vrt milking" is to be condemned, and t omui observed a youth expectorating on his hands before commencing to fit rip th*» teats, affording an example of j>o«4bhj source of tubrremlar infection-. Tlu; milk carts used in the convo.vaneu of miik were trequently in n dirty and unsatisfactory condition, and the practice of employing them occasionally for the cartage of manure is not unknown, and, as the carts seldom bore the owner's name, dilliculty in immediately detecting offenders was experbnewj." We believe the bulk of the fcU'Mura w doing their befit to ifiipr.gvv.' jh/.-lr surroundings, in somo cabw under $ Hi/Allies, and we think that when the iusp»>c#ors have occasion to furnish their next annual reports they will be of a much more favourable nature.