JOTTINGS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1208, 26 April 1895, Page 5

JOTTINGS.

The Manakau. farmers are said to have been having a very bad time of it this year with the caterpillars, some of the hill farms being left as bare as the road.

Messrs A. and W. Birch, of Erehwon Station, of Inland Patea, have determined to try the experiment of sending a shipment of live sheep to England. There will be 130 in the consignment, made up of an even number of Shropshires, cross-bred Romneys and cross-bred merinos. The sheep, which will be driven to Manganoho, and thence trucked to Wellington, have been most carefully selected, and are reported to be of the primest quality. They should form an admirable test of the capacity of the London market for live stock.

According to the Manawatu Times no less than 50 members of the Manawatu A. and P. Association have been nominated for election on the committee.

Mr R. J. Dawson, M.R.CV.S, makes the following remarks in a letter to the Live Stock Journal on the subject of ventilation and sanitary arrangements of stables :—" Practical men well know that much disease in horses, and pecuniary loss to owners, occurs in consequence of insufficient ventilation and bad sanitary arrangements in stables. It is cruel to work horses with small sores on their backs, surely it is much more so to allow them to exist under such pitiable conditions as are frequently met with in London

and large cities. The following is a type:—StoneS and bricks and stinking matter which years ago was earth; this forms the floor. Uriue and fasces have soaked through, and caused such a state of things as can only be understood by those who have seen it. Roof so low that the horses' heads nearly touch it. All crevices and windows carefully closed, as if it were dangerous to admit the outside air. What must then be the effect upon those poor horses who have been I breathing that foetid, poisonous atmosphere for hours 1 No wonder that the attendants upon these animals, in their ignorance, take bad beer and whisky in the hope of curing their headache ! There are many such stables now. Is there any wonder, during an epidemic, say, of influenza, that in these buildings so many fatal and lingering cases occur ? Why cannot these people be taught that stables need not be similar to the Black Hole of Calcutta 1

" Bruni," in the Attslralasian, writes as follows under the heading "Developing the Heifers":—lt was once a very prevalent idea, and is still, unfortunately, in some quarters, that any treatment is good enough for young dairy stock. Dry straw and skim milk have made many a poor milker that with proper feeding might have been a credit to the herd. Stunted growth and poor development can be seen in all kinds of stock because of insufficient food ; but in no case, perhaps, has it so depressing an effect as with the females that are to supply the dairy. To obtain a cow of the highest capacity for production it is not too soon to begin nearly a year before she is born. That is, have due regard to the butter qualities of the sire and dam from which she is to be raised. It is as foolish to expect butter cows from poor stock as to look for figs from thistles. It is not so important that the dam should have the highest milking qualities, though this will give the most satisfactory result, as a rule, but it is essential that the sire should be pure bred, and descended from a good milking family. A scrub bull may have no dairy qualities in his blood. It is simply a lottery, with the chances against one to patronise such a sire. From the day of the calf's birth it should be kept growing without interruption. The sooner it is developed the less will be the expense, both of care and feed, for it is certainly more expensive to spend three years in attaining a size or age of usefulness that could have been reached in two. The first winter is the most critical time in the upbringing of all young animals. Calves require something more than pasture to keep them progressing all through the winter, and it will pay any dairyman to provide them with a little extra food, such as good fresh oaten hay, with a fair percentage of grain along with it. Two pounds of ground oats and bran daily in addition to the hay ration and a free run in a well sheltered paddock, where they can always get a dry bed, will bring the calves and yearlings through the winter in excellent condition, and the expense incurred will be small compared with the future benefits to be derived from having the heifers well ■ ! developed. If it will not pay to rear calves well, it will certainly not do so to bring them up the other way, for a half-starved cow is the most unprofitable animal that a farmer can k» j ep. The price of milk and butter is now ho very low that the future prosperity of the dairy industry of this country is dependent upon higher average yields being obtained from the cows. The 200 or 300 gallon cow will no longer pay for the milking, let alone her grass. An average of 500 gallons, or even a higher yield, should be aimed for, and this standard is easily attainable in any well-managed herd ,of dairy cattle. But the improvement desired must commence at the foundation—with the calves and young heifers. Every farmer has it in his power to work wonders in developing the milking qualities of his cows if he only set about it in the proper way.

There is no department of business in which a definite and consistent system of management is so much needed as in farming..

The following facts, gathered by Mr H. W. Bartram, of Messrs J. Bartram and Son, of Melbourne, during his travels through Sweden and Denmark, may prove of some interest to the dairying community :—The rent of dairy farms is from 20s to 30s per acre. Good dairy cows with a butter record

are always worth about LlO. It takes on an average 261 b Of milk to produce lib of butter. A good cow f gives about 550 gallons of milk in the season of nine months. None but good cows are kept. Average price for a young calf is Bs. Skimmed milk is worth Id per gallon in the Country and 2d per gallon in and near towns. Pigs six months old fit for market are worth 455. The cost of separating and manufacturing, including package, salt, paper, etc., runs into about per lb from the time the milk is received until the butter is ready for shipment from the factory. Skimmed milk has three uses—househod, cheese-making, and pig-feeding. On the average it takes about three acres to keep a cow. In calculating a dairyman's gross annual returns per cow in , Sweden and Denmark, this is how it works out: —■

500 gal skimmed milk, at Id per gal... £2 1 8 550 gal new milk, at 3|d per gal ... 8 0 5 Calf ... v ... ...;.... ... 0 8 0 . \ '•- £io io i Taking the average rent for dairy farms at, say, 25s per acre, and three acres keeping a cow, allowing/ of course, that she is, hand-fed also, the grass per cow per annum costs L 3 15s. Deduct this from\ JAO }losl , d and you have LC 10s id per cow left to cover labour (which includes cost of growing artificial fodder) and interest,' etc.; but the balance of profit per cow will still be larger than many "Victorian dairy farmers -«an show. In making the calculation skimmed milk is taken at the lowest value. The value of the new milk is given at what it is believed our rivals are prepared to accept rather than be , driven out of the English market, as heretofore they have been, getting 4|d and up to 5d per gallon.

With the above figures before them, Mr Bartram says it is imperative that Victorian <4ajrymen should pause and consider their Our producers have an advantage in which favours the cheap production of a good article at a time when our rivals have to hand-leed their stock. There is the disadvantage, on the other hand, of our distance from market, which will always be A handicap. Viewing the position from a broad standpoint, we can produce cheaper than our rivals if we would only try. We have climate and soil that, if turned to proper account, will provide abundance of feed all the year round. A weak point with Victorians is the very low average annual butter yield per cow. This will have to be remedied/and the sooner the better. Cheaper production means better feeding, better breeding, and selection of only the best butter yielders ; better treatment, of the milk and better manufacture, so as to secure as near as possible a uniform quality. If better attention be given to all these points Victoria will continue not only to hold her own, but annually extend the sale of her tlairy produce in England. At the same time, continental 'dairying is not going to be easily wiped out, as, with the skimmilk value, proximity to market, fresher butter; cheaper labour, and utilisation of by-products, we have much to learn yet in our methods of drfiry management in order to successfully cope with our rivals.

The Pplain's patent " race-starting harrier," as used so successfully at the Flemingtoh races, is likely (says the PastoralistJ Review) to come into srem-ral use among squatters and f-irmprs as an automatic gate, i.e., if the actual gate works as easily and effectually as the model exhibited to us by the inventor in our buildings. The simplicity of the contrivance certainly commends itself to the bush country, as very little skill is required to erect it. The invention consists essentially i of two posts, about 6in diameter or square, of height equal to the likely height of load passing. Two arms, about 16ft long, of sin by 2in, or saplings of equal strength, are pivoted at or about their centres to the two posts respectively; the tops of the arms are connected with one length of fencing wire, the bottoms being connected with five or six wires, to form a wire fence. The weight of the fence, which is, consequently, greater than the top wire, is compensated by a weight placed on the arm sufficient to allow the gate to overbalance when in position. By this means an ordinary gate may be raised with a 101 b pressure and released when the vehicle or stock have passed by a 21b weight. One advantage i;i the driving of stock U that the drovers can open the gate at the rear of stock, instead of rushing through them to open it.

A popular belief in the colonies (writes a London correspondent) appears to be that the butter they send is all consumed in London, and mostly under a name which does not show the true source of origin. This is now no longer a fact, whatever it may have been in the beginning of the industry. Every year Australian butter has become more and more known, and is now commonly advertised in grocers' windows under its true name. This year it has become common for large stores and provision companies to advertise it in. the local newspapers. One of the latest instances of this is a Cardiff paper, which in large type gives the following :

«* Finest Danish butter, la Id per lb (The pick of the finest dairies in DenmfLrTc l ■ *'* «• Finest Australian butter, Is Id per lb (This butter, from our Australian colony is pronounced by experts to be ' the finest butter ever tasted. ) "Fine Australian and Irish butter, lOd and Is per lb \ « , ; *'These are grand yalue."

It seems (says the%ive SicUck Journal) as if thejold' sjftem.pf healing sprains of the horse's lirnbs is doomed. Fomentations, hot/ or cold, arid the cruel operation of firing, **'« giy in S wa 7 to successful treatitfentr&y << dry bandaging and massage. At a recent meeting ot the Royal Veterinary Medical Association, Mr William Hunting, President of the Koyal College of Veterinary Surgeons, said when sprains occurred he had the legs wrapped in dry cotton-wool and bound in a linen bandage, with as much pressure as could reasonably be put on. Orders were left'that at night an ordinary flannel bandage should be substituted for the linen one. This he recommended as flannel was more elastic than linen," and that sometimes a bandage might be put on too tight, and the man in charge might notice its injurious effect* in but would not watch it also recommended gerftle walking, exercise daily, the horsd being led and not ridden, and commencing with half-an-hour daily. The massage should be performed when changing bandages, by hVnd-rubbing in the direction of the hair. The more the swelling, the'less rapid the repair of tissues. He ;;,belieVed they could prevent the increase 6f swelling in an early sprain by firm pressure, provided that that pressure- was equalised and thoroughly distributed by the use of cotton-wool under the bandage. The advantage of dry cotton-wool an inch and a-half thick'was that it absolutely equalised the'pleasure throughout the whole bandage; :'<> '.

The Victorian farmers are packing up and clearing put. It reminds one of the old proverb of the rats and the sinking ship. .From a New South Wales exchange, we gather that ,J about thirty farmers fr6ra the north-western portion of Victoria, with their families, •re now on their way. to take possession of several thousand acres of the Kirndeen Estate, near Culcairn. The land is to be utilised for wheat-growing on the'halves principle.' The owners of the land find ;ueed and bags, and pay the cost of clearing, and take half of the crop from the cultivators. The land has been let for a terra of five years, and in the fifth year the farmers are required to lucerne and other artificial grasses." *

The question which is the best breed of pigs has not / yet been settled in New Zealand, nor, for that matter, in any other country. In this colony there has been little or no comparison of breeds, only two kinds ot pig being known —the Berkshire and the mongrel. In the United States an effort has been made, so far without success, to determine the respective value of each breed. The' |klaine Experiment Station compared, the gain of Berkshires, Chester Whites, Oheshires, Poland-Chinas, and Yorkshires. In general no striking differences were observed in the rate of growth, nor in the relation of the amount of food to growth. At the: Michigan Agricultural College Duroc- Jerseys, Berkshires, and Poland-Chinas were compared in two separate trials, but the' results were so irregular as to lead to no definite conclusions. Comparisons between Berkshires, Chester Whites, and Yorkshires at the Vermont Experiment Station showed but little difference, what there was being in favour of the Chester Whites. In a later trial at the same place the Chester Whites and Poland-Chinas grew the fastest, but the gain of the large Yorkshires cost slightly less per pound. The Massachusetts Station found the Chester Whites to make a cheaper gain

per pound than the Yorkshires. The conclusion to be arrived at after studying the results of all these experiments is that a pig is a pig, after all, of whatever breed, and that there is more difference between individual animals than between distinct breeds.

The Wairarapa stock sales show signs of improvement, the much-needed rfins that have set in having improved the feed everywhere, and consequently created a demand where flock-owners had reduced their stock owing to the drought of the spring and summer. The rise in the price of wool also has had a beneficial effect on the market.

A series of experiments are being conducted by the Railway Department in the conveyance of butter in insulated cool cars from Taranaki to "Wellington. A quantity of butter brought from Eltham, as we reported some time since, was found to be in excellent condition, and another consignment has now been brought fromlnglewood The car was insulated with double roof and in the centre was a trough containing 2cwt of ice covered with rock salt. Three thermometers seen through glass doors enabled the temperature to be tested at intervals on the way to "Wellington.

Mr James Gordon, managing director of the company formed in Gisborne to lease and stock the Campbell Islands, is in Invercargill arranging for the transport of the first batch of sheep.

The Hunterville Dairy Factory is to be ready for starting work by the Ist- of October. The new building is to be proceeded with at once.

Mr Brogato, the Victorian Government Viticulturist, has completed his tour of the North Island districts as far as Whangarei, and expresses himself well satisfied with the capabilities in soil and climate of the Colony, and of the North Island in particular for the culture of the grape. He left on Friday afternoon, accompanied by Mr T. W. Kirk, Government Biologist, to complete his inspection of the South Island. Mr Brogato will catch the steamer for Melbourne at the Bluff, and will write his report on his return to his home in Victoria.

The Department of Agriculture has just issued No. 4 of its "Miscellaneous Leaflets "—the subject being, " The Meat Trade with Europe." Some particulars are also given of the beet-sugar industry.

A trial shipment of twenty carcases of chilled beef has been despatched from Newcastle to London.

In order to encourage an export trade in honey a bonus of Id per pound is to be paid for honey of approved quality made in Victoria and exported.

Last year there was 73 silos in Canterbury, but this year there are only 13. It has probably been found that this method of preserving fodder is in many cases more expensive than the preparation of hay.

" Filled " cheese won't do. The pleasant device invented by the Americans of making cheese out of margarine is ruining their trade. The Canadians are not allowed to adulterate their cheese, and in consequence their export is increasing.

At a meeting of the General Committee of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association, a letter was received from Mr Reginald Foster suggesting that the Government should be urged to institute enquiries as to whether the two forms of footrot—the contagious and the noncontagious—exist in sheep in the Colony, and that exhaustive experiments should be made here on the lines adopted by the Royal Agricultural Society in England. The following sub-committee was appointed to confer with Mr Foster on the subject and report to the next meeting:—Dr Levinge, Sir John Hall, and Messrs J-. Deane, W. Henderson, H. Overton, G. Gould and E. Gray.

There is nothing more annoying, or likely to lead to more confusion, than indistinct addresses. Farmers should note that it is more business-like, and that it saves time to have their names and addresses printed on their memo forms and envelopes. They can get five hundred forms printed with envelopes to match at the Mail office for 12s 6d.

It is expected that higher prices will be obtained for colonial butter in the English market, owing to the Danish supply being limited.