JOTTINGS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1247, 23 January 1896, Page 7

JOTTINGS.

The following figures relating to the live stock imports into London, via Deptford, may interest New Zealand farmers. They are for the month of October. From America, 9727 oxen, 6389 sheep ; from South America. 1327 oxen, 6740 sheep ; from Canada, 1735 oxen, 3340 sheep; 210 oxen from New South Wales and 1189 sheep from Now Zealand.

The farmer, says the Leader, who takes the precaution to have a supply of summer fodder for his cows ’s the one who makes his dairying pay. Many cows do not get at all times sufficient to eat. To any thinking person this is a penny wise and pound foolish practice, and one that materially increases the cost of butter production. At the present time ..the majority of cows are in this position. It is well to remember that it is only from the feed that is eaten over and above that required to maintain the system that any profit can be reaped. Shortage of feed at this season means increased cost per lb : (1) In immediate reduction of product. (2) In continued reduction of product throughout the season. Cows that early in the season fail in flow of milk cannot he induced, even by full feeding later, to return to their former flow. (3) In a shortened milking season. (4) A lengthened period of feeding while dry, and, therefore, an increased cost of winter maintenance. (5) An impaired progeny. The practice of putting dependence upon grass for summer feeding is one that brings a train of disastrous results that together combine to increase the cost of our butter product. And this is common at other, seasons, notably when the cow is dry, which is usually in winter. AVere the cows more liberally fed when dry they would certainly give a greater quantity of butter in the season, and at less cost per pound. Insufficient feeding while dry is a sure method of developing unprofitable dairy herds. Quality of food is also often neglected. It is quite possible to feed a cow liberally as regards quantity, but very illiberally as regards quality. It is usually better to feed two kinds (or more) of grain rather than one, and the same may be said of coarse fodders. To feed largely of coarse fodders, and little or no grain, is not advisable.

Mr J. H. Monrad, AVinnetka, Illinois, and formerly well known at Palmerston North, lias just published a pamphlet on “ Pasteurisation and Milk Preservation," with a chapter on “ Selling Milk." Mr Monrad is well known as one of the most skilful and progressive dairy experts of the day, and as author of the useful work “ The A B C of Cheese-making." He is associated with the eminent Danish dairying scientist Christian Hansen, probably the leading authority on lactic ferments, and his present work contains the experience of the latest experiments, arid shows how the indispensable process of Pasteurisation can be accomplished by simple and inexpensive means in large or email dairies. The work is published at 50 cents (2s). Talking of dehorning cattle, the Chicago Live Stock Reporter says : —“ In order to accomplish the best results the cattle must be dehorned when within a year old. They then readily recover from its effects. If they are dehorned as two or three-year-olds they lose flesh under it, their energy dies down, and it is almost impossible to get them in good shape for marketing." One good-sized pumpkin, chopped into slices, given to each cow twice a day, will be found a valuable addition to the best feeding. And no trouble need be feared in regard to any ill results from the cow eating the seeds. The question of the proper aeration of milk for butter-making, says the Australasian, is one which is engaging the attention of the Agricultural Department, and which dairymen generally should not disregard. It has been hinted that legislation should be brought in to compel farmers to aerate their milk before sending it to the factory, but our farmers have so thoroughly importance of the

to establish and extend it is not likely to be long neglected. Complaint is made in England that Australian butter has what is called a “ cowy " flavour and odour. It is asserted that a proper aeration of the milk before it is separated would result in the evaporation of the animal taint which clings to the milk and deteriorates tho quality of the butter. Mr AVilson, the Government dairy expert, states that aeration must be done by the farmer, for it would be too late to effect its object if delayed till the milk is in the factory. There are several inventions in existence for aerating milk, some of which answer the purpose very well. The question as to which should be generally adopted is one which ho thinks should be settled by the Dairymen's Association, which should arrange for tests to be made to secure the most perfect appliance.

A simple method of keeping butter fresh for six months has recently been hit upon in Normandy. The butter, having been carefully washed and wiped, is placed in stone jars, which must be completely filled. These are then deposited in a cauldron half-filled with water, the tern perature of which is raised to the point of ebullition. AVhen the water has thoroughly cooled down the jars are withdrawn, and the conservation of the butter for the time named is said to be thoroughly assured. Mr H. J. Cornish, of Sherborne. England, recently summoned a neighbour whose crossbred bull was supposed to have jumped a stile and served a purebred Jersey heifer. The suspicion prevented Mr Cornish asking a top price for the latter, and when in time she brought forth a calf resembling the crossbred bull an action for damages was entered. The Judge ruled that every man is bound to keep his stock in his fields, and the jury were asked to decide that whereas the heifer was sold for T2O with a stained pedigree what more would she have fetched without. The damages were given at £5 ss. At the great Elbing dairies in West Prussia upwards of 300 milkers are employed, the whole of them being females. They wear a pretty costume similar to that worn by female bicyclists. The costume is of blue and white striped linen for summer wear, and for winter flannel, also blue and striped. There is nothing to prevent the free use of their arms and limbs. In sitting, rising, or bending over their work there is no adjusting their clothes. Next to the cabbage worm, says an American paper, green lice (cabbage aphis) with their whitish mealy coat are perhaps the most injurious insect to the cabbage. The same lice are fully as abundant on rutabagas, and are also found on radishes and some other similar plants. Kerosene emulsion is the best remedy which we can use on them. The formula for making this emulsion with water and soap has been given so often that it hardly seems necessary to repeat it at this time. The kerosene in the emulsion quickly penetrates their bodies and kills them. Kerosene Gone cannot be used, as it will kill the plants. Kerosene will not mix with water, and so cannot be used ordinarily in this way. Entomologists and several spray pump companies are at work upon pumps that will make an emulsion with kerosene and water in the proper proportion and without the use of soap. Another remedy that is quite effectual on the cabbage aphis, and cabbage worm, too, is hot water. Neither the kerosene nor hot water will kill unless you strike the lice with them. AVhere one has only a few plants in the gardens perhaps the hot water is preferable, as it can be so quickly and easily applied, by throwing it over the lice by the dipperful. Water heated to 130 deg will kill the lice, but it can be heated to 180 deg without injury to the cabbage. To be the most successful with either of these remedies, the old worthless leaves that lop on to the ground should be broken off, carted out of the field, and fed to stock or burned. They harbour their share of lice, and are almost impossible to reach with any remedy. Perhaps many have noticed quite large maggots moving around among the lice, and have wondered what they are. Watch

throw ics head in the air here and there, searching for a louse. When one is found, it will stab the louse with its lance-like beak, hoist it into the air, and suck the liquid from it. This is the maggot of one of the syrphus flies. There are many flies in this family, and nearly all of them live on plant lice in the maggot stage. They aid greatly in reducing the number of lice. The following clever lines suggested by an account of a milking machine trial appear in a recent issue of the Melbourne Leader : O milkmaid! with thy eyes of blue, And cheeks as red as roses, With lips that steal the cherry’s hue, And breath as sweet as posies ! O milkmaid, tripping on thy way ’Midst nature’s fairest scenery, What’s this they say, that’s come to stay, This milking by machinery ! No more, it is said, with stool and pail, Art thou to gaily sally, . No more to dance it down the dale, Or loiter in the valley ; No more art thou, thy shell-shaped ear , ’Gainst dappled Cowslip leaning, To dart at Strephon, standing near, A glance of saucy meaning ! For grim invention—sentiment’s Most pertinacious snubber—- | Has shaped a thing of wire and string, I And tape and indiarubber ; Has, out of brass, and zinc and glass, And webbing soft as silk, made An apparatus meant henceforth To play the part of milkmaid. So, thou alas to Fate must bow; And our regret grows keener As thy i)oetic figure joins The thrasher and the gleaner. Arcadia is again bereft And bards in sorrow mutter—- “ There’s nothing now idyllic left Connected with our butter.” Gouda cheese, made in Holland, is largely sold all over the Continent and is now being introduced into England. This is how it is made. As the milk is brought in from the fields, it is put into pans and the rennet promptly added. Rather less rennet is used than is customary in the case of home-made cheeses. By the time the evening milk comes in, the morning’s supply is ready for cutting up. For this purpose a painted wooden bowl is used and the whey drawn off. The first whey is put aside in a tub, and the curd thoroughly broken, kneaded and salted. The round vats are next resorted to. They are rinsed in the whey tub, and the curd is pressed into them. The cheesemaker then presses the curd, and after 'sufficient pressure to obtain cohesion, the mass is turned out. It is subjected to further coaxing with the hand, and then tied up with a cloth, when it is again transferred to the vat and put into a gaily-painted cheese press until morning. After one night’s pressure the cheeses are put into strong wooden boxes, and every day for eight days they are taken from the vat, rubbed outside v and put back again into the vat, which is rinsed in fresh whey. There was no apparent effort to control the temperature at ripening. Indeed, it must have risen much beyond 60deg or 70deg, which is generally considered the most favourable temperature for the effective performance of this operation. The cheese may - be marketed at the end of eight days, ahd they are frequently eaten a fortnight old, at which time the best of them are almost as soft as butter, and much superior to anything known as Dutch cheese. Mr Boasman, a farmer of the Colac district, has introduced an improved method of planting maize. He uses a simple but ingenious contrivance affixed to the double furrow plough consisting of a funnel shaped receptacle for the grain fixed above the centre of the mould boards. At the side of the plough is run a buggy wheel by the aid of a crank, to which is fixed a small cog wheel underneath the funnel, and this cog revolving forces the grain evenly out of the funnel. The seed then drops on to a small bent piece of tin, which directs it into the furrow. Mr Boasman says it cost him only 2s to placejit upon the plough, and claims that the maize in rows by

can be done with i&ore expedition, it ensures the seed being sown at a uniform depth, and the maize can be more easily cleaned of weeds.

There are now 49 co-operative dairy societies working in Ireland, and 27 more being formed. There are also 11 cooperative agricultural societies formed, while 4 agricultural banks are being formed on co-operate lines to aid small farmers by loans of capital at a low rate of interest. The output of the Irish dairy societies will thfe year probably reach .£250,000, and the agricultural societies are likely to do a trade of from £20,000 to £30,000. There has also been organised a federation of the societies into a cooperative agency for distributive purposes; and a propagandist society, called the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society, has been formed to educate public opinion among the farmers and plant new societies and agencies.

Concerning the- frozen milk which the Danes and Swedes are now sending to England, it is frozen in cans, after being heated to a temperature near" the boiling point (75deg C.) and then packed in wooden casks containing some fresh milk for transport. The fresh milk enables the cask to be completely filled, and the frozen milk keeps it fresh. Each barrel holds 10001 b of milk, which, on arrival in England is of course thawed before being offered for sale. “‘What think ye," writes the Cape correspondent of the Dairy, “ of getting 17s for a pound iof butter? Herewith a Buluwayo paper gives some of the prices for commodities current in Lo Ben’s late capital about the end of September. Fresh butter was sold for as much as 17s per lb, ducks were retailed at 12s 6d each, and cabbages at 8s 6d."