Farm and Garden.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 422, 13 March 1880, Page 25

Farm and Garden.

Reports frdm the East Coast continue to give good harvest news. The weather has been splendid, with very little wind, and it is calculated that six comhined reapers and binders, which have been at work on the various farms since New Year's Day, have cut and bound the grain crops from 15,000 acres. The season is also good for grass, although rain is wanted to freshen up the sward and give it strength. Stock is looking well throughout the district, and there are few signs of the .scab among the flocks. The yield of hops in the Marlborough District will be exceedingly good this year. Describing the growth in Mr. Henry Dodson's wardens at Grove Town the Express says the growth of cones on the vines " surpasses in quantity anything that we have ever seen before, either in England or abroad. The cones, which appear to be. akin to the Kentish golden bins, are of an exceedingly large size, while the glutinous feel imparted by the pollen to one's fingers speaks favorably of the practical value of the crop. From enquiries made at the time, we understand that this year's yield promises to be by far the best of any that has been heretofore made in the district."

The amount expended by the New Zealand Agricultural Company on the Waimea Plains portion of their estate during the past year in improvements—breaking up, cropping, and fencing—has been considerable, in fact, much larger than almost any one would imagine. From a reliable source, we (Gore paper) learn that the sum is over L 20,000. " More than 6000 acres of land have been broken up, and miles of fencing erected. The crops will, it is anticipated, give a capital return, as judging from their present appearance, the yield it is fully expected will be large. As evidence of the fertility of the land we may mention that a portion of it leased prior to the Company acquiring the estate has produced six successive crops of oats. That of last year yielded seventy bushels to the acre, while this year's crop looks even better. Two bags of oats sown on a small patch in another place yielded exactly seventy times that number." The Fruit of Ptelea Trifoliata a Substitute for the Hop.—All who are acquainted with the fruit of this small tree know that in odour it is almost exactly the same as the hop. In consequence of the ravages of the Phylloxera our friends across the Channel are looking about for new beverages, and, as observed in the Revue Horticole, if the destruction of the vine continues there is no doubt that wine must be largely replaced by beer. Mr Charl.es Baltet has discovered that the fruit of Ptelea trifoliata makes equally as good beer as hops. At a recent agricultural exhibition at Chalons-sur-Marne, a Mr. Ponsard exhibited a sample of beer in which Ptelea fruits were substituted for hops. The quality and flavor of this beer are reported as equal to the best Strasburg beer. In the United States this tree bears the name of hop tree, but whether its qualities have been turned to account there we cannot say. It is noteworthy that it usually fruit 3 very copiously in this country even as a quite young tree.

NEW METHODS IN CHEESE-MAKING

The following reporb (here abridged) of " A day with Professor Arnold in the Cheese Vat" is stated by the American Dairyman, from whose columns we have taken ifc, to be the work of Mr. T. D. Curtis, of Utica, secretary of the American Dairymen's Association. : The milk is received in the ordinary vat, and then gradually heated to the temperature of 90' before the rennet is added. The customary way is to set the milk at 84" to 86". The new method prefers the higher heat. After the curd is cut it is allowed to stand until sufficiently hardened to permit of stirring without waste ; then the temperature is steadily raised, at the rate of a degree in two minutes, to 98". Here it is kept, as nearly as circumstances and facilities for keeping up the temperature will permit, until the end is reached. But a slight fall of temperature, or even its gradual descent to 80", does no damage to the curd, if it does not sour ; it simply retards the action of the rennet, and delays the time of going to press. Unless the milk is sour or too far gone with age, the curd is not allowed to remain in the whey long enough to sour. Where acid comes on before the whey is separated special treatment is required. Setting the Milk.—This, as before said, is done at 90". Prepared rennet, of uniform strength, is preferred. It is better to mix the concentrated liquid—l pint of which is sufficient for 3500 or 4000 lbs. of milk—in about 1 gallon of water at or a little above the temperature of the milk, for every pint of rennet used. This secures an evener action of the rennet throughout the mass of milk than could be secured if it is added to the milk in the concentrated form, no matter how it is stirred. It is readily distributed evenly through the water without affecting in any way the virtue of the rennet ; but when in the concentrated form it strikes the milk, some of its virtue is expended upon the milk first touched, and this coagulates a little in advance of the" mass, making denser points all through it, as can be seen by putting the hand in the curd and permitting it to run off gradually as the hand is raised. These points get too much rennet action at the expense of the rest of the mass. Hence the advantage of diluting the concentrated liquid rennet in water. The stirring to incorporate the rennet should be continued — agitating the whole mass, and not merely ruffling the surface, as some do—until the milk will barely have time to come to rest before coagulation begins. The strength of the rennet being known by actual experience, a good judge of the condition of the milk can easily approximate the time at which coagulation will begini He will of course avail himself of any doubt

and stop stirring soon enough not to spoil the curd. If he uses enough rennet to cause coagulation to begin in fifteen minutes he is safe in agitating the mass of milk for twelve minutes.

Cutting the Curd.—Under the old method there is no definite rule for cutting the curd. It is an advantage of the new method that it furnishes a definite rule, in no way depending on contingency or guesswork. The operator may be deceived in the strength of the rennet, if it is a batch he has not carefully tested, and get coagulation sooner or later than he desires. He proportions his rennet to the time he wants the cheese to cure and keep. If he wants it to keep a long time he uses a proportionately less amount of rennet, which will require more time in which to perfect 'he cheesing process. If he wants a quick-curing, short-keeping cheese for immediate consumption, he adds a large amount of rennet. The day we spent with Professor Arnold he wanted to make a rather quick-curing cheese, and put in rennet enough to cause the beginning of coagulation in a little over eleven minutes or longer. And here, after these explanations about proportioning the amount of rennet to the character of cheese desired, comes in the rule of cutting. No matter how soon or late the coagulation begins, the time intervening between that and the setting is multiplied by I\, and this gives the time after setting when the cutting should be done. If coagulating had begun in twenty minutes, the cutting would have done at the end of fifty minutes. The cutting, when begun, should be continued with tolerable expedition until finished, and the cutting should be what is called " fine " quite fine. The object in cutting is to facilitate the escape of the whey from the curd, and hence the finer it can be cut without waste the more the escape of the whey is facilitated. Stirring the Curd.—With the process of raising the heat begins the stirring, to not only prevent the packing of the curd on the bottom and around the sides of the vat, where the heat is greatest, but to secure an even distribution of the heat throughout the mass of curd. Some but not so many as formerly, think it necessary to begin the stirring and breaking of the curd with the hands. Once there was no cutting of curds, and all breaking was done with the haLds. The rake, at all stages when it is safe to stir the curd, will do it more easily, more expeditiously, and more cleanly than the hands. Professor Arnold uses the rake from the beginning until the whey is drawn off. All the stirring done in the whey is done with the rake, and a smooth hand hay-rake, v/ith about one-half the handle cut off, is as good as any. The stirring, after the heat is up to 60*, does not need to go beyond just sufficient to keep the curds from packing and gathering in large lumps, which will not readily take the salt when salting time comes. Drawing the Whey.—Formerly a portion of the whey was drawn off as soon as the curd acquired sufficient hardness to run through the strainer. Enough was left to float the end easily, and this was kept until sufficient acid was developed to make the curd fit to dip. Gradually it became the practice among cheese-makera to draw off all the whey as soon as there was any indication of souring, and haul the curd away from one end of the vat, elevate the other end, and then part the curd in the middle, lengthwise, piling it up along the sides of the vat, so that the whey ran off and settled in the lower end as fast as it exuded from the curd. This is now the prevailing method, the hot iron being depended upon to indicate the degree of cheesing or acidity, whichever it may be called, by the number and length of the threads of toasted curd that can be drawn out when the hot iron is applied and adheres to it. When ready the curd has to be ground in a cnrd?mill before salting. The new method draws off the whey early—as soon as the curd is hard enough to prevent all was t e —and keeps the curd from packing and lumping by stirring with the hands until it reaches the point where it will not pack, so that -it cannot be readily crumbled apart_ by stirring and using the hands ; and it is desired to avoid all necessity for grinding, while the hot iron is considered useless as an indicator of condition. But here comes in a contrivance for facilitating the separation of the whey and keeping up the temperature, while making the work of stirring easier and aiding in " oxygenising" the curd. The Pack. —Something like the oldfashioned sink rack is placed in the bottom of an empty second vat. One extra vat, in place of the usual sink, would answer for a factory, as the first vat is emptied in transferring the curd to the second, and the vat just emptied can be used as a second vat or sink for the next one. On this rack is spread the ordinary cheese strainer, and then the curd, with as much whey in it as is left when the syphon stops drawing, is dipped and emptied in this cloth and'rack. Of course the whey drains through and occupien the space beneath. This whey is not only thus easily got rid of, with the whey remaining in the curd as fast as it exudes, but aids in keeping up the temperature and in keeping it even and not too dry. SALTING. —With the new method it is not so particular when the salting is done, provided the milk is all right to begin with, and there are no signs of fermentation. It is usual with those who adopt the new method to let the curd air until about ready for the press, before adding the salt. At first the curd steadily hardens as the whey separates, until it feels quite hard and harsh. But gradually, as oxidation goes on, after the rennet has expelled the whey, the curd softens and grows smooth and silky to the touch. It also grows tenderer, and gets quite mellow, apparently becoming richer in flavor and appearance, or showing more " quality," as the buyers say of cheese when it is fine and buttery. When the proper decree of softness is reached, or the cheesing and oxidation are progressed far enough —to determine which is a matter of observation, experience, and judgment—the curd is salted, and if cool enough, is put to press. In hot weather the curd should not be pressed at a temperature much above 80", but

in cooler weather, if the temperature of the press-room is not kept tip, 84 - to 85' would not be an injurious temperature. Unless the surrounding atmosphere is quite co©3, so that there is considerable escape of heat by radiation, the temperature of the cheese will rise after it is put to press, owing to the combined action of rennet and oxygen, and the centre of the cheese will be warmer than th i outside, hecause curd is a poor conductor of heat, and the heat generated will but slowly pass off by radiation. The temperature of a curd in the vat or on the rack may be raised somewhat by allowing it to remain quiet, so the heat will not radiate into the atmosphere. The salting should be at the rate of 2ilbs. to lOOOlbs. of milk.

Curing —There is nothing peculiar about the curing process under the new method, s;,ve that it continues its philosophy in the cuvi >groom. The temperature should be even, and should be 65' to 75 - , according as more or less rapid caring is desired. Coloring.—We have thus far said nothing of coloring, because on the day that we took our first lesson in the new method of cheesemakin?', Professor Arnold was making cheese for himself and used no coloring. But we got his views on the subject, which, as may be inferred, were not favorable to putting coloring matter into cheese. He says the addition of the vegetable matter used for coloring slightly affects the flavor, and is an element of fermentation and decay. If used at all it ought to be cut with oil instead of alkali. All coloring for cheese-making is dissolved in potash. The alkali unites with the coloring, but when put into the cheese the alkali finds a stronger affinity in the caseiu and unites with it—instead of with the fats, as some have supposed—while the annatto forms new combinations with the f.its and oxjgen, b >th sets of new combinations making a bad flavor and hastening decay.

RED BUST IN AUSTRALIAN WHEAT.

It will be an unparalleled disaster for Australia if, after having achieved the proud distinction of being the producer of the finest wheat in the world, her productive powers were to be seriously impared by disease in what is, next to wool, her chief agricultural product. The bare suggestion of such a possibility is enough to excite a 1 arm ; but, with the experience of the ravages caused among the French vineyards by a plague similar to that which is attractiug attention in the wheat fields of Australia, it is not surprising that colonial farmers should feel uneasiness at the prospect, however remote it may prove. Complaints of the existence of " red rust " in wheat reach us from South Australia, from Queenslaud, from Victoria, and more recently from New South Wales. The disease is due, it is said, to the existence of a minute insect parasite somewhat similar to the 7 phylloxera, and also to the growth of a parasitic fungus similar to the coffee fungus— hemeleia vastatrix —which has caused the " leaf disease " among the coffee plants of Ceylon, Brazil, &c. If this is the cas9, there would appear to be two separate diseases prevalent among the Australian wheal fields Careful inquiry over so large an area is difficult, if not impossible, unless undertaken by some properly constituted and competent authority, and it is satisfactory to see that a step towards elucidating: the problem of the cause and cure of the pest has been taken in the projected offer by the Queensland Government of a reward of £IOOO for the discovery of a remedy. The South Australian authorities, we believe, made a somewhat similar offer some time ago, but nothing came of it, and it would be much more advantageous, the Globe thinks, if the Colonial Governments would unite in issuing a Commission to properly investigate the matter throughout the various districts ia which complaints of wheat disease exist. If allowed to spread the pest may endanger the agricultural prosperity of the whole country. It was stated some time ago that one fourth of the actual wheat-pro-ducing area of the. colony of "Victoria was already destroyed. This statement was probably an exaggeration arising from natural alarm ; but it is quite time that steps should be taken to check and eradicate the evil before alarmist fears develop into reality.

INJURY TO COWS BY ALLOWING CALVES TO SUCK.

There is no truer thing in my experience, and I believe in that of hundreds of others, than that allowing a calf to suck is an injury to the cow. This injury is more oi less permanent according to how long it is continued, and doubtless depends largely upon the vigor and digestive powers of the calf and the quantity of milk given by the dam. The udder of a young cow, thus treated in the full flush of her yield loses capacity to hold a large " mess" of milk, if it ever had ifc, and older cows becoming accustomed to the steady half-hourly drafts of the calf, fall off in their yield rapidly after the calf is seat to the market. Calves, it is true, usually fatten better on the cow than as fed in general practice in this country, but our practice, is certainly wrong, and I am by no means su r e a calf may not be just as well fattened off, as " on the cow." In fact I have once or twice fattened a calf so well " on the pail" that the butcher complimented the veal, savin" - that anyone could see that that was no skim-milk calf, whereas after the first three days of its life it had had uo milk which v/as not skimmed. The loss of cream was made up to the calf by as much scalded linseed-meal cake as was judged good for it, and it always had a wisp of sweet hay, or bite of grass in its season to nibble upon. All calves are not alike in this respect, but where milk is the principal thing, veal is secondary, and so we are willing to sacrifice something of the excellence of the veil to the good of the dam. When a deep-milking cow has two calves put upon her, their thrift will often indicate an enormous milk secretion. I presume no harm comes from such practice commenced after the cow is four or five years old, but thousands of good heifers aie spoiled every year because, not being pleasant to milk, their calves are left

to run with them. Their udders never becoming distended, they lack capacity to carry their milk from one milking to another, and when their calves are taken away, not only do the teats leak, but the discomfort by the unusual distension of the udder results in a decrease of yield. Whereas had the distension occurred when the whole system was in the jDlastic condition in which it was just after calving, when the udder is naturally swollen and more or less painful, it would have become for life adapted to the circumstances and would be of increased capacity. A very sensible article is going the rounds of the papers, showing that it is just because wild cows have their calves running with them that they never give much milk. It seems folly for farmers who want milk to follow the course, which they can see in nature produces just such results as they do not want. See how it is with mares. I was surprised to find that a good mare gave 14 quarts of milk iu a day, and yet most mares wiil sustain in good order a larger animal than a big calf, and one which grows much faster. This 14 quarts of milk was given when the colt was weaned. What is it fair to assume, was given by the mare during the period soon after foalipg, the time when cows yield most ? In cows, of course, the decrease of milk is not observed until the.system of milking twice a day is adopted. So long as the calf takes its rations as often as it can digest what it takes, the now keeps up—but it renders the cow more or less incapable of carrying the milk produced and of producing more than she can comfortably carry. -- American Agriculturist.