SWISS DAIRY METHODS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 7 October 1922, Page 4

SWISS DAIRY METHODS.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —Being a regular reader of your paper, 1 was surprised, while perusing your Farm and .Dairy notes in Saturday's night's issue, to- read a paragraph on "Swiss Dairy Methods." I snail be pleased if you will permit me space enough in your valuable columns to comment upon a few facts in the said paragraph. At the start, I should like to say that evidently the lady who has visited the village of Les Marecottes ' thinks by seeing this place that she has obtained a good insight into the country in general; if so she is mistaken. The sheds where the cows are stabled have no upstairs or downstairs apartments, as the people live as far from the sheds as the people in New Zealand do from theirs. The lady thinks that the Swiss peasant can live on the smell of an oily rag, but I think that, should this be the case, the foreign tourists would not be so inclined to make Switzerland the great summer and winter resort that they do. The village of Les Marcottes is on the border of France and Switzerland, and is situated in very mountainous country. In the more level coun-j try, during the harvesting season, the I visitor may see the very latest in; modern machinery at work; but on the hills this cannot be done—hence the necessity of hand cutting the harvest and having to carry the hay to the more level places, where it can be loaded on to waggons and carted to its destination. I think Switzerland, forj its size, compares very favourably, With any other country in the world j fox up-to-date methods and appliances j of every kind. Anybody with common- J sense, reading the lady's letter, would j see that, according, to her idea of land. It would take 'the Swiss fanner all his time to keep a cow, instead of from 20 to' 40, as the general number, is. The Swiss people in general are an I industrious race, hence the reason of the whole family helping with the hay —even Grannie. I trust that the next person t^ho writes of their visit to ■ Switzerland will stay there long enough . to get a general idea of, the country,,! and not criticise the place by one village.—l am, etc., A SWISS FARMER,.

Kaponga, October 2, 1922