FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 168, 22 December 1914, Page 6

FARM AND DAIRY.

! The Kerry cow is reckoned in Ireland to be the poor man's friend, and we know how well she justifies the description. The Kerry ig not so extensively used or bred in this country as it miglit be, but for nurse purposes the breed has been found very helpful. These cows cost relatively so little that they can bo adapted as nurse cows and sold out in calf, having paid their way. From the .Journal of Agriculture.--In the year 1840, the first pioneer set. I tiers reached New Zealand from Great I Britain. To-day, the population is estiI mated to be 1,1)97,278. From the 41,144,- | 000 acres of land being utilised, rural members of the community exported last year £22,773,877 worth of farm-pro-ducts. The total area of the country, j counting mountain and lake, is (55,440,- . 815 acres, and of the area in occupa. j tion, 24,000,000 acres are still in native grasses or in their original state. At an outside estimate the exports from this improved land will not exceed in value £4,000,000, so that in reality New Zealand last year exported £18,755,877 from an area of 17,000,000 acres of land, which represents an average of just over £1 2s an acre as a surplus production. In the December number of the Journal of Agriculture, just to hand, there is a I very interesting map, showing the loca- | tion of the butter and cheese factories in the Dominion, together with the output per annum. It is interesting to note that in the Dominion as many as 403 butter and cheese factories are established, being proportioned as follows: (Auckland 70, Taranaki 80, Wellington 79, Ilawke's Bay 2(5, Nelson 10, Marlborough U, West-land 10, Canterbury 21, Otago and Southland 90. Among "other items of interest on the map are tho following:—At April 30, 191<4, the total number of sheep in New Zealand was 24,595,40.'), and the total number of catle 2,020,171. ] Of wool for the year ending, September , 30, 1913, New Zealand exported 195.353,5331b., valued at £8,349,882. Tho cxI port of frozen meat for the year ending iMarch 31, 1914, was: Mutton, (2,030,902 carcases) £1,005,502; lamb (3,806,000 ! carcases) £2,548,94-4; beef, £440,810; a j total of £4,901,202. Hides, skins and 1 tallow to the value of £1,915,281, were J exported, the grand total of «thc frown j meat industry being £0,810,543. The dairv produce for the year ending March 31, 1914, was butter (3D5,109cwt.), Tallied j at £2,140,010, and cheese, (742,391cwt) I valued at £2,195,273.