NOTES BY THE WAY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 11 August 1928, Page 16

NOTES BY THE WAY.

The eadv season is indicated, by the fact that dairy produce, principally hut ter, has been arriving at yatea coo stores in fairly large and cheese has also 'begun. Several South Taranaki factories have already -ivitcii eel over to cheese.

Leading; men insist that the country round South Taranaki, especaaly near the coast, needs much mare ram to i e oaro it for the spring and a possible dry season. In addition it is quite certain, as a leading faimer said the other day an conversation, tnat moie frosts are undoubtedly required to check pests. It is pretty certain that the few already experienced will not be sufficient.

This is the time of the year to see that any deficiency revealed oy the dn spell of last season-should be remedied. One thing that occurs at once is; the need for ample water supply. Fanneis who had lucerne and water in abundance report excellent .results for the season.

A farmer who is a strong disciple 01 the gospel of Chou Moellier as his principal subsidiary crop is as-firm as ever in his adherence. He has grown it for year's and would not now be: without it. Last season, he said, “has oeen one ol my best. I have got more hutterfat par cow than ever and despite milking s’oanh fewer cb\vs the return per acre is as good.” He adds that lie has had practically no trouble with slipping 01 aitoirtion. He believes in the medicinal value of the feed, and always sees to it that sometliiiig loosening be fed to the cows. The green food lias, of .course, that quality and he approves of ensilage. in regard to mammitis and udder troubles, he. considers that farmeis do not half realise the value to the cow or leaving the call with her for a day o*i It is nature’s own method and should not be iuterfoiTed with. The massage of the bag, the warmth of the calls nose and resultant encouragement ol blood circulation, all done gently by the young animal and in small doses, not rushed as would bo the case of a machine—these are all Wonderful aids to health. It would be interesting to know how many dairy farmers practise the method and thus give their stock a chance. If it were practised by all, udder troubles jvoukl be minimised considerably.

The meeting held in Patea last week in connection with a South lai’anaki Testing Association was very successful and a decision to go. ahead with the formation was made. An executive was selected and already 3500 cons aie promised. The cost, it is expected, will run out under four shillings per cow, and for secretary a man who has had wide experience lias been secured, the district extends from Alton and Maniitaihi to Waitotara. Undoubtedly, it i-s a w.ise more. *

That the value of land should be estimated on itsi productive value, and not on its probable selling price, was urged at the meeting of the .North Canterbury provincial executive ol; the 1' armors Union recently (reports the “'Lyttelton Times”). The subject was brought up through a circular from the Wanganui executive of the union urging action along these lines. The same question was debated at Hawera recently and strong support was given to the suggestion. It was agreed that this was the only method and that the- chance sale of land in the vicinity or next uour had or should have: nt> bearing.

.Some very changeable weather has been experienced this week in bouthland but mild and ..at times summery conditions have ruled, this not interfering with the growth of pastures on the farms. Seasonal operations of .which ploughing and tqp-dressing are most onportant arte proceeding steadily. lopdressing i.s now in full swing and large ouantities of basic slag, potasli and other fertilisers .are being applied., there lias been a greater demand for the. various manures than usual this season,' indicating the increasing popularity oit top-dressing. Superphosphate will meet a big demand later, many fanners preferring to apply this more quickly operating fertiliser in the. later months. It is expected that merchants’ supplies will be fully taxed, although very heavy orders have been placed by the firms.

The mildness of the season and the consequent continued growth of the pasture has caused some Southland farmers to plough iii some of their turnip areas. It can therefore be expected that the stock will come througn the winter in good condition.

The market for frozen meat appears lo be steady, and there should, be an increased demoud now that the extreme, hot weather is at an end. According to the weekly quotations of the Imported Meat Trade Association Incorporated, there have been no changes m the quotations for mutton and iamb. Light* wemht North Island mutton is quoted at 7 I-Bd, medium 7d and heavy at Cad First quality North Island lamb is quoted, at 9 7-Bd, and heavy-weigln, at 9ld. New Zealand frozen beef, ox hinds, dropped l-3d during the week to CJcl. and ex fores stod at 33d.

farmers the idea still exists that milk, resulting from the centrifugal skim- 1 ming does not conveniently allow for either the rearing or the fattening of calves. ' “It is obvious that the milk resulting from centrifugal skimming is less rich in fat content than that obtained by spontaneous skimming, but we must not lose sight of the facts that the fat content alone does not constitute the entire nurtritive value of the milk, that all milk also contains casein, sugar, and mineral salts, and that the content in these nutritive elements never varies whatever till© man ner _of skimming may be. Further, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that skimmed milk resulting from oentifrugal skimming is sweeter and freed, in a great degree, of germs and impurities, whereas the milk obtained from spontaneous skimming _ is often soured or fermented, s omet'im.os ev en ouirdles, which very often causes severe illness with young animals.

METHOD 1 OF MILK FEEDING. Tlie composition of the first milk or eollostrum being suited to the needs of the young animal, it is most essential to give it to him as a drink. On the other hand, tills milk, owing to its large percentage of fat and mineral content, brings on a purgative action on the organism and thus helps the expulsion of melconium which has accmu Mated in the intestines of the animal. during the: period of gestation. On the 'other hand, as it is only after the seventh day after parturition that the composition of the milk approaches that of ordinary milk, it will be necessary to feed the young calf entirely on its mother’s milk' during the first week, or still better, during the first ten days. ‘Lifter this period, that is to say, from the eleventh day onwards, skimmed milk will be gradually introduced into the .ration to which a special kind of flour will be added, to replace the Int content taken away. We must not lose sight of the fact that, in view of the delicate stomach of the young calf, it would be imprudent to give a farinaoious diet before the eighth day. However, in order to obtain good results and contrary to the opinion of some breeders, it is not advisable totally to replace, the. whole- milk by skimmed milk particularly in the feeding of calves destined for the butcher’s shop. “On this subject, judicious practice and the results of numerous feeding tests have shown us that the most economical method, which gives excellent i ©suits, consists in only replacing twothirds of the whole milk' with skimmed milk, to which a flour has been added in the case of animals intended for the butcher; in any case, a quart of whole milk should be led at each meal; that is to ,say, 8 quarts of whole milk per day. “As there are still farmers who feed their calves exclusively on whole milk, we have Compared this method, from the economical point of view, with that of the method of one-third of whole milk and two-thirds of skimmed milk reinforced: with 1 active flour. “The results of these facts, which have also been confirmed during several years of practice, show that this latter method of feeding gives ;a considerable profit, while the feeding by whole milk inevitably causes loss to the breeder. It must be noted that the results obtained by this latter method were excellent. ‘ ‘The total (replacement of whole milk by skimmed- milk has never given good results in the fattening of the calf.

REPLACING THE MILK. ‘ ‘The choice, of an aid for the skimmed Jii ilk depends on the object aimed at in milk feedihg. If it concerns caives for rearing purposes, Hours sufficiently rich in albumin and mineral substances are needed; that is to say, foods good for hastening the grow in of young animals. The addition ot 10 to 15 per cent, of washed chalk (carbonate. of lime) to these mixtures has always given excellent results. “The lacbive Hour for rearing calves can be made up as follows 121 b barley meal or potato starch; 41b. linseed meal, lib oil cake, meal; Silk carbonate of lime. “With regard to the. preparation or the. mixture based on skimmed milk and I active flour, the 'following very simple and practical method is generally followed. Every morning a quantity ot water as liea-ted.,’ ocpxoiL to . ciibout one quarter of the quantity of skimmed .milk to he used l’6r the full daily ration. The quantity of I active Hour to he used during the. day is gently poured in after having diluted with a. little odd water, cafe being taken to stir well with a wooden spoon. As soon as the mixture begins to thicken, it is taken oft’ the fire, Erom the pulp thus prepared, one-third is added to the milk of each meal. After having mixed tul very thoroughly, it is heated to about SO degrees centigrade. . • “"Whatever method of milk feeding is adapted, certain things must neve.i be nedected—dhieflv the skimming of the milk should always be done as soon as possible after the milking and the skimmed milk should be distributed to the animals as fresh ais possible. The beverage must always be served tepid, that is to say, at a temperature ot about oy degrees',centrigade. Caro must be taken to "serve the meals at regular hours, and never to alter suddenly the nature of the diet. , . , u Tn conclusion, we oanno.fc lay too ojriea.t a .stressi on the satisfactory liygienic Condition of the cowhouse, cSpeoially with regard to adequate lightj «■ and ventilation, in addition to the most scrupulous cleanliness in the case of all utensils used both for milking and fo.r feeding. The observance, of these conditions is necessary co the attainment of real success.”