FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 April 1917, Page 7

FARM AND DAIRY.

PLOUGHING IN A LKGUMINOUS CHOP.

The advantages of plouguiug under a green leguminous crop furnishes an enrichment of the soil by the addition of nitrogen obtained from the atmosphere. There is an incrcaso in the available store of mineral plant food (phosphoric acid, potash and lime) in the surface soil taken by the green fodder in part from depths not reached by the shallower root systems of other farm crops. There is a largo addition of humus, whereby the soil is made more retentive of moisture, warmer and better aerated, conditions favorable to vigorous crop growth. Humus also furnishes the material best adapted for the development of those forms of germ lifo that act so beneficially iu the soil. As an agent for deepening and mellowing coils no crop gives such satisfactory results as the legumes ploughed under while green. It has a most marked effect in increasing the soil's productiveness. CLEANING DAIRY UTENSILS. Everybody who has bad anything to do with dairy utensils knows well how difficult it is to clean them and keep them clean. And the fact that they are often only imperfectly cleaned is the reason why milk often keeps badly, and why wa often have tainted butter and cheese.

The time to wash the appliances and sundries is immediately after the milk or cream has been emptied out. It is a mistake to leave dirty milk vessels for any) time before washing. Both stale milk and cream soon become a mass of putrefactive bacteria, especially in" warm weather, and the presence of those bacteria serve as a source of contamination in the dairy. The proper way to clean dairy utensils is first to wash them thoroughly in warm water (not hot water) in order to remove all the milk or cream. Tho water should be just sufficiently warm to remove the grease. Many dairymen add a small portion of washing soda to the water. There are some -magic dirtremovers, one of which the writer knows by experience to be capable of cleaning anything of the kind j without leaving any trace of injury. When the vessel is properly cleaned it should bo sterilised by being immersed in scalding water. At large dairies where steam is available the things are steamed instead of being scalded, and this is certainly the most effective method of sterilising dairy appliances. '

• A common source of trouble is the introduction of hot or scalding water or steam into the things to be cleaned before they have been cleaned first with warm water. The albumen of milk is coagulated by heat, and the hot water or steam causes the viscid albuminous portion of the milk to become hardened and adhere to the vessel which has not been cleansed first from the milk. The albumen is then decomposed by bacteria, with evil results.'

The cleaning of dairy utensils may,' therefore, be divided into two parts—the thorough cleansing with warm water and the sterilisation with boiling water or live steam. Keep these two processes separate in your mind, and it will save much, trouble in the dairy. x

'■";7;. FARM FINANCE,, W.&3 It seems to me, says an American authority, that a study of cost of production constitutes the-first step in i consideration of what a farmer should receive for his labor. The second step is to investigate whether he docs receive that to which" he is entitled, and if not, whether he can so regulate conditions as to secure it.

Viewing farming solely as a business--eliminating for the time being the home aspect—and requiring from the product those items which any business man expects of his business, the items which enter into tho cost of production are: — (1) Cost of Tabor, material, taxes, and insurance required to grow and market the crop. (2) Interest on all investment, including land at present market value under forced sale, equipment, and operating capital. (3) A sum to offset depreciation of working capital wherever it occurs, as the .>wearing out of implements and buildings, and the aging of work stpek and live stock. . (4) ,A sum to constitute a sinking fund' or emergency fund, to cover damage from fire, flood, drought, or accident. (5) A sum for management or executive ability. A review of these items indicates that 8 farmer who secures a price sufficient to cover these five things—provided everything has been included which should be considered—receives payment for his time and labor, replacement uf his investment where Jiicisifhing values may occur, and interest for the use of hjj capital. SH3EP IN EUS3IA.

The total number of sheep in the Russian Empire is given as 81,000,000, of which 76,000,000 are coarse-woollcd sheep, and 3,000,000 are merino sheep. They produce approximately 65,000,0001b to 250,000,0001b of coarse wool. Much, of the coarse wool does not come into tho open market, but is used directly by local factories for the needs of the immediate neighborhood. Russia, once an exporter of merino wools, is now an importer. Statistics show that the number of merino sheep is now only a third of what it was some thirty years ago. These sheep are raised principally in Southern and South-Eastern Russia and in Northern Caucasia, the chief centres for the trade being Rostoff-on-Don and Odessa. Practically the whole of the Russian clip is now consumed by tho Russian and Polish mills, which take about as much again from qthcr sources. Russian merino wool, when scoured, is of good color, and possesses good spinning qualities. Last year prices in Rostoff rangod in English equivalents from about 3id to per lb* The coarse wools produced in vary greatly in quality aiid character. According to the Consul-Gencral, very little, is being done to raise the quality of either the breeds of sheep or the classes of wool, and both are gradually depreciating as a result of inbreeding. At a sheep ev hibition held in Moscow in 1013, a British dealer exhibited five half-bred Lincoln rams, and sold them readily at prices equivalent to 25 guineas a piece. Ho might have sold many more if he had had them on the spot. The majority of the Cossack and Siberian sheep arc of the fat-tailed varieties'.