FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 378, 2 May 1910, Page 7

FARM AND DAIRY.

OUTLOOK FOR THE SEASON. IN AUSTRALIA. The break in the weather in New South Wales last week lias done a great deal of good over a large portion of the State, but unfortunately in other .parts most in need of it there has been either no ruin or light showers of no .practical use. This applied chiefly to the centralwest, south-west, and Riverina, 'where, as a general thing, rain is badly needed. Pastoral advices from practically the whole of Victoria indicate that the long spell of dry weather is causing someanxiety, especially in all the northern areas. The good "effects of the splendid rains early in March are now fast disappearing, and unless there is an early and beneficial break-up of the .present droughty conditions, lambing, which is now proceeding in the earlier districts, will be seriously affected. Stock are so far reported as being hi good condition, and plenty of dry feed is available, although in some districts hand-feeding ■has been resorted to in some cases. A shortage of water is also being experienced, and ail early rainfall would much improve the prospects for the next clip, which with favorable conditions promises to be quite equal to last year's record. Rain is urgently nteded in South Australia if the season is not to be an exceptionally late one. Ploughing -cannot be continued with the ground in its present condition. Where advantage was taken of the March rains to get in the seed, the crops are well up, and while the grass in them is dving fast, the wheat does not appear to be in any way affected.

THE DAIRY COW. j THE ART OF FEEDING. A WAIRARAPA OPINION. It must be confessed that in past years the Wairarapa farmer has shown considerable neglect in the matter of properly feeding his dairy cows, writes the Masterton correspondent of the Wellington Times. The lackadaisical method in general use was detrimental to the well-being of the cow herself, and was the cause of continual loss to her owner. This inexcusable negligence cost the Wairarapa farmer many thousands of pounds. He is now beginning to realise that cows must be fed on systematic lines. The truth has been brought home to him very forcibly by the results obtained by* dairy farmers in other paris of the Dominion from their eows, and he recognises that if Wairarapa is to hold its own in tile dairying industry proper feeding must be commenced at once.

Wairarapa has sprung .prominent]? to the front of late as a dairying centre, and it is pleasing to note that the average farmer now recognises the great future in front of the district, and lias j consequently adopted a system of proper | feeding for his dairy cows. The Wairarapa farmer should realise the fact that in the art of feeding the first requisite is that the animal should have abundance of food, so as to be able to consume all she requires in as short a time as possible, as then she will lie down .and have the necessary time to secrete her maximum supply of milk. In other words, the dairy cow must not have to work too hard for her living. Then, the pasture should he often changed, and if not pasture the food should be succulent. A Carterton dairy farmer who has long pursued proper feeding methods in regara to his dairy cows informs me that in very cold weather, such as.is experienced very often in the Wairarapa, he gives his cows oil cake and ground oats steamed or boiled as a change of [ food. The best roots, he considers, are j carrots and mangels, with a sprinkling I of maize. Roots given to cows should be carefully selected. They should have 110 symptoms of decay and .should be mild in flavor, or the butter will he tainted. He only feeds turnips to dry I cows, as these give a taste to milk and butter. This up-to-date farmer feeds his cows twice a day as much as tney n-iii eat of timothy and clover hay mixed with two quarts of maize, four quarts of wheat bran, and half a peck or a neck of carrots or mangels ifo each. Potatoes, raw or 'cooked, are, he says, excellent food. In summer time, if the pasture is short, fresh maize fodder helps the milking qualities wonderfully. The earlier it is grown and the elirlier it is fed the more it will help the milk flow. If the Wairarapa farmer pavs proper attention to his dairy cow he will be agreeably surprised to see how quickly the quality of the milk will improve and with what rapidity the quantity win increase.

Writes the Taranaki correspondent of the Wellington Times: —It will be ;i .redletter day in Xew Plymouth when the first ocean liner .enters that port. What purposes to he an epoch in the port's history is the expected arrival shortly of a large sailing ship direct frorii England with a cargo on board for progressive Taranaki merchants. This seems a steeping stone to the ocean liner days, which are vet to come. The large dredge built bv Fleming and Ferguson, of Pais]ev, Scotland, is now on the water, and will arrive about the end of June, and will commence its work as soon as possible, after arrival. The co-operative stpres which are being run in conjunction with the eo-o,pcr-ative dairy companies here are having enquiries made a* to their mode of management. etc. This means, of course, that at 110 distant date there'is the probability of seeing co-operative stores part and parcel of the numerous ri-mv companies that are dotted over Taranaki. Whether this will, as some neople allege, have a detrimental effect 011 the towns and town property remains to be seen. Certainly the millenial ideal of the co-operative stores .promoters wili come if there are enough of them. This idea is to indent all their goods and do •awav with commercial travellers and Xew Zealand merchants. To be more explicit, it is to hav their man at the cable end, who would do their business for them and save expense and middlemen's profits. Tt has always seemed strange to me that three companies with such a m:."e production ns the -Toll, Kaunokonui and Eiverdale companies, which run into something over a quarter of a million pounds sterling annuallv, shouldn't cooperate and send a man of their own home to see into and of their outputs. Tt is an absolute cert.aintv that the present method of doing bn-i----ue-s with the home companies, although excellent in itself, will never bring the producer and consumer into closer touch. Tn other words, the middleman is «articipating in what ought to belo"" to the producer. We are dealing with our own kith and kin. and for want of belter l>u>iiu>" method- foreign competitors not onlv control and ri" markets for ih"ir own'l'-odtiee. but hive a sav in O-T-S ; ,J -A. 1 01...M17/. I - !; 1 tl,ei„ aiu ii-i. Xew Zeulaud vlcpoU, iuu

by New Zealand for tile sale of dairy produce exclusively in some of the large cities of England.' Anyway, something tangible will no doubt evolve through the exertions of tile National Dairy Association. Rangitikei farmers are said to be very disappointed with the yields from their potato crops. Merchants in Dunedin are experiencing a busy time in grain just now, and for the 'past two or three weeks considerable quantities have been arriving from the country. As in South Canterbury, difficulties have arisen through shortage of trucks. Quail, pheasant and pigeon are very plentiful in this district this year (savs the Waimarino Call), the fact being no! doubt due to the abundance of feed in the bush. A South Australian recently refused £BOO for a mob of 31 heavy horses, and decided to dispose of -them by auction. His cheque amounted to £IOO4. The highest price was £fil. At a horse sale at Gore (Otago) the other day, when 1)1 horses were offered, draught mares made £54. £SO, £44, £39, £36, £35 10s (an eight-year-old) and £27 (a three-year-old). As evidence of the quick way in which money can be made out of dairying:, u man who went to the Mataura district ten years ago with .a £5 note in his pocket is now able to take a trip Home. He has a 450-acre farm, on which he runs 100 cows and does a little cropping. He generally makes £l3 per cow tier annum, ami /altogether last year his gross receipts amounted to £1950. besides making a competency for himseii, he has, during the ten years, given a brother a good start on the land, paving down £IOOO for him.

About 200 sheep, mostly young rams, reached Wellington on Wednesday b.v the Mararoa en route for the Argentine. The consignment is being sent by several well-known farmers and breeders in the South Island with a view to demonstrating the sort of sheep New Zealanders are prepared to supply in hundreds. .On arrival, the sheep will be offered for sale.

The Masterton "fimes states that Mr. A. B. Wood, agriculturalist chemist, has at present under observation a form of blight that nrav prove a radical cure for thistle, which it is supposed to attack. He proposes to submit it to a full scientific investigation before making any announcement on the subject, or introducing it to the district. The result will be awaited with a considerable degree of interest, as Californian thistle is spreading to a somewhat alarming extent in some of the coast districts.

The Akaroa correspondent of a Christchurch paper says that nil the dairy factories on the Peninsula will be closing down virv shortly. Until quite recently the supply of milk has been well maintained, feed having been plentiful. Indeed, visitors from different parts of the Dominion during the Easter holiday? said, that nowhere was grass growing better. The .in-creased milk supply, together with the good prices obtained, for cheese, will make this season a record one. Tho.se who ,attend the local sales (•writes the Okaia-wa correspondent of the Hawcra Star) cannot but be struck by the larire number of cows which -.inyarded. These are sold on account of not beTng in calf, a trouble which appears to grow worse each year. (Jno settler informs m'e that last spring he tool? every precaution to combat the evij, but without success. I was very much amused the other day to hear I that one wise-head attributed the cause to the milking machine. Poor milking machine! Tt comes in for a lot oi abuse from those who don't use it. The market for honey not bein~ so good as usual this season, an Okaiawa apiarist last week shipped two tons to London. The honey was sent from Waitara by the s.s. Otaki.