FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 229, 2 November 1909, Page 4

FARM AND DAIRY.

r 'ATTLIvRAISIXG IX TARAXAKI. A CRITICISM. Ask anv old resident of Turanaki («avs "Dactis" in the Stratford Post), ami Ue will tell you that the cattle now existent in the province are not .so goud a class as thusi» thai were to be seen twenty to twenty-live yuar.s ago. Thpie ar<\ of cujrse, exceptions, but, speaking generally, the cattle in Now Zetland's greatest dairying centre are of a nondescript character. In the earlier days Shorthorns were pre eminent, and many weH-brod built* were imported. In thos;» times, however, dairying as now conducted wa* undreamt of. Butter reached no more than from 2d to 4d per pound, and H w:w often difficult to find a cash buyer for the article even at such prices, Not mfieeneutly the only method of disposing of his produce open to the farmwag that of "taking out" its value in groceries. Cattlemen thus came to disregard milking strains, and instead of reiving entirely upon pedigree bulls, grnde hulU were made use of. The latter, being sound, well-grown animals with excellent constitutions, did well enough for tlie purposes of the time, but once the dairying industry, consequent on the fast increasing values of butter, began to obtain a position of paramount importance, it became necessary to -( ircii for clean pedigreed bulls descended from families notable for their deep milking proclivities. But then the whole situation necame changed. The -sepui;i!or tva«. introduced, and the date of its advent marked the commencement of the deierioration of cattle in Tar a n.iki. At first it* influence in this to-

sped, wa* unrecognised. It was new. and Ihc situation it was gradually bur snrelv hrimiimr about failed to receive due appreciation at the hands of farmers. It meant, however, that that which li.'htly belongs to the calf, that for which no substitute has yet been or Is every likolv to be found, was taken away fu>m it, From the date of the introduction of the mechanical skimmer the calves in this province have been deprived of that without which they cannot thrive. Matters are not quite so hid as they were a few years hack, but the conditions under which calves ars reared are still sufficiently deplorable. Some of the more fortunate ones do now at least receive some addition in the

shape of decent food to their daily quota of separafed luilk; others are given a certain allowance of new milk for perhaps a fortnight after their birth. But tin re are still others, and not a few of that have to subsist on nothing more than whey. Poor, miserable litt'e half-starved creatures—to think that if they do not die in the meantime they wil! lie the future mothers and mill'producers of this province! Set hack and stunted as they are, is it anv wonder that the class of cattle to be found around the lower slopes and plains at the foot of Mount Egmont has deteriorate.!? Put there are other methods adopted in connection with cattle-rais-ins: that make for deterioration. Tn some eases heifers are put to tfie bu'l at from twelve to fifteen months old. In others we find farms largely overstocked. and except during the flush of spring, ivhen grass comes away in abundance, tliey arc. almost invariably short <>' food and called upon to exist ill .well, foirfrd padfloeka. Farmers are beginning to realise the benefits that accrue fnom the growth of root crops, and some save ■a certain quantity of hay or build a stack of ensilage. Tlii.sj however, is done on finite an inadequate scale, with the result thai either the heifers have In wait too late into the autumn itn'il the food is fed to them—the farmer being afraid that if lie begins to feed too soon the supply will run out—Or they must be stinted during (he passing of winter and the commencement of spring. Having in due course calved, tliev arc persistently milked throughout the season. By some it is cnntend«.l that no harm will come from breeding from immature animals, but so far as the writer is able lo judge there is us little sound sense ill this as iu the be lii f that if young heifers are no| milked throughout the season (hey will fail to turn out good milk-producers the following year.. Both practices are equally rii'--chievnns and entirely nut of accord "''th 'ln l experience of scientific men. To return to the question of calf-rear-ing—-perhaps the most important of any iu connection with the cattle-raising and du'ryiug industry. As . has been'said, some improvement is now noticeaole. Tile average farmer will still, however, argue that tn give 'his young stock a proper start, i.e.. to feed them on fresh mill; for the first three months of thuir existence, would be to undertake more than he rin afford. To calculate it 011 a 'ow sc;ile. it would take the whole of the years milk from five cows to properly rear sixty calves; put iu another .way, tvintv cows would have to he milked for three mouths entirely on behalf of the sixty calve-. Hach cow should proilnce Cli worth of milk during the season, and il. would thus mean that at three 111 oetils old the sixty calves had '.'■ lit :C1 npiece plus labor charges. The latter could not well be set down at less than C"iO. so that the actual cost of the calves by the time they had arrived at the age., stated was often £1

16s 8d each. The same calves at auction would probably realise no moie than £ I or £1 2s Od apiece. But the point that so few of our have yet learned to see is that po reared would be worth far more than .CI 2s (id to thoir breeders. They would, if subsequently looked after, assuredly grow into far hotter and more prolitab'c cows than their ill-treated mothers had ever been. In connection with the advocated scheme of withholding the bull from heifers until they are at least two years old, the same thin<* applies. The benefits of such a practice may not 'otimmediately apparent, but they arc there all the same. Instead of having any remnant of constitution cliey may .possess under the present conditions ! completely shattered through bearing offspring whilst immature and so becoming susceptible to any disease that may be abroad, the young cow mothers wou'd bo of sufficient age and robustness to withstand the attacks of obnoxious bacilli, and the present percentage ot deaths would be materially reduced. It i« improbable that in any part of the world root crops, maize, kale, etc., can be grown to advantage with less labor than in Taranaki. Even with the slij> shod methods at present employed, the crops are as a rule excellent. Yes, they have the soil and aliso the climate-:. Xtifiier are their cattle altogether lark I ii.'g in breeding, for good Shorthorn, Jet. , sev, and Holstein bulls are not unco ,mon. Rut the Taranaki farmer has yet a lot to learn with regard to the man Ugenient of his stock, estate, and herds. The time has already arrived when the question of housing cattle during th»j winter mouths should be seriously con sidered. That it will be done in the nos verv distant future is beyond a doubt, nnd dairying, as in Holland, will then be carried on continuously throughout the year.