NOTES AND NOTIONS FOR COUNTRY SETTLERS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1404, 26 January 1899, Page 4

NOTES AND NOTIONS FOR COUNTRY SETTLERS.

Specially War ten and Compiled fok, the New Zealand Mail.) “’POSSUMS” AND THE FRUITGROWING INDUSTRY.

A valued contributor, “ Rimu,” sends lus the following indignant protest | against the ill-considered action of the Acclimatisation Societies :—“ I am more j than surprised that no protest has been raised against the introduction of the opossum by the fruit-growers and farmers on the Manawatu Line. Surely this must be due to ignorance of the historical past orchard ravages of that furry pest. Some years ago, when over in. Tasmania and Australia, I ..found the opossum an enemy to the fruit-grower. The orchardist has now to fight bugs and blights of all kinds in winter and summer, and during tlie bearing season ho has to be on the alert from early dawn till dim twilight watching and warding off sparrows, tuis, thrushes, blackbirds, etc., etc., and now, added to all this a nocturnal thief is quietly set down in his neighbourhood to disturb his sleep. Will life then be worth living for the fruit-grower in the vicinity of a rangey forest or native bush reserve ? It is about time that our legislators and acclimatisation people exercised a little more judgment and philosophic common sense instead of being swayed by tlieir fancies and feelings. It would seem as if the countryman has got to provide sport sport and amusement for the townsman at all hazards, and at the rural worker’s cost of having his crops and his corn stolen or destroyed. Apart from the mere amusement and sentimental sid< of this acclimatisation craze and weak ness on the part of Parliaments, is there not some natural philosophy that would guide our acclimatisation societies and our legislators to act with greater caution, when they find Nature in years gone by has provided the most profitable and the best possible for the environment conditions of soil, plant, and climate by balancing insect, bird, and bea3t life in natural selective proportions. Granted! the conditions are changing, but even that is only relative, and that very fact should lead to the greatest caution, as it cuts in a two-edged-sword way, for do not the nature, instincts, and proclivities of acclimatised birds and beasts, reptiles and insects undergo great changes under new environment ? What Ido raise my voice against is the scanty attention that is paid' to the great problems underlying acclimatisation, and that societies and legislators are influenced more by sportive instincts than by reason of wisdom and positive knowledge. Are we in this free and liberal country not setting up a worse form of the gamekeeper and the covert -preserve than is even found in Britain ? Our Acclimatisation Society people may not recognise the Golden Rule, but things must be coming to a pretty pass when our legislators seem to have forgotten its application to the rustic toiler and the rural worker. Is the future fruit industry of this Province to be strangled, mangled, and maimed because of the whims and fancies of some, and the sporting proclivities of others ? Let us hope that a little more consideration and deliberation will characterise in future our Parliament when dealing with acclimatisation, and that more wisdom, prudence, and love, and less selfishness and self-interest will be shown by acclimatisation societies.”

CROSS-BREEDNG. Judging from articles appearing in the section of the Press in England specially devoted to the interests of agriculture, it would appear that the value of cross-breeding in the production of superior meat, so long familiar to cattle breeders, has only recently begun to dawn on pig breeders. A writer in “ Farmer and, Stock Breeder,” writing from actual experience on the subject, points out that many of the pure-bred pigs have been so bred that they arc unsuitable for bacon. When finished, they will probably weigh twenty scores and upwards, and “ when split down there will bo on the back something like Gin or Bin of solid fat.” This, he states," our forefathers would boil and eat cold and consider it a ,most delicate, sweet, and mellow dish.” But this taste has nearly, if not quite, gone, and “ the great object now is to provide sides of bacon and hams containing as much lean flesh as possible.” As the cattle brooders !, -ug since discovered that the beautifully marbled beef of Scotland was not to be found in pure breeds of catlo but in judicious crosses, so the pig breeders now discover that the finely marbled bacon must be sought in crossing the breds of pigs, and, like the Scottish cattle breeders, they find that for breeding purposes in pigs the first cross is the best animal. The difficulty is to findthe proper breeds to cross. The writer of the article under notice found such a cross to be that betwen a Berkshire and a large Yorkshire or Tam worth. Here, again, the experience of the cattle breeders is reproduced. The Berkshire, like the Shorthorn is a quick feeder, and strongly inclined to lay on an undue quantity of white fat; while the Yorkshire or Tamworth, like the Galloway or West Highlander, runs too much in an opposite direction. It is the blending of these two qualities that produces the beautifully marbled meat so much desired by the present-day consumer. The ideal pig of the writer of the article is that produced by mating a Berkshire boar and a Tamworth sow. They produce good litters, strong and , healthy from birth, grow to a large size,

are light in offal, feed quickly, and the quality of their flesh is unsurpassed. SEPARATING CREAM WITH WATER. This (says a contributor to the “American Agriculturalist”) is not to be recommended for general use. It rests theoretically upon the fact that cream is a trifle lighter than water and milk is heavier than water, ivhile skim milk is heavier than whole milk. In theory, then, if milk and water bo mixed there will be a tendency to separate. This causes currents in the fluid and the cream will rise to the top, the skim milk go to the bottom, and the water will be in a layer between the two. The trouble in practice is that the separation will be imperfect. Some fat will be left in the milk and some water in both cream and milk. The skim milk will, in fact, be badly watered and the cream will also be diluted somewhat, so as to lack body. It can be churned with no difficulty, but most people would object to the cream itself if placed on the market. The most serious objection, however, is that there is a loss of butter fat. In some cases the fat will rise to the surface without very serious loss, but as a rule separating by water dilution is wasteful. The bulk of cream may be satisfactory t*' the eye, but it is a diluted cream. The best way by all odds to get pure sweet cream is to use a cream separator. These machines are a perfect success. They will skim thick cream, or thin cream, or of any desired richness, and have it all done, if desired, within five minutes from the time the last cow is milked. I have tried shallow pan setting, and the separator, and the latter is far ahead from every standpoint.

SCALDING AND PASTEURISING. A correspondent of an Australian paper wishes to know the difference between scalded milk and pasteurised milk. The following interesting remarks are made in answer: The question is frequently asked by householders who are anxious to learn whether the old process of scalding milk is as useful for improving the keeping quality as pasteurisation. The actual difference between the two is in practice practice than in principle. Pasteurising may be described as scalding on scientific lines; scalding is an imperfect operation which aims at the same results as pasteurisation. The housekeeper usually places the vessel containing the milk in another containing water, and heats it till she believes the proper temperature is reached. Some place the pans on an oven and heat until steam begins to rise at the edges, then lift the pans off and set them for cream. This practice is a kind of cream pasteurisation in the rough, the object being to keep the cream long enough to make up a good churning of fresh butter when the weather is very hot. In pasteurising the milk is treated as it runs through tne machine or apparatus. In some the milk is treated by flowing over ribbed hot plates and in other by flowing through hot spaces of varying construction. The result is much the same as in scalding. The milk having been heated to a certain temperature, from 160 degrees to 180 degrees, many of the forms of bacteria are destroyed, while the action of others is suspended. The milk is cooled down by being run over coolers, and this gives the pasteurised milk an advantage over ordinary scalded milk. When the temperature of milk is raised to say 165 degrees F., and the fluid is then allowed to cool gradually while exposed to the air, it soon becomes re-impregnated with bacteria and it will not. keep much longer than ordinary milk.

HOME PASTEURISATION. The housekeeper can substitute the process of pasteurising for scalding or boiling by following a very simple plan. It is necessary to obtain some good pint or quart jars or bottles. These should be heated gradually in an oven so as to make sure that all organisms are killed before the milk is introduced. A pail or pan with a false bottom is then .filled with sufficient cold water to take the jars up to the necks. The jars are filled with fresh milk and set in the water and the pail or pan, jars and all, are placed on the stove. The fire must be a slow one, and the heating gradually up to 160 degrees F. The temperature may be taken -*-h an ordinary thermometer, and no guess work should be indulged in at any time. If jars are used the covers are then put on, or if bottles stoppers, not corks, must bo used. Place the pail at the back of the oven, and 'et it remain there for twenty minutes. After that the jars or bottles are removed and cooled down as rapidly as possible. If ice is available the milk should afterwards be placed on it and kept at a low temperature. The cooling restores the tone of the milk, and improves the flavour by getting ; rid of the cooked taste which is always noticeable n scalded milk. This milk is excellent for family use, and although the process takes some space to describe it is an easy one to follow when all the apparatus is at hand.

NEW AND OLD WHEAT FOR FLOUR. A computation regarding the value of flour made from new and old wheat has been made, from which it appears that wheat ground soon after harvest contains about 2.51 per cent, of sugar, 5.48 per cent, of soluble extracts, 12.00 per cent, total albuminoids, and 1.00 per cent, of soluble albuminoids. On the other hand, flour made from conditioned wheat contains as much as 2.59 per cent, of sugar, about 4.88 per cent, of soluble extracts, 11.00 per cent,.

total albuminoids, and only 40 per ent. of soluble abuminoids. The milling and baking value of flour made from conditioned! wheat is superior to the nulling and baking value of flour made from newly-harvested wheat in thre ways—(l) It contains lessi soluble albumen to interfere with fermentation (z) it contains more sugar, and this would assist fermentation; and (3) the gluten, being more highly developed, wovlci take up and retain more' water in th process of breadmaking. Bread made from wheat flour should! contain starch and sugar, protein matter and fat, in well-baldnced proportions. A certain definite proportion exists between the starch and sugar in wheat flour, and any addition of cornflour increases inordinately the proportion of starchy matter, so that the bread made from such a flour would not bo a well-balanced food. In order to make it so the consumer Would have to eat additional quantities of meal containing certain proportions of fat. BRITISH BREEDS IN AMERICA. I will now deal (says “ Lana ” in an exchange) with two 1 breeds, the Hampshire Down and Dorset Horn, two types of which record books have been sent me. The Hampshire Down Breeders’ Association of America, although not ancient origin, has already issued four Volumes of record. It has its headquarters at Mercer, Pa., and the secretary is Mr John J. Gordon. It has 10a breeders on the roll. In looking over the articles of constitution I came abros3 one that, although quite correct, will startle some of out breeders somewhat. It reads: —Breeders of Hampshre Down sheep who are of good moral chaacter may become members of the asso ciation.” This is a clause that mav well be inserted in every slieepbreeclors' association. Article 7 says, “ The secretary and treasurer shall give bond ill the sum of one thousand dollars, orditioned for th@ faithful performance of bis duties.’ 1 This and other stringent regulations point to the fact that the association is Conducted on a strong and lasting basis. The entries of stud animals are also regulated by stringent conditiobCi But the matter of real Interest to our breeders is the standard of excellence adopted by the association, and: this is:—Head: moderately large, but not coarse, well covered with wool on forehead and cheeks, nos tril wide, eyes prominent and lustrovu ears moderately long and thin, ftrtd dark brown and black colour; Points: siafe and shape; 5; Pats and eyes, 3, pftirtttr, 6; : Well under outside body; Straight, with good size of bone, Qdlour, black; points, 2. Neck: A regular taper from shoulders to head, j without any hollow in front of shorn- i d'ers, set high up on body; points, 5. j Shoulders: Sloping, full, and not higher j than the line of back and neck; points, I 10. Chest: Deep and full in the heart i place, with breast prominent and tail. | points, 15. Body: Back, straight; with.: full spring of rib; Loift: Wide find j Straight; without depression in front j! ' hips j •points, 15; Quarters: Long from , nips to rump, without sloping, and deep in thigh. Broad in hips and rump, i with full bams. Inside of thigiis. full, I points—Length; 10; width, 10; twist, 2 \ belly well Covered; 3; th Total number of points, 100. # ln New I Kealafid the Hampshire Down is not ! liked by many farmers. I hey are good doers, will thrive on anything, 6. Wool points: Forehead and cheeks from luxuriant grasses to cabbage stalks. The ewes are prolific and good mothers, and th* lamb matures early. Very little is known of the Dorset Horn in Australia, although I saw, a number of them ia New Zealand, which climate suits them admirably. I saw a few on the Government Farm at BfethllrSt, N.8.W., J£r BrUcC, Chi&f Inspector o*. StoCk; belkviug that the breed would <dO well in that colony. It is, however, too soon to speak in confirmation, or i otherwise, of his views. This sheep ia a white-faced, horned, and short-1 short-woolled animal foundi on the' chalk hills of Dorsetshire, in England, i The history of its origin nas been lost, j They were very hardy, and are ccle-; brated for the extreme earliness of the time in which they bring for h their lambs. The mutton is of good rUA u . Rams will .shear up to. 12tb r.(U pwca to 7ib. Thais weights were t.kcn in England after the aheap had been pool washed. In America tils breed is he'd in high estimation, ahd there, is afrr> n Dorset Kuril Six eßpbr Seders’ Asa-.B.iv-tiofi; of wbM Mf M. A. Cooped is secretary. Although this association was only formed in 1891, it has over 120 members on its roll. Ha* importations were made in 138 J. Tho niles anl regulations of this association are as stringent as those of cho j Hampshire Downs Association. The standard of excellence and the scale of poins agreed on are as fellows: “"General appearance i Head well up, eyes bright and alert, and Standing square On legs; points, 20; Broad, full Chest; brisket Well fur Ward { points, 10* Broad, Straight back, with well-sprung ribs; points, 15. Heavy, square quarters set on short, straight legs well apart; points; 10; Legs whit©; with small, light-coloured hoof; points. 0, Neck: Snort and round, set well ort shoulders; points, 5. Horn: Neat, curving forward, and light in Colour; points, 10; Good foretop and well covered on belly and legs; points, id. Wool of medium quality and good weight, presenting an even, smooth surface; Points, 10. Totaf number of points, 100. The horns of the Dorset are, as a rule, finely and evenly curled One good point of these sheep is the small head. I have not heard jet whether any successful atempt has been made to cross Dorset Horn with the ' merino. It would be worth while if - only for the sake of the early lambs ; and great hardiness. The wool I saw on 1 1

the New Zealand specimens was f.ir from being coarse, and it struck me at the time that it might be worth whi e to cross it with our merino.