FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 28 September 1907, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY.

The extension of Government experinienlal farms ami the expansion of agricultural education in New Zealand (says tlic Auckland Herald) mark nn exceedingly s-itiMi'actory condition of things, because they go to show that the Slate and the public generally are recognising the importance of our great laud induMli'ir.-i. '/hat in the near future all the Government farms will be worked in conjunction with agricultural education institutions goes without saying, for it is only by such a course that the greatest good to the greatest number can be obtained.

That well-known enemy of the new settler, the tupaki, which grows among the fern and other rough vegetation (says a Waikato paper), has again caused some mortality, this being the season when it is most urgently sought after by cattle and when it is 'most fatal, the young shoots containing the poisonous element. Settlers with areas of new land are generally on the look-out for the tutu, but a few plants will escape them, and the first intimation is a dead beast.

. The consumption of milk and dairy products is steadily increasing in America. In 1002 there were It>,G!)O,RO2 milch cows in the United States and 20.008,905 on January Ist, 1007, an increase of 4,201,40:1 milch cows in live years. There are six States in the Union with upward of 1,000,000 milch cows each, New York heading the list with 1,802,211, lowa second with 1,555,300, and Wisconsin third with 1,305,000. Illinois, Pennslyvania and Minnesota follow in the above order in the list of States with upward of a million milch cows.

"In our opinion," said Mr Harkness, secretary to the National Dairy Association, to a representative of the Wei•lington Post the other day, "the time has arrived when the point's allotted in grading butter should be raised from the present total of 88 to a minimum of !)0 or .01 for the tirst-class article. There is no doubt that the complaints from the Old Country may be partly due to the losses sustained by importers through a fall in prices; but at the same time there is some time for condemnation, for the simple reason that butter of different brands stored in the colony since last April and May when required for distribution has, after dcfrostation, been found to be of an inferior quality. The cause of deterioration is dillicult to assign. It may be that the makers are putting too much moisture into their butter, and as proof that there is something in this contention, wc know that 'the department under Mr Cuddic, the Chief Dairy Commissioner, is taking steps to have a very large percentage of the brands for export analysed at intervals to find how much water they really contain,"

The annual report of the Opunake Dairy Company states that during the year 8,804,4741 lis of milk were received, and from this 377,0G71bs of commercial butter have been manufactured, givin" the result of lib butter to 23.29 of milk" .The average test was 3.70, and the over-run 14. Out of the surplus available, £1,278 18s 3d, it is proposed to write off for depreciation £257 18s fid, and to pay 5 per cent, interest on subscribed capital, £125 0s 3d, and a further payment to suppliers of 0y s pencent, on their year's supply.

The most profitable horse to have on the farm is a good brood mare. She will raise a foal each year, and it will sell for ,i snug sum. With a little extra care the mare will do as much work as any horse. This is the kind thit the average farmer wants and is the best kind he should get for his own benefit. Have at least one good brood mare [on the farm, raise your own horses, and | some to sell.

With the idea of effectually allaying the doubts of those individuals who are so prone to look on the present method of working the totalisator with suspicion, the Canterbury Jockey Club has decided on a bold course, that, when brought into operation, will leave no loophole for adverse comment. At the November meeting a clock, and what is known as an indicator, will be displayed in a prominent place on the machine, in full view of both inside and outside patrons. This indicator will show the exact time at which the totalisator closes on each race, irrespective altogether of the actual start. As a further safeguard, an electric bell will ring ten minutes before the machine closes" and again within one minute of the notified time. In the latter instance the cessation of the bell's ringing will be the signal to close down the totalisator windows, and the staff will thereby have sufficient time to record all investments before the field is despatched. The innovation is a bold one, and till the betting public gets educated to its usage, chary investors are bound to be left lamenting. In time, however, its expediency will become quite apparent, and though at first the change is bound to affect investments, this should not stand in the way of other clubs following in the footsteps of the promoters, has no power to create or develop an honest, upright citizenship." For the first time in ui days, George E. Hufford, a lawyer, has eaten food (says a Chicago correspondent of July 30). For two months Mr Hufford listened to the tinkling of the breakfast, the luncheon, and the dinner bell with stein resistance and determination, and contented himself with a glass of water. He undertook the long fast to cure himself of chronic stomach and throat trouble, catarrh, biliousness, and nervousness, and claims these ailments have been routed by his long refraining from eating. Mr llull'ord's weight has decreased from 104 pounds to 159 pounds. He is forty years old, and was formerly an attorney of Austin. Texas.