MR MACEWAN'S ADDRESS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2168, 12 September 1895, Page 6

MR MACEWAN'S ADDRESS.

Mr MacEwan : The work, which lislo been satisfactory, Lirs only br-eu one of the lioks in the chain. The lack of uniformity in our dairy products afforded a sufficient reason for getting our manages end assistants all together at one spot. Some are making good cheese, but have very little knowkdgo of the article they are handling. We can lay down no rule for dairy work. The dairy suppliers are tho most interested, ag if the managers do not m«ke the best article the price realised would not be so good. Mora care and iateUigtucG is rcauircd on the.

part of the milk suppliers. There 'is no business or profession requiring mere versatility than dairying. Those engaged in it must be trained to the work as well as like tho business. Prejudioo or warped judgment must be overcome. If wo consider one breed of coivs the best, then we shut ouwelves out from oUiec idefts. There iB more difference between indhvirtual cowa than between breeds. Wo should get rid of the idea of a general-purpose cow. Breeding will tell in cows. Take- your bftfifc cows and breed from a thoroughbred bull. Cheese and butter cows are things o£ the past. The Jersey ab tho World's Fair took first honours for both cheese and butter. It is nob a quet-tiou of will it pay to feed well, but it is the only plan that will pay. We aro going to milk our cows, say, 10 months in the year, and provide a certain amount of cheap succulent feed for winter months. It will pay people to provide shelter and winter feed. Cows give best returns in balmy weather, when tho temperature raugts from 60deg to 70deg. On cold nights we must provide a certain amount of ihelter. Some feed goes to building up the system. Putting animals outside iv the winter is like starting a fire outsida to warm oneself by. In Canada the best dairymen are feeding cheaper in winter th»n in «ummer. A 50"-acre farmer may make more than a 150-acre one by more int?naive farming. A man who learnt cheese-raftking under Harris bought 10 cows at £10 or £12 a head, and having secured the animals started by testing them all, and if one was found to be nob pa) ing for her buard he let her go, replacing hec by another. He believed in winter dairying; — not to run six months and let the plant lie six months, co that it paid no interest. It only cost 25 per cent, more to feed a cow for millc than to keep her. Tho idoa was laughed ah when firtt advocated. We take, Bay, 5 acres in pasture, and plough up another 5 acres, and we find the ploughed land produces two and ahalt times more milk than the pasture. The product was made into ensilage, and when; all the work connected with it was taken into account, it was found that it cosl 4-8 2d per ton. It produced 10 tons per acre, and wr<s ltd at the rate of 451b per day, with 51b crushed oats, 4lb bran, and a little straw. This gave one o£ tho best rations, and coat 4£d per day. Tha manure stands for the labour. The cows had been ia milk six or eeven months, averaging 20tb per day, and it took 201b of milk to make lib of butrer, receiving 80 per cent, (or IGIb from each cow) back in ekim milk, and this wa3 fed with -pollard t:> somo pigs juib weaned, which put on lslh per day, ami at the end of the FeaJon they weighed 1751b each, and sold at 3d per lb live weight. The by-products gave him 3d per lb of butter. The gross cost of butter was 4£<J, lets for by-products 3d, leaving the net cost per lb of butter I^l. Farmers should do gome scribbling and figuriug to find the difference between tho cost oJ producing and the price realised. They should count the amount of butter or cheese made by each cow. Pure water is needed. Ho preferred mangels to turnips. The csro of milk was » very heavy indictment, and shows great carelessness on the part of milk suppliers. Cans are sfnt in a battered-up condition, and often show in the crevice 3 seething masses of putridf milk which give a flavour of the most atrocious description. He waa not an advacate of coercion, preferring education, but steps should be taken to improve matters, and the rejection of bad milk would help in this direction. He would not recommend going round with the idea of coercion, but cleanliness must bo observed. They Bhould not keep any man who abuses the oowb, and a first offence of this kind should lead to dismissal. The better the cow th 3 more tender her feelings. The Jerseys are the most tender, owing probably to many yrars of cartful breeding. Experiments refpsctively of quietness and abuse in handling before milking have shown the loss occasioned by th<; latter. Carelessness and apathy on the part of suppliers should not be tolerated. Aeration is necessary, and really means exposing the milk to pure air. For cheese-making, unless the nignt» are very hob, cioliDg ia nob necessary. Some of the best milk he ever saw brought to a choese factory was thoroughly aired without ccoling and set in small quantities over night. When milk tomes in a bad condition, one or two will spoil the beat efforts of all the other suppliers. Inspection of dairies will to Eome extent be carried on. If roilk is brought in an inferior condition, but not bad enough to reject, it is a good plan to dock 51b or 101b in every 1001b. This touches the pocket, and it would do more gcod than inspection. For buttermaking, the first and foremost item is thorough aeration of the milk and bringing ifc in in a sweet condition. Free access to salb will giv'j 17 per cent, more milk, and tho milk will keep 24 hours longer. A better sjstem o£ runting factories should bo introduced, as buying milk under the present one is a specula* lion, and of course the buyera may pay too much or too little. Re payment according to quality, I should like to see this rule adopted by every factory this year. Wo have given this department a very careful supervision, aiarl truit that there will bo gcod results. By this system every man would be fairly paid for what he sends to the factory. TUo equity of tJifc system. Ua» been keenly dia*

cussed in Canada and tha States, the couclu* Bion being that butter fat indicates the commercial value of milk. la Canada we had Ibronble in regard to the hone»ty of suppliers ib the past, and" hive consequently hmd to tmploy inspectors ; bat the introduction of the Babccck tester is a greater inducement to honesty than an army of inspectors, a* a man is : paid for what he brings, ana cannot secure an advantage at another's expense. At Edendale we paid 4d for 101b, teot 4 per cent., or lOd for Fat per lb. The average butter per lb of fat was 113, and 2581b of cheese to lib of fat ; average quality of all milk, 462 ; lowest, 326 ; test, about 5*50, so tha 1 ; one would receive 3^ per gallon and the other s^d. If two farmers fatten bullocks wbichrealise — (A) Fine animal, £8 ; OB) pcorrnimal, £6; total, £14 ;and each lakes £7, it would scarcely suit A ; and yet this is the pre6ei>t system of paying for milk. Paying according to quality is thus plainly shown to be the proper course to adopt. At the Stirling factory before the milk was taken to the dairy school each supplier was paid so much per gallon irrespective of quality, but when paid according to test the lowest paid was 3|d, and the highest s£d, which shows the unfairness of- paying for milk by weight only. We find tfeat the milk of Taranaki varies greatly in quality, and that the te*ts vary from day to day. At Chicago tests varied from day to day &s much as sof 1 per cent. Suppliers are often diesatUfled on account of their teets varying, and are apt to blame the manager, whereas it rnny be attributed to various causei — such as changes id .the weather and surroundings of the cattle, ill treatment and neglect in tl>e care of the milk. Borne variation is sure to occur, and if the tet>ts were the same week after week I should be more suspicious that the manager was not doing his duty than when showing iome changes. Question : Did composite and daily tests come out correctly at E'lendale ? Yes, within a fraction. Numerous experiments have shown that the weekly tests aie perfectly reliable. The Chairman thanked Mr J. MacEwan for bis address, j