AGRICULTURAL JOTTINGS

New Zealand Times, Volume LV, Issue 9971, 4 August 1893, Page 4

AGRICULTURAL JOTTINGS

The Leeds Mercury says :—Centrifugal cream separators arc now so largely used in this country that attention ought to bo called to a danger which is always an accompaniment to the terrific speed with which the bowls revolve. ‘La Patriots',’ a daily paper published at Brussels, has given an account of a terrible accident which Ims recently occurred at tho dairy belonging to Count do Villermont, Saint Bock Castle, Couvin. A cream separator had boon recently placed in this dairy, which was capable of a speed of 3000 revolutions a minute. At a time when the bowl was revolving at the rate of 2500 revolutions a minute it suddenly burst, wrecking everything in the dairy and seriously injuring four men and a woman. One of the men Gerald Ta» sot, had his log fractured in severa places, and his injuries were expected to terminate fatally. Pew persona realise the terrific speed with which these bowls revolve, or the danger which always exists of their bursting under such pressure. In this case tho fragments of iron Hying about broke everything in the dairy into small pieces, carried the window bodily awaj, and Made deep holes in tho wall s and ceiling, the damage being estimated at Ll6O.

Mr 11. N. Tanner, of Tai Tapu, Canterbury, made from his seven cows from Juno 20, 1593, to June 20, 1893, 21G3Jlbs of butter, which realised in Christchurch market L9O 19s 6d, or Ll2 19sll l-7d per cow. A radical change, says tho Queenslander, is taking place in the method of paying for milk at butter factories. Until lately it was considered fair dealing when tho milk supplier was paid for the number of gallons he took to the factory, but the invention of simple testing apparatus such as that of Dr Babcock has disclosed such important variation in the quality of different samples of milk that tho absurdity qf the prevailing system was recognised, and now it is becoming a common practice at Southern butter factories to test the milk supplied by each contributor and pay for it accordingly At the Grasmere factory, in Victoria, instructions were lately given to tho manager to test the milk received from the various suppliers, with the result that some startling facts were disclosed. The Weigall tester was used, and that the appliances were correct is shown by tho fact that the actual total yield of butter from the whole of the milk was within a few pounds of the estimate based upon the percentage of butter fat shown by the tester. In the case of one supplier it was found that the 136 gallons which he supplied contained 4'5 percent of butter fat and produced 2291 b of butter, while another furnished 141 gallons which gave only 3'5 per cent of butter fat, or 1821 b of butter. Tho consequence was that the former received L 8 12s Qd for his 436 gallons of milk, while the latter received only L 7 17s Id for a greater quantity, 441 gallons. Wherever the now system has been adopted it has been received with favour by all the suppliers except those who were in the habit of sending inferior milk. One of the greatest advantages of a general adoption of the system of payment by results will be the consequent improvement in tho quality of the dairy herds, ns owners will find it unprofitable to retain cows which yield poor milk. It may interest dairy farmers (says the H.B. Herald) in this province, and some who are not dairy farmers, but ought to be, to know that from 20 to 25 boxes ot butter come to Napier every week from outside Hawke's Bay, We have made inquiries and know seven firms who get butter every week Most of it comes from Taranaki, but some is sent from Palmerston North, Each box contains an average of from 561 b to 601 b of butter, so that it is understating the fret when we say that half a ton of butter comes to Napiet weekly from outside the district. That means in round numbers LSO a week sent away that might be kept in the place if our wants were capable of being supplied locally.