FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 197, 24 September 1909, Page 4

FARM AND DAIRY.

A REMARKABLE OPERATION. A rather remarkable piece of work was aceumpHshcd in Auckland this week. The Star says it is about the tirsl operation of the kind to have been recorded ill New Zealand. A valuable draught horse, the property of Messrs Uarr and llaslam, aged six years, and recently purchased at a cost of .CUO, fractured one of its teeth, known as a fourth superior mola>, which caused inllamnialioii and deep-seated trouble at the root, and it looked as though the animal's physical condition was lo be seriously aliccted. An effort was made lo extract Hie tooth, and although most of it came away, several fragments lit the rout were lett in the jaw. All attempts to remove these with the forceps proved futile, and as a last resort the veterinary surgeon decided to cut through the jawbone. The chief difficulty was to avoid contact with the various veins and sinews before reaching the bone, out this was successfully accomplished, and with the aid of the trephine a hole about the size of a shilling was bored through the top of the jaw at a point just lour inches below the right eye,'in a line between the eye ami the right nostril. Tliis part j of llie operation achieved, tile Irag* incuts of tile molar were simply punched out with a hammer and chisel. Tne main portion of the loolli. whin extracted, pruved to be about three incites in length, and half an inch (hick. '1 lie fragments subsequently punched out varied from a half im'li m an nnii in length. The wound, when being dressed the next morning, looked healthy enough, and it was possible to put a linger from inside the animal's mouth right through the opening in the jaw under the eye. The operation, which was performed by Mr. A. Vincent, of Hastings, is looked upon as something remarkable in horse dentistry.

CANADIAN DAIRY EXTORTS. For whatever reason, it appears that Canada lias recently ..en a decided pull in the matter of her exports both of cheese and butter, and the outlook for this year is that the output will not equal that of I'JOS, which was below that of 1907. And yc: Cmnalaa <, ~y-men men are experiencing ail ti<«i>'.»nally good season. The main cause of the decline seems to be the decrease in the number of cows in we Uoinini.'>i>. On June 15th of this year, according to tile Census Bureau at Ottawa, there were 08,44 D milch cows fewer in Can,ada than on the. corresponding date in 11)08. The decrease, moreover, is most marked in Ontario and Quebec, the two largest cheese and butter exporting provinces in the Dominion. From Hay 1 to June 2S the shipments of cheese total 394,150 boxes, as compared with 300,581 boxes in 1908, and 432,314 boxes in 1907, for the corresponding periods. Butter exports for 1008 total 1384 boxes, as compared with 22.G07 boxes for the corresponding period of 100 S. Farmers are sanding all the milk thev possibly' can to the factories'; the factories are selling it as soon ns it is ready; and the cheese, when shipped, does not remain in Canada, or very little of it, if reports regarding it are correct. Banking too much on the future is probably as unsafe in the cheese trade as in anything els'e. But taking everything into consideration, the decrease in milch cows, and the fact that cows are milking their very best at the present, and every part of their product is reaching the cheese factories that farmers can part with, it looks very much as if Canada's cheese output for 1900 will not come up to that of 1008, which was considerably below that of 1907. There is one gratifying feature, however—the quality of the cheese made <o far this season has never been better. Both Ontario and Quebec have elaborate systems of instruction established, by which every chcesemaker is vis'ited once or twice a mouth liy an expert. This is resisting in more uniformity in the make of all factories, and gradually bringing the quality of Hie poorest up to that of tile best.

flood supplies of milk arc being received by some of the Wairarapa cheese factories. The Featherston factory is taking in nearly 1000 gallons, 340 gallons more than last year, Taratahi is receiving nearlv 1400 gallons, and the Belvedere nearlv I.iOO gallons. I! is stilled that a good many Southland farmers are disposing of their bullocks, which arc Wing disposed of to northern lmvers, as they intend going in for dairying. During the past few •reek* l-'illl'duiry cows have been taken 'n Southland from Canterbury.

BKF.VITES. A re.idciit in Oiiinnrii. who formerly •wind a farm in (he North Island, say's Hut he knew (lie famous Manaia farm which has ju,( Iltii sold for £OS per v-rc well. II would grow gras's in ibuiiclance, summer and winter, nii'l 'us pr.'.clicnllv inexhaustible. Though '»■ bull Ihtu in (he Smith Island for a

good many years he had seen nothing hi compare with il here. He had himself owned 2.111 acres eiosc to it, in the early days, but bad sold out at £4 per acre, and his farm had since been resold at £1(1 per acre. A highly Specialised cow is in a measure an artificial product, a complicated machine requiring skill for its best utilisation.

The man who runs a dairy farm and raises pigs will liiul that by good management the cows will pay all expenses of the farm and the pigs will put money in the bank.

One of the greatest difficulties confronting tlie development of breed interests consists in the tendency to introduce and attempt to grow too many breeds in a given locality.

Cows must not her,? liberal rations, but the right-proportioned combination of feed, to produce a normal How of milk. The largest flow of milk is stimulated by .succulent rations. The milk cow should not be compelled to take much exercise. Water should be convenient, as travelling a long distance for water compels her to drinkwater in large quantities al too long intervals.

There will always be a good demand for butter of extra quality and at remunerative prices. The demand for that kind of butter by those who have abundant means to pay U m excess of the supply.

The chicks should have access to fresh, cool water at all tunes. Small chicken* drink a little at a time, and often. Therefore, keep a supply of fresh water constantly witiiin their reach.

Compared with tin. weight, the pig i nnsumes .uiiore food than any oilier form of animal; lie also makes mure meat from the food which he eats than any other auiuial makes from the sttme quantity of food.

It is stated that over two thousand reaping machines have been sold in Victoria for this season's harvest.