FARM AND DAIRY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 220, 18 January 1911, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY

ROTORUA AND ITS LANDS. The popular conception of Rotorua, not j «ily among strangers to the Dominion, J but amongst very ma.ny N'cnv Zeala-ndera, is a place consisting dn'oily of not springs, boiling mud-holes, steaming fissures ami blow-holes, spouting geysers, lakes teeming with trout, flourishing hoarclinghoiisc- i keepers, and persuasive native guides. That liotorua has a less romantie, hut none the less valuable, importance as a district of agricultural possibilities, is almost unknown. Nevertheless (according to a northern paper) surrounding Rotorua there arc many thousands of acres of land wpial, for farming purposes, to a great deal of the Waikatso, but owing to the operation of the Thermal Springs District Act, which has been on the Statute Rook for nearly 30 years past, it has not been available for settlement. Here and there, where selectors have been fortunate enough'to secure leases of small areas 'of the land, they have de- ■ monstrated the richness of the soil, and the capabilities of the district. The Okohiriki and Waititi blocks, between liotorua and Mumaku, which comprise a total of some 4U,UW) acres, afford an illustration. Out of this' large area only about eight small farms have been set- , tied. The productiveness of these farms is siillicient testimony to the value of t'he land, but owing 'to the restrictions practically t'he whole of these blocks have iwen iving idle, whilst 'Would-be settlers, ready and anxious to secure a home for themselves and their families, have to remain landless. In other parts of the district surroituding Rotorua the, fertility of the land is made manifest in the growth of good grass, clover, turnips and root crops, wherever small plots have been wrested by holders of the ft:\v small leaves, or by the native owners themselves, from the reign of the fern and tutu. The new Thermal Spring Act, passed last session, and which .repeals the previous Act, has as its avowed object ilie removal of the present obstacles of the settlement of th« Rotorua lands. It will come into operation on February 1, and if it results in placing this large tract of country within the reach of the industrious small settler, it will soon effect a transformation scene in the environs of the great resort of the tourist, angler and health-seeker.

USEFUL ITEMS. • There is no cream left in separated milk, and only a very small percentage <>f butter-fat. It is imperative that 'the calf shall be ■well reared., from birth and kept nourished till maturity. If the churning is kept up too long and then very cold water is used in washing, the butter is apt to be crumbly. Tn Scotland, according to Mr. Mahon, principal of the Gatton Agricultural College, Queensland, 08 nor cent, of the milking cattle are purebred Ayrshire*. Breeders, Mr. Mahon states, are now producing n much heavier type Mart formerly—an animal with more bone and substance, and having long teats. An important feature is the thoroughness with which milking records are kept. This is done under the auspices of the agricultural societies. They appoint and pay qualified inspectors to carry out the tests. As breeders loyally co-operate with the societies, tne tests are thorough and are almost universally applied. Foreign buyers pay 40 to 50 per- cent, more 'for a pedigreed animal when the milking records of the herd can be shown. In Mr. Mahon's opinion, Australian dairymen are breeding Ayrshlres much too line in type.

Time and manure are two; things commonly much under-valued. Gondii ion in the foal when once lost is a very difficult 'thing to replace and when once rim down the constitution often suffers. In forty years the Danes liave brought the profit from cows from 801b of butter to 2201b, as 'the result of breeding up and feeding up. ■ ' ■' Washing the butter-milk out, instead of working it out, not only saves time anu labor, but improves the quality of the butter.

Cows should not be given a large quantity, of green food after they have been running on dry stuff; get them used to the change. 1 lit picked herds* of Danish cows, 'handled under the perfect system of the country, the average of butter is 3301b per cow per annum.

Unsoundness and weakness of joints and muscles are usually the result when growing colts are kept in stalls without daily exercise.