FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 26 September 1907, Page 4

FARM AND DAIRY.

There is a right way and a wrong way t.» handle a dairy herd, and the farmer who is ignorant of the essentials in earing for and feeding his ciws obtains th.' smallest profits when the year's business is figured out.

To scald milk place the required amount in the inner vessel of a double liiil.r; partly fill the outer vessel with h-jt water, cover, and place on the fire. Hy the time the water boils rapidly the milk will be at the scalding point, and should be used at once.

When a horse is well coupled together on top, and has a short back, he must have the length below rfbm the. point of the shoulder to the back of the thigh. When so built he will stand the strain of drawing heavy loads much better than if be has a long, loose back.

For the 12 months ended Decemlier 31 last 2,713,410 rabbits and 9372 hares were delivered from the Government eoid stores at Sydney; 10,457 head of poultry were prepared for export, and 7706 cases of eggs, representing 277,416 dozen, were held in the stores. The total value of the goods handled was £79,624 Ns 10d.

A clergyman had been for some time displeased with the quality of milk served him. At length he determined to remonstrate with bis milkman for supplying such weak stuff. He began mildly: ""I've been wanting to see you in regard to quality of milk with which you are serving me." "Yes, sir," uneasily answered the tradesman. "I only wanted to say," continued the minister, "that I use the milk for drinking purposes exclusively, and not for christening."

Practically speaking, a farmer cannot have too good a sire for his own interest. He cannot give the young things any too good a start in life, and the sire is the first start. If he looks too much on the side of money at the beginning, he is pretty sure to be badly punished in the quality of the stock. There is only one place we know of where cheapness goes with good quality, and that is in the purchase of an old sire that is still in his prime. Because 1 of a fear of inbreeding, men let their sires go after three or fiur years, and they can be usually purchased at stockyard prices.

A farmer on one side of the Rtver Rhone established a dairy herd of Dutch cattle. The a>W3 throve well, and yielded a large quantity of milk; Induced by the success of this dairy, a farmer on the opposite side of the river endeavored to establish a similar dairy herd, but without success. His cattle did not thrive, and they yielded very little milk. The cause of this non-suc-cess was a puzzle. The conditions of life in the two places were apparently identical; they were at the same altitude, and the cattle received equal care. Professor Sanson, however, soon discovered the cau«e of the failure. In the second dairy the cattle were exposed to the prevailing wind, which was of a very drying nature, from which the first farm was protected. This difference, which was scarcely noticed by the residents, accounted for the success on one farm and for the failure on the other.

At a conference held in New York on the pure milk question, one doctor made the assertion that the time is coming when all bottles will be discarded. The reason for this is the innumerable uses to which milk bottles are put, besides their legitimate use, as well as the danger of their conveying disease germs when improperly or imperfectly cleaned. He suggested that each customer havo two cans, with metal name-tag attached, and that the milkman take the empty when leaving the other. The transfer of milk from one vessel to another was heartily condemned; in fact, it is generally forbidden in cities. Milk cans and bottles should be cleansed as soon as empty, because when the casein of the milk becomes dry it is difficult to remove. A sterilised bottle is one heated to 240 degrees under 81b to (111) pressure. As ordinarily done, sterilising is a mockery.

Attention has lately been turned to breeding Angora goats as a profitable branch of stock-raising. It will therefore be of interest to those who are inquiring into the matter to note the prices realised for Australian mohair. After the dispersal sale of the Peake flock, whi?h took place in Adelaide in May, IftOti, the stud buck Perfection was shorn at Wyalong, Xew South Wales, in September last, cutting a fleece weighing 91b Boz, the staple measuring 14in to lain. The skirted portion of the fleece—namely, 61b—was forwarded to a New York merchant, who paid for same at the rate o'. 1 dollar per lb (4s 2d), leaving a net return after deducting cost of transmission of £1 2s.

A milk vendor of Masterton recently bad his license cancelled by the health authorities under the dairy regulations, which makes it unlawful for a person suffering from a contagious disease to carry on business as a dairyman. As this person has no other means of livelihood, a petition is being drafted for presentation to Parliament, whereby compensation is being asked on the same principle as that which applies in the case of diseased stock killed at abat? loirs, where the butchers are compensated for condemned animals.

A well known sheep-owner in the Clutha district, who has 10,000 sheep on Turnips in Southland, had an unfortunate experience with them lately, but as it happened it turned out all right. A dog got off the train near the place where the sheep were and, instead of going to its own home near by, went to a neighbor's place. Here it met with another dog, and during the night the two of them set off for the sheep. Then they played havoc with the mob, killing 30 of them outright and mauling and maiming a lot more, besides destroying the turnips, as 10,000 sheep would do when being raced backwards and forwards over them for half a night. The dogs were caught and identified in the morning. The owner then looked for satisfaction. There was no blame attached to the railway people, but the owners of the dogs were clearly liable. Assessors were appointed on both sides, and the damage agreed upon at £240, and this was paidi n full satisfaction of the damage done.