ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13625, 19 December 1907, Page 9

ON THE LAND.

HOME-BRED COWS. lmLm mo* l, experienced dairy farmers are I i- «5 partial to tno practice of home- •■• r j o cows and bulls, and the longer it is indulged in tho greater tho belief in the advantages of the. system (says a correspon- ' dent of *' w Earnicr and Stockbreeder). • Whatever the class, it is always beneficial 'to understand one's stock thoroughly, and ; n no way can the character and capabilities "be better know than by home-breeding and raring- Give continuous, intelligent attention to {hi, and not only can all blemishes «nd defects bo improved upon, but many -moved wholly, and altogether a superior ! class of animals secured. If there, is one l>la»3 more than another in which this is '.'"■■ ijesirod it is in the cows, and the object wo ill aim at here is more and more milk. It , gn always bo learned that wherever a good milking herd is found it lias never been secured by buying cows here and there in the ordinary fashion, but the desirable end has been attained by home selection and picking out the very best milkers, and keeping and rearing their heifer calves generation after generation. Probably if the whole truth was known the average mine ield of the cows of to-day would not exceed 600 gallons a year. This is a very poor ami profitless return, but where improvement from selecting has been gone "heartily into from SCO to ICOO gallons is "the reward. Indeed 1 met with a cow the "other day that gave 1100 gallons during the past year, and her family has been noted for excessive milk-giving for 15 years, and is as good an instance as I have, met with of the immense advantage of persistent selection. No man can gauge the milking capabilities of a cow by merely looking at '• hf.r, bo* this is the only guide in buying thV majority. A massive bag is looked on is « safe indication of plenty of milk, but .disappointments very, very often follow. r Heifers, too, of various ages arc often bought in to convert into tows. And this '',& another step in the dark, as they may .turnout rank failures; but by retaining all the heifer calve* from the best milking cows » most certain way of improvement would invariably be met with, and disappointments would bo few and far between. " - FACTS ABOUT' CHEESE. .Each country has its favourite cheese. The 'Swiss make the Gruyero cheese, made of .pats' milk, and is full of holes caused by the gases of fermentation. The cheese is imitated elsewhere, but never equalled. e The tvpical English cheese is the Cheddar, first made in the English town after which it is named. It is very like American cream cheese. Cheshire is another favourite Euqlish cheese; while the fashionable cheese of the day is Stilton, .a cheese which defies imitation. Sage cheese, first made in England, is now made the world over. Its distinguishing characteristic is the flavouring and colouring of sage, parsley, spinach, and marigold leaves, bruised and steeped. , r Brie is a popular French soft cheese, and Camembert, originating in Norway, is another. Those cheeses are cured in caves, where the temperature never rises above 12 to 14 degrees. They arc ready for marketing in May and November. Roquefort, a celebrated French cheese, is made from the mingled milk of goats and sheep that browse on the thyme clad banks of tho Arno, in Western " France'. These cheeses are also ripened in caves, bus the temperature is kept at 40 degrees. |; - Akin to Roquefort, cheese is that called Gorgonaola, made in Italy after similar processes. It. is milder than Roquefort, and not quite so good, but it is sold much cheaper. Another Italian cheese, the Parmesan, is very hard, and is usually grated. 'It is most frequently used with macaroni. > Another curious Italian cheese, little known, "it tho Caccioeavello, or horse cheese, which .is delicious, and improves with age. It is .cured in tho skins used for making sau- ; sages, and comes in curious, sausage-like shapes. , '.". Limburger cheese, so beloved by the Germans, originated in Belgium. It is extraordinarily rich, being allowed to ripen to pu- , trefaction; henco its horrifying odour in apaccustoined neurits. Some persons have, '4 «a.jiufg: '"' (iargoniola is a cheese to .{wear by; Limburger to swear at." From jßfollandcome the Edam and tho Pineapple, both mad* in cleanly manner, and very It is written in history that the * Dutch used their round, cannon-ball-like Edam cheeses to shoot out-of their camion "when the Swedes were besieging Amstcr,'Aim. \' Cheeses come under three general heads— '.whole milk, skim or sour milk, and whole fc milk and cream. The ripening of cheese, 'upon which depends its flavour, is due to the action of bacteria, which are ever pret«>ct in milk; also in the rennet, which is used in the manufacture. Cheese which has .„heen improperly handled is apt to accumulate deleterious" bacteria. Cheese has great /nutritive value. It yields nearly three times the amount of caloric yielded by moderately lean beef.

, " A CHEAP COOLER. Where ice is not procurable, and there is not sufficient supply of cold water for cooling purposes, no cheaper method can bo adopted than freezing mixture-). If crystals of ammonia chloride and ammonia ni- * -irate be dissolved by gentle stirring in water ,-'in the following part!"— amnionic ni- ., trate, silb ammonic chloride, 101b (one galV 'Jon) of Water, the temperature of mixture ■will quickly fall to 51deg. Kahr. If a long 'tin containing such a- solution ba stirred ■■'•:■ about in a cream can, it, will, in a few mo- • ments, reduce the cream to tin- required > 'ntcraperatiirr. The cooling salts having been * once, dissolved, may be re-obtained for fur■ther use by cvaporatit.g the. solution to dryness. The evaporation may be done in open shallow pain, with tire. sun, or hot •wind. It may be conveniently done in an ..Old kerosene* tin out in halved. If a fire bo used for evaporation, it should be a'quiet fire, '"•'' the solution should not do more :than simmer. The solution should evaporate down until on dipping a stick or ■ «poon into it the drop of liquid so obtained ■olidi6es on cooling. The evaporating ves;M should then be removed from the fire. jWith* solution allowed to cool. It will * wlidify into a granular mass, which mav he easily dug out with ft strong knife, an d ■ Ihould lie broken up into lumps about the »wo of walnut,, and spread out in the sun or in a warm place until thoroughly drr. It is important to make perfectly dry, for , if at all moist the cooling qualities of the ;, WHS are greatly diminished. If the evapo- ' rating and diving be carefully conducted there will be practically no loss of salts, and the same quantity will serve indefinitely. It is well to have two or three lots V') Operation, one or two evaporating and «rymg while the other is in use.

LIME in THE dairy. The use of lime in butter and cheese factone* is becoming more general in Europe *nd America. In a bulletin issued by the dairy branch of tho Washington Bureau of 'Agriculture mention is made of tiio fact that JJ> all Danish creameries barrels containing lime water occupy a. prominent position*. It w mainly owing to the untiring efforts of , .professor Boggild, the well-known Danish dairy scientist, that this excellent cleaning . «nd purifying agent has been so largely .adopted, not only by the creameries them- ■ ""elves, but by the creamery suppliers. The • wearnorins which years ago practised the • *•teaming of all churns ami other dairy uten"ls regular'}-, in order to keep them sweet Mid euro, now simply scrub them in hot water, ami while the surface is still warm ?fi t' with a brush, a e,, * r °Uii coating of •hick lime wash, which is partly absorbed PJ the pores of the wood, purifying and , ■making it. bright and firm. The surplus '■me is afterwards washed off. In fact it appears that, limn takes the place of washing •oda, boiiiK much superior for e'eaniug pur--POaes, and a great deal cheaper as well. t Jitme removes grease and sour smells from • floors and utensils, makes tinware brighter. ;i,»nd the grain of wood flnm, bright, and close. ( The by-laws of some creamery associations strongly recommend suppliers (o lime instead of hjilu for cleaning their 1 * l!i Ve **- as well as for whitewashing ;«abk)s, milk-houses, etc. The formula for "P"*pafing lime water in which utensils may _«* ltnmerfced is thus (riven in Hoad's Dairyman ':--.•• solubility of lime at ordinary .-Temperatures is one part ill 700 parts of water. Such a solution would be termed I saturated lime water. Translated into pounds an <l - ! 0113 ' hi 4 means one pound of lime '** sufficient to saturate 70 gallons of water. However, owing to impurities in commercial • -•'in*, it is well to use more than is called 'r> x , in this statement.. If good freshly-burnt 'JPHcklihie ran be obtained, 21b to 31b to 5 'Worn (50lh) would be ample, and the re-ult-«?*i ,m « ' 1 " would be thoroughly satur««d i Ibe method of preparation is simply ■ I TO wake the lime with a small quantity of W|*w and then stir the milk of lime so *onncd into five gallons of water."

GRASS AND SOIL FERTILITY. Grass is a soil protector, a soil renewor, and a soil builder, says A. M. Ten Eycfc, of Kansas, in Hoard's Dairyman. Covering ♦ho land with grass is nature's way of restoring to old, worn-out soils the fertility and good tilth characteristic of virgin soil. The true grasses do not add nitrogen to the soil, as do clover and alfalfa, yet. they art; in a sense nitrogen-gatherers, in that the nitrogen of the soil is collected and stored Up in the roots of the grass in the form of humus. Thus grasses prevent the waste of nitrogen and other plant-food elements and servo to protect tiie soil and to maintain its fertility. By these extensive and deep-pene-trating root systems, many grasses also tend to break up and deepen the soil, gathering and storing plant food in their roots, and thus actually increasing the available plant food of the soil. When the wild prairie is first broken the soil is mellow, moist, and rich, producing abundant crops. After a few years of continuous cropping and cultivation, the physical condition of the soil changes; the'soil grains become finer, tho soil becomes more compact and heavier to handle, it dries out quicker than it used to. bakes woi>o, ami often turns over in hard clods and lumps when ploughed. This compact texture and bad mechanical condition of the son make it difficult; tor the young roots of tne plants to develop properly, causing at the same tunc an insufficient supply ot air in the soil, which is almost, if not equally, as detrimental to the crop as an insufficient supplied water. After a soil has been cultivated and cropped a long time it tends to run together, and is very stieKy when wet, but when dry the adhesive characteristic disappears almost entirely. The grass mots which formerly hold it together are decayed and gone, and now, when loosened by the plough, it is easily drifted and blown away. The perfect tilth and freedom Irom clods, so characteristic of virgin soils, is always fore or less completely restored whenever land has been laid Sown to grass for a sufficient, length of time. After the ground is covered with sod, the puddling action of rain is prevented. As the roots grow, the soil particles are wedged apart in some places and crowded together in others, anil by means of lime and other salts, the small soil grains become cemented into larger ones, and thus the open and mellow characteristics of virgin soil are restored; and not only this, but, by the accumulation -if plant food in the roots, the soil is made more fertile for succeeding crops. In order to maintain soil fertility, and at the same time make the greatest 'profit in farming, a practical and scientific rotation ot crops should include the following:— 1. Grasses and perennial legumes. 2. Pasture, with an addition of manure a year previous to breaking the soil. 3. Cultivated crops. 4. (train crops. Grain crops must be grown on every farm. Often they are the greatest- moneymaking trons: hence they must bo given a prominent place in tho general crop rotation system. Cultivated crops are also often the money-making crops of the farm. They are necessary in every rotation plan in order that the land may be cleared of weeds. Especially is this true in a locality where grain is the main crop. By continuous graingrowing, land becomes foul and weedy, and the cultivated crop in rotation is necessary in order to destroy the weeds. Cultivation conserves the soil moisture, develops the soil, and increases the supply of available plant food by producing those conditions which favour soil decay ami the action of soil bacteria. In a sense, " tillage is manure."'

Grasses and legumes maintain the supply of soil nitrogen and restore the proper soil texture; besides, they are profitable crops, and, in fact, absolutely necessary on every farm upon which stock is kept. Pasture must be had on every farm, and it is quite essential that it be made a part of the regular crop rotation. Many soils become too light and mellow by continuous cropping, and need the tramping of stock to firm them. Then, so much more grass can be produced when the pastures are kept fresh and new, and tho increase of fertility and improvement of soil texture result, iii larger crops of corn and grain when the pasture is broken up and planted to these crops.

A convenient and desirable time to manure land is while it is being used as a pasture. If the manure is applied a rear or so before breaking, it will stimulate/ the growth of grass and cause a greater production of pasture, giving more and better grazing: meanwhile the soil, is enriched by an increased root growth and formation of humus. Besides these beneficial results, some plant food, will be supplied by tho manuring to the first crop "which is grown on the breaking at a time when it is much needed, because the larger »art of. the fertility in the new breaking is in an unavailable state, and cannot readily be used by the new crop.

BREVITIES. November was one of the driest months on record in Napier. The total rainfall was only half an inch. Ignorance in regard to the principles of right farming is too expensive for a man to indulge in these days. No growth of cities, no growth of wealth, can make up for a loss in either the number or the character of the fanning population. Under no circumstances should anything be added to milk to prevent souring. Cleanliness and cold arc the only preventives needed. , Some animals inherit unthriftine.«s, and this is indicated by the hard, harsh hair that seems to be growing out of a stiff, hard hide. Those who underfeed animals on tinfarm forget that ordinarily more than half | tho feed fed to animals is given as the food i of maintenance. _ A horse is no better than his feet, am! j| does not matter how tine the form of (!,„. animal is, or how correct the markings if poor feet go along with them. During the greater part of tho venr th*work required <»> « farm should not Inmore than what can be done in ten bourn In the rush season it is different. On many of our farms long hours are still tho practice, in snii ( , of the fact that improved machinery has made it possible for one man to do the work of several! No expert feeder or handler- has r\er been, or will be. able to make a coivAvhcsn natural per cent, of fat in her milk is 3 pen cent, produce milk containing 4 per cent, of fat. The Mikado of Japan is reported* to have bought some American cows, and to have paid £3000 for one animal. The Jans arccertainly making great efforts to improve the breeds of their stock. The milk yields during 1906 of the Jersey herd belonging to Mr. A. Miller-Hallett, Goddington, Chelsfteld, Kent, have been published. . Tim figures relate only to cows that we-re in the herd the whole year, and the average for the eleven head works out at 23.341b per day. The highest individual average was 32.931b, and the lowest 18.&51b. Whether your stock is Jersey, Guernsey, Holstein, Shorthorn, Ayrshire, or any other class of cattle, stick to your text, mid once having made up your mind what you want. keep on in that line with a purebred* bull, and you will have a uniform herd of some kind, and as a general proposition a better grade of milkers than to jump from erne breed to another each succeeding season. Tight-hound soils that haves little airspace in them, and whose particles arcclosely pressed together, permit slow descent only to all water passing downward. This is a condition certainly not desirable, and may be remedied and improved in this respect by deep-stirring agencies that open and stir and mellow at depths not reached by ordinary surface tillage.

From 1895 to 1906 the Now Zealand Government paid in freezing charges on butter alone £34,000, all of which went direct into tho pockets of tho farmers. For practical instruction in factories, dairy classes, grading of produces, etc., £131.000 was spent in that timfl to encourage the industry. In 1883 butter and cheese to the. value, of only £48,912 was exported, while in 1905 and i 906 the exports rose to 435,487cwt, value £2,072,591.

The making up of the flock is an important work, and flodkniasters will lie well advised to see that none other than thoroughly sound and healthy sheep are put into the flock. OF course, in the case of ram-breeding flocks, there may bo reasons which are perfectly sound that induce the owner to retain in the flock over-aged ewes, but in flocks that are kept for ordinary commercial purposes it is a sound practice not to retaiu the ewes any longer than the third lamb-