The Dairy.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 995, 27 March 1891, Page 21

The Dairy.

NOTESThe food given to milch cows influences as it is well known the quantity and the quality of the milk. Dr Sumpf demands, how do medicaments administei-ed to animals affect the milk ? From his experiments the following are his conclusions :—lodide of potassium diminishes the secretion of milk ; morphine, alcohol, and lead, do not modify the yield, while it is yet slightly augmented by salicylic acid. The ‘quality’ of the milk is altered by iodide of potassium, while alcoholic beverages increase its fatty matters; salicylic acid augments the sugar of milk. Do the medicaments pass into the milk 1 Yes, and directly for iodide of potassium, which combines with the caseine. In the case of herbivorous animals, the alcohol does not pass into the milk; salicylic acid can be detected in the milk.

Mr Grierson, of the Bodallo estate, New South Wales, who was lately commissioned to specially manufacture a very large large cheese for a Sydney firm, has received the following letter from the manager:—He the large cheese we had made forour Christmas show, I must express my satisfaction at the perfect manner in which you carried out arrangements re the same. The cheese, notwithstanding the short notice given, arrived at our establishment in perfect condition, and although a little new it has proved itself a success by being wholly consumed in a couple of days.’ The cheese weighed 14031 b. The l’ecords kept by the Jersey Cattle Society throw some light upon the age at which cows of the Jersey breed produce the greatest quantity of butter. The society’s report says the milk yield, which between the age of two and three years reaches an average of two and a half gallons, or say 251 b per day, continues to increase till the fifth or the sixth year, wnen it stands at rather over three gallons or 301bs per day. At the same time the butter shows a corresponding increase from lib 3oz to lib Sozper day. During the whole of these four years it appears that the average lichness of the milk varies but little from a standard of two gallons to the lib of butter. The exact figures are as follow :—Between two and three years, average butter ratio 20i01b, about eight quarts; between three or four years, average butter ratio 20 - 241 b, about eight quarts; between four and five years, average butter ratio 19-lllb, about eight quarts; between five and six years, average butter ratio 20‘751b, about eight quarts. At or about the age of six years the Jersey appaars to attain her prime. Her milk increases materially in lichness and her yield of butter shows a proportionate advance. It seems probable that she maintains this maximum value for some two or three years afterwards. The average age of 10 first prize cows, decided by the butter test, was seven years and three months; of 10 second prize cows, six years and two months ; of 10 third prize cows, five years and eight months ; and of 10 cows of the reserve number, five years five months. These records tend to confirm the general experience that a dairy cow, as a rule, is most profitable between five and eight years of age. After that period she gradually begins to decline in her yield and becomes inferior to a heifer. Before reaching that stage, however, it is often best to dispose of her, as a very old cow is not only difficult to fatten, but brings a bad price in. the market. STERILISED MILK-

So-called ‘sterilised milk’ by no means always deserves its name, in some cases being much fuller of germs than ordinary unboiled milk from the cow. Herr Koklmann, of Leipsic, on subjecting two specimens of milk sold a 3 sterilised to examination, found that; one of them really was so, no germs being discoverable, while the other specimen contained 350,000 germs per cubic centimetre. Herr Kohlmann suggests that the failure of whatever process was used to sterilise the milk“ may have been due either to water having been mixed with the milk before the process was commenced, or perhaps to too long a time having been allowed to elapse between milking and sterilising. This lust point exercises a. very great effect, as is shown by Freudenreich’sfobservations. He found that milk which when received contained only 9300 germs to the cubic centimetre after being kept for three hours at 60deg Fahr contained 10,000 ; after six hours, 250,000; and after twenty-.

four hours no less than 5,700,000. It would, therefore, appear that our knowledge of the conditions under which milk may be really sterilised is at present somewhat insufficient. —Lancet.

NEW ZEALAND DAIRY PRODUCEThe London correspondent of the Auckland Herald writing on January 24th, says Mr Henry Reynolds, of Auckland, has not slackened his efforts to secure for New Zealand dairy produce, and especially for butter, the higher prices which he contends the quality of the articles should command. He recognises, however, that there are serious difficulties and many prejudices to be overcome, but he Is combatting them with the shrewdness and tenacity of purpose habitual to him. His firm have decided to open a central depot in London for the reception of consignments which will be distributed throughout the country without the intervention of,middlemen, who would absorb the profits without materially increasing the sale. Importers have tried their best to dissuade Mr Reynolds from his determination to deal directly with retailers. They assure him he must work in the old grooves, but he thinks otherwise, and so far all his endeavours have been crowned with success. He lays great stress on the necessity of the consignments of produce being regularly kept up and uniform in quality. It is no use for him and others to create a want unless they can supply it. It is, therefore, extremely annoying to receive advices that though there are plenty of cbnsignments ready for shipment, those he has been expecting have been shut out, owing to the limited freight accommodation available. Last season his firm suffered severely from goods being long in transit and late for market. It would be as well if more care was svstematically taken to protect the dairy produce on its way down the coast to the final port of shipment. For instance, such a delicate commodity as butter should not be left exposed upon wharves or placed in contiguity to other substances calculated to damage so sensitive an article of commerce. Slowly, but surely, the New Zealand butter is obtaining a good name But it is uphill work to combat the prejudice whioh has been created by repeated failures in the past, and shippers, therefore, should be additionally careful that only good qualities were sent forward. It will probably take another season to convince tradesmen that they can depend upon the shipments being of good quality, and that their orders can be executed according to sample. When once this feeling of uncertainty is removed it will be possible to obtain higher prices, so that producers can recognise how very much they can promote their own interests by assisting the efforts of those who are fostering the trade on this side of the world.

The great importance which the butter trade has attained may be gathered from the fact that last year's import of butter into the country amounted to 1,927,469 cwt, worth £10,243,728, while the export was not quite 25,000 cwt. GETTING CREAM TO RISE. The scarcity of ice last summer in America set the dairymen to discover some other means than cooling of getting cream to rise, and as working in a warm temperature is one of the greatest difficulties in connection with Australian dairying, the subject is specially interesting. It has been found advantageous to add cold or warm water to the milk at the time of setting in the proportion of one-fourth or onethird. Professor Stewart points out that the explanation is to be found in the adhesiveness of the milk, which under favourable conditions prevents the butter fat from rising to the surface. He says :— * But this adhesiveness of the milk and the stability of the mixture of fat in it stand in the way of the butter-maker at times—when, for instance, the weather is hot, or when it is very cold—and some way must be found to overcome these obstacles. Without mentioning the various other ways in use, we may merely consider how this mixture of water with the milk operates. It thins the milk and renders it less adhesive, and so causes the butter globules in it to rise with greater ease and rapidity. If we were to break up some corks into very fine particles, or take fine sawdust, and sink these with molasses, we should find they would rise to the top very slowly indeed, and the smallest particles would never get to the top, because of the adhesiveness or stickiness of the jnolasses. If water be added, especially

warm water, it would be quite different; and this is precisely the case with the milk.’ CHURNING FRESH CREAMThe advantages of maturing cream before churning are so well known by successful butter-makers, both at factories and in private dairies that the favour with which the new system of direct or immediate butter-making has been received is somewhat surprising. Professor Stewart seems to approve of the system, and he speaks of the introduction of the new machine as one of the improvements of the year 1890. The authority referred to says :— ‘ The milk fresh from the cow is put in a machine, and’ in twenty minutes the butter begins to pour out of a spout, such as does the meal from a corn mill. The stream of fine particles of butter passes into a tub of cold water, in which they are washed and hardened, and there is no reason why an addition might not be made to the machine by which the butter may be gathered and carried to a butter worker, salted, and worked and pressed into cakes all ready for sale. The cost of the machine renders it practically unavailable for small dairies. But it is very certain that a few neighbours might associate in the ownership of a machine to be kept in a central locality convenient for all, and in a suitable building by which one machine might do the work of eight or ten persons, at a cost of no more than 25 cents to each. The saving would be enormous. No setting milk, no cost of ice, no costly apparatus, no churns, no pan washing, no bad butter, no worrying in hot or* cold weather j but, at a nominal cost, the very best of butter, which may be all packed together and shipped in the very best condition and sold for the very best prices.’ COST OF IGNORANCE. In no business perhaps does ignorance have to be paid for more promptly than in dairying. When we churn, if we-do not know the right degree of temperature for the cream, we may either waste many hours at the crank or else have the butter come too soon, with flavour and texture ruined. If we do not know how to feed our cows we may be wasting feed every day; we may be dairying with the wrong breed, and so on through the whole business, if we do not have the knowledge we are always in the way of making heavy losses. In the present state of dairy science it is inexcusable for anyone to go blindly about his work when he, by a little reading and study, can be as fully informed on every dairy subject as the most expert. MILK FEVER. Francis Hoddinot, writing in the Live Stock Journal with regard to milk fever in cows, states that he has calved more than 200 cows yearly for several years, and the following is the way in whioh he manages them in order to prevent milk fever :—‘Let them go on as usual until calved, then so oa after calving inject into the womb half a pint of carbolic oil, mixed by myself with Gallipoli oil and pure carbolic acid, 1 to 15, with half pint brass syringe, then give 11b salts, and from 31b to 41b treacle, and cover up with rug ; if in August or September, and the sun is very hot, put them in yard with abed, so that the cow can get into shade. I do not in any case milk the cow until she has calved twenty-four hours; and if a great milker with very big bag, not for thirty six hours, and then only about half clean them. Let the calf run with the cow and take what milk it likes. Should nights be cold in the above-named monthß, keep them in ; after September generally keep them in uutil calved a few days. In the last ten years I have had a few go down about the _ second day after calviDg; those I have given at once, as soon as I found them stagger, another lib of salts, 3 to 41b treaole, half-pint whisky, pat lib mustard, mixed with turpentine and a little water, from head to loin, and then cover with a thick bag, and have ordinary ironing fiats, very hot, and let a map on each side iron the cow’s back from loin to head for about on hour ; then cover up well to get the oow in a good sweat. _ If a very strong cow, and she does not improve in three hours from the first c rinks, give halfpound more salts, and plenty of treacle, and half-pint more whisky. Of course, I use my judgment, and they have always got up in abont twenty-four hours. If a cow goes down one year, it makes no difference, but let her have another calf, as I have never found one go down two years following if properly looked after at calving time. ’