THE FARMER.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1250, 13 February 1896, Page 5

THE FARMER.

“ Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man.” —George WasH' inoxon.

EDITORIAL NOTES.

Down South, where, as we must regretfully admit, the

DEHORNING IN NEW ZEALAND

Lettlers are more alive to the importance of ). new ideas and new methods than are

many of irs Northerners, there is dis tinotly noticeable of late a tendency to adopt the long-established American custom of dehorning cattle. An exhibition of a new system of dehorning was recently given on tlie Edendale estate, Southland, the property of the New Zealand and Australian Agricultural Company. Mr Macdonald, the manager of the estate, was the operator, and the Wyndham Farmer, a local journal, gives some interesting particulars as to the methods adopted. The animal is driven up a race, at the end of which is a bail similar to an ordinary milking bail, but much stronger. Besides the upright lever confining the animal’s there is another which comes down on the upper side of the neck, pressing it into a V-shaped block below. When both levers are operated on the animal’s head is firmly fixed. The dehornere used were those made by the Walter A. Wood Company, and they are said to have sliced off the horns as quickly and as easily as a boy whittles a twig. The implement is pressed tight down on the skin and the horn is sheared off close to the head. So smartly was the work done that it did not take more than 20sec to dehorn any beast, and some were done in half that time. Seventeen head of cattle were driven tip the race, dehorned, and let go in twenty-one minutes. As the horns are cut off a dressing of tar is applied, and the animals are at once liberated. A mob of steers that had been dehorned five weeks before were driven into the yard, and their fine appearance and sleek skins showed that they had not gone off their feed. A close examination of the scars made by the dehorner showed that in nearly every instance they had healed up well. In a very few there was slight suppuration. Mr Park, Government Veterinarian, who attended the Edendale exhibition, expressed the following opinion thereon :—“ lam satisfied there is not sufficient pain to warrant any interference. In fact, I would encourage dehorning, as I am convinced that the advantages to be derived from the operation more than compensate for anything that may be urged against it.”

The advantages of dehorning steers have been sufficiently

THE advantages OF DEHORNING.

expatiated upon. Time after time we have quoted statistics contributed to American,

Canadian, and Australian papers, which proved beyond all reasonable doubt that the dehorned steers were much more quickly and economically fattened than those upon whose heads the horns had been left, and it stands to reason that dehorned animals must be much more easily

where cows are concerned, and in this direction the facts are of more interest to many of our North Island settlers. It has been proved by statistics collected by the agricultural bureaux of the principal dairying States in America that the milk yield of cows inclined to be bad tempered has been very materially increased by dehorning ; and at the same time the cows have been made more agreeable to milk and to handle. It is well known that the cow that quietly, peaceably, and contentedly feeds and chews the cud makes more milk—other things being equal—than the cow that is quarrelsome and in a turmoil. Dehorning nearly always has a remarkably quieting effect on badtempered cows ; and sometimes such a cow is a splendid milker—too valuable to be sacrificed when dehorning will make her tolerable and at the same increase her milk yield. The most has been said about the advantage of dehorning steers to fatten, but probably the greatest gain is from dehorning cows.

Copies of some interesting correspond-

ence which recently passed between the secretary of the Manchester Chamber of

MANCHESTER AS A MARKET.

Commerce and the Agent-General were received by the Department of Agriculture by the last ’Frisco mail. London correspondents as a rule being principally in touch with London middlemen in the dairy produce trade are largely, and not unnaturally, biassed in favour of London as the chief and, as they contend, only reliably payable port of entry for our dairy produce, but in spite of such special pleading the claims of the Manchester market are so irresistibly strong that they must infallibly make themselves heatd and felt. Already a direct trade between these colonies and Manchester lias been established, though necessarily on a small scale, hut those who read the facts set forth in the letter received by the Agent-General cannot fail to see that not only in frozen meat, but in dairy produce, the Manchester market must in the immediate future become a factor of very considerable importance. With us New Zealanders the twin questions of cheaper carriage and distribution of our produce to and amongst the teeming population of the manufacturing districts of Lancashire and Yorkshire is one of the greatest possible moment. It stands to reason that so long as our fr< z-*n meat reaches Manchester at a cost per ton, ex ship at London, of 455, whereas the same meat can reach the same purchasing public ex ship at Manchester (via the Ship Canal) at a cost of 7s the price to the Manchester consumer must continue to be absurdly out of proportion to that of the Argentine and American meat which does not go through London. The same disproportion between Manchester and London exists, as will be seen from the elaborate table of comparative charges compiled by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and published in another column, with regard to butter. How far the fact that some cf our leading shippers at this end are “ tied ” to some extent to the London middlemen may prejudice a wide adoption of the system of shipping to Manchester direct we do not know, but the difficulty is not too great to be unconquerable, and certainly the difference in favour of shipment to Manchester in opposition

notwithstanding, our meat and produce shippers, whether companies or private individuals, will eventually be obliged to recognise the importance and greater ecomieal advantages of direct shipment to the great Cottonopolis. The manciple of co-operation has of

CO OPERATION IN DAIRY CATTLE BREEDING.

late been very widely and very beneficially adapted and utilized by those engaged in the dairying industry.

We have co operative cheese and butter factories, most ot which have been a success, and the more we hear of the system the more we hold it in preference as compared with that of private ownership. But we have not yet exhausted the possibilities of co-operation with regard to this important industry. We have cooperative factories it is true, but the principle of co-operation may be, and as we shall show our readers is capable of adoption at an even earlier stage than the arrival of the milk at the scene of manufacturing. To get the best milk we must have the best milch cow and the best cow can only be got by the best breeding. At present the majority of our dairy farmers treat this question of breeding in a happy-go-lucky fashion, which is naturally productive of very inferior results. One or two good cows of a breed of proved excellence are not enough. The thing to strive for is that every cow in the dairy farmer’s herd shall be of uniform and proved good breed. To get a general average of good milk, an all round rich supply, alike in quality and quantity, the cows must be of the best class all round. Some of our settlers do pay attention to the question of this breed, and endeavour each year to improve their herds, but they go about the said effort for improvement without any proper system, and consequently the last state of the herd is very little better than the first. They get a bull as to whose pedigree they know very little more than the previous owner can tell them, which is not much, except that it is descended from a milk breel, say a Jersey, or an Ayrshire, but to what extent this milk breed is present in the bull they do not know ; perhaps his mother or grandmother was a Hereford ora Durham, and soon the settler finds that, instead of getting offspring with good “ dairy qualities,” he finds that the “beef quality” is present in a much higher degree. Now the only way to obviate this very unsatisfactory, expensive and disappointing state of things is to follow the system in force in Denmark and known as “ breeding in grades.” The

best cows, that is those that are both good milkers and of good constitution for breeding, are selected, and a bull of prominent and proved milk breed is purchased and used for the selected animals. A new bull of the same breed is purchased every third year and used for the offspring, the heifer calves being reared in the most careful manner and not covered before they are two years old. After such a systematic breeding, a constantly valuable breed naturally springs into existence, and beasts of high-class degree can be produced in the district itself. But, as some of our readers will no doubt point out, such a system as that which is recommended above would be far too expemdve for each farmer. So it is. and it is lustherewhere the

seetheway they get over the difficulty in Denmark. The Danes, who have reduced dairying

CO-OPERATIVE BULL ASSOCIATION.

to a science and who are constantly giving us wrinkles, have long ago recognised the

benefit of co-operation, which principle, as we now proceed to show, they extend to the breeding of good milk-giving cows. What are called “ Bull Associations ” are to be found all through the dairying districts in Denmark and Sweden, and are of the greatest importance. The Danish Government, we might add, pay a yearly grant in. aid to such associations of L 2700, but we believe that with a little goodwill and enterprise New Zealanders might adopt the idea without having to solicit the aid of the Government. In order that our readers who are interested in dairying may fully understand the principle on which these associations are run we now append the rules .as follow :

1. Members. —Any person in the district who has got one or more cows fit for improvement. 2. Capital according to the cost of the bull ; this cost is divided in equal shares between the members.

3. Managing Committee consists of five or six of the members. Amongst them one is elected chairman and one appointed secretary. The committee’s duties are—to buy one bull of prominent milk breed, particularly suitable for the land where the association is formed; to select the best cows from each member’s herd, and to make new selections of cows necessary from time to time ; to inspect place where bull is kept, and to see that he is well fed and attended to.

4. Meetings.—Association to have two general meetings each year. Committee has power to call a special meeting at any time to consider any matter of importance.

5. Foundation stock to consist of the first selected bull and cows. 6. No bull to be in the association more than three years. 7. A herd-book to be kept by the secretary.

8. Selected bulls and cows, as well as their offspring, to be registered in the said herd-book.

9. Every member to hand in to the secretary the date of calving of cow, if bull or heifer.

10. Keeper of bull to band in to the secretary the date of service of bull, name of owner of cow, and cow’s name and service fee every month. 11. Service fee charge is so provided that it will cover the expense for keep of bull, and also make provision for a new bull at the end of three years. 12. Service fee to be paid at time of service.

13. Service. —If necessary cow is allowed two services, but not more than two. 14. Each member to be responsible for the fees for quantity of cows selected from his stock.

15. Limited number of cows, ninety. 16. If the registered (selected) do not number ninety any other cow may be served up to that number, but neither this cow nor its offspring to be registered in the herd-bcok.

17. Any non-member shall pay servicefee twice the amount of the members.

18. In case of accident the bulls are kept insured. 19. Each member to hand in to the secretary at the end of each year a milk record for each cow registered, the tests to be taken regarding both quality and quantity not less than twice per month.

The above rules are of course open to alteration and improvement to suit colonial requirements, but we see no reason why such a system of cooperation in breeding should not be introduced lie re. At any rate the subject is well worth discussion by those engaged in the dairy industry, and we shall be "lad to njceive and publish the

Reliable statistics tell us that some million carcases o frozen mutton are an nually shipped from the Australasian colonies to England. The shippers of this valuable output receive in due course sale accounts and money, after which very little is knowp, at this side, of the method of distribution, or by what class of people foreign mutton is used. The quantity of frozen meat sent to the United Kingdom from America and the colonies must be very considerable, and is yearly on the increase, and, notwithstanding the very large population to be supplied, must have an appreciable effect on the home supply. | Yet the price of English and Scotch mutton does not seem to he affected to any apparent extent, tty latest Home files we notice that at many of the markets sheep were selling at from 6d to 7d per lb, and when we add to this the butcher’s profit, the cost of slaughtering, and that.much of the carcase will have to be sold at a considerable reduction, we need not feel surprised to learn that in the large centres the primest joints will fetch as high as lOd per lb. A recent visitor to the United Kingdom informed us the other day that a lady iu London

THE FROZEN MUTTON TRADE

told him that lOd was the average price paid by her for mutton chops, and from Is to 2s 2d for bsef steak. Yet there are people who say that colonial, or, to be more exact, New Zealand mutton, is equal to the average English quality. If that is so, and it seems unaccountable that middle class people at Home will pay such a price whilst they can purchase equally as good an article for half the money, it is. evident to the most casual observer -that a large proportion of the British public have a very strong objection to foreign meat of any kind, and that they will only use it when it is palmed off on them as a home product. That this is a fact can hardly be disputed, for notwithstanding the large quantity of frozen mutton arriving in London weekly, a person can see but very few shops where it is retailed. It must be ,sold to somebody, and if not purchased by the middle and lower class housewives at the retail shops, then it is evident that it either must be disposed of in large quantities to the hotels and restaurants, or under the guise of British mutton to the general public. Perhaps both these suppositions are correct. We believe there is a good deal of prejudice against frozen mutton among the lower class people, not that it is not far superior to the quality of the home grown product, which they purchase from the middle-class retailer, but because they have no idea of treating or cooking the meat. It is a notorious fact that the average British housewives, especially the women of the. working classes, ore the least thrifty, and the worst cooks of their kind in Europe. Cooking, as an art, as it is practised on the Continent, has yet to be learned by the average British .matron. The Englishman is used to it, and being by nature and training a conservative, is often very apt to sneer at the many dishes, made up of the simplest ingredients, which go to make up the bill of ■wire in a Continental restaurant. It i 3 not a great exaggeration to say that there is more meat wasted in many an English household than is eaten in a Bimiliar one in France or Germany, not but that the quantity served up in those countries gives more satisfaction and is certainly more appetising. It is very apparent til it frozen mutton must be treated hein a different manner to home mutton. Except by the well-to-do, middle and upper classes there are no proper conveniences for keeping meat for any length of time, consequently it is only purchased as it is required. It is to th& interest of the retailer to keep the imported article at as low temperature as possible, and to retard the thawing, process. This beins the case the joint is generally in normal condition of homegrown mutton on the outside, whilst the middle is frozen. The cooking of meat in this state is very detrimental to its flavout and colour. The outside is practicalk cooked by the time the interior if thoroughly thawed, and the moistun which has been liberated by the heat instead of being di-wed as in properlj thawed meat to evaporate, is spread through the joint, giving it a flabby watery, and ill-cooked appearance Hence it is that frozen mutton is helc in such low repute by the people a Home, for whom it should be th< greatest boon. The people who hav<

r whose opinions are quoted with much satisfaction by the press of this colony are generally of that class who understand how frozen meat should be treated, but they are not the class amongst whom the colonial meat grower must expect to find the bulk of consumers. The class whom he has to deal with are those who require to have the meat thoroughly thawed and ready to put into the oven when they purchase it. These people will not do this for themselves, so it will bo necessary if the colonial exporter wishes to popularise his goods to do it for them, and so long as the distribution rests in the hands of the middlemen and the retailers, so long will our frozen mutton be held in bad odour, and sold at a price, comparatively speaking, below its market value. Although no very definite information is to hand as to where the great bulk of our mutton is consumed, it is very safe to say that it is purchased by the proprietors of hotels and restaurants, who, having proper appliances for thawing, pass it off on their customers as the best English or Scotch, without the consumer being any wiser. We can never expect to have our frozen mutton indus try placed on a proper and remunerative footing until the colonial Governments take joint action, establish central depots under suitable supervision for its sale, display it in the most suitable places, and deliver it to the consumer thoroughly thawed and ready for cooking. |

The excellence of the work done by the Agricultural Depart-

FOR THE settler’s LIBRARY.

ment in the issue of pamphlets, reports, leaflets and other pub-

lications on subjects of special and important interest to the formers should earn for the department the gratitude of the country settlers. We have frequently referred to the admirable work done in this direction by the department of which Mr Ritchie is the industrious and able chief, and can assure that gentleman and his officers that their efforts are well appreciated and that it is now widely recognised that the department is one of the most useful and best conducted in the public service. A recent and valuable publication of this department i 3 the Report of the Government Biologist for 1894-95, reprinted from the annual report of the Department of Agriculture for 1895. Professor Kirk deserves the highest credit for the practical character and general utility of the various papers included in this publication, including the leaflets for farmers and leaflets for gardeners and fruit-growers issued during the official year. The leaflets, as most of our readers are aware, have been reprinted in the columns of this journal as they appeared, but their republication in a collected arid handy form affords an opportunity to farmers and others interested to keep them for ready reference. Copies cf the publication can be, we notice, procured Jree of charge from any stock inspector, and a more useful addition to a farmer’s library cannot well be imagined. Another excellent publication which, although primarily intended for the use of British farmers and stockbreeders, contains a great variety of information calculited to be of no small utility to the colonial country settler, is the Live Stock Journal Almanac for 1896, published by Vinton and Co., 9 New Bridge-street, London. E.C., to whom we are indebted for the issue now under notice. Messrs Vinton and Co. have a wide reputation in the Old Country as publishers of farming journals and books arid pamphlets on i all kinds of agricultural subjects, but 1 this Live Stock Journal Almanac of I theirs deserves special notice as a publication of particular value. Published at the modest price of a shilling, | it is a bulky volume of some 300 pages, and includes as contributors some of the best recognised Home authorities in all kinds of stock. The number and variety of the articles, many of which are, well illustrated, are too great to allow of our reviewing each in detail, but we may biiefly refer to a few of the leading features of a p iblication which is a perfect marvel of cheapness. Articles on the horse are contributed by Sir Walter Gil bey Bart, Captain Hayes, the well-known AngloIndian expert, Vere Shaw, G. Stowe, and others. Mr W. Carruthers, F.R.S., writes on “ Feeding Pastures,” and some very interesting and valuable articles on dairy cattle and dairying appear from the pens of Professor Sheldon, Dr Fleming (Diseases among Calves), Professor Blundell, T. C. Smith and others. The articles on

are numerous and both interesting and informative, besides which there are articles on pig-breeding, dogs, and poultry and others of general interest to the farmer. What we said as to last year’s Almanac we say again, that it is a publication which every New Zealand farmer who wishes to be well posted up in the latest knowledge of all branches of agriculture and stock breeding as carried on in the Old Country should not fail to procure. Our readers can order the Almanac through any country bookseller, or through the booksellers advertising in the Mail, who will procure and supply the book at a slight advance on the English price.