FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 August 1915, Page 11

FARM AND DAIRY.

JERSEYS AS MILKERS. In Great Britain it is not an uncommon thing to find a number of Jersey* in herds that supply the new milk mm - ' ket. They are included as a safeguard against non-compliance with the official: standard of quality rather than for the addition they make to the total output. As far as many be practicable, the farmer makes a point of mixing the milk of a number of cows! The milk of the individual animal is liable to wide fluctuation, a cow with a. normally high standard sometimes failing to give the requisite percentage of solids. The mixing system is a prudent and usually an effective safeguard against this contingency, and the inclusion of a few Jerseys, says one to ten or twelve of other varieties, will make the risk of deficiency still more remote. The Jersey stands pretty much in the same relationship to other breeds in the cheese dairy as she docs on tho (milk-eelling farm. It has not been shown that the distinguishing characteristics of Jerseys' milk are of particular value in the making of cheese. Fat is not a negligible factor, but its merit is not so definite in cheese-making as in the making of butter—at any rate, in the British standard makes. No doubt it would bo of greater benefit in the production of soft or fancy cheeses, tlie delicacies which are imported chiefly from the Continent; but for cheesemaking as it is generally conducted in Great Britain, there is no special advantage discernible in having a preponderance of Jerseys in the herd. The records of the butter tests analysed in the Jersey Herd Book define cleurly the proper place of the island breed. During the twenty-eight years 3774 cows had taken part in tie competitions, so that the average results may be accepted as indicative of the capabilities of a good Jersey cow. The average days in milk was 118 the average yield of milk 3Mb equal to three gallons or twelve quarts a day, and the average yield of butter IB) lOoz. These figures are extremely considering the animals had nearly leached midway in the normal lactation period. Three gallons is a good yield small cow, but the quantity of butter" is proportionately better, since a pound of Ibutter was obtained on aa average from 19.61b of milk, or, as may be better understood, from about sixteen pints or eight quarts. The quality of this performance will be appreciated when it is mentioned that the average quantity of milk of other breeds required to produce a pound of butter is from «'/» gallons, or 2olb, to 3 gallons, or Wlb. '

THE NEW SOUTH WALES HARVEST. There is (The Post's Sydney correspondent writes) much gratification over tho prospect of an exceptionally heavy wheat harvest. This will make up for some of the loss occasioned by drought last year, and will also be \eiy welcome as an accession to tho resources of the Empire at a critical period. But there is a disquieting prospect of a shortage of labor for harvesting the grain. A substantial proportion of the labor available in normal times has been removed by the call for soldiers, and with an increased area under crop as the result of a special stimulus, more labor is needed than before, Serious attention is being given to the prospective difficulty. It is considered that much loss can be avoided by the thorough organisation of what labor is actually available. To this end the Victorian Government is asking farmers to state whether they are prepared, when their own harvesting is done, to assist others with their own labor, and that of their sons and employees, as well as with their teams and waggons and implements. -Municipal bodies throughout the country arc being asked to assist in the work of organisation, and endeavors are being made to ascertain how much labor can he got from the cities and towns. It would be a most unfortunate thing if a record wheat crop should be in part lost through lack of labor, for the harvesting. There has not yet been any seriious proposition to enlist women as workers in the grain fields, but Ministers arc being requested to consider whether it will not 'be well to suspend public works during November, December and January as a means of making labor available for the harvest.

GERMANY'S WOOI, SUPPLY. There is no commodity in which Germany is in greater danger of becoming exhausted than wool (says the Field). Her own resou-ces make" but a small contribution to her total supplies. She possesses less than 6,000,000 sheep, or little more than a fifth of the number! in the United Kingdom, and her breeds are not noteworthy for their wool. It! will be r.een, therefore, that Germany is dependent for her wool supplies upon external sources to a greater extent than any of the other belligerent countries, with the exception of Austria, which records barely 2,500,000. Hungary has an aggregate equal to that of Germany and Austria combined, but the total of the three countries is only slightly greater than the number in France alone. Presumably Germany, with her scientific organisation and wonderful capacity for producing artificial substitutes, will be able to reduce her requirements of wool to small dimensions. .Modem commercial enterprise, assisted by scicnoe. has achieved remarkable results in the textile industry, even in England, and Germany will not be behind in devising means for cheapening p-oduction and dispesing with raw material that, has to be imported from distant quarters. The cutting off of < her supplies of wool from abroad may not, therefore, be quite so vital a matter i for her as might be imagined from a i study of the statistics alone. If there 1 were no other supplies at her disposal i her wool factories must have been 1 brought to a standstill long before now. i That her position in this respect is pre- ( carious is evident from the warnings that have been given to the manufae- I hirers and to the general public that | wool would have to be economised to <i the utmost limit, The absence of the ( consignments from Australia, it has been » pointed out, would be a serious disad- a vantage, but the country was reminded that this waa one of the important com- i modities that they would have to do I witnout. Germany obtained a considerable proportion of her imports of wool c from England, her manufacturers being 1 regular and good customers at the Lon- 1 don colonial wool sales, but she bought tlie bulk of her supplies in Australia, and i South Africa. She may be able to pro- i cure small quantities from neutral conn- I tries, but it is obvious that the clothing i both of her army and non-combatant pop- i "lation will shortly become one ot the most urgent questions' with which she i will have to deal. i

It does not follow that because a feed ! watery it la going to make milk is

NOTES.

If you want the flow of milk to keep, up always milk clean. The best time to determine what shaili *e done with the brood sow is when she* brings her litter and while she suckles- >*• Foddor cropd produced in lime-rick; '«oila contain jbettea' nourishing qualities? than crops grown in lime-poor soils. We can all learn from the experience «f others. Thin is especially true in. {arming. Hundreds of farmers go stumbling along trying to get good cows from poor,, cheap bulb. "More brain; leas sweat," was 'Abraham Lincoln's sententious description of the need for better farming methods. A cow weighing 10001b requires about 301k maize silage daily. It is better to feed after milking. Got the cow's goodwill and she wiHnot hold up the milk. Kindness will accomplish what abuse never can, It is not the market price of calves which should determine their destiny, but rather their value to the herd, Should any one of your horses seem to thrive but indifferently as compared with its companions, examine its teeth. If these are wrong, have them put right. If necessary, give it food to itself. Some interesting remains of prehistoric animals have recently been found in South Africa. They irsludo the bones of the gigantic Oape Which far exceeded the Clydesdale in Horses troubled internally hots should be starved for 24 hours and then given 4oz. sheep or ox gall in a pint of warm milk. Two hours later a purgative of raw linseed oil should be administered. Where peas are plentiful, pea-meal wakes fine feed for cows. It is rich in protein, and, combined with oats, mako3 a well-balanced ration. A pound or two of pea-meal per day m»ke9 a lot of difference in the milk. Of two million tons of sugar used in Great Britain in a recent year, half the supplies were derived from countries with wuiea we are now at war. Over 40,000 forest trees left Tapanui Nursery last week for Lake Coleridge. Th* cream separator is one of the machines on the form whidi pays for itself in increased profits. In the last thousand years the sea has snatched 684 square miles of land from England, and every year the loss is increased by about 1800 acres. Cartoon margarine factories turned out in 1912 (the latest available statistics) 300,000 tons of margarine. To make that they bougnt from American manufacturers dose on 20,000 tons of oleo oil. It is now intended to substitute sunflower seed oil to take the place of oleo oil, importation of which has been unade uncertain by ttie war. In breeding from a mare with sidebones, ringlbones or spavin, select a sire with differently-formed limbs, and not once in fifty oases ,will the foal have the ailment of the mother. AH the trouble and expense incurred in horse breeding by farmers is fully repaid. Many a man pays £3O for a colt that lie might have had for nothing had ho exercised a little foresight. A little salt is necessary for pigs for promotion of digestion, but it is best supplied in the form of a condiment. Recent experiments have proved the value of the mixture when added to the food daily. Tho purer bred the stallion, the more impressive he will be and the more likely are his colts to be what you are breeding for. There arc 20,000 mowing machines in Switzerland, and only six or seven binders. Dairying is the principal agricultural calling. The walk is the foundation of all other gaits to the horse, and without beginning at the foundation all future development wUI be.unsatisfactory. Do not knock your milkers about; a cow is different from a man—when she kicks there is mostly a reason for it. 'Find the reason; do not beat the cow. In the Tapanui district, though turnip feed is offering more freely, and likely to come down in value, 4d per head was paid for sheep last week. If weaning and rearing are carried on systematically there should be heifers coming on to take the place of any cows sofd or otherwise dropped out 'of the herd. In Holstein, where the average yield ia 900 gallons, it is reckoned that" 500 gallons pays for the feed, and that 400 gallons is profit. The advantage of reading agricultural journals consists not so much in the stimulus of mind and purpose. Reading is an antidote for brain rust. •Milk is more easily digested than anv other food. It is more nearly allied to the blood, so that it is absorbed into | the system with less effort than is esI sential for ordinary foods.

The beat coloring matter for dairy produce is annatto, which is obtained from the seeds of a plant known as Bixa odellana. Annatto is quite harmless, and its chief use in the dairy is in the manufacture of colored cheese,

According to the 1911 census, in South Africa 1,900,000 cows produced 11,343,290 th ibutter, 10,085,1381b cream, and 510,2901b cheese, and the milk sold was 5i553f2,848 gallons.

In badly-formed feet it is impossible to stop the development of corns. Shoeing should receive the necessary attention. In bad cases removing the shoes and turning the horse on pasture is the best kind of treatment.

Sheep will eat and thrive on many weeds and plants that other animals will reject, and they assist in ridding the fields of such pests. A small flock of mutton sheep should 'be on every farm if only to supply bile family with choicer meat at a fraction of the cost of the butchers supply. Though there we some rumors that owing to the Victorian soldiers requiring the Melbourne show grounds the annual Royal Show will not be held this season, Mr. John Grant (Wallacetown) has stated that he intends to take about a dozen mares ajid colts across to Melbourne, and has booked apace for these in a steamer leaving Bluff about September 2nd next.

A Holste'ui cow, Finderne Holingen I'liyne, lias broken ail records for fat (staks the American Agriculturist) by producing in 2C5 consecutive days 24,012.8 pounds of milk, containing 111G pounds of fat. She freshened at the age of three years and four months. It is impossible to ibe sure that a. cow is free from tuberculosis until die has been proved by the tuberculin test. The 'standard set by the Canadian dairymen lias been the 1000-gallon cow, but the United States dairymen are leaving the 1000-gallon standard behind The opthahmo tost for tuberculosis is accomplished by introducing tuberculin into the eye as a salve. WltMn Is hours, if the cow is tuberculous, a marked inflammation of the eye appeals and a diaracteristic discharge. ' The average yield of all the' South Uf. cican enwe ia ivn/I<r» en 11 •. j&ntf a 500-galkm 00-w is considered fair Holstein a c«w would be rejected from «, divuy as uapro-