EDITORIAL FARM NOTES.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9818, 30 August 1897, Page 2

EDITORIAL FARM NOTES.

" Weekly Press and Referee." POPULARISING NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE. Mr Thomas Mackenzie is entitled to the thanks of the colony for. the efforts he is making to popularise our produce in London. The banquet recently tendered to the Hon. R. J. Seddon at the Holborn Restaurant, which served the double purpose of enabling a number, of prominent citizens to meet the Premier of New Zealand, and of interesting them in the products of the colony, owed its success in no small measure to the active part taken in its orginasation by Mr Mackenzie. The function should do much to remove from the minds of many people any prejudices that may remain as to the quality of New Zealand food products, and the colony should derive great benefit from the efforts that have lately been put forward on her behalf. THE PASTEURISATION OF MILK. In asking the Minister for Agriculture to place the inspection of cattle and dairies, if it becomes compulsory, under the Stock Department, the dairymen of Christchurch have taken a wise step. There is no doubt that to have the inspection thoroughly, uniformly and impartially carried out, it should be done by the Government in the same way as is the inspection of sheep. There is naturally some objection on the part of dairymen to the introduction of the pasteurising process; but while there is 20 to 30% of tuberculosis among the cattle in the colony, it et&nde to

reason that some such precautionary measure as will render the milk safe for consumption is absolutely necessary. No doubt most people would like to have fresh new milk, but they would rather have it free from the risk of disease, and the principal step to be taken is to rid the dairy herds of diseased animals. Until that is done pasteurisation should be resorted to. The pasteurising process is no new thing in connection with a town's milk supply. In France, the most advanced dairy country in the world in the matter of taking precautions against the spread of disease through sock, many of the dairymen not only pasteurise their milk, hut also have their cattle tested with tuberculin and advertise the fact. In the dairies in Paris pasteurised milk is sold in bottles. In Liverpool and Manchester enquiries have lately been made by the medical offioers of health into the milk supplies of those cities. In the case of the Liverpool supply eleven samples of milk out of 108 were found to contain the germs of tuberculosis, and at Manchester seven out of 108 cows examined had diseased udders. The medical officer of health said it was impossible to doubt that the milk from cows diseased to that extent must have done harm to children, —harm that could be traced if medical men could get post mortem examinations of children that have died from tuberculosis. As Mr Charlton pointed out at the meeting on Wednesday night, only a very small percentage of the-cattle diseased ihowed it outwardly, and,"iiowever careful and cleanly a dairyman might be, he could • never be certain that he was not supplying infected milk unless his cows had been tested with tuberculin or the milk subjected to aualysis by a competent person. The dairymen of Christchurch would do well to go a 9tep further and in their own interests ask for the inspection of their dairies and testing of of their herds, and then they could leave it to their customers' ohoice whether they had pasteurised milk or not. WOOL AND SHEEP BREKDIKG. Messrs Goldsbrough, Mort and Co., Ltd., the well-known wool brokers of Sydney, have published a practical treatise upon the subjects of wool and sheep breeding ; edible scrubs, the economical use of tank water f station book-keeping, &c. It refers more particularly to tho industry in Australia, but there are useful hints and pieces of information that many sheep breeders could study with profit. The firm have had an extended experience in the wool trade, and their advice may be accepted a« being of more than ordinary value. They point out that a casual inspection of wool show-rooms on almost any sale day will convince the visitor that there is a largo proportion of the main staple of New.South Wales that can only be described.as of poor to medium quality. This remark will apply to some extent to .our own "case, but as Messrs Goldsbrough, Mort, and Co. argue, there ehould be no occasion for siidh unfavourable comment. Individual effort- on the part of every pastoralist can alone remedy this undesirable state of affairs, and it ie within the power of every wool-grower by steadily, if slowly, increasing the weight of his fleeces, and improving the general type of his flock, to fortify the reputation our wo6l has already in the world's market and to render the fear of serious competition from the Argentine and other countries where wool development is being fostered with ever-increasing care, a less formidable reality than it at present threatens to become. Every ounce added to the average weight of a clip and every farthing gained in the average price may be regarded almost entirely as direct profit on the year's working, so small a difference ia there between the cost of tending a highclass and a low-class flock. In the case of the owners of small and medium sized flocks, it is recommended that when possible a few good breeding ewes from some well established flock yielding a heavy olip should be purchased, and if they have been held and depastured upon country similar in its main characteristics to that upon which they are subsequently to run so much the better. Even should each

I ewes be old when bought they ate almost certain to give more satisfactory and profitable results than would have been the case had a breeding flock been got together by the purchase of even younger owee protnip. cuously here and there. If not in a position to buy first class flock rams, eiree discarded only for age can often be secured at a moderate cost from some neighbouring well-bred flook, and, if well cared for and not put to too many ewes they will be serviceable for a season or two and give a good crop of lambs bearing , the general aequiaitee of the blood from which their fathers oatne. A few of the female progeny of the originally selected ewea m almost certain to develop into really good sheep and from these and the boat of their mothers if mated with a well-bred rani, the foundation can be laid of a uniform (lock, ' true to the type which by that time hat perhaps unconsciously become fixed'in the grazier's mind as the most suitable for hit country. The culling of grown sheep should be done in the wool just prior to shearing and a happy medium in frame and wool should be hit upon and adhered to. PREPARING WOOL. The 'necessity for seeing that "second cuts" aye not made during shearing U emphasised, and the use of tar as a ouraitJe in the case of cuts in the skin is deprecated, as it will affect all the wool it happens to touch right on until the nsxt shearing. A preparation of carboliscd oil should be used instead. Similarly,ofxoum tar should not be used for branding (|i« sheep after shearing. The most experienced, it is pointed out, differ as to the depth fo which skirting the fleece should ; 6a£s.'i4. and it is recommended that where a competent wool classer is not engaged, all the manifestly divt-stained portions of the fleece should be removed. The shearer should lay aside the whole of the belly wool as soon as it is shorn off, and the roller should carefully remove any portion left on the fleece through negligence on the part of the shearer. Knotting or tying of any description should be absolutely forbidden, and care Bhould be exeroiaod to boo that foreign matter such as bits of twina, etrawß, chaff, &c, does not get mixed with the wool. Buyers catch sight of an inferior J sample in a bale, which, oh the whole, shows quality suitable for theit re» quiremente, and attributing oareleßsncse on the part of the owner and 'earing the presence of a larger proportion of fwelgn matter iv that part of the bale not overhauled, they at once make a deduction from the value of the bulk. The advantages of dipping are pointed out, not only in improving the health of the sheep, but the staple preserves a bright lustre, and acquire* that soft "touch" which wakes wool so attractive to buyers. POTATOBS UNSUITABLE FOOD FOB , MORSES' "Subscriber," Opoiti, Wttiroa County, Hawke's Bay, writes :—I have lost two valuable draught horees showing the following aymptutnß. The first took bad while « work, and I could not keep him on hi» kWi he waa continually rolling and turning Wi head towards his stomach, which ww distendjad and making a great rattling noise. The horse's breathing was very heavy, and he was in great agony for about **«][• hours, but just before Jie died he seemW to be all right. He tlien walked a few y«nJe and fell down and died. A mare wae t»ken bad at dinner timo with the eartae desire X roll, came out in a great perspiration, one seemed to lose all power of her hum quarters. She swelled up very mm l Wα ejected a great quantity of wind. Atterdeath a neighbour of mine opened her ana found the body full of wind. Upon opening the stomach a great many bots were foutm 'and both passage* were full of the tfw». i The stomach was pretty well full « J potatoes. I did not opeu the firet norse. I Are potatoes dangerous to hofert wnen 'given in quantities, and are there MJ remedies that will clear horsesfrom the Mi grubs ? The mare died in about six houfl or less from the time 1 first saw she was tea. [In the case of the horse, or mortification, appears to have to} 10 *? 9 inflammation of the Bowels, end V» mare probably Suffered in a similar _w*y« Aβ potatoes were foitnd in her stomach, iaa as they are unsuitable aa food, for hotm when given in any quantity, owing w "j" giving rise to acute indigestion* the caw « I death—inflammation of the bowels, J eating potatoes—was the same in both c»?Wj The bot fly larvee possess great F*, or J«. rwietance, and any drug that would mI them within a horse would first destroy M ! animal, Expulsion may be brought &w« by fasting a horsft from twelve to tweg hours, and then administering a purg» UY ' dose.—Ed. F.J