FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 194, 20 September 1909, Page 4

FARM AND DAIRY.

ANGLING FOR BUTTER OUTPUTS. SOME STIFF-BACKED DIRECTORS. Negotiations for the forward purchase of butter and cheese outputs continue, but the parties interested show no hurry to come to conclusions (says the Wellington Dominion). At the meeting of the Cambridge Co-operative directors last week, when fourteen firms made offers, the wliole of these offers were exactly the same figure. The directors then announced the price at which they were willing to sell, stating that the first who offered that price would git the order. Telegrams and cablegrams were qnieklv despatched, but apparently without avail. Now the directors have decided to ship on their own account. Stratford and Midhirst rejected lO'id last week, anil there were six meetings of dairy company directorates at Ing.ewood on Monday to meet buyers, but the only company which definitely decided upon disposal of its output was tho Lepperton Co-operative Butter Company. This company will consign through Messrs. Collett and Co. Cheese factories are standing linn for about s'/.d. In the South, the Hanks IVni;isiiia factories have met buvcrs, but rejected all offers. It is said the best offer was 5 5-10 d f.o.b. Lyttelton. The German Bay, Wainui, and Little Aknlon factories asked (unsuccessfully) for s'/,d f.o.b. Lyttelton.

Exactly what cohesion or straightout combination exists among buying agents this season is a speculative matter. There can be no doubt, however, that certain events of last season, aid 'the disappearance of firms which woe blamed for vash speculation a year have tended to some sort of mutual protection society among the agents, and there is the further fact that at on annual meeting in London of one of the companies operating locally, the need of some such arrangement to prevent the undue inflation of prices here was pointed out. Factory directors, however, appear to be capable of taking care of themselves, judging by the stiffness of their backs at present.

COMBINED BUTTER CHURN.

MOISTURE AND THE 'TAKER."

Writing recently concerning the >iß of the combined churn and Gutterworker, now coming so rapidly into vogue at dairy factories, Mr. Ellison, secretary and manager of the Canterbury Central Co-operative Dairy Company, but lately appointed as the London agent of the National Dairy Association (at £IOOO a year), paid this new dairying appliance a good compliment. He said: "We are using the combined chum and butter-worker, in which the churning and the working of the butter are both done in the churn and the use of the butter tabic is done away with. These new churns have had to stand a lot of criticism, and in many ways have been condemned. Nevertheless, they have come to stay, and ate going tii make thousands of pounds go to the nrndurers which at one time, they lost, 'flic low price of butter this season on the English market has nothing whatever to do with the introduction of thest! churns, although some people seem to think that this is the reason. The small number of churns in use in New Zealand could not possibly affect the butter market of the world. These chums (save labor, because they can deal with such a' large quantity at one time, and in many factories one or two churnin its i" the dny will be sufficient, inste»4 of taking up most of the day for this work. There may be a tendency to 'ncorporate too much moisture in the butter by means of the new churns, but even if this is done it will save the butter-faker at Home the trouble, and also give the producer the profit instead of it going to others."

The carliness and abundance of the milk flow is shown by the.fact that the Eltham Dairy Company last month made 3."),-2(l3lli of butter, as against only 25.78311) in August of the splendid season of last year. The Government egg-grading store jt Auckland is putting through about 5000 dozen eggs a week. Eowgarth Co-operative Dairy Company has voted an honorarium of £3O to its chairman and bonuses of £5 each to the manager and secretary. 'flic milk supply at the' Greytown cheese factory on Wednesday was 102(1 gallons. This is 344 gallons' more than the supply on the corresponding day of lust year—an increase of over 2o'r.-;r cent. " Ploughmen and general farm hands arc said to he wanted in the Feildin'' district.

There seems every evidence that farm land speculations still continue under the inllueuce of good prices, and investments are still to be made .with the promise of a healtliv margin of. profit (says a writer in the Hawera Star). As a participant in welcoming back a returned visitor from the Mother Conntry lust week. I thought how very gratifying must the news have proved to him that his property had increased the enormous value of £.> per acre during his short absence. Quite a fortune when multiplied by the acres contained in a large farm, and although the mentioned improvement in value seems rather extravagant in its dimensions, it emanated from one of the most reliable and conversant authorities of the district's affairs. Ensilage made from maize in the Mnnaia district last autumn has been spoken of i n approving terms, and so luscious is it said to be that those ->nployed in cutting it out cannot resist chewing a stalk. This reminds me (savg the writer) of some remarks passed by a n ex-riiited States fanner at Otakeho a few years ago. In the States, he said, economy in details is a most neccssa-y consideration, and the formation of an ensilage stack is seldom made on anvthing but a concrete floor slightly sloped for draining the waste sap which ensues from fermentation. This liquid, wh'ch is virtually a syrup, is caught in a cistern, and when diluted with water is served in various ways to farm animals, win c it proves one of the most nutritive foods for hastening the condition on swine.

While on the subject of the swe»tsmelling forage it may be mentioned how luxuriantly the prairie grass is noticed to grow in the soil on top o' many of the ensilage stacks in various portions of tlie district. This feature, in addition to showing the prevalence ot ite seed around about, also describes its fast germinating puwer in soft fallo-v----mj? soils. Practically the only grass adaptable- for winter and early snrh» cutting, it pms pors famously in e,l" closures free from stock. A splendid green stull food and greedilv S on».it after by „» fiUtl( , ; its r , lpi(mv B of growth is surprising, and when influenced by rich soils will show six inch* of growth in a week after euttin" Do not allow your dog to bring lip c he JONVB if he is in (he habit of chasiii" them, as an excited cow will never «ive a full mess of milk. n

That maize stalks are the most valuable of all forage crops or the food of miloh cows is more dearly demonstrated with every passing year. Butter of extra quality is not to be produced by . unbusinesslike, hnplwraH shiftless methods. "Good cnoiH," is -p I 'iiemy lo the best butter-makin» Cows should not be fed just "previous to or during milking, as the dust arising from the fowl will settle into the nulk-p.,!, carrymg w ilh it many in,

A field of sorghum is a great help «lira pas ure. are short. All farm stock I L fc t v - for it . w,ren c,lt «»* W cows ' S espoc,all y g°°<l for dairy

It is necessary that the management n ,vT V 1 ! 1 ' era s ,le nee of the farmer conMcll <* depends upon n„T h f n P !' OWt ' 1 J 1 °l fi:e(!urin K cleanliness i 8 not to be solved by -simply ignorin* •" •i!% i?°i h , !t . , t,,8 cow with '«w milktool if she Vieks the pail over, nor <,ry , to qutet her by loud talking or swciJ „"=; , n f°V lo ' look for "suit, in the next milk cheque. stroyed by weeds, and it must therefore

he town on clean land and cultivated the first year.' Vihen once established it can take care of itself.

At the cow-testing competition at tho Rutherglcn (Victoria) show, in only one case out of the seven entries did the test exceed 3.5, the minimum fixed by tho Board of Health,