JOTTINGS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1266, 4 June 1896, Page 5

JOTTINGS.

A pathetic story is told by a Sydney pastoral paper. A letter was received by tbo editor in which the writer said, " I am sending down by to-day's train a haggis made by my wife, who, I am proud to say, comes from the same shire in Scotland as you do. lam sure you will have a great treat when you taste it. Wo take a great interest in your artielcs in your valuable- journal, which we borrow from a neighbour." " This," remarks the recipient, " was a pleasant letter to receive, and we were flattered by it. A Scotchman came to the office soon after, and wo told him about it. He thought it would be a good idea to call a few clansmen together and bavo a wee drappie on the occasion of receiving tho present. When the haggis arrived there was 4s 6d to pay for carriage, and when the box was opened it was found to contain tho wobbly, ill-smelling viscera of a sheep, and the assembled Scotchmen laughed mightily at what they called the joke. As for us we have not been able yet to sco exactly where the joke comes in, especially as wo are 4s 6d out of pocket over this disreputable transaction."

A contributor to the Xorlh British Agriculturist says:—" Coming along tho road tho other day 1 met a man driving some half-bred ewes and lambs. As the hitler seemed numerous for the number of ewes, I asked the shepherd bow many lambs there were ; ho replied 24. ' What!' said 1, 'there are only eight ewes?' ' Well, that's naething,' said he ; ' we had 13 yowes with 3 lambs each ; only yin o' the yowes had twa, an' ,1 lambs deed, a' the rest are daoin' wee!.' The ewes and lambs, it is stated, are the proper'y of Mr Joshua Figlands, Hall Bank, Aspatria;" but the account would be more instructive if particulars of tho breeding were given.

Tho result of scmo valuable experiments in the cold storage of fruits has been made known to tbo Canadian Government. The deductions are :—l, fruit for storage should bo picked when fully grown, but before it has thoroughly 'matured. 2. Early pears, peaches and tho larger varieties of plums should bo wrapped separately in tissue paper. 3. Tight wooden boxes are tho most satisfactory packages for storing and handling. When baskets are used they should be provided with strong " veneer" covers. 4. Stone fruits, such as peaches and plums, under ordinary circumstances, should not be held for a longer period than two or three weeks. 5. The marketing' season for early pears and apples may be extended from thirty to sixty days, and under favourable circumstances for a longer period.

To " Pasteurise " milk, it is heated to 140' to 175- Fahrenheit, while to "sterilise" it, the heat is raised to 212'. The object of applying heat is to destroy the bacteria which produce the changes called souring. At 212' Fahrenheit these bacteria are destroyed—hence the milk i 3 "sterile" or without life, so that it is said to bavo boon sterilised, and will keep sweet for some days—until new bacteria lire introduced. The disadvantage of tho sterilising is that tho milk has a scorched or " boiled" taste that is disagreeable to many. There is also a change in the physical properties of milk. For oxamplo, rennet used in this heated milk gives quite a different result from that found in raw milk. Whon tho milk is " Fag. teurised" or heated to something over 140' Fahrenheit, the active or living'germs are destroyed, and if tho milk is at once put in a cold place, where the action of bacteria is slow, it will keep sweet for several days—longer than ordinary raw milk under similar conditions. Tho " Fasteurised " milk does not have the "cooked" taste which is found in the " sterilised" product. Tho latter will keep sweeter longer, as, while a temperature of 140' destroys most of tho active bacteria, others are le-ft which, in time, develop and bring about a curdled condition, which is found to be different from that of ordinary sour milk. The wisest scientists now agree that the. best milk of all is pure, raw milk with as little change as possible between the healthy cow and the con. .sumer.

C. 1". Goodrich says in the Prairie F«,;„■,■: --As good a daily ration as I ever fed was for 10001 b cows in full How of milk, an average of 301 b of well eared corn ensilage, 101 b of good clover hay, what dry corn fodder and oat straw they would eat, probably 61b or 101 b, 51b of wheat bran, and 51b gluten meal. The protein in the bran and gluten meal balanced the excess of carbo-hydrates in the corn food. Clover hay is a fairly well balanced food for milk. If the main part of the coarse fodder is clover hay, it will do to feed more corn or cornmcal than if the coarse fodder is timothy hay and cornfodder. In the latter caso it will not do to feed much corn.

A statement was published recently by a correspondent of the Queenslandcr, Mr Mahon, that a butter average per cow of oOUlb in tho year bad been reached in America. This, says tho journal in question, has called forth expressions of incredulity from more than one loctd authority on dairying, and certainly it is not easy lo b'-lieve that any number < f cows could be got together which would bo capable of yielding 5001 b of butter in one year. Tests made at the Ontario (Canada) Agricultural College place the average much lower. Their am

over 4001 bof butter. The poorest cow gave 37761 b of milk, and 1431 b of butter.

Americans aim at a high standard of perfection in everything. The " giltedged" butter which has graced the table of the millionaire has had to give way to something higher still, and now perfumed butter is being served at all the dainty tables in New York whose owners can afford the new luxury. The butter is first made into pats, stainpod and wrapped in muslin, then laid on a bed of violets, rose leaves or carnations, another layer of flowers being put on the top ; afterwards placed on ice, and allowed to remain for several hours. The colonial consumers are satisfied with good fresh butter; but when we produce butter for export it may be well to keep this new fancy in mind. Packing in roso leaves would go a long way towards concealing the undesirable odour often developed by butter on a long sea voyage.