AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7870, 22 May 1891, Page 3

AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

In a very practical article advocating the establishment of a milking herd book, Mr Evans, in the Journal of the British Dairy Farmers' Association, gives a very good idea of what a dairy shorthorn ought 10 be. " My ideal of a <shorthorn dairy cow," he says, "is an animal (either a pure bred shorthorn or not) that will yield 800 and upwards imperial gallons of milk per year, producing a calf every year; a leugtby beast with good, open back, good touch ; one that will readily feed to sixty stone (141b to the stone) of beef when dry." . _..,.. v Oleomargarine has to paint itself pink before it can be legally sold in New Hampshire. Its makers never blush, so it has to blush for them. —Jersey BMetin, Butter factories are still being established in many dairying centres in the colony, and it is very evident that the movement lv this direction has met with general approval. The old style of butter making is gradually, but surely, being superseded, and farmers are findiugout chat it is more profitable and au immense saving of labor to combine in erecting a suitable building and hiring tbe services of an expert who is able to deal with a large quantity of butter at one time, all of which will be of uniform quality, a recommendation tbe value of which has yet scarcely been fully Tecognised. There is oue poiut in connection with the establishment of butter factoriss which isabaolutely essential to success. The milk suppliers must be shareholders to au exteut proportionate to the quantity of milk produced on each farm. If those upon whom the factory is dependent for milk are not shareholders, they do not take that interest in tbe welfare of tbe undertaking which is desirable, and when the price of milk at the factory is low, as it must necessarily be at certain times of tbe year, they are apt to discontinue the supply* This has been found to be the case, the Leader points out, in several instances in Victoria, and the directors of some factory companies in the Western district have had to go to the length of forcing farmers to take shares, though many objected to doing ao until they were compelled. In the case of the Warrnambool factory the directors insisted upon each supplier taking up one share for every cow he milked aud though some demurred at first, they finally gave way, and the factory is now in a flourishing condition. This is th« principle which must be adopted in connection with all butter factories if they are to be carried on under satisfactory conditions. A practically unlimited market has been opened up in England for good butter, and this circumstance alone is a guarantee tbat the local market will maintain a healthy condition. The necessity for conducting the business of tbe factory upon sound commercial lines must not be disregarded. A butter factory is just as much a commercial undertaking as any city business, and monetary matters in connection with it require just as careful locking after. As a meeting of dairymen recently held in Warrnambool, thin was referred to by one

of the shareholders in the Farnham factory. If the farmers consider it advantageous to have a factory in their midst, it followed as a matter of course that they should place it on that thoroughly sound basis Which any capable men would do on starting a business of their own. They would necessarily start out with a certain capital, and then provide that a reserve fund should be created before a dividend was paid. He would suggest as a means of keeping the factories in their midst, and for doing a safe and sound business, that the price of milk should be fixed after the batter bad been sold. Thus the butter would be first sold,' and the account sales would coma back; then a certain allowance would be made for working; expenses, and a sum set aside for the reserve fund, after which the price to be paid the suppliers for milk could be fixed. By this means they would place the factories on a foundation that could not be shaken. If the suppliers were paid a higher price for their milk than the butter produced, they would ultimately have to close the factory doors. The advice is worth attention from our directors of dairy factories, and we commend it to the Southland farmers, who are going in for butter factories. Of course a moiety of the price may be paid weekly or monthly without departing from tbe principle here set forth. From the la*t annual report of the Danish Agricultural Department it appears that since the mechanical cream separators were introduced into Danish dairies, ten years ago, the effect in increasing production has been enormous. From 1883 to 1890 the export of butter rose from 19,000,0001b. to not much under 60,000,0001b. annually. I was sorry to see in your last issue, says a correspondent of the Tasmania*. Mail, that somebody had set loose goldfinches. Now it is unfortunately too well known by fruit growers in England that all the finches are bud eaters, aud seem able to distinguish the fruit buds which they prefer. The bullfinch works the plum trees, the greendinch the gooseberries, and the others any fruit trees. So there is another curse for Tasmania. Before birds or other animals are set loose there ought to be some inquiry made as to their character. Nobouy bub an ignoramus would ever have introduced such a pest as the sparrow. That bird in England is never seen to look for insects ; seeds and grain fruit buds are its food. Next we shall have set loose thrushes and blackbirds, and then we may whistle for our small fruits.

The rat plague in the fen districts of Lincolnshire (England) is still unabated. Ratcatchers are at work almost daily, and are paid 2d. to 3d. a rat killed. On one farn. it is said that one man alone killed 5000 rats last year. The rats do great damage to the grain stacks, and also to the potatoes and roots in pits.

•An excellent fodder for stock, and particularly for dairy cattle, is brewers' grains, but the condition in which the stockowner obtains it from the brewery necessitates its speedy consumption. Mr D. Mitchell, of (Jave Hill, near Lilydale, has adopted the plan of ensiling grains mixed with a portion of bran, and the result has been highly satisfactory. A plan has been brought into use in Europe by which brewers' grains are thoroughly dried, so that tbe product can be kept for any length of time without tbe loss of feeding quality. I, (Bruni), learn from the Mark Lane Express that extensive works have been erected at Burton by the Passburg Grain Syndicate, by which 100 tons of grain can be dried iv a day. The grains are dried in vacuo after the process invented by Prof essorPassburg.of Breslau. The fodder so treated is well preserved ; the food product is reduced to one-quarter of its original weight, and it is in a form that lends itself easily for storage and carriage. By this process a perishable food for stock that goes almost to waste in spring and early summer, is rendered into a mosG valuable dry fodder that can be stored as easily as any cereal. A Shorthorn cow belonging to Mr W. Marr, of Uppermlll, a celebrated Aberdeenshire breeder, beats the record as a breeder. She had her first calf at Christmas, 1835 (a single heifer), and fourteen months after produced twin heifers. She has had four other pairs of twins since— the latest in Jauuary, 1891—thus producing five seta of twins iv succession. Mr Marr's herd is mainly of Cruikshank blood.

The Canadian Government has decided to establish a dairy school in each province of the Dominion, and also to appropriate a sum for the purpose of making trial shipments to England. It is there considered. that the salvation ot the butter industry lies in the creamery system. The total make of butter ia Ontario is 30,000,0001b annually. To make this butter in home dairies 750,000 days of labour are required, whereas if made in creameries it would take less than 130,000 single days of labour. White sand is a valuable absorbent of urine, ie is cooling to the horses' feet, and may be moistened to remove the feverishness of tender feet, and even relieves the heat and tenderness of founder. It prevents staining ot the coat of lightcoloured or white horses, and it is an admirable means of thoroughly cleaning the legs and feet by rubbing it up and down in handfuls. It gives a smooth and uniform surface for the horse to lie upon. An iron-t-othedrakereadily removes litter and droppings, while a few handfuls of clean sand renews the bedding.

The ordinary corn-crusher is now being largely superseded by the newer kind of grinding mills, says the Australasian. These grinders effect the. purpose by means -of drilled diics working like the stones of a flour-mill, and they probably grind whatever passes through them. The feed can be merely cracked or ground Into meal or flour, and perfect grinding is needed for horse feed, especially on farms in the dry districts. In the dry country killing weeds is almost impracticable, so that increased attention has to be given tb keeping the land from getting foul. . In addition to the requirements of horcefeed, it is necessary upon most well-managed farms to provide for the feeding of pigs. After harvest there is a large quantity of screenings and seconds requiring to be made available for pigs food, and for pigs, ordinary crushing is not sufficient. For these reasons the grinding feed mills can be recommended as an improvement upou tbe older style of corn-crusher. Regarding tinned meats, a very startling and horrible story comes from America. A Swede named Lars Peterseu, on his deathbed, made a confession, that while working in a large tinning establishment, in the spring of 1839, lie murdered a f orkman, and cut up his body and disposed of it by mixing ie wich flesh of tbe swine. It passed into the pickled pork department, and presumably was sent out as food. Petersen says this occurred in Silverhorn's packing establishment at Sioux city, lowa. Ie appears Petersen and his victim were left in charge at night, and their duties were to clear up the slaughterhouse. At the last committee meeting of the Maffra (Vie.) Agricultural Society, in speaking to the motion ".That support be given to a movement to cause an Act of Parliament to be passed to compel tbe owners of cattle to dehorn all young stock,".the mover, Mr J. M'Donald, said he was moving in the matter, not only in the interests of cattle breeders, but iv the interests of humanity, because any person who had any experience in horned cattle must be aware of the fact of how they horned and gored one another when confined in a yard. The strongest cow seemed to take it as a matter of duty to horni aud gore a weak animal just as much as it was possible. The milk of the animal so horned would be found not so good for butter making, as it was in a feverish state. This could be easily tested by putting the milk into a glas and placing the milk of a healthy unexcited cow alongside, and it would be found that the milk of the one cow would turn sour and have I peculiar rancid and bitter taste, consequently it would not give as much butter or be of such good quality as that of tbe unexcited cow. It could be tested in auother way, by putting a thermometer into the bucket while milking, and it would be found that the milk of the quiet cow would range from 93 to 100 degrees, while the other would go to 108 degrees. He fully intended giving the matter a fair trial, for he was convinced that if an animal were dehorned when very young it would cause it less pain than it is subjected to every day when yarded with other cattle. He also referred to the torture endured by horned stock when confined in trucks, and pointed out that any animal that was constantly being rushed was always in a frightened, excited state. The motion was not put to the meeting, but it was decided, on the motion of Mr Harper, that the* question be fully discussed at .the next annual meeting in September.