1932 SHOW SEASON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21602, 24 March 1932, Page 3

1932 SHOW SEASON

FORTHCOMING EVENTS March 28.—Mackenzie County, at Fairlie March 28.—Strath-Taieri, at Middlernarch, March 31.—Otago Ram Fair. March 31.—Temuka and Geraldine.

Influence ot Calf-marking It should be unnecessary to emphasise the enormous value to the individual and to the industry of the marked calf. The establishment of this system has done more to place the industry on a stable basis than has any other movement. It has converted the purchase of dairy stock from a lottery into a sound business proposition. In order to secure marked calves the dairy farmer must have a pedigree bull, a fact which has been a remarkable boon to the breeder of pedigree cattle, while it has achieved by voluntary action what other countries arc doing by legal restrictive measures—the elimination of the scrub bull. Not only this, but the desirability of the marked calf has induced many thousands of farmers to milk more thoroughly and to milk their cows longer in order that the calves of these may be qualified. This better milking and longer lactation period has meant an increase in butterfat returns which has more than paid the cost of testing. Marked calves, because they are regarded as stock that will be definitely profitable, are better fed and better managed than ordinary calves, and this improved rearing and feeding is_ the best insurance we can have against disease and poor production. But the greater interest in dairy stock which has resulted from the marked calf system has also followed in the train of herd-testing in general. Apart from the family finding the business interesting instead of the drudgery when the cows were milked in the dark, share milkers and even assistants have had their interest aroused and now milk the cows better, handle them more carefully, and keep a keener lookout for the first symptoms of disease. And all this essential care and encouragement to better and more profitable work would be weakened if the testing system were weakened, if, instead of everyone on the farm being keyed up to better work every month, the incentive came only a few times a year. We heard it declared the other day by a man employing share milkers that he would willingly pay for fortnightly visits of the testing officer, as this would tend to keep the milking and the work in general more up to concert pitch. Important Cheese Experiments

The quality of New Zealand cheese has been the object of a good deal of controversy in recent times, and many causes have been advanced as to why our manufactured article in many instances has not reached the highest standard. There has been a tendency in some interested quarters to throw the blame on to high testing milk, despite the assurance of scientists that the richer the milk the better the cheese. In this connection it is interesting to note the results of recent, experiments conducted at Massey College in connection with the manufacture of good quality cheese. The side issue of fat content was evidently not allowed to cloud the main points of care in manufacture and the necessity of maturity, for the experiments were quite obviously designed to deal purely with these two latter factors, which, it has been shown, are the basis of good cheese production. Professor Riddet states that of 360 experimental cheeses made at the college under every variety of condition, to agree with the variations found in ordinary factory work, the best cheese was that held at 60 degrees, and was not cut until four and a-half months old. They had developed a true cheddar flavour, and were described by Mr Ross, who was inspecting New Zealand cheese in London for some years, as the cheese wanted on the London market. One important fact mentioned by Professor Riddet was that, with proper curing openness in body tended to disappear. Cheese cut at different stages of maturity showed different stages of openness, those held for the longer periods being infinitely closer. All the milk used in the experiments was pasteurised. The outstanding fact was that the proper maturing of cheese was necessary to obtain a high-class article.

Minerals for Stock There is certainly sufficient justification from scientific experiment and practical experience for the discreet use of mineral supplements on the farm. In some cases immediate benefits may be derived, and in others it may take many months in the-lifetime of the individual animal to demonstrate observable effects. But of even greater importance yet is the probability that by correcting existing mineral deficiencies, or even by supplying. rather more of certain factors than would appear theoretically to be necessary, the feeding may be so improved as to bring about a corresponding improvement in the general nutritional condition. -The stock feeder cannot be better occupied than in the study of modifications of his feeding methods, with a view to bring about improvements in growth, in increased vitality and longevity, and in freedom from (Jisease. Digestibility of Food For a_ proper understanding of the characteristics of a food it is necessary to know not only the proportion of it that is digested, but also the rate at which it passes through the body. It has been found with fowls and pigeons fhat the undigested matters from grain foods began to appear in the droppings within two hours of feeding, but traces still appeared 120 hours later. Hard food passed more slowly thin soft food. Increasing wetness of the food facilitated its passage. In the case of sheep, finely-ground oats suspended in water and given as a drink began to pass through in 12 hours, wmle whole oats took 14 to 19 hours before the first signs began to appear in the faeces. The greatest excretion took place oil the second day,, the amount then falling steadily to the seventh and ninth day, after which only very small amounts remained to be excreted.