FARM AND DAIRY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 9 April 1908, Page 2

FARM AND DAIRY.

(Australasian.) MILK RECORDS.

The calm lnclirference displayed by a \ large number oi the d&iryiutui tnrougk- ' out Australia towards tne subject of nnlk-testnig is one of tnose matters wiuch pass all understanding. That it is not essential to the eou4u6t of a ' successful dairy is plain. Dairy farmers, as a rule, represent a prosperous section ot tne community, but that they succeed without the assistance of the testing - apparatus is no j proof of the unsoundness ef the principle bo frequently advocated, i'ho point is, could they not increase their | profits by ascertaining exactly the pro- ( ducing capacity of each cow in the herd? No one has ever yet succeeded, | if the task has ever been attempted, in demonstrating that the testing of a herd is either impracticable or unprofit- ' able. On the other hand, there are innumerable cases to show that individual testing is of greatest assistance to a man in building up a herd of heavy milkers. The principle is accepted in the abstract economically sound, and further than extending a reluctant admission- that is "right enough" the farmer will not go. What further evidence is required it is impossible to imagine. X.t the butter factories the official tests are taken as the basis of payment; and they show the average richness or poverty, as the case may be, . of each supplier's herd. But they afford not the slightest indication of each animal's milk production and its value to its owner. Good results, however, • will not spring from the continual reiteration of the advantages of the system. In other countries the same apathy has been encountered. In Denmark, through dire necessity, dairy farmers have been compelled to adopt every means of increasing the yield of their cows, and as a result have overcome economical disadvantages which threatened to destroy their industry.

MAKING A BEGINNING

In this matter, as in many others, Denmark has taken the lead, and a few countries are tardily following. In an article in these columns two or three weeks ago the Canadian Government's endeavor t* break down the prevailing Indifference of the Dominion dairymen was referred to, and it was shown by the report of the officer in charge of the work that the idea of forming co-operative" testing associations was surely gaining favor, and that there was an annual increase in the number of cows systematically treated. America also has its societies, and Scotland, too. All the results indicate substantial progress in this direction. The question naturally arises, "Why should not Australia follow in their footsteps?" Every effort should be made to familiarise the dairymen with the Babcock, and to encourapce the formation of similar associations. And now that . the Education Department ha's awakened to the necessity of amending the school curriculum ! in rural centres, in order to give a more v.seful turn to the teaching that the rising generation of farmers receive, the suggestion might be repeated, that this subject, where possible, be included in. the, sons of the senior scholars. The process of milk-testing is simple enough for a junior teacfier to master, and a lad of ordinary intelligence, after a few lessons, should be able to add the .chemicals and make the readings. This would be one step in the right direction, and another would be for the department, or the various agricultural societies, to assist farmers in the preliminary formation of societies. ' SOCIETIES' IN SCOrLAND. An account of^he working of the societies furnished to Hoard's Dairyman -by the secretaries of the milkrecords societies in Scotland, associations established primarily for the advancement of Ayrshire cattle breeding, mentions that there is an annual increase in the number, affiliated. In 1907 the number of societies formed for the purpose of keeping records for members was seven, as against five for the previous year. The number of cows had also increased, having risen from 2688 to 3500. One important point that seems to have been definitely de- ; termined from their experience is that tests made at any interval up to fourteen days were quite reliable, and wider intervals only a little less so. The value of this discovery must be to lessen the cost of maintenance by curtailing the number of officers employed for the testing. Apart altogether from the assistance the records are to dairymefl, they have a special value to breeders of stock, who rely upon sales for a portion of their income, as buyers naturally desire to know the milking capacities of -the animals they pur-, chase. Breeders with recorded performances of their herds are in a more satisfactory position than those without them, » as they are able to satisfy) all enquiries. "So much so has this' been the case," remarks the secretary, "that young stock out of dams which have stood high in the milk records are very difficult to get, and are now commanding a very much higher price than they did before testing began." Every dairyman of experience is in a position to gauge the value of a good milker, and anything like a reasonable price will never block him from buying such a cow when he wants one. The milking capacity of the cow will influence his judgment, perhaps, as strongly as the pedigree or appearance, for general utility purposes. And the man starting in business would willingly pay double the price for heifers if he knows they pome from heavy milking cows. 'An extract, bearing on this subject, defines the position as clearly in Australia as in Scotland. "If one is to judge froni present appearances, it seems as if really good milking animals, or their progeny, were in the immediate future to attain a value never before reached by any of the dairy breeds. This has, in a great part, been brought about by breeders / being able to^ive more particulars re- ' gardmo: what their animah have done ' than hitherto." In these states the i operations of societies could soarceely | be confined to breeders. But there is no reason why. if societies were formed, breeders within their radius of ac- • tion could not share the advantages of the systAm ecmally with the dairymen pure apd simnle. (

MEIHOD OP TESTING. The following brief outlinA of the srransiements made for conducting the tests is given, and, with modifications

to suit special local conditions, should be found to work satisfactorily anywhere: — "Each expert in charge of a milk record station can usually weigh, sample, test and record the results ror from 40 to 5Q cows daily. He has usually been trained at one or other of the dairy schools, and is generally engaged by the parent society. He arrives at the farm during the afternoon, in time to have everything in order for the evening milking. He oarries all the necessary apparatus and chemicals with him in a chest specially fitted up for the purpose. Before milking begins he gets his weighing apparatus set up at some point convenient for receiving the milk, and near it he has his sample bottles arranged and numbered, so as to be readily filled. Each cow in the herd has previously been numbered, and when a milker brings forward her milk the expert weighs it, samples, and puts down the amount on the stable-sheet opposite the cow's number. The milk is then transferred to the dairy, and the expert is ready 1 to attend to the milking of another cow. Two samples are taken of each I cow's milk, one of which is put into the feottle bearing the cow's number, while the other is put into a bucket or other vessel near at hand. This latter receives an equal amount of the milk of each cow, and is called the composite sample, and while it does not give the true average composition of the milk, it is still sufficiently near, it to act as a check on the correctness of the figures relating to each individual cow. If the herd is under 25 cows, separate tests for each cow are made of both the morning and evening milk, but if the number is greater the samples of the morning and evening are mixed together, and one test made of them. In every case the composite samples are, however, tested both for the evening milking or the following forenoon. The expert sleeps and gets his food at the farm, and after midday is conveyed to the next farm. The milk-record book ip so arranged that it is always added up to date, so that the owner can at all times see how one cow compares with another. This causes all the people connected with a herd to take an interest in the work, and is a valuable innovation, which was only introduced at the beginning of this year, and has been round to efficiently serve the purpose intended."

Indigestion caused by failure of the gastric juices. Take Pearson's IV^tochior. Ib, 2s 6d, 4s. U