FARM & DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 December 1915, Page 10 (Supplement)

FARM & DAIRY.

NOTES. The Canadian wheat crop is estimated by. tlie Canadian-Pacific Railway to yield 240,000,000 bushels. This would compare with 161,000,000 in 1014, which was a poor crop, and the record yield of 231,717,00 bushels in 1913. The area sown was increased over the hitherto greatest area by 737,000 acres, the total being '1'1,537 ; 000 acres. If the above estimate is realised, Canada should have an exportable surplus for Great Britain amounting to about 190,000,000 bushels.

In treating for galls in horses, if the sore is not broken it should be fomented every four hours with cold water and an astringent applied, sueh as a strong, solution of common salt or a lotion consisting of loz each of lead acetate and zinc sulphate, in a quart of water. If it is broken, it must be kept thoroughly aseptic with creolin, etc., and bathed every four to six hours with white lotion. The following gall ointment is most excellent for all kinds of harness and saddle galls, and may be applied morning and night after the wound has been made aseptic:—Lead subacetate, loz; zinc sulphate, loz; bismuth subnitrate, Joz; carbon (powdered), ioz; lard or lanoline sufficient to make a paste.

As a fodder for cows Japanese millet, pound for pound, contains more nutriment than green maize. Cattle are fond of it as a cutting crop, and it makes good ensilage. It is not a good hay crop because of the difficulty of curing. Japanese millet does not yield as heavily as maize. That is, it would not make as much ensilage per acre as maize. Millet, however, has the advantage, in that it may be planted later in tfie summer. Of course, when planted late it does not mature completely, but makes excellent fodder for cutting green late in the autumn. If well manured and cut at an early stage, two or three cuttings may be had in a year. It is a plant that responds readily to manure, and does not do very well on thin, worn soil,

The lambing percentage for the whole of North Otago promises to be much better than was expected, states the Oamaru Mail. Though not likely to come up to the high averages which this district usually enjoys it will probably reach from 85 to 90 per cent. Kauroo Hill should average 90 per cent., and the Dasher country, which comes in considerably later, should do a good deal better. The whole of the back country will be fairly well, though the absiynce of heavy snow last winter is evident in scantier pastures. In the valleys and in favourable spots in the country between the coast and the hills 115 to 120 per cent, are fairly common. Haka Station reached 108 per cent. It will be found that the lambing percentages throughout are surprisingly good considering | the adverse circumstances, once more proving the drought-resisting properties of North Otago.

SOUTH AFRICAN MEAT. The question of the possibility of establishing an export trade in meat from South Africa has for some time past been engaging the attention of agriculturists in the Union, and a few small shipments of frozen beef from Natal to England have been made. These trial lots contained some useful beef, but the quality was irregular, and called for more careful grading. In view of the great interest taken in- the possibilities of the British market by South African farmers, there is good ground for anticipating a welcome development of the supply of meat from this important source. There are naturally many difficulties to be overcome before an export trade in meat can be established, but none of these are insuperable, or are such as have not been surmounted elsewhere. The first essential factor is that there must be stock in sufficient numbers and of suitable condition and quality to maintain a regular supply of carcases. Then, a slaughtering and refrigerating plant must be erected. In countries where an export trade i 3 established, the work of preparing the carcases for shipment is undertaken by private enterprise, and the very considerable outlay involved is not incurred until the time is ripe. In this connection the Union Trades Commissioner has mentioned that the London representatives of some of the leading packing houses have expressed their readiness, when cattle and sheep are available in sufficient numbers and in fit condition, to erect packing houses in South Africa and buy the animals.

BUTTER-FAT RECORD. The mature Guernsey cow, Murne Cowan, it ie claimed, established a world's record by producing in 12 months 24,0081b of milk and 1098.181b of butter-fat, but the honour of having the record for the greatest yearly yield of butter-fat did not for long remain with Murne Cowan. The latest world's butter-fat champion is the American Holstein cow, Findere Holingen Fayne, which freshened at the age of 3 years 4 months 14 days. She is owned by the Somerset Holstein Breeders' Company, New Jersey, and in 365 days is credited with a production of 1116,G51b of butterfat from 24,612.81b of milk. She is said to- have been pregnant for some five months of tho 12 on test. A half-sister of this heifer's sire was selected for the New Zealand Department of Agriculture, Industries, and Commerce by Mr. W, M, Singleton, Assistant Director of the Dairy-produce Division, during his last visit to America. Finderne Holingen Payne's record suggests that her relatives should be an asset to New Zealand. Mr. Newton King has also imported a bull which bears the same relationship to this world's record heifer as does the department's lieifer at Weraroa.

ENSILAGE. The Australasian refers to ensilage preserved in trenches and kept for years turning out a splendid sample of succulent fodder in times of scarcity. A season, like this provides ample fodder for the purpose, and the work is simple. If possible (says the writer) choose a site on a rise or in dry ground. Take out a trench with plough and scoop wide enough at the bottom to allow of easy passage of drays, and with sloping ends. Pile on earth" along the sides of tlie excavation to keep out surface water, and ready for filling on top of tile green fodder. Run a gutter across the ends in case of heavy rains. A trench 1 chain long, 10ft wide at top, oft deep, with side slopes of 1 t(J 1, and end slopes of 3 to ], will hold about 50 tons, and every 10ft in length will hold not quite 10 tons more. Bush grass or dirty crops cut with a mower can be carted in straight away, and put in the trench, keeping a level top, so that the drays | can drive, over the top and consolidate th« material. Sheaves should have the bands out when put in the exemtloß.

Build the material 4ft or sft above ilie surface, with bound sheaves oil tlie outside if necessary, then pile on the earth on top. This will bring the material down level with the surface. The remaining earth should then be piled on top to form a ridge to throw off the rain.

THE PERCENTAGE OF CREAM IN MILK. Since cream merely consists of the same constitutions as milk with an extra, large proportion of fat, the quantity of cream produced from any given quantity of milk will entirely depend upon the percentage of fat in tlie milk, and the percentage of fat in the cream taken off (says an exchange). For example, supposing the. milk contains 3 per cent, of fat, and the cream is to contain 25 per cent. fat. it. will be found that 12 gallons of such .cream will be produced from 10 gallons of the said milk, or, in othef words, cream will be removed from tlie milk at the rate of 12 per cent. With modern separators tlie quality of the cream tan be easily regulated; in fact, it may be taken oil' nearly as thin as milk, or almost thick enough to cut with a knife. It is obvious that the thicker or richer the cream the less will be obtained. As a general rule you may roughly estimate that from '/» to of a pint of fairly thick ereafh may be obtained from a gallon of average milk.

| PASTEURISATION OF WHEY. For many years past it has been the custom of a large number of the cheese factories to pasteurise the whey before returning it to the milk-suppliers, with the result that this by-product- reached the farm in a very much better condition than formerly (says the Journal of Agriculture). Jt was also found that the stock to which it was fed thrived much better than upon unpasteurised whey, and the farmers were almost unanimous in their opinion that its value was increased. Moreover, when the whey was pasteurised the surroundings of the whey-tank at the factory were free from objectionable smells—everything, in fact, appeared to be in favour of a continuance of this practice. Dwing the last year or two, sinee the skfrming of the whey for butter-making became more general, a number of the dairy factories have discontinued to treat the wlicy in this manner. The reason advanced—that the whey was so reduced in value that it was not worth tho expenditure for heating—is quite a mistake, and dairy companies would be acting in the best interests of the farmers if they would insist upon the whey being pasteurised.

BREEDING BEEF CATTLE. Mr. S. Kidman, owner of station properties on which many thousands ot cattle and sheep are bred and fattened, and who is able to claim the distinction of being the breeder of more horses than any other stock owner in Australia, recently expressed some pronounced views on the question of Northern Territory settlement. Interviewed in Sydney, Mr. Kidman urged the desirability of rapid communication by rail from the Northern Territory. "Had such facilities been available before the terrihle drought that is only now breaking," Mr. Kidman stated, "probably a million cattle, and the same number of sheep, would have been saved. Think what that would have meant, not only to the owners, but to the customers, and the whole of the people of Australia. Putting the cattle at £5 a head (a low estimate now) the loss of 1,000,000 means the loss of £5,000,000 in wealth to Australia, and the sheep lost up to date would mean at least ■ £1,000,000 more. In many parts of southern, central, and western Queensland the drought is still raging, and for want of a railway the stock which are dying in great numbers cannot be got away."

In Mr. Kidman's opinion there was no use iu the Federal authorities thinking of making the Northern Territory an agricultural country. Nature had not designed it for agriculture, but it was designed to be the great cattle land of Australia, and if settlement were given a chance by having a railway to market, the Territory could supply Sydney and Melbourne and other big cities with all the beef they wanted and with millions of fat sheep also every year. A railway would pay for itself and be a permanent asset, while any other attempts to settle the Territory would only mean great waste of money. The Federal Government should also let the land in large areas (it requires much capital) on long, secure tenure, at reasonable rents, but with a provision in each lease that the lessee must fence the land and conserve water, and stock it within a reasonable period. "It is a mistake," said Mr. Kidman, "to let men hold it who will not improve it." He had a number of boring plants hard at work boring for water on his stations. With plenty of water and the railway losses in stock would be enormously reduced. If losses of stock could be minimised 30s per cwt. for beef would pay better than £3 when owners had to get out through drought, and often lost half, or more, of their stock. It was in the interests of the consumer as much almost as the grower that these great losses of stock periodically should be minimised.