STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2401, 8 March 1900, Page 6

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

By Dkovbe.

Weekly Stock Sales : _ Fortnightly: Bumside. Wednesdays Tuesdays. Aphburton, Tuesdays Monthly: Addington.Wednesdays Clinton. Palmerston, „ , . , „ and Wiuton. Fcrlnwhtly : Balclutha ridays Periodically: Gore, Tuesdays | Ileriot.Kelso, and Eye Oamaru, Tuesdays burn. [Communication"! of interest ta stockbreeder* and dealers a cordially invited. All jnmmumcations to reach Witness ofb not later tunn Monday uijlit.l

The yarding of cattle at Burnside last week was moderate, and one might reo&onably have expected an improvement in prices ; but the patriotism of butchers was so intense that many* of them were ab&ent, as it was the day of the great floral fete demonstration, in which all trades took a very prominent part. I look forward to a better market this week, although at the same time one must bear in mind that during the present spell of warm weather butchers buy beef but sparingly. Prime bullocks sold at from £7 10s to a shade over £3 15s. Some very nice heifers brought up to £6 15s ; small bullocks, £6 to £7.

The yarding of sheep was about 1400, 600 of which were good freezing wethers. Prices were easier. Best wethers sold at from 14-s to 15s, ewes 12s to 14s, and moderate weight wethers about the same; butchers' &heep about 8s 6d to 11s 6d.

The lamb f.alo was a little more lively, and the quality yarded generally creditable. Prime sold at 10s 9d to 11s 9d, good freezers 10s to 10s 6d, light and inferior 8s to 9s 6d. These prices are, I should say, quite as much as the London market reports would warrant any ono paying, and as yet we see no boom to warrant Ihe. heavy prices paid during the Ja^t month or two for stores, and I shall be surprised if we do. lam glad to thinks however*

that this year a large proportion of young sheep will be kept in the country, as our flocks generally need this.

There is at present a, good demand for prime milling oats at up to 2s 6d per bushel; but in Canterbury the market has weakened, ,and prices are quoted at Is lid to 2s for prime milling and feed. Undoubtedly very large quantities of oats will be required for the Cape ia the near future. Indeed, they are much required now, and the main factor in depressing the market is the scarcity of shipping, and, of course, consequent high rates. At the present moment ships and steamers cannot be got to load. The Undaunted, which sailed lately, shut out a very large quantity of oats, and these have been thrown back on the Canterbury market just at the time when new; oats are coming in. Under proper management, these difficulties could be got over, and I advise farmers to be in no hurry to accept low prices, whilst at the same time I do not advise holding out for extreme rates. If shipping companies cannot provide freight, I think it might be well for Government to advise the Home authorities, who have command of plenty of transport vessels, many of which are now lying at the Cape, that abundance of oats are available in New Zealand at, " say, 2s per bushel f.o.b. I have little doubt they would send transports here, and their own staff to examine and purchase. 1 think that it is quite probable they would give the matter attention. The oats are available, but the parties who control shipping at present will have the whip hand of the holders of oats unless something of this kind is done. We must have direct shipments from New Zealand, as shipping via Melbourne places x\s completely in the hands of merchants there. We ought to be the main suppliers of the large army which, no matter how great our successes may be in the near future, will still have to occupy South Africa for a long time to come. And the matter is one of the greatest importance, as it will be the basis of a great trade even when war ceases and Kruger and his people are enjoying the blessing (so littla deserved) of British Government. Besides oats, flour, oatmeal, and fodder, we might now with advantage start our frozen meat trade. The present Government have been very active in fostering our dairy exports, aud deserve great credit for the success attained, and now there is a great opportunity to go a step further. Australia has at present facilities in the way of shipping to South Africa; but in a short time they will have little or no oats to send. Indications at present point to New South Wales, at any rate requiring large supplies of grain from New Zealand for her own needs. If we allow it, Australia will continue, as in the past, to hold the South African market and supply it largely with New Zealand produce. I hope influential farmers will take this matter up and bring it before the Government at once. Delay in this case is certainly dangerous.

The ptomaine poisoning of soldiers at Aldershot, said to be from eating cheesa from New Zeala-id, will be fresh in the minds of my readers. , I have alway3 disbelieved the reuoit that the cheese was from this colony, and as yet we have heard nothing definite from the Government, who were investigating the matter. At the time ol the occurrence the Australasian had a paragraph to the effect tbao the cheese was from Waimatuku factory, New Zealand. Mr Thomas Stobo, the proprietoi of Waimatuku factory, was determined to get to the bottom of the matter, and very propetly addressed the War Office authorities at Aldershol. lam glad to say he has received a reply from them to say that "it was not the Waimatuku cheese that was suspected of ptomaine poisoning." Mr Stobo has put the matter into the hands of his solicitors, and is about to sue the proprietors of the Australasian for making the statement quoted. I think our Government should have found this out before, and it was of sufficient importance for them to take the matter up strongly and without sparing expense. The reputation of New Zealand produce buffered, and even now I think the New Zealand Government should take action and pay Mr Stobo's expenses, for even though he gains his case the expense will be heavy, and as the battle is for New Zealand's good name, it should not be left to him to bear the brunt. The fuller the Investigation the betiei. One got* sick of these -tatements made in the press agpinsfc New 'ealand produce of all sorts, not one of which has ever been proved true, so far as I know

At Addington the supply of tat sheep was small, and the quantity of prime especially so, but freezers (wethers) brought 15s to 15s 9d, ewes 13t 6d to 15s. The bulk of the slioop were poor quality, and brought 10s to 13s, a gieat difficulty being experienced in quitting ewe: t butchers, who were full of them. Prime lambs were well competed for, and brought 12s to 13s 6d for freezing, exporters bidding briskly. Light and unfinished brought 10s to 11s 6d. Over 14.000 sheep were yarded in the store pens, including large lots from Chatham Islands, Marlborough, and North Island. We don't hear of Olago and Southland theep, as they turn inlo "juriiae Gaufceriiiuaf" ou cros&ing tho 3£ai-

taki. Prices were good enough. Six and eight tooth, ewea brought 13s 3d, two, four, and s : x tcoths 11b 6d to 12s 9d, sound-mouthed 9s 3d to 9s 7d down to 7s 6d, merino ewes 7s, two-tooth wethers 12s 6d to 13s, 1260 four and six tooth wethers 11s lOd, 1500 Chatham Island wethers 10s to lls lOd, store lambs 9s 3d to 10s lid.

The following, received from the Dairy Commissioner, is seasonable, and will, I hope, prove useful : — SEASONABLE NOTES ON CHEESE-MA-KING. By J. A. Ruddick, Dairy Commissioner. As the season advances the milk becomes richer, and necessitates slight modifications in the process of cheese-making in order to secure uniform results. Heating or " Cooking " Texiperatuees. There is a tendency for the curd from rich milk to retain too much moisture, resulting in

a weak, pasty cheese. This excessive moisture may be removed by extra hand-stirring when the whey is run oft, but such treatment causes an unnecessary loss of fat and curd particles (white whey). A better way is to raise the "cooking" temperature gradually as the percentage It fat increases in the milk. When it xeaches '1 per cent, on the average, heat to lOOdeg, and from that up to 102deg m extreme cases Some judgment must, be exercised m making such changes, and if other means have been employed to .get the curd firm these will have to be relaxed somewhat if higher heating is resorted to or else the thing will he over- ' done. SALT AND SALTING-. - Endeavour to procure only pure and clean-flavom-ed salt. It is very frequently tainted with objectionable odours, such as tar-paper, -bonedust, salt fish, etc. It shovdd be even in the grain, and rather coarser for cheese-making thai i for butter-making. Having secured a good article, protect it by keeping m a dry place, yiree from all odours and danger of contammaX More salt should be used as the milk becomes i-icher in fat, because the yield of cheese increases in proportion. The quantity ot salt may he, varied slightly from clay to day, or on different curds, according to the moisture which they contain. Dry curds require less salt than those with more moisture, because there is less ■drainage to carry it off. Salt which is very fine in the grain will dissolve so quickly that more o£ it runs away before being absorbed by the curd than is the case with coarse salt. Certain brands of salt dissolve more slowly than cners, even when the grain is the samer This is particularly trvie oi some of the ground rocksalts. EXCESSIVE LOSS OF FAT IN PBESSING. "When the curd shows a tendency to iose too much fat during the process of maturing and

pressing, and when the fat appears m tne open spaces and fractures of the cured cheese, it is an indication of an abnormal condition of the milk that produces a curd with a weak structure which is unable to retain the fat properly. This difficulty may usually be overcome if the following suggestions are observed: (1) Have ■the curd fairly firm before running off the •whey. (2) Do not pile it alter matting, and thus avoid the pressure consequent upon having ■several pieces placed one on top of another. (3 N . Mill the curd at least one hour before saltins?, but do not stir it afterwards any more thau is necessary lo prevent it from matting. (4) Keep the temperature a little lower at all stages after-running off tne whey. A curd which is put to press at SOdeg will make a closer cheese than if it had been kept warmer 1 , everything else being equal, &vA the lowering of tne temperature tends to harden the fat and solidify the curd, and in that way prevents loss. Curd which is kept in a single layer will not "become as " flakey " as it does when it is piled, but the proper " mellowness " and change as shown by the hot-iron test will come on just -the same. This flakiness is more or less of a mechanical condition, due to the pressure and tendency to spread when the curd is piled in hiaps, hut it is often mistaken for a sign Oi maturity. The hot-iron test is far more reliable. Another point to be remembered is that Mid wifrtiot mature so qtiicky at a low ternpoiature as it will at a higher one.

WEAK, Or-EX-BODIED CHESSE. There are a good many cheese having weak "body and very open texture. These are defects entirely clue to faulty methods of manufacture, and the responsibility for such must be shouldered by the cheese-rcaker. The body of the cheese is .determined very largely by the condition of the 'curd at the time the whey is removed. If the curd at this stage is soft and tender the chances are the cheese will be short and tender m body. If acidity is allowed to develop to any extent while the curd is in a soft condition a more or less sour cheese will bs the result. It is not the amount of acid in the curd at tbe time the whey is run off which determines whether a cheese will be sour or not,' but rather the condition of the cnxd as regards fiimtiess when the acid develops. The curd must be firm and slightly elastic, so that when a handful is pressed together it falls apart readily afterwards. Two causes contribute to openness in the cheese. In the first place, it is a common eiior to hurry the process by salting and putting to press too soon — that is to say, before the curd has become sufficiently mellow to mould together readily under "the pressure. A sweet cheeso is always open, because it resists the pressure and huffs," or swells, after removal Mom the press. Secondly, the pressure applied in many cases is not heavy enough to do the work nroperly. It requires a man's strength with a lever at least 31ft to 4ft long. The levers on many pies&es are not over 2ft long, and, moreover, it is doubtful if some of these presses would stand any greater strain. Possibly the reason why this state of things exists is because the first gang-presses were biought here from the United States, where, as a rule, they give their cheese comparatively little pressure, owing to the fact that a large proportion of the output 'is intended for local consumption — a trade which seems to prefer an open cheese. British buyers object to open cheese, boause they have come to associate " openness " with a tendency to early deterioration.