MR SAMUEL lOWE'S LECTURE ON THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2253, 6 May 1897, Page 4

MR SAMUEL lOWE'S LECTURE ON THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

A most interesting *and valuable j lecture on " The Dairy Industry in the Colonies" "was delivered by Mr .^ahttei, Lowe at the Koyal Colonial Institute on March 9. Mr Lowe is now a member of the firm of Messrs W. "Weddeli and Co., and is himself well known in New Zealand. His remarks, therefore, would naturally be of interest in this colony, but he treated his subject in such a masterly and complete- manner that it would be greatly to the advantage of all connected with the industry in question if the report containing his address found general circulation. It is made clear that possibilities hitherto unsuspected await the colonial dairy industry. Last year the United King- i dom imported 151,897 tons of butter, ' valued at £15,344.000, and 112,227 tons of cheese, valued at .£4,900,000. Of this the colonies supplied 15,368 tons of butter, valued at .£1,425,000, and 64,472 tons of cheese, valued at £2,705,000. In other words, the colonies contributed about one-fifth of the supply of these products to the United Kingdom. The main object of Mr Lowe's address was to show that this production might be much increased without any other assistance than that which the producers themselves could furnish 1 . He not only shows that the colonial producers by neglecting to provide winter feed for their cows deliberately neglect the September, October, and Kovember market — which is the : most profitable of any, — but that they could vastly increase the productiveness of their cows by judicious selection. The average yield per cow in the United Kingdom is 454 gal of milk or 1801b ol butter per annum. This is not by any means a high rate, of productiveness, for special selection has produced far more. Sir Johjt Bennet Lawes obtained from 42 cows an average of 858 gal per annum, and from 10 dairy counties in Scotland an average of 620 gal was obtained from 226,000 cows. Mr j Lowe therefore says that 600 gal at least ought to be the standard of production insisted upon. Now, in *New South "Wales the average production per cow is 274ga1, in Victoria 291ga1, in Hew Zealand 330ga1, and in Canada 340ga1. By a small calculation, •Mr Lowi! shows that if the standard of production in the colonies were even up to that in the United Kingdom, the increased annual value of the butter produced would be £5,953,885. These figures look stupendous, but they are none the less accurate., In 1896 the total value of butter exported from the colonies was

only £1,332,962, and thus the colonies lose as follows : — New South Wales, 54s per cow ; Victoria, 495 ; New Zealand, 37s ; and Canada, 345. Mr IjOWe attributes the smallness of production to two facts — the less daily production of milk per cow, and the long period in which the cows are allowed to go dry owing to non-winter feeding. Mr Lowe then goes on to point oufc that more attention should be paid to the breeding and selection of cattle. If it has been found that three Jersey cows eat the same amount as two shorthorns and will at the same ttme return £15 per annum more than the shorthorns, a dairyman would be silly to use the latter. Supposing that the .milking life of a cow averages four years, the return from the Jerseys would have been £60 greater than that from the shorthorns, but this might be reduced by some £12 owing to the greater value of the shorthorns for beef purposes. Feeding, also, is of prime importance, and it is an art that few colonial dairymen practise. It has been shown in Canada that from 10 acres of land the following yields are possible : — Indian corn, 30 tons ; horse beans, 9 tons ; sunflower heads (half an acre), 3*75 tons. These, made into ensilage, would feed eight cows for 150 days and the total cost is 6s per ton. When facts such as these are mentioned they cause the impression that the climate is too mild in the colonies and that consequently producers are not compelled to make the efforts which are necessary in such countries as Canada and Denmark. Perhaps no industry has benefited more from bacteriological discoveries than the dairy industry, and Mr Lowe dealt at such length and with so much skill with this branch of the subject as to elicit from the Hon. W. P. Keeyes the remark that the address was " logical and bacteriological." Bacteria are not all harmful. Some of them further certain natural processes of nature, but a great many of them are very injurious in their character. Their numbers are sometimes incredible. Under dirty conditions 160,000 have been known to fall into a milk pail per minute. These may come from (a) the milk left in the teat of the cow after milking ; (6) the dirt and hair on the udder of the cow while being milked ; (c) the hands and clothes of the milker, and from the milk pail and other vessels being insufficiently cleansed ; (cZ) atmosphere where the cow is milked and where the milk is subsequently kept both in the open air and in the cowshed. All this is ! already known by skilful dairy hands, i who are consequently extremely careful in their dealing with milk ; but it is humiliating to know that many do not practise such cleanly habits, and then they affect to be surprised when their butter becomes rancid or their cheese bitter. The great spread of the factory system in the colonies is, however, extending knowledge of the treatment of milk. A very pressing want was alluded to by Mr Lowe when he referred to the absence of experimental dairy schools and model dairy estates. It is gratifying to know that all the Governments of the colonies are becoming alive to the necessity of such institutions. Mr ' Lowe's very able address will no doubt

accelerate this process of improvement. He himselt summarises his paper asfollows :—: — 1. Improving dairy herds. 2. Adopting a system of winter feeding. 3. Confining the manufacture of butter and cheese entirely to the factory sj stem. 4-. Making a careful study of the latest scientific discoveries in bacteriology. 5. Adopting universally the system of pasteurisat:on ; and 6. Establishing dairy schools and experiment stations for the higher education of all engaged in the industry. Upon the occasion upon which the lecture was delivered a large and distinguished audience was present, and from all who spoke there fell a profusion of complimentaiy remarks. These were not exaggerated, for the address covered almost the whole 'field of dairy production in so striking and convincing a manner that it showed Mr Lowe to be thoroughly master of the subject.