FARM NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 8535, 16 March 1908, Page 2

FARM NOTES.

(By Rusticus.) HOME SEPARATOR CREAM. Av tno present time there is a tendency among many tanners to go -back to tuu practice ot separating their mm* at tiumo. For this mere are various reason:;. In many instances the creamcry is a long way from the farm, and the nine taken up in conveying the milkto tao creamery ant) | reluming again practically spoils the whole day. For a numov.l- oi years now tlie Department has been strongly opposed to any home separator cream being brought to the lactones, and managers have also set their faces against it. Latterly, howover, many dairy companies have found themselves in rather a bad position, owing to tho very small quantity' ot milk that is received. This naturally tends to increase the working expenses of a creamery, and in a number of instances creameries are being run at a loss. As a result some managers arcnow encouraging suppliers to deliver home separator cream at tho factories with very satisfactory results, and it is stated that as long as the cream is delivered daily and in good condition, no trouble whatever has been experienced in turning out first-class butter. Many large runs have of late been cut up for closer settlement, and the majority of them are within reasonable distance of butter factories. That being the case it would pay dairy companies to advocate home separation instead of putting up numerous small creameries and undertaking the cost of running them. Under tho present conditions, putting it at a low figure, a yearly loss of .02 per cent, is experienced in tho process of separation. This means ajrrcat deal to largo companies, and woulu not occur if tho cream were separated at * home. For, if such were the case, any butter-fat that was not taken from the milk by the separator would be left in tho skim milk, with which farmers usually feed their pigs and calves and their own stock would thus receive tho benefit. Of course, tho question of carting the cream to the factories would still remain, but this could be arranged by tho farmers themselves, who could arrange to carry it turn about. In this way not nearly the amount of time would bo lost, and it would also mean a saving for the dairy companies, who would bo able to dispense with the man, horse and cart that they are at present compelled to keep to convfcv the cream from the creameries to the factory. It would seem that many companies aro opposed to home separated cream for no reason whatever except that of sentiment, and it would certainly pay them better to eliminate sentiment from their business and take in as much of this cream as they can possibly set.

TUBERCULOUS MILK. Skim milk is used more or less by the majority of farmers to feed their pigs with and, together with other foods, is no doubt of great value. But great care should bo taken to see that the milk is not tuberculous. Some interesting experiments have recently been conducted in the United States on the effect of feeding tuberculous milk to pigs, and the following is an extract from the report of the investigations, as given in the Experiment. Station Record :-—"The experiments recorded in this bulletin (lowa Station Bulletin 92) were undertaken for uie purpose of determining the effect of feeding pigs on skim milk containing tubercle bacilli, as compared with pasteurised skim milk. The pigs used in the experiment numbered 40, and were divided into four equal lots. Two lots received pasteurised milk, one on pasture and tho other in a dry yard. All of the pigs which %verc fed on tuberculous milk became infected, and also two of tho pigs which received pasteurised milk. It appears that tuberculosis is not readily spread among pigs by mere proximity of disease to healthy animals. The authors conclude that tuberculous milk pasteurised at a temperature of 200 degree F. is a safe feed. Pigs confined in clean, dry yards aro, apparently, no moro susceptible to tuberculosis than those which are kept at pasture." _ „_ THE DAIRY INDUSTRY ACT.

In Canterbury recently a deputation of dairy farmers waited on the Hon. R. MeNab, Minister for Agriculture, in connection with the Dairy Industry Act, which they held was unworkable. The spokesman said that the deputation was the outcome of a meeting held-at Halswell. The majority of the dairy farmers in that district were leaseholders, and if the Act was rigidly .enforced they would have to provide a separate bail for each cow they milked. Some of them had only a few . months to run before their leases expired, and if they were forced to erect bails in accordance with the Act, and receive no, compensation from the landlord at the < end of their lease, it would be very unprofitable and entail a great hardship on the farmers. A bail to every three cows would hy. more suitable. Concreted races in the stockyard were dangerous in wet weather, as the cows sometimes fell and injured themselves. He also urged that tho inspector was given too much power under the Act, everything about the dairy farm having to bo " to his entire satisfaction." The dairymen would like to see the word "magistrate" substituted for "n----spector," and then the case could be taken before the Court, and evidence could be brought to show whether or not a farm was clean and up-to-date. At present they were forced to abide, by what the inspector said. The Minister, in reply, stated that he had met thorn that day not to place them in -an awkward position in regard to the Act, but to collect, evidence from them as practical dairy farmers. He was pleased to have seen a number of places to which exception had been taken by the inspector and where the question of short tenure, which had been brought under his notice, existed. Neither ho nor the present Parliament had anything to do with placing on tho Statute Book the Act of 1893; which the inspectors wore cailed upon to put into operation. Tho regulations and the Act had been examined by him somo time ago, but he refrained from taking any official step until he had seen tho dairymen and felt that he was thoroughly familiar with the various points. The question of the tenant with a short lease who had to make improvements without obtaining compensation from tho owner of tho farm, would have to be the subject of careful consideration between now and the next session of Parliament. Ho purposed to ascertain from the Department the number of dairymen in this country who had full stall accommodation, but the whole matter was one that needed very careful attention, as it was a very important element in the production of clean milk. With regard to the option of the inspector, he was going to have the regulations made as definite as possible, reducing the option of tho inspector to the minimum, if not doing away with it altogether. Tho Government were not able to deal with this question under the present Act. It was sought in tho now Act to lay down in specific language what tho inspectors had to do. and not to have it open to interpretation by the officers at all. The regulations would bo printed in pamphlet form and supplied to all dairymen in New Zealand.

GLEANINGS. It is only by continual and careful testing that v vou can ascertain the exact value of each individual cow in your -herd. A coxv- that is treated with kindness will give more milk than one that is ill-treated. If your fowls are not laying well some scraps of meat, or dried blood mixed with their food will sometimes have the desired result. One reason for the groat, amount of poor dairy butter on tho market is the fact that the churning is not done when it should be. A churn should not be filled to more than two-thirds of its capacity, so as to leave room for agitating the cream, as the -more agitated the better it will be - '| Many highly-bred. spirited young horses arc rendered dangerous or useless every year by the unnecessary use of the whip.