NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS. AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS. NEW ZEALAND MIDDLE ISLAND DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2051, 15 June 1893, Page 6

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL NEWS.

NEW ZEALAND MIDDLE ISLAND DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

ing room ; and, in fact, any conditions which would favour the growth of this particular ferment. There was no royal road to cheesemaking except by unremitting and absolute cleanliness, a cleanliness far beyond that which would satisfy the eye, and by careful attention to every detail in tlie manufacture, particularly fo the pr'dpei' control of all temperatures from first to last.

It is quite evident that unless every farmer and every holder of land takes care to keep in check the many and noxious weeds that have found a fdothold in our colony they will be found even more troublesome than the small birds and the rabbits. So far as the agriculturist is concerned the worst weed is the Calif ornian or Canadian thistle. This plant has received too little attention in the great majority of cases, because farmers with Home experience considered it nothing worße than the corn thistle, which was easily kept in check by hapd pulling before it seeded. Not so the Californian thistle, for it is propagated by both root and seed. Most other thistles are annual, but this objectionable specimen is perennial. The roots are jointed, and under favourable conditions from every joint a new plant springs. When left to its own devices a single plant soon throws its roots outward, until a dense patch completely encumbering the ground marks where the one plant sprang up. When once a large patch of this thistle is allowed to get a hold of the ground its eradication becomes a most difficult matter, as no amount of ploughing and grubbiDg will quite kill ifeout. Every jointed rootlet is potent for evil, and wherever it drops in the ground behind grubber or harrow ifc will take root. Some years ago I saw a farmer at North Taieri carrying a basket of gas lima on his plough stilt, and when he turned up a Californian thistle he cast a handful of lime about the cut root ; but it is evident from the increase of the pest in that locality that the first efforts to stamp out the weed have been unavailing. It has now made its appearance in isolated patches far and wide over Otago and Southland, as well as in other parts of the colony, and the time has come to take concerted action for its eradication, for if it is allowed to go on unchecked in time the best agricultural lands will become almost valueless. And just at this stage of my subject the query naturally arises, What is best to be done ? The answer to this query is not so easily given as asked. I believe it is the practice in some places where the weed has taken a strong hold on some of the very best alluvial soils in Otago to lightiy plough the thistle down before it blooms. This is the practice generally resorted to, I am informed, on the Molyneux island, where the pest has spread with amazing rapidity. This method in the heat of summer has the advantage of providing a wholesome check at a minimum cost ; but it is merely a check, for the following season there is a succeeding crop of thistles, but, of course, not so densely packed together. In dealing with the Californian thistle, it should be an axiom that prevention is better than cure. Every farmer should therefore make it a moral obligation, not only in his own interest, but also in that of the community, to completely outroot every plant of the thistle as soon as he discovers it. If this only had been done at the first there would be no need for special legislation now to compel farmers to do their duty. In the vicinity of the Stirling railway station a few years ago the plant was first seen in the Clutha district, although it is reported to have existed at Clydevale and elsewhere up the river before that time. Had the railway people cleared out the thistle on the railway line then, the Clutha district might have been tolerably clean yet ; although I have heard it said that the seed came down the river in the flood of 1878, and so spread the thistle over the lowlands. Be this as it may, yet the fact remains that in the neighbourhood of Stirling, and in the adjoining Inch-Clutha, the weed is worse than almost anywhere else in the colony. The complete eradication of the thistle means hand grubbing on both private and Crown lands, as no system of wholesale extermination has proved entirely satisfactory. I should like to warn farmers who have not seen the weed at its worst to completely outroot every plant they come across. Fault is often found with Government for attempting too much domestic legislation, and the cry is raised of interference with the liberty of the subject ; yet when the subject acts in such a manner, or neglects to act, so as to injure his neighbour, it is best for the community at large that his liberty to do harm should at least be curtailed. Although the law does not compel landholders to keep down noxious weeds in England at the present time, it did so in Scotland at one time. In the reign of Alexander 11, about 1220, a statute directed against the corn thistle was enacted. It denounced the man to be a traitor " who poisons the king's lands with weeds, and introduces into them a host of enemies " Bondsmen who had this plant in their fields were fined a sheep for each stalk, and courts were held in which farmers who had three heads or upwards of the weed in their growing crops were fined. In Trance a farmer may sue his neighbour who neglects to destroy the thistles upon his land at the proper season, or may employ people to do it at the other's expense. We have therefore good predecent for legislation on this subject. When the extreme carelessness of gome farmers is noted, nothing short of drastic legislation will help them to do what ought to be their duty to themselves and to their neighbours. Undue interference in the shape of paternal legislation must be reprehended ; but where the continued welfare of the whole community is at stake governments, like individuals, must not be troubled with too many qualms of conscience. Legislation of this kind involves expense in the shape of inspection ; but there is no reason why the rabbit and stock inspectors should not have these matters added to their ordinary duties. In view of the approaching legislation, every landholder should prepare to meet it by attending to the thistles at once, and it is to be hoped that ample provision will be made for the care of unoccupied Crown lands, where the greatest danger lies. By far too little attention is paid to providing ' suitable feed for dairy cows in "Winter Veert winter, and the poor quality of for the feed has a great deal to do Dairy Coivs. the poor quality of the butter produced on the farm during the winter months. The general plan is to feed the milking cows with oat straw and turnips, giving the cows as many of the latter as they care to eat. The milk from cows fed in this way is thin and poor and the cream tainted with the flavour of turnips. As a food the turnip possesses a very low value, the principal part of its weight and bulk being water. Turnips contain about 92 per cent, of water, and the carbo-hydrates possess a low feeding value. When this is remembered it will readily be seen that the turnip is not the best plant to grow tor winter feed for dairy

Domestic Legislation.

cows, and instead of ordinary straw it would be found to pay better to feed a few o^ten sheaves as well to the cows night and morning. Hay does not possess so high a feeding Value as oaten sheaves, and the latter are easier grown in most cases than good grasses for haymaking. If oaten sheaves, cut before ripe, were used more and turnips less, there would be more good farm butter in the market during winter, the time when it pays best. Some of the larger kinds of potatoes now grown would be a good mixture to add to the winter feed of cows, and mangels should certainly be grown more extensively than they are for winter feed to cows. Such plants as carrots and cabbage might be grown to a limited extent, as there is nothing like variety to produce a good flow of milk of good quality. I suppose almost every farmer in thil colony has heard or read of the agricultural experiments which have been carried on continuously at Rothamsted during the last 50 years by Sir John Lawes and his colleague, Dr Gilbert. These experiments were commenced in 1843, and in March last the Duke of Westminster convened a meeting of noblemen and gentlemen interested in agriculture to consider the best means of commemorating the completion of the half century that has elapsed since the beginning of Si? J. B. Lawes's great and useful work. H It H. the Prince of Wales presided, and said that he was very glad to assist in doing honour to one of the most distinguished of England's agriculturists and investigators. The Rothamsted experiments have been maintained during the whole time at the sole cost of Sir J. B. Lawes, who .has also recently made the magnificent endowment of £100,000 towards carrying on the work aftsr his death. This sum, together with the splendid laboratory and certain areas of land, are left in the hands of a trust nominated by himself. It was resolved that a public subscription, limited to 2gs, should be made for the purpose of erecting a granite memorial at the head of the experimental field, also for illuminated addresses to be presented to Sir J. B, Lawes and Dr Gilbert, and for commemorative pieces of plate for presentation to those gentlemen. The meeting comprised all the British professors of note, and all the "big bugs " in the agricultural line, and all were most unanimous in the opinion that a fitting recognition should be made of the difficulty, patience, expense, and trouble involved in carrying out a continuous succession of practical experiments during 50 years. In response to a vote of thanks to him as chairman the Prince of Wales said that nothing had given him greater pleasure and satisfaction than to take the chair on that occasion, and to testify, as an agriculturist, his own sense of gratitude for what Messrs Lawes and Gilbert had done for agriculture. Readers of the Witness probably noticad recently a paragraph in the Agricultural and Pastoral News describing a new method of heating skim milk for calves by putting a hot iron into the pail. I have heard of a pot of ale being quickly warmed for a storm-beaten traveller by putting a hot poker into it for a few moments, and mulled wine is heated in much the same way, and sweetened with sugar and spices. Skim-milk-fed calves are generally pot-bellied and stunted in size, and this is probably owing to the fact of a large quantity of hot water being added to the milk to heat it, the addition making the milk so weak that the calf's stomach is unduly distended by the large quantity it must drink, but which is not nourishing enough to make it 'grow and thrive. By heating the milk over the fire [without adding water the calf derives more benefit from a lesser quantity, but heating by a hot iron may be a better plan, as some chemical change may possibly be caused in that way. Much depends upon the age and quality of the skim milk. If the milk is left 36hr or even 48hr before being skimmed the poor calf must fare badly, but separator milk or milk skimmed at 24-hr after milking is not so bad if warmed without the addition of an equal bulk of water. The writer of the paragraph under notice said that he was shown a fine fat calf which had been fed upon skim milk heated by a red-hot iron, and he was told that it did not matter whether the milk was two or three days old if the hot iron method was adopted. At any rate the plan is one that can easily be tried, and the results compared with the usual method of feeding. A pail of milk heated by the iron, and sweetened by the addition of a pint of cheap molasses, would be a very acceptable drink for a calf on a cold night, just as a draught of mulled wine would warm up a belated traveller. Winter calves do not amount to much if nob specially well fed and housed, and now is a good time to try the hot iron and molasses. As showing the great saving effected in time and distance to be traversed in ploughing an acre I will quote from a calculation based upon different widths of furrow, from Bin to 12in. A single plough, swing or wheeled, taking an Bin furrow, must travel 13J miles ; in ploughing an acre with 9in furrow, 12^ miles ; with lOin furrow, 11 miles ; with 12in furrow, 8£ miles. A lOin furrow is about the average width, and that requires 11 miles to be walked in doing an acre. A doublefurrow plough travels in ploughing an acre : with furrow Bin wide, 6| miles ; with furrow 9in wide, 5£ miles; with furrow lOin wide, 5 5-16 miles ; with furrow 12in wide, 4 7-16 miles. Here we have 5 5-16 miles in which to travel in turning over an acre with double plough, taking a lOin furrow, as compared with 11 miles walked in doing an acre with a single plough at lOin furrow. If the calculation has been worked out correctly, the double plough takes less than half the distance travelled by the single plough at lOin furrow by three-sixteenths of a mile, which is 15 chains. I have not worked out this calculation, or verified it in any way, and I hope someone fond of figures will show me how this eayiDg of 15 chains in ploughing an acre is gained by a double plough over a single one, both taking a lOin furrow. Then, with regard to threefurrow ploughs, 3£ miles of walking will plough an acre with lOin furrow, so that in this calculation we gain more still over the single plough, for as the double plough travels less than halt the distance required by the single plough, go the treble plough goes less than one-third of the distance allotted to the single plough. Therefore if the gain would increase m the game ratio we could get a 10-furrow plough to do an acre in no distance at all. According to the table I am quoting from the distances traversed in ploughing an acre with an average furrow lOin wide are as follows .—Single plough, 11 miles ; double, 5 5-16 th; treble, 3£;~ 5 5-16 th is lesa than half of 11 miles by 15 chains and 3£ miles is less than one-third of 11 miles by 10 chains. Ageicola.

So important is the poultry industry in the State of Nebraska that the Government intend constituting a special branch in their agricultural department to look after its interests.

Sir J. B. Lawes's Jubilee.

A Table of Ratios.

Oitr Invercargill correspondent writes that afe a full meeting of the shareholders of the United Farmers' Agency Company it was resolved to merge the company into the J. t*. Ward Farmers' Association. By this arrangement over 300 farmers transfer their interests into the J. G. Ward Farmers' Association, and make it one of the strongest combinations of farmers and commercial interests on the co-operative principle ever established in Invercargill. The movement to establish a farmers' union for the southern counties of Otago is being favourably entertained by the several bodies concerned. The Tuapeka Times says:— "The Tuapeka Farmers' Union, at their meeting last Wednesday evening, resolved on co-operating with the Waitahuna Farmers' Club in an endeavour to establish a farmers' union comprising the counties of Taieri, Bruce, Clutha, and Tuapeka. The Tokomairiro Farmers' Club have also expressed itself as in hearty sympathy with the movement ; but replies have yet to be received from the Clutha and Taieri counties. There is, however, little doubt but they will also warmly welcome the suggestion, and throw themselves heartily into the movement. At present those clubs, standing alone, isolated and local in the sphere of their aims and influence, are simply wasting their strength in comparative idleness; while there are a hundred ways in which it could be serviceably utilised, not alone for the class they represent but for the entire country. For the present, at all events, owing to a variety of causes, amalgamations on a limited scale, Buch as that involved in the proposal made by the Waitahuna Farmers' Club, is not only preferable but more workable and quite as effective in its methods as the larger and more ambitious, as well as more unwieldy, organisation on which so many hopes were centred, and from which nothing but disappointment and demoralisation have resulted. We hope to see an energetic effort made by the farmers' organisations of the counties named, and a stroDg and permanent combination formed." The Queenslander takes a broad-minded view of Victoria's action with regard to the importation of New Zealand sheep. Our contemporary Bays :— " Yielding to the representations of Tasmania the Victorian Government has refused to fall in with the decision of the other Australian colonies to remove the embargo on New Zealand sheep. The ostensible reason for this is the existence of the sheep hot fly in New Zealand ; but the opinion is pretty prevalent that the real reason is no preserve their market for coarse-woolled stud Bheep. Seeing that the bot fly is much more prevalent in England than in New Zealand, and that English sheep are freely admitted into Tasmania and Victoria, it is difficult to understand this extreme caution on the part of those two colonies except on the above hypothesis. It is argued that they have special means of precaution in the case of English sheep in the 60 days' quarantine and disinfection at the port of arrival ; but these precautions have all along existed in New Zealand, and yet, it is said, the bot fly has obtained an entrance in some of the North Island flocks— for it has not been asserted that the fly is indigenous to New Zealand. The maintenance of the embargo, however, appears to have produced a different result from that intended, as it has diverted the New South Wales and Queensland demand for coarsewoolled sheep from Victoria to New Zealand. The former has hitherto been considered the Australian home of the Lincoln ; but within the past few months large purchases of that breed of sheep have been made in New Zealand on the part of Australian breeders ; in one instance 300 Lincoln ewes have been selected from the flock of Mr E. Menlove, near Oamaru, at 6gs a head." The Taieri Advocate of the 7th says :— " Last Monday a large number of sheep left Mosgiel consigned to the Christchurch Freezing Works. Mr John Nimmo, of East Taieri, forwarded 900, and Mrs C. Miller, of Maungatua, trucked 150 sheep to the Christchurch Freezing Works. They were mostly crossbreds, and were in excelleiat condition for freezing, being fat and healthy looking. It seems strange that the operations of the Christchurch establishment can be extended as far south as the Taieri with profit to the shareholders, and it is still more difficult to understand when we consider that there are refrigerating works a little more than half a dozen miles from Mosgiel railway Btation." American dairy authorities (says a writer in a Home Paper) sometimes make statements entirely at variance with conclusions supposed to bo well established. It is not long since one of the most noted among them declared that no material difference to the proportion or' fat in a cow's milk could be made by feeding, while a considerable difference could be made in the proportion of other solids—a conclusion precisely the converse of the opinion of English dairy experts. Now we have Professor Van Slyke, of the Geneva Experiment Station, New York State, declaring, as the result of six months' experimenting, that the amount of butter fat in milk determines its value for cheese-making as well as for butter-making, the casein in milk being in a certain proportion to the butter fat usually two partß of casein to three of butter fat ; also that milk containing 6 per cent, of fat would make twice as much cheese as milk containing 3 per cent, of that constituent. Such generalisations should not be made unless with the support of a sufficient array of evidence. They are traversed by the records of the milking trials carried on for several years at the London Dairy Show, which prove that there is nothing like a certain proportion of butter fat to other solids in milk, about twofifths of which consist of casein. Taking the records of 72 cows, whose milk was tested at the last two milking trials, we find the extreme range of butter fat 3'oß to 7 69 per cent., while that of other solids was only 804 to 9 88 per cent. Professor Sheldon gives as extremes I*B to 5*2 per cent, of butter fat, and 3 to 5 per cent, of casein. With such difference in the ranges of variation, there cannot be any near approach to correspondence in the percentages of fat and casein in milk. It is well known, too, that certain "fat" pastures produce milk rich in butter, and yet too poor in casein for advantageous cheese-making. A report on the potato disease experiments, carried out by the Irish Land Commission (Agricultural department) during season 1892, has just been issued. The experiments were (says the North British Agriculturist) carried out during the late autumn and summer, and were for the purpose of testing the value of applications of copper to the potato plant as a preventive of potato disease. For the purpose of the experiments two farms were taken near Tralee, Kerry; two near Clonakilby, Cork; two near Tramore, Waterf ord ; and three near Brookboro, Fermanagh. At each experimental station five-quarter acre plots were used, care being taken that they should be as nearly as possible similar with respect to soil, seed used, and general treatment, before and during ths growth of crops. Two of the plots were dressed with li per cent, solution of copper sulphate, two with a 2 per cent, solution, and the fifth was left undressed. In all the experiments, except number nine, the plots were dressed

form to the regulations respecting the form and labelling of margarine receptacles, one being a lack of exhibiting a copy of the act in the place of business in which it should have been displayed. On March 31, 1892, there were 16 margarine factories in Denmark, which had turned out 14,211,0001b of margarine in the preceding 12 months. Almost the entire quantity, and 2,000,0001b of imported margarine as well, were consumed in the country, the exports being trifling. On the other hand, over 100,000.0001b of butter were exported, upwards of 98,000,0001b having been sent to England. The report of the Stock department of New South Wales for the year 1892 was laid oh the table of the Assembly. The Under-secretary, in forwarding it, says that, while there was a satisfactory increase in the number of horses and cattle, there was not only no increase, but a considerable decrease in the number of sheep, due probably to the number of sheep boiled down, the number exported, and the fact, owing to the bad season, that there was no breeding up in the north-west portion of the colony. It was satisfactory to fiad that some of the stockowners had lost no time in taking advantage of the removal of the prohibition against the introduction of sheep from New Zealand, and an improvement might be expected in our flocks in those portions of the colony which were suitable for long-woolled and crossbred sheep. The number o? cattle is 6tated at 2,147,074, showing an increase of 100,727. The number introduced from the other colonies was 148,609, while the number exported was 68,757. On the increase and decrease in numbers it is reported that in 40 districts the cattle are reported to be increasing. In the other districts they are decreasing on account of large sales, owners not breeding or stocking up, and changing for sheep. As regards sheep, in 1891 the number in the colony was 61,831,416 ; in 1892 the number was 58,080,114, thus showing a decrease of 3,751,302. The number of sheep imported during the year was 680,530, and the number exported was 1,253,119, being an increase in exports over imports of 572,589. Going into the different varieties of breeds, a table is given showing that in " combing " merinos the total number was 40,310,921, whilo of "clothing" there were 16,059,330, giving a * total in merinos of 56,370,251. In long-woolled sheep there were 704,079, while of crossbreds, principally between long-wools and merinos, there were 1,005,784, thus making up the grand total of 58,080,114. With respect to long-woolled and crossbred sheep reference i 3 made to the removal of the prohibition which existed up to January last on sheep from New Zealand, and Mr Jones, the acting-chief inspector of stock, <

glory of giving effect to their wishes and locating them in comfortable quarters for the winter. Of course it will be said that advice of this kind, if acted on, will have a tendency to aggravate the unemployed question; but what is the good of a policy of doles if there is not to be a square deal all round— if town and country are not to be treated alike ? " An astonishing statement has (says the Leeds Mercury) been published by the South of Ireland Butter Merchants' Association. In a circular issued the other day they say, "We declare deliberately that a 20 per cent, standard (of water) is absolutely necessary if the sale of Irish butter is to continue." It would be more correct to say that the sale of Irish butter outside Ireland would be practically ruined if such a high standard were adopted, as it would encourage the practice of fradulently incorporating water with butter, which has done much to bring Irish butter into discredit. No doubt, heavily- salted butter may sometimes contain as much as 20 per cent, of water ; but, as Mr R, A. Anderson, organising agent of the Irish section of the Co-opera-tive Union, ha 3 pointed out, 14 or 15 per cent.is more common in ordinary butter, while what", is produced under the dry-working system^ should not contain more than 8 or 9 per cent. The butter produced in the co-operative creameries, which Mr Anderson has done so much to establish in Ireland, averages about 12 or 13 per cent, of water, he believes. Presumably the object of the butter merchants is to have a standard, in order that producers who exceed it may be punished for adulteration. But, in the first place, to adopt the same standard for fresh and salt butter would be a mistake ; and, secondly, 20 per cent, of water would be too much to allow for even ealt butter, as, when properly made, it does not contain nearly so much. We . (Scottish Farmer) loam from the proceedings of the Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association of America, held at Chicago, that it was reported that 33 animals have been recorded whose dams were under two years of age at birth of calf. Of this number seven were from dams 20 months old or under when calf was dropped. Twenty-seven animals have been recorded whose sires were under one year old when used. Of this number nine were from sires 10 months old or under at time of service. A practical experiment (writes "Drover" in the Canterbury Timeß) to ascertain the value of New Zealand sheep in the sister colony of New South Wales i 3 shortly to be made by some of the leading owners in Canterbury. Messrs P. C. Threlkeld, of Flaxton, and J. Hurse, of Rangiora, leave here about June 20 for Sydney, and will take with them some

A Perthshire correspondent favours a Home paper with his experience of Canadian cattle. He says :— " I was, I think, the first in Perthshire to tie up Canadians for fattening, and the more I have had of them through my hands the better I like them. During the past winter I had a good many of them. The ' tops ' were sold 14- weeks after purchase, and left an average return of £9 15s per head, or 14s each weekly, fior the three and a-half months I had them on. hand, and last Monday I got cleared out for Kb.c season. The • shots,' sold at the Northern Central Mart, Perth, left the handsome average retura of £11 2s 6d each for six months' keep. This, I think, breaks the record so far as returns for keep are concerned. How many homebreds or Irish cattle have touched such figures ? Few, I expect." The profitableness of lucerne is shown by the following result of the product of a crop on a quarter of an acre of red clay soil in the State of Georgia, U.S.A. The ground was thoroughly enriched with 6table manure and subsoiled at the time of seeding. Four years from the time of seeding it was cut five times in one season. Each cutting was thoroughly dried and weighed. The first cutting, May 10, weighed 4551b ; second, June 27, 6801b ; third, July 30, 9401b; fourth. September 13, 4651b; fifth, October 29, 2401b ;— total yield from a quarter acre, 27801b, or afe the rate of over five tons and a-half per acre. The seed was sown broadcast with oats and a little orchard grass seed in the spring of 1882 at the rate of half bushel per acre. It has produced four and five good crops every year since for a period of 10 years with a liberal top dressing of manure, and appears good for 10 or 20 years longer if properly fertilised. Can (asks the Melbourne Weekly Times) any of our lucerne growers show a better record than this ? If so we shall be glad to hear of it. Tho Mark Lane Express Bays that in consequence of the large increase in the number of cases of glanders the London County Council have issued a supplementary circular to their veterinary inspector?, laying down further drastic measures, which are to be adopted at once, in order, if possible, to check the spread of the disease.

M. de Gineste has communicated to the Society of Agriculturists of France the results of a trial he has made in the preservation of green forage in a silo without pressure, by impregnating it with sulphuret of carbon. The advantages claimed for the plan are that by it tho nitrogenous and fattening constituents of the forage are preserved better than by the uoual method of ensilage, and that a portion of the cellulose is rendered soluble, while no bad flavour is communicated to the food by the fumes of snlphur generated. Bach layer of the

green crop, about half a yard in thickness, BprinMed with sulphuret of carbon and water. The proportions of the mixture arenotpreciselj stated, the only indication given being that the dilution must be sufficient to allow of the sprinkling of 22001b of the forige with 71b of the sulphuret. The fumes generated are troublesome to men employed in the silo, and the removal of the inconvenience by the use of "Jaroain capsules," whatever they maybe, i» expensive. Other expedients for removing the objection referred to have been suggested; but all appear to be somewhat troublesome or of doubtful efficiency. Therefore, although a noted chemist has testified to the superiority in nutritive quality of the silage produced by M. de Gineste over that of silage preserved. by pressure, the plan cannot yet be said to have been brought to a sufficient state of perfection to be recommended for general adoption. In a recent butter-making contest in Melbourne, Miss Maggie Wilson, daughter of-Mr David Wilson, Victorian dairy expert, took the first prize, and this is how she made the butter : —Ninety pounds' weight of cream, at a temperature of 58deg Fahr., was supplied her. This was just at the right temperature. She added loz annatto to the cream, and put it into the concussion churn, which was revolved at the rate of 40 turns per minute, with Beveral stoppages to let off the gas. The cream broke in about 23 minutes, when the butter was io minute granules, like the smallest shot. The buttermilk was then drained off, and 6gal of water at 58deg Fahr. were poured into the churn. (Water higher than tbiß heat should never be used; in summer it should be as cold as it can be got.) After drawing off the buttermilk one water is quite sufficient. The churn is turned a few times slowly, and then the water is drawn off, and the butter worked on the butter table for a very short time, and the water is worked out. Salt at the rate of -goz to the pound is added. Miss Wileon carefully avoids over-churning, and is equally caroful nob to overwork the butter on the table, but tries to give the whole mass equal treatment, and to distribute the ealt evenly through it all. | The Tdieri Advocate says that tho butter factory at SpriDgbank, recently erected by Mr J. Williams, of lliccarton, is beiDg kepj very busy, and considering the season of the year the quantity of milk that is coming to hand is in every way satisfactory. The factory, which is under the management of Mr Williams's sons, has been kept going, and the quantity of butter manufactured has been considerable. This is the season for recording prolific yields at Home. The Mark Lane Express of April 17 tells the following: —"A Leicester ewe belongiDg to Mr Gray, Knowes, Deskford, dropped four lambs on the 2pd inst. Last year tho same ewe dropped a similar number, and before she went into Mr Gray's possession, being purchased from Mr William Hendry, Keith, she had three lambs. Three of tho ewe's last year's family are in lamb."—The North British caps this with the following paragraph:—" Mr Howie, of Hazelrig, who is a well-known and highly successful breeder of Clydesdales in Northumberland, has in his flock a Border Leicester ewe which has a remarkable record for fecundity at her credit. This year this ewe has dropped four good healthy lambs, all of which are doing well, and during tho last six years she has produced 19 good strong lambs, all of which sb.B reared herself. This ewe, which was bred by Mr Simmons, of Netherton, has therefore a record for fecundity such a 8 very few ewes could show." (Continued on page 12.)

The meeting of this body is to be held at Dunedin on the 28th inst., and will, it is expected, last two days. Mr J. R. Scott, the secretary, has issued the following order paper, with the proviso that ifc does not in any way commit the association or its committee to all or any of the views therein set forth: — 1. That the export trade in dairy produce can only bo properly developed under the factory system. 2. That in the event of margarine or any imitation of butter being ever manufactured in this colony, that it be sold only in its natural colour, and not with a colour imitating butter. 3. That the manufacture for export or otherwise of anything bat full-milk cheese be discoviraged in every possible way. 4. That the shipping companies be again requested to reduce the freight on butter and cheese in cool or freezing chambers to per lb gross weight. 5. That the cases, as previously recommended by this association, should be generally adopted. 6. That shipping companies or the Government should put a thermograph to register temperatures in all cool chambers. 7. That butter factories should not take in butter to be packed or worked, but should deal exclusively in produce manufactured by themselves from the cream. 8. That the frozen chamber is the most suitable for butter, and that shipping companies should not insist on butter being put in frozen chambers previous to shipment. 9. That the cool chamber temperature for cheese should be not under 45deg nor over 50deg at any time. 10. That Government should inspect and brand all shipments, and prevent the shipment of bad stuff, or of produce hv such a state as likely to cause damage to other shipments in the chamber. 11. That Government .'or the Railway Commissioners should erect cool stores at the potts of shipment in which the inspection and grading could take place. 12. That tho Government should erect or lease a New Zealand produce cool store at the London docks, under the charge of a reproseutative from New Zealand, who could look after shippers' interests, and if requested sell for them in London, and report on all shipments, and keep the Government always posted up as to the progress made and.the state of the markets for New Zealand produce ; and should, if possible, get nearer the cansumers and endeavour to have New Zealand produce only sold as New Zealand. 13. That a committee be appointed to consider the Dairy Act and suggest amendments and improvements. 14-. That the Railway Commirsioners should, in the interests of settlement, reduce rates and give greater facilities for the cheap carriage of milk, cream, and dairy produce) so that tho dairy industry may be largely extended. 15. That farmers should take an interest in the improvement of the breed of dairy cattle, and that all pure cattle should be entered in the New Zealand Herd Book. 16. That dairy farmers should tako in and contribute to the New Zealand Country Journal, and endeavour to make its pages of value and interest to all connected with the dairy industry, and that it be recognised as the organ of the dairy industry in New Zealand. The above resolutions are not put before the members as necessarily tho opinions of the association, but with a view to promoting discussion and information. All members are therefore invited to bring up for discussion any matters that they may deem of importance to dairy farmers or factories.

thrice at intervals of three weeks, beginning in June or early July. In the main the experiments seem to have been successful, the foliage j of the treated plots, in every Instance, remain ing green for from three to five weeks longer than that of the untreated plots. The tubers dug in the treated plots, too, were generally larger than those on the untreated plots, and of better quality. With regard to labour and cost per acre, the report states that three men using the " Eclair" spraying machine, and attended by one boy, can apply 150 gal to one statute acre in five hours and a-quarter, and that labour and cost of a single dressing of the 1£ per cent, mixture without treacle may be put at 78 B£d, of the 2 per cent, mixture at 9s l£d, the 1£ per cent, with treacle at 9s 7d, and the 2 per cent, with the same at 11s 7^d. Those who conducted the experiments are of opinion that a careful single dressing applied in dry weather above and below the leaves will usually be found quite sufficient. Mr Charles Simmons, Estate Offices, Reading, contributes the following interesting paragraph to the Agricultural Gazette on the milk record of Kerry and Dexter cattle. He says : " It will doubtless interest and astonish many of your readers to hear the immense quantity of rich milk which some of these lovely little cows produce. In the Kidmore Grange herd there is at the present time a cow, Re"d Rose, whose record, I think, is almost unparalleled. She calved the last week in March 1892, and her milk was weighed (as every cow's in the herd is) morning and evening, as soon as taken from her, commencing from the Ist of April ; and from that day to the Ist of April inst. she gave 4 tons 9cwt 3qr 201b, averaging nearly 3gal per day for the whole year. Red Rose was shown at the meeting of the R.A.S.E. at Warwick last year, and took the first prize in her class. Her udder at that time was so beautifully shaped, and so near the ground, that I heard the remark made — ' How do they get a pail under her ?' I have no means on the farm of weighing this little cow, but she does not stand much higher than a large donkey, and I believe her live weight would not exceed 9cwt, so that within the year she has given 10 times the weight of her body in milk." Remarkable success appears to have attended the operation of the Danish Margarine Law, passed on April 1, 1891. Giving the gist of a report for 1891-2, recently issued, the British Consul in Denmark, Mr Inglis, says that 691 samples of butter, 155 of margarine, and 65 of cheese were taken during the year, and that no case of adulteration was detected in the butter or cheese, while each lot of margarine contained at least as much butter fat as was stated on the parcel. Only 10 case 3of infringement of the law were reported by the inspectors, and nine of them were cases of neglecting to con-

says that there will, in all probability, be a large trade opened up. Already two Consign* ments have reached the colony, and it is re ; ported that a very large consignment is booked to arrive in time for the annual sheep sales to be held in July next. As to the lambing season, it is stated that, from a return of the autumn, winter, and spring lambings obtained from the inspector for each sheep district, the average percentage of lambing for the whole colony is estimated at 53 per cent.— i.e., calculating the number of lambs marked on the number of ewes put to the rams. The spring lambing was the highest, averaging 69J per cent., while the autumn and winter lambings averaged 52$ and 49 per cent, respectively. The labour and unemployed question is thus dealt with by the Tuapeka Times:— "The country districts of Otago are just now infested with men out of work. They are to be met in shoals in every direction, goingthey know not where, as the prospect of obtaining employment is just as likely, or rather as hopeless and dismal, in one direction as another. At the beginning of the rabbit-poisoning season, a week or so ago, 400 able-bodied young men beseiged the Morven Hills station for work. They came in droves from all points of the compass, and the appearance of many of them only too clearly corroborated their doleful tale of long travelling and much hardship endured in the weary and hopeless search for employment. Similar accounts reach us from other parts of Otago. Large numbers of men are travelling round the country, going from one station to another, reduced to the extreme of subsisting on the hospitality of thesquatters, without any hope of finding work during the long winter months. To these men during their weary pilgrimage the squatter is a generous friend, and the cost of his benefactions during the season must ran into some hundreds of pounds. Bat in the face of the destitution and misery that such a state of things reveals, what becomes of the changed conditions of labour, the vaunted prosperity of the colony, and all the other marvellous good things which the Ministerial policy has accomplished for the special behoof of the working man ? Possibly in the city ho may find the inequalities of life less rough than of yore ; but his brother in the country is still in the same boat ; life is still the same hard problem to him ; and, so far, he sees nothing for which to go down on his knees and give thanks to the Ministerial providence, which he is assured watches over his interests with the solicitude of a parent. Instead of wearing out their boots, patience, and bodies scouring the country for employment, these men should make a bee-line for Dunedin, and after a demonstration or two they would find the politicians fighting for the honour and

representative types of sheep of both sexes, which will thoroughly test the market. Mr Threlkeld's consignment will be, it is stated, English Leicesters alone, but Mr Hurse will be more general in his shipment, and will have specimens of all the types likely to be of use in the warmer climate. It is his intention to take about 10 rams of each class besides a number of ewes. The result of these shipments will be looked forward to with the utmost interest, as on it will depend to a great extent future sales of sheep. The Leeds Mercury of April 8 says:— " American authorities now declare in positive terms that, if any reliance is to be put on official figures as to exports, consumption, quantity of seed, and stocks in hand, the last two wheat crops of the United States have been greatly underrated. The ♦ Cincinnati Prices Current,' taking the same accounts of the visible supplies as were taken by the late statistician of the Department of Agriculture, and the official figures as to crops in 1891 and 1892 and exports and seed in 1891-2 and 1892-3, but '.allowing about 18,000,000 bushels more for consumption in the two years than Mr Dodge reckoned, represents a balance of 78,000,000 bushels as the excess of distribution, or, in other words, as the extent to which the last two crops together have been underrated. Even supposing that the consumption is as low as Mr Dodge reckons (4§ bushels a head of the population), and that the 18,000,000 bushels mentioned above should be deducted from the total distribution, the apparent error in the official estimate of the two crops is 60,000,000 bushels, whereas Mr Dodge has admitted an error of only 31,000,000 bushels. 'Bradstreet's,' taking its own accounts of the visible supply, shows that the quantity of -wheat declared by the department to be in farmers' hands on March 1 last was 41,000,000 bushels more than it could have been if the previous official reports on crops and stocks had been correct. But • Bradstreet's ' spoils the effect of its own figures by apparently giving credit to statements made by a large number of the more active operators in the grain trade of New York, who, with singular unanimity, it is said, declare that the crop of 1891 was nearer to 700,000,000 bushels than to the official 612,000,000 bushels, while that of 1892 was at least 550,000,000 bushels, instead of the official 516,000,000. These estimates are simply ridiculous, as they add 122,000,000 bushels to the official total of the two crops, which would leave even a greater surplus unaccounted for than the highest estimate of Mr Dodge's deficiency. The fact is that, as the statistics are at present collected, it is impossible to tell within many millions of bushels what the visible and invisible stocks of wheat in the United States are at any given time."