THE YEOMAN.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 41, 14 October 1867, Page 3

THE YEOMAN.

MODEL DAIRY FARM. _ A few days since we had the pleasure of visiting the farm of Mr James Stevenson North Taieri, and as it is considered the best Dairy Farm in the Province, a short description of it may he of interest to our readers now that Otago settlers are giving their attention more to dairy produce than formerly.

The cow-house or byre, is 66 feet long by 36 feet wide. It has two gable-ended roofs. Bach roof covers one-half the space Occupied by the building. The object of this roof is to prevent the bad air from the cows on the one side of the byre from affecting the cows on the opposite side. There is nothing placed on the cross-couplings to prevent the foul air from escaping out of the roof. On each side of the building there are ten divisions, or double stalls, each 64 feet wide allowing good space for two cows. ” The cows are all fed in the byre, and for this purpose there is a feeding trough which extends the whole length of the building on both sides. This trough has a division in it for each cow. These divisions however do not reach the bottom of the trough, hut leave sufficient space for a flow of water to run from the one to the other, and as there is a gentle incline placing of the trough, all the troughs or divisions are supplied with water in the course of a few seconds by means of a tap at the upper end of the building, thus saving considerable labor. The water is obtained from the roof of the various outhouses, which have pipes connecting the one with the other. The distance from the feeding trough to the edge of the gutters or grupes is eight feet—thus allowing ample space for the cow to stand and feed clear of the grupe. These grupes are 15 inches wide, and are constructed of brick, and run down each, side of the byre out to the garden, so that by this means the byre is easily kept sweet and clean.

At both sides of the double stall there is an iron rod fixed, with a rope attached to it, to which the cow is tied; this rope has a ring fixed at one end, which allows it to run up and down the rod With ease. The rope is just long enough to enable the cow to reach to the farthest corner of the division of the trough, without its interfering in any way with its companion in the stall. In a short time the cows become well acquainted with their stalls, and it is amusing to witness them returning from the paddock, each finding her way to her respective quarters. The calves arc trained to the rod from their first day, so that afterwards no difficulty is found in breaking them in to it. For this purpose the centre of the byre is occupied with 5 pens of iron grating, large enough for four calves. No straw is burned on this farm, Mr Stevenson makes good use of it by converting it into manure. He finds that the manure made by the cows is sufficient to pay the man’s wages who attends to them. Mr Stevenson has great faith in mangeld wurtzel as a good feed for cows. One of his paddocks, well manured, produced an average of sixty tons an acre of this useful vegetable last season. After having examined the cow-byre, which is replete with every modern invention, we take a walk round the farm. The various out-houses are all built a stated number of feet from each other to meet insurance requirements in the case of fire. The first thing that meets the eye after leaving the byre is an immense quantity of strong first-

class manure, say 100 tons, the produce of a few months, all ready lor use. Passing on fl few yards, we pome to the granary, which is well stored with oats and wheat. Next to this is the implement house, where arc kept the various modern appliances for the lightening of manual labor and the better cultivation of the soil. The upper part of this building is used as a pigeon-house—the abode of some two hundred pigeons, which arc kept for doing the work done by the sparrows in the home country. Several other convenient buildings complete this farm steading. The straw i’u the field has a fence surrounding it, which is distant about 14 inches from the straw, the spaces between the railings of the fence bcin<>sufficient to permit the cow’s beau to pass through to cat the straw. This fence is moved nearer to the straw when the cows have eaten as far through as they can reach. The object of this arrangement is to prevent the cows from rubbing up against the straw and trampling on it, by which means disease is often conveyed from one cow to another. The farm, which'embraces some 400 acres, is surrounded with double fencing, with a space averaging half a chain between each fence, in which Mr Stevenson recently planted .1000 blue gums, the benefit from which, in the course of four or five years, must be verv great indeed. Altogether, Mr Stevenson hat brought to bear on ids form a degree of intelligence well worthy being emulated, not only by dairy producers, but agricultural farmers gcacnilty.