FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 153, 24 November 1914, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY.

_ SKIM MILK CHEESE. An English dairying authority says:— Tliis cheese, when properly made, is both a nutritive and wholesome article of diet. As its name Implies, it is made with milk from which the fat has been previously abstracted. It naturally lacks the full flavor of the whole-milk cheeses, and is poor in fat, but, for all that, it is very popular, and its make is largely practised. In America, too, this cheese is greatly in demand, but there the process of manufacture is somewhat different.

I In this country the method of making | it resembles very closely the manufacture of the Scotch cheddar. There arc, however, several important and essential points of difference, which must be carefully studied in order to obtain cheese of good quality The quality ■of skim milk cheese depends largely on the amount of moisture retained. There should be about 75 per cent, in the curd, and this produces a smooth cheese of good texture. Above this amount it is apt to be soft and sticky, while with less moisture it is hard, dry, and gritty Allow the milk to stand at a temperature of from 80deg. to 85deg. Falir. until sufficient acid has developed, then add the rennet. It is certainly better to use rennet extract rather than the home-made. It is cheap enough, and can be got from any chemist or grocer. Add about sufficient to coagulate the milk in an hour—say, one drachm to three gallons of milk. Too large a quantity of rennet will spoil the flavor of cheese and it is also liable to make it swell or crack when being stored. When firm enough to cut, use the perpendicular and horizontal knives as in the Cheddar, but do not cut so fine, the object being to retain a large amount of moisture. For the same reason, also, lower the temperature of the scald, which should not exceed OOdeg. Falir. The amount of acidity in the curd at the time of drawing the whey is also an important point, and, like spring-made cheese, considerably less should be allowed than with ordinary summer-made Cheddars. This may increase the length of tune required to mature before milling, but the extra moisture retained very materially assists the ripening process Do not remove the curd when the whey lias been drawn, but pile it up on each side of the vat to begin with. Afterwards tie it into a cloth, and allow it to lie until ready for milling. After milling, leave it to mature well before salting, m order to obviate its tendenrv to openness and toughness. The salt must always be mixed uniformly and stirred until fully dissolved. As the curd contains little or no fat, less salt will be required, and it should be added at the rate of ,}oz. to lib. of curd just before the latter is moulded. After adding the salt, the temperature should be kept at 80deg. Fahr. until the curd is placed m the hoops, for if too cold, owing to the absence of fat, it is difficult to get the particles to adhere. The moulding is done in cloth-lined moulds. After standing 24 hours the cheese should be put in other moulds, and eventually be put under the press. Light pressure only should be given for the first two or three days, as this causes a better separation of the surplus moisture; and the cheese should be' turned, and put in clean cloths every day. As heavy pressure is convenient, say Bc\vt. or lOcwt, may be given eventually, and then the manufacture of the cheese is complete, and it may be placed in the storeroom, there to be turned every day for a month or two.

I would mention that the temperature of the curing-room should be higher than for whole-milk cheese, say, 'from 6fideg. to 75dcg. Fahr. The American method differs in some respects from our mode of manufacture. The milk is allowed to sour, but, if desired, this can be hastened bv keeping at a temperature of about SOileg. Fahr. until coagulated. It is a mistake to allow it to stand too long, for the result will be a soft and mushy curd, also it tends to sourness in flavour. After coagulation the curd must be well stirred and the temperature raised, so that the moisture may be easily and' rapidly expelled. The temperature should be raised to 120deg. Fahr., while the stirring is continued until the curd is sufficiently firm, after which it is allowed to settle. The whey is then run og, and the curd placed in a cloth strainer, which may be suspended, so that the excess of whey is allowed to drain from the curd. This may be assisted by occasional stirring. When sufficiently dry the curd is salted, and is then shaped for marketing, these cheeses are acid in character.

LINSEED IN CALF-FEEDING. Crushed linseed used in conjunction with separated milk for calf feeding probably surpasses all other substitutes. Used in reasonable quantities it is quite equal in value .to many proprietary mixtures. It is claimed that linseed possesses a cathartic prinrtp?e, and should therefore he fed in limited quantities. Calves may safely be fed Jib. of linseed per day with separated milk, and this amount will supply oil to take the place of the butter fat extracted in the process of separation. In countries where it is customary to stall feed cattle the allowance of linseed per head per day amounts in some instances to 81b. Linseed may be used in many ways. Fed judiciously in limited quantities to horses and cattle it is invaluable. j Heavy, rich land is best adapted to the ! growing of linseed, though the crop can be successfully cultivated on light soils. It has been customary at the Moumahaki Experimental Farm during recent years to grow sufficient linseed to supply home requirements. The land on which the crop was produced previously carried a crop of mangels, which was fed off on the field, after which the land was ploughed, harrowed and sown in linseed on September 26, 1012. The seeding was at the rate of one bushel per acre, and the manure—3cwt of superphosphate and Jcwt. of sulphate of potash—was applied when drilling the seed. The crop was harvested on February 12, 1913, four months and a half from the time of seeding. The yield was 32 bushels per acre. The average crop in the United Kingdom is from l(i to 20 bushels. The total cost of preparation of the land, seed, manure, harvesting, threshing and cleaning the seed fit for commercial purposes was £4 2s per acre. After deducting cost of seed, manure, labour and allowing for rent at the rate of £2 per acre per annum, the net return was £2O 10s per acre.

At a very opportune time the New Zealand Sugar of Milk and Casein Company lias, during the past few days, placed the first refined sugar of inilk manufactured commercially in this country oil tile market, which, owing to the war, was practically bare of this product. The company (says the Otago Daily Times) is to be congratulated on having achieved this in spite of many obstacles. In view of the fact that most of the milk sugar which found its way Into England and tbe Empire generally w»S manufactured is Europe, and as that source fnppl; to the Mother Country has been closed for some time, owing to the war, it is the intention of

the company to extend the scope of its operations at the earliest opportunity. The product that is now being manufactured at Edc-ndale (the company's refinery) is, we understand, of a very high quality. The company hopes to be able to export its product in the course of a month or so, by which time New Zealand will be adequately supplied.

THE HEIFER'S BUTTER-FAT 1110•DUOTION. (By W. M. Singleton.) The improvement of the producingeapaeity of dairy herds has been the central idea with many dairymen for a number of years. The endeavours have been constant, although in many cases they have been misdirected. The natural tendency of tljfc,progeny of dairy cows to revert to the average makes improvement a matter of prolonged effort and it is only through intelligent application of the right methods of breeding and fending that superior results can be obtained and maintained.

The interest of the enthusiastic b/esder is continually whetted by p\pectations. The young stock are always developing, and for years the owners are looking ahead and endeavouring to forecast the results. 'When the yield is taken largely as the index of a cow's value, the year's production of a heifer after her first calving is looked on by many breeders as the shattering or the realisation of a long-cherished hope. The progressive dairyman should he imbued with a goodly portion of the ideal breeder's enthusiasm. With a pure-bred bull at the head of his herd, he should be anticipating an improvement in the producing capacity of the grade heifers as compared with thai of their dams, the disparity of age receiving full consideration. The comparisons between records of two-year old heifers and those of animals of greater age is a matter of which many dairymen little or no data. The yearly record of one animal or of all those in one herd may not give a fair comparison of average results. (These results will vary considerably from individuals, and, unless large quantities of animals are included, figures may be somewhat misleading. The yearly average production of 137 two-year-old heifers in test in three associations was 1641b. of butter-fat. .The following year the same heifers as three-venr-olds averaged 201b of butter, fat. This record as three-year-olds represents an increase of "25 per cent, on the first season's record. As a rule heifers as two-year-olds are not brought into profit as early as in the case with older animals, and the number of days these were in milk for the two seasons indicates that owners followed this practice on this oeeasion. When testing purebred stock the two-vear-old record is expected to more closely approximate the three-year-old results. With this class of stock the three-year-old is expected to produce about 15 per cent, more than the heifer starting a year earlier.

Ninety-six three-year-olds were entered by certain members in the Associations* and were tested two years. As three-year-olds their records credited them with an average yield of ISGIb of butter-fat. The following season, as four-year olds, the ninety-six averaged 2131b. of butter-fat, or an increase of 14 per cent. This increase compares very well with that required of purebred stock in New Zealand of similar ages, ' a four-year-old purebred being required to give 13.2 per cent, more than a three-year-old. Eighty-five four-year-olds the first season in test averaged 2001b of butterf*t. The following season these ' averaged 216 lb*, of butter - fat, 'or an increase of 8 per cent. . They would be considered mature cows during the second season, and little further increase, if any, may be reasonably expected. These comparative percentages would have, been more satisfactory, possibly, could we have followed the same individuals through the four lactation periods. Using the percentage of increase from year to year as indicated by these figures—namely, 25, 14 and 8 respectively—a heifer finishing her first lactation period as a two-year-old with 1001b. of butter-fat might be expected to yield 2001b as a three-year-old, 2281b as a four-year-old, and 2401b as a five-year-old or mature cow. For convenient calculation and to suggest a method more practicable for tho average dairyman, these, percentages of increase for the last two seasons may be slightly modified. If instead of using 25, 14 and 5 as the respective percentages, we use 25, 12'/ 2 , and o'/c, the results will he only slightly affected and the estimated yields ivould be lOOlbs. at two years old, 2001b it three years, 2251b at four years, and 1491b at five years or maturity. Accepting these last-named' - figures 19 a relative proportion approximately iorrect and sufficiently accurate for the iiirposes of calculating the estimated 'ield, the dairyman should proeed as follows: To a two-year-old roord add one half as the estimated yield it maturity, which would increase the 601b. two-year record to 240 at maturty; to a three-year-old record add one iftii, which would increase the 20011). hree-year record to 2401b. at maturity; ,nd to the four-year-old record add oneixteenth, which would increase the 2251b our-year record to 2401b. as the estinatcd mature record..

This system of estimation will probably prove as simple and as accurate as .any for the dairyman engaged in average 'practical work. It is not suggested that there will be many exceptions, but, according to the law of averages, these figures should give fairly good expectations of average results.—From the Journal of Agriculture.