ACROSS A DAIRY FARM.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 13411, 1 May 1909, Page 10

ACROSS A DAIRY FARM.

(By Canterbury.)

It is said that if one- can but discover it, everything has its light* r side, and thus the daily drudgery of dairy farming may have its conr-eiisalmn in the way of satisfactory cheques. I have jnst been over the land of two acquaintances who ha. - o to do with kmc, and in their case the necessary toil has certainly been well rewarded. Neither of them de.-oU.-3 himself entirely to the one branc'ii of industry, a clian'-cutting and timber-say. ir.g plant, a bush 'arm, and divers other arrangements, are included in their scheme oi nit-; and likewise wed-grown lads and in-.s;<s, who make the encoinpassixicnt ol many tasks a paying possibility. .ieveiuit.ie.aS there s-.re hard>hi: -'.. to endure, and the work ot dairy i arming i.s most monotonous. It would 01-equally tediou* if 1 wen: to describe the constant routine ot milking, tiv.aring cams, and wet weather misery, &o i will chcocio a. single ci.'cv.stance, .la ti:o nights lengthen it. i-» neevliul to rise beloro tin- proverbial lane, so xhat the miik may reach the lactor.v at the proper tune, and in tho autumn thw becomes a very real hardship, 'liio cows fe\j out to feed in the biuih and scrub, and tho <l;i\vn lrwiueiitly litidvi sundry cf the aforesaid lads and la.-.-,es —aa it was described to me—''fee-ling among tho scrub for a cow." Again, "Bess went back or. mc, and 1 \\us soaked by the wet gr.iss before I got her in," ia a description ol a seemingly trivial incident, which was quite the ioTerse to the lass on whom the peccant Bess went back. Occasionally thf- stock goes astray, to Ket into trouble with the pound-keeper, and weary searchers and wasted shillings are the result; but when feed is scarce it is usual in some places to let tho dairy herd graze along the by lanes. Thero is no particular harm in the practice, and much good grass is consumed which would otherwise be wasted, but it is not strictly according to law and the herd must be. under responsible, charge. Tlie word "responsible will stretch conveniently, for I . often see a drove of about thirty cows bring "minded" by two shrimps of boys, of eight and nine \ears. They follow the herd nfuvit all day, until milking time late in the afternoon. The cows all seem to know their names, and to be under control, but if the Ikiys can bo considered responsible is rather a doubtful question. From some of the dairies a man who has to visit tho factory on his own account makes a little out of the business of delivering and' returning tho milk and Cans. Every morning he announces his approach to a place-of-ca II with the rhyme "Here comes the man, at threepence a can," but from the outlying farms long distances have to bo driven. Eighteen miles every summer morning—nine each way—must in time become a weary drive, even for two onergetio dairymaids; yet it is undertaken, arid there is a saying in the neighbourhood that the clocks might be regulated l by their going and return. The closing of the factory during the winter months must be a welcome respite, though probably it is a case of ''knock off work and carry bricks." The young colonial mind has grasped some very distinct ideas of independence. On a £mall farm near by, I have seen -three of tho girls belonging to the owner's family palling up swedies in a muddy field' and bearing them in sacks to feed th© cows. ■ They preferred, such, tasks to taking one of tneir many opportunities of domestic service. - A resourceful brain has the dairymaid, and though I may "have mentioned it elsewhere, here is an instance. On my way home one evening I-came to c farmyard, where a young cow was strongly objecting to the attentions of two maids. I passed unnoticed and (heard an. emphatic.-statement of her negative qualities, but unfortunately -tihe flighty animal was not impressed, and -tEougSi bailed up. continued to lack vigorously-when they came near. It!seemed tliat the family rope was occupied by family washing, so at last a imafidslipped'OxT her skirt and threw it over the Bead of the unruly cow, which ■thus blindfolded was instantly calm, and everyone proceeded on their ways.