Live Stock and The Farm.

Southland Times, Issue 19900, 19 June 1926, Page 14 (Supplement)

Live Stock and The Farm.

THE AYRSHIRE COW. LAND DRAINAGE.

GIVE THEM ENOUGH TO EAT ASSIST COWS TO PRODUCE. GRASS ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH. (By Hugh G. Van Pelt.) Give ’em enough to eat. That is the first principle of successful feeding. It is fundamental. Until cows have enough to eat there is no need of worrying about other rules or secrets for making them produce, reproduce, or remain in condition and health. A cow is not ' a worker of miracles. She never has or never will make a pound of milk except from the air, water and feed she consumes. These are her raw materials. She must have them in abundance if she manufactures milk in profitable quantities. Cows that are forced to depend upon grass alone do not get enough to eat. Hundreds of feeding tests prove the truth of this statement. There may be a few days—a very few days—in the early spring, when pastures are at their very best, that cows will get enough grass so they will refuse grain, but at least nine-tenths of the average pasture season some grain ration must be fed along with the grass, if profitable production is sustained. The only reason some cows do as well as they do is because they build up a body reserve when dry, upon which they draw after calving. Depending upon grass alone, this body reserve is drawn on until entirely exhausted. Milk production then falls off and the loss is much more than the cost of the grain which could be required to furnish sufficient food to maintain'this body reserve. Not only is milk production sacrificed—along with it the cow’s health and condition are penalised. We must remember that many times during pasture season the grass is mighty short. Other times its goodness is burned out from a hot, dry spell; at still others it is tough, wiry, and dusty: Cows travel miles each day in the hot sun, pestered with flies, as they seek this pasture food. It is only common sense that under such conditions cows need some grain along with the grass, if they are to get enough to eat to maintain high milk production. Grass and grain are the ideal feeding practice. They are ideal because they give economical milk production. Try feeding some grain ration along with pasture. Keep milk and feed records, and you’ll find the little grain used during the summer is just about the best dairy feed investment you ever made. Grass alone is not enough.—Reproduced from “Larro Dairyman.”

FARMING METHODS. BRITISH CONSERVATISM. Fanning methods in East Yorkshire were criticised by Dr Ruston, of the Agricultural Department of Leeds University, when on March 26, he addressed a large meeting of farmers at Hull. He had come to the conclusion, he said, that the Yorkshire farmer was second to none as far as production was concerned, but in business methods he had a lot to learn. There was a disinclination among farmers to modify their system to meet new demands, new markets and new conditions. They were much too ready to follow blindly in the steps their fathers trod. He had to go outside, with a few exception, for farms run successfully from the financial point of view. His acid test was not in crops or flocks, but the financial result of the present method of farming. Mr T. Hornby, of Driffiel, replied that experience had shown that Lincolns and Leicesters among sheep did best on the Wolds, a statement confirmed by other farmers, who stated that the smaller sheep could not stand the severe weather on the Wolds. Co-operative trading was mentioned in the discussion, and the statement was made that when tried locally it had failed. Dr ■Ruston said his criticism was based upon a close study of the accounts of nineteen farmers and upon personal observation, and the farms which had been making more than those which had some modification in their-system of farming. FRIESIAN YEAR BOOK. A COMPREHENSIVE RECORD. The New Zealand Friesian Association ' has just issued volume 12 of the Year Book, containing all the records of the association up to December 31, 1925. During the year 1925, 147 first-class certificates of record were gained by Friesians, with an average production of 499.931 b. butter-fat in 339 days. Junior four year olds averaged 548.461 b. fat, senior four-year-olds, 581,851 b. fat, and mature cows 573.821 b. fat. Friesians now hold 1379 first-class certificates of record, with an average production of 13,3751 b. milk and 470.991 b. fat. They also hold 10 first-class certificates of record for production over 9001 b. fat, and among them are Alcartra Clothilde Pietje, with 1145.24-lb. fat, and Hilda Minto De Koi, with 1046.31 b. fat. The Year Books shows for the first time a list of Friesians that have given over 2,000 gallons of milk in a year. There are 111 cows that have given over that amount. RIMLESS CHEESE. LOSS TO NEW ZEALAND PRODUCERS. A MUCH-NEEDED REFORM. LEFT BEHIND BY COMPETITION. Writing from London, Mr W. A. lorns, of Martinborough, who is representing the New Zealand Dairy Control Board at Home, states that one thing w’hich the dairy factory directors in the Dominion failed to realise was that it was detrimental to the appearance, and to the cutting up of cheese, to have the rim on. He had seen in one recently-dressed retail show window a number of English Cheddar cheese and many Canadian cheese of the Cheddar type. He drew the proprietor’s attention to the entire absence of New Zealand cheese, and he was informed that the shops would not buy New Zealand cheese with the rim on while they could procure any other make. He illustrated with one cheese how mould and cracks were starting near the rim and practically the whole of that portion embracing the rim had cracked off like a cap. He added that he could not sell broken lumps of cheese, and therefore the cap-like portion would show him a loss. “We have many factories at present making rimless cheese which is a real picture,” adds Mr lorns, “and it gives great satisfaction to the buyers. It is a pity that something cannot be done to induce all the New Zealand factories to manufacture rimless cheese/

RETURNING COWS. A VETERINARIAN’S ADVICE. One of the many troubles that beset dairymen in some districts is the difficulty experienced through their cows returning to the bull after service. Mr Dudley A. Gill, M.R.C.V.S., D.V.S.M, Government veterinary surgeon, dealt with the subject in a series of addresses to North Taranaki farmers in the past fornight. He said it was important that they should not allow the bull to run with the herd. The cows should always be led out, and while he recognised that it involved a certain amount of trouble, farmers would be well advised if it was possible for them to do so at all to wash out the bull’s sheath after every service. Cows returning should be allowed to miss a period and should be given a purgative. It was an advantage to wash them out say an hour before service with baking soda, 4oz. to a gallon of tepid water. The syringe should be well sterilised, and care should also be taken to see that under no circumstances should a cow showing a discharge on her tail be served until she had undergone a course of washing out. Newly bought cows should be regarded with suspicion and given a thorough wash out a few days before they were due to come on, and then flushed with baking soda before service. Mr Gill urged farmers to aim at feeding their cows and the bull too, as well as ever they possibly could during the winter months. The drain on a cow’s system during her lactation period was very severe, and it was during the winter months that she had to build herself up again and at the same time feed her calf. The things a cow lost most during the milking period were lime and phosphates, and it was essential that they should try to put these back as much as possible. The best source from which lime could be obtained was lucerne hay, and if this was not available, then red clover hay is the next best. Bran was the best thing to use to supply the deficiency in phosphates. Feeding lime and phosphates in this way should go hand in hand with top-dressing their pastures with lime and phosphates, and then the cows would get the benefit of it in the herbage also. At each of his demonstrations, Mr Gill was asked numerous questions. In addition to displaying a diagram of the genital organs he also showed the actual womb of a cow together with the ovaries and the vagina, observing that if farmers understood their construction then they would also understand the absurd claims that were made by some people who were putting 1 quack medicines on the market, as remedies for’some of the troubles he had been dealing with. THE BEST BACON PIG. THE COST OF FATTENING. LOSS FROM LIVE TO BACON WEIGHT. It is a great pity that no definite information can be gained in New Zealand as to which is the best pig to breed for bacon, that is, to produce a certain quantity of bacon of a quality for which there is a good demand at a price that allows us to enter into competition with the other baconproducing countries of the world. Factories and buyers recommend, of course, certain breeds as making bacon most suitable for their requirements; but has it ever been taken into account what it costs to produce that particular class of bacon in comparison with the bacon from other breeds? And are rhe people who recross prepared at this stage to prove that the bacon so produced is the cheapest to produce, having, of course, due regard for quality? The bacon factories as business institutions have their manufacturing costs worked out exactly, and cut as low as possible; but the farmer, growing and fattening the baconer, cannot for want of information and standardised methods, know exactly the cost to grow and fatten his pigs, and definitely whether he is doing the best for himself and the industry. In England there is held annually a competition known as the Whitley Cup competition, which does much to ascertain which is the best pig for bacon purposes —though it does not assist in ascertaining which is the cheapest-quality bacon to produce. The competition is among breeds, and the bacon is judged for commercial quality of meat, with proportion of lean and fat, thickness of rind, and weight of bone. Information is kept as to live weight, dressed weight, bacon weight, loss from live to dead weight, and from live to bacon weight. The records for the past few i years demonstrate that certain breeds show much more strinkage than do others whilst some lose points for the quality of bacon, thickness of rind and bone and by this competition the distinct advantages of certain breeds are given prominence. We have found in New Zealand in similar competitions with fat lambs that the judges’ points varied considerably between the live animal, the dead carcase in New Zealand, and the frozen carcase in Great Britain. Seeing that our export trade in pigs will have to be built up on frozen pork similar competition would be greatly helpful to New Zealand pigbreeders before embarking too deeply in the pig industry. HARSH AND TENDER WOOL. MATTED AND CLOTTED FLEECES. IMPORTANCE OF FEED. Harsh wool is as a rule dry, brittle, and lacking in yolk. It will snap off short when the fibre is tested without showing any stretch whatever. The scale on harsh wool is thick and irregularly placed, and Its free edge, instead of lying close up to the body of the fibre, is open, and in some cases turned back at the point, forming a sort of hook. This hooked scale is among harshwoolled sheep. A spell of warm weather in the spring tends to open the scale away from the fibre; then a turn to wet, cold weather felts the fibres together into a tight knot. Harsh-woolled sheep under ordinary con--1 ditions look bad owing to the want of yolk, which is lost by evaporation before it reaches the tip, owing to the open nature of ; the serration. Sheep of this nature, when highly fed, 1 generally run a heavy yellow yolk, which will often mislead men of considerable ' experience. The cause of harshness in some instances is the lack of feeding material in thfe yolk I for the cells comprising the fibre, the gland I supplying the yolk lying in fatty tissues 1 not sufficiently penetrated by blood vessels. Most farmers know that tender wool or I wqol with a break in it (such as often ocI curs in hogget wool) is caused by a sudden shortness of food in the late winter or early . spring. The explanation is that there is a i failure in the supply of oil to feed and > lubricate the growing cells, which, as they come through the skin, form into a solid substance, which will not give passage to ' subsequent secretions of yolk, and consequently becomes dry and weak. Further secretions of yolk are then forced out through the walls of the fibre immediately ; behind the obstruction, and set in a yellow mass.

TOP DRESSING. RESULTS IN TARANAKI. Some detailed results of top dressing were recently given to the Pahiatua Herald, and were as follows: The farm in question is one of 30 acres | in the Inglewood district, and is classed as v “a cow to 3 acres” country. In other words, it may be described as land which, under ordinary farming methods, will carry 33 to 35 cows to each 100 acres, being! fairly typical of much of the land in the famous Taranaki district. On either side of the 30 acres, are farms of 70 acres not top dressed and being farmed in the ordinary manner, carrying the ordinary herd of cows and giving the ordinary return of butterfat per acre. During the dairying season just closing, the 30 acres in question carried 21 cows, included in the herd being five heifers and five second calvers, Jersey-Ayrshire cross being the predominate breeding. No purebred cattle are kept, and the herd may be as one of ordinary careful selection. That is to say, the farmer in question has selected the heifer calves from his best cows and included them in his herd as opportunity offered, which is precisely the course followed by farmers in this district. During last winter 18 cows and one bull were wintered on the property, and this winter the herd of 21 will be wintered. No roots are grown and the plough is never used, the land being sown down with a good mixture of English Grasses. The house and calf paddocks occupy an area of three acres leaving 27 acres in which the 21 cows are pastured. During the summer sufficient hay is grown and saved for winter feeding, no foodstuffs whatever being purchased. The butterfat results disclosed are most interesting, during the past season each acre j of land producing no less than 160Ibs. of j butterfat, factory returns being produced to prove the figures. The most surprising feature disclosed by the factory returns was the evenness of the monthly figures for butterfat. In November the pounds of fat obtained, were 769, December 769, January 722, February (short month) 596, and March 6091b5. The past season may be taken as an average one for the Inglewood district, and it may therefore be taken for granted that the figures give a true average of returns, i Our representative was informed that it was quite expected that when the returns for next season are recorded the land ; would be seen to have returned no less • than 2001bs. of butterfat per acre. Now comes the interesting part of the illustration so far as we are concerned. The land is top dressed with four tons of basic slag each year, and the farmer in question has a standing order with the National Dairy Association for that amount. He has found from practical experience that high grade slag suits his land and he sticks, not only to the slag, but also to the method of applying it as to the annual quantity applied which works out at 3cwt per acre, the cost in round figures being 18s per acre. We submit to our readers that if results ! can be obtained as indicated on land such ! as is described, much better results can be obtained from the first-class country by ' which Pahiatua is surrounded. Our best land can be described, we are assured, as “2-acre to the cow country,” and, if this . is so, we should, if modern top dressing practice is followed intelligently, easily reach the results obtained from the poorer (com- j paratively speaking) land of Inglewood. ’ In any case, we think a return of 1601bs. ! of butterfat per acre is well worth going after, to say nothing of 2001bs. per acre and it is obvious that if top dressing can give these results, it is cheaper to top dress than to plough. For years we have been taught that the “plough is the thing,” but it now seems quite evident the progressive dairy farmers can very well dispense with the plough and its heavy costs, and replace with a top dressing mixture which will not only cost less but give a quicker and better return. MANAGEMENT OF PIGS. The profitable pig is the one that never stops growing from the time it is farrowed up to the time it is hauled tp market. The wise grower stimulates growth in the pig before the litter is farrowed by keeping the sow in good condition. It is assumed that 1 the sire and the dam are of the right type, i big and growthy. Pasturage, of good quality, shorts or midI dlings, meat meal to furnish protein, with sufficient corn or barley to keep them in fair flesh, make up a list of desirable foods for breeding pigs. Lucerne pea or bean, or clover hay, are valuable additions for winter feeding, and mav be scattered out so as to induce the sows to take exercise daily—a great necessity for breeding pigs. Even before the pigs are weaned they should have access to shelled maize in selffeeders as a supplement to the milk from their mothers. As soon as they are weaned they should be kept on full feed, either on self-feeders or by hand. Pigs that are well fed and have enough exercise will reach the market at about eight months of age. Don’t forget that the brood sow is called upon in developing her litter to furnish all the necessary matter to grow the various parts of the pig in the litter through her j own feed. So supply her with plenty of bone-making material; if it is accessible to her she will supply herself as she desires it.

THE AYRSHIRE. PROGRESS IN AMERICA. A notable modern instance of rare constructive skill in manipulating bovine form I and characteristics to suit a local environI ment is afforded by the case of the Ayr ' shire, the only breed of special dairy chari acter originated in the British Isles. It j was developed by the thrifty farmers of the I Ayrshire district of southwestern Scotland, I first by crossing a native stock with other i breeds and later by careful considered ; selective breeding. The foundations of 1 the now well established race are thought to have been laid between 1750 and 1780. The Ayrshire farms along the banks o’Doon and the gurgling Ayr, as well as on the hills that lead up to the highlands of southern Lanarkshire and North Dumfries, are small and the herds are close together. The country folk are neighbourly and “each kens the ither’s business.” Consequently when one has something unusually “guid” the neighbours are certain to find it out. So in developing and perfecting the Ayrshire, when a certain sire begot better calves than those found in neighbouring herds, his sons were readily saleable to ! those who sought the improvement noted. | Moreover, Scotch thriftness led to the [ heavy use in service of any bull which proved himself a good breeder. In the way full advantage was taken whenever an animal of extra transmitting qualities was produced, so that the breed was benefited in the largest way. The Ayrshire was developed to fill a certain definite want. A dairy cow was needed and the breeds in existence were not adapted to the climatic conditions of Scotland where the development of root crops and a progressive agriculture made necessary the use of dairy animals, Although other breeds have been tried and in some instances proved useful in the low fertile valleys yet none had proved satisfactory on the hill farms in competition with the native stock said to have served as the foundation of the breed now called Ayrshire. A few men therefore set themselves the task of breeding an animal with the constitution and healthy vigour to withstand rigerous treatment by the elements and at the same time make an economic return for the rather scanty rations provided. Hie success of these Scotch breeders in their search for a dairy cow is attested by the popularity of the Ayrshire in Scotland and England to-day, to which special emphasis was given at the 1923-24-25 London Dairy Shows where Ayrshires defeated the representatives of all other dairy breeds, both in the show ring and in the inter breed milking contests. Exportations have been made to many countries, and the breed has made good under widely varying climatic conditions, from the tropics to the artic, and in every longitude from Sweden and Finland to South Africa and Australasia; from Canada to Porto Rico and Mexico and Central America. The first Ayrshires to reach America were imported into Canada more than 100 years ago. They were brought from Scotland because of their ability to withstand the rigours of an ocean voyage in those days and because of the excellence of their milk. While some Ayrshires are supposed to have reached Connecticut as early as 1822 the first definite record of importation is that of the Massachussetts Society for the promotion of agriculture in 1837. Importations in conservative numbers have been made with fair regularity since, the average for the last two decades being about 200 head per year. | The story of the Ayrshire’s qualities early [spread throughout the north-eastern part of I the United States. Accustomed to gaining a livelihood on the Scottish hills, it readily adapted itself to conditions in New England, which is to this day a stronghold for the breed. More than half a century ago New York farmers learning of the hardiness and profitableness of the Ayrshire stock to the ' eastward and in Canada established herds ; and that state now leads in the number of i cattle of this breed, having fully one third of all in the country within its borders. ; Pennsylvania has awakened so the breed’s , merits it has founded many splendid herds, while in the Middle West on the Pacific coast, wherever dairying is developing, ' there is an increasing demand for breeding stock. To-day Ayrshire herds may be found upon the hillsides of every state in the , Union. In 1923 a total of 7,077 American Ayrshires were purchased by breeders in 43 States, the Virgin Islands, Canada, Central i America and China. There are now registered in the Herd Books of the Ayrshire • Breeders Association the record organisation I of the breed formed in 1875, a total of 113,457 Ayrshires, of which 82,980 are females. An important factor in increasing ( the popularity of Ayrshires in the United i States is the development of advanced re- | gistry testing. A number of highly creditable i yearly productions have drawn the attenj tion of dairy farmers to the fact that the [ type of the Ayshire carries productive , ability to a high degree. The highest of these I records is that made by Garclaugh May MisI chief of 25,329 lbs milk and 950.91 lbs of fat. This cow the champion of the breed, is still milking profitably and reproducing regularly at Penshurst Farm in Pennsylvania at 18 years of age. Records have proved the longevity of the breed and its long continued productiveness, a number of 10,000 pound lactations being recorded for ; cows more than 20 years of age. The i special pride of the breed lies, however, in its [ averages rather than in individual produc- ! tion. In the past two years, 353 records, more i than 50 per cent of them made by immature j animals and a number by those well past the age at which most dairy cows cease to I be profitable, averaged 11,038 lbs milk testI ing 4 per cent., the exact fat average being 441.44 lbs. The uniform productive capacity of the breed inclines the owners of i Ayrshires to favour the Scottish system of milk records, which provides for testing all cows in a herd rather than a selected few as is frequently the practice in the United States. Consequently they are entering cooperative cow-testing associations and setting high records with sufficient frequency to establish the Ayrshires claim to marked uniformity in a heavy flow of 4 per cent I milk. Ayrshire cows weigh about 1000 lbs. and the bulls 1400 to 2000 lbs. the . colour is white and red and brownish-red I verging on the mahogany. The typical | New Zealand Ayrshire is red with only a little white, but the more popular colour | in other sections, particularly with show--1 yard individuals, is white with only a little I red about the back and neck and a few . spots scattered over the body. The question of colour is given relatively slight consideration when the animal is above the average in other respects. The horn is characteristic, being long and curving outward, upward and slightly backward. The top line is very strong, the rib deep, the chest full, the barrel large and the legs straight and strong. Ayrshire enthusiasts maintain that this breed’s udder is the most nearly perfect of any cattle, being attached high behind and well forward and having a flat sole, with the teats of medium size and well-placed. Ayrshires are prepotent, commonly breeding true to form. There is no lover of perfection in animal form who is not strongly attracted by the lines, the vigour and character and the j perfection of udder of the Ayrshire. The : Ayrshire is notably long-lived. She matures a little slowly, being frequently at her best at from six to 12 years, . and continues I useful to a great age. She is hardy, vigori ous and disease-resistant. She is an excel- ! lent grazer and makes economical use of i the feeds she consumes. Her calves are i healthy and strong at birth and easily | raised. Her milk is of the highest quality, testing 4 per cent, in fat, the globules being I very small, and it is so well-balanced in its ■ nutrients that the breed is not only a favi ourite with market milk vendors, but i popular in certified dairies and others where quality is emphasised. Ayrshire milk is in 1 special favour with physicians and dietitians.

CALF REARING.

SOME ADVICE ON REARING METHODS. Dealing with the question of calf rearing, Mr D. A. Gill, M.R.C.V.S., Government veterinary surgeon, told a North Taranaki fanners’ meeting the other day that farmers should rear their own calves and rear more than they would actually require to replace any cows that they were putting out of their herds, as by so doing they would be able to follow a system of selection and eliminate those with bad constitutions. He was afraid that many of the troubles the farmers were experiencing to-day were due to the fact that in their natural desire to keep only those heifers from their highest producing cows, they had unconsciously overlooked constitution. So far as the average dairy farmer was concerned, he was satisfied it did not pay him to bother with calves that were not constitutionally sound. The better they fed their calves the better chance they had of making good cows. The first milk a cow gave after calving was, as they knew, colostrum. This served a special purpose, and should never be withheld from the calf, otherwise they were seeking trouble. In the first place it acted as a purgative and thus assisted the newly-born calf to get rid of foreign matter which had accumulated in its system prior to birth. If the colostrum was withheld, then scours were almost certain to follew. The colostrum also contained antibodies which the cow had in her system to help her throw off disease. The newly-born calf had not got these anti-bodies, and therefore if it was denied this natural food it was being denied one of Nature’s methods of helping it to combat disease. New milk should be fed for at least a fortnight, longer if possible, but this whole milk should not contain too high a butterfat content. Milk containing three and a half per cent, was quite rich enough. It was a well-known fact that a lot of the digestive trouble in calves was due to the fact that they had been fed with too rich milk. High testing milk should not be broken down with water but should be partially skimmed. The change from whole milk to skim should be made gradually by reducing the whole milk allowance, say half a pound a day, and adding half a pound of skim until eventually all skim was being fed. At the same time they should feed the calf some substitute to take the place of the fat. There were many calf meals on the market and he had no doubt that they were all good, but there was no necessity for the farmers to buy expensive meals. A mixture of three parts crushed oats to one part each of bran and dry linseed meal formed an admirable food for calves, and he could assure farmers their young stock would thrive on it. He did not like feeding calves on whey, but if this was unavoidable then it was advisable to add an additional part linseed meal to the mixture. They should start ■ feeding this to the calves when they Wetje about a fortnight old at the rate of about half a pound per day, gradually increasing the allowance. If to this meal they added one teaspoonful of precipitated calcium phosphates daily for each calf they would find it of great benefit in building up the frame of the youngsters. Good feeding must go hand in hand with absolute cleanliness. Regularity in feeding was also very important, and wherever it was possible the calves should be someone’s special care. If a calf started scouring it should at once be isolated and receive a dose of castor oil an' a teaspoonful of baking soda should h added to its milk. If there was a tendency to scour then, it was advisable to do this as a routine meggure. The best remedy for lung worm in calves was to feed them up, but if they were really bad then it was better to put the calves under chloroform. Lysol or copper sulphate .were good in cases of stomach worm. ( OST OF CULTIVATION. CROPPING WITH HORSES. EXPERIMENTS IN AUSTRALIA. Of iare years the costs of tractor-farm-ing have often been quoted in an effort to prove the effectiveness of the machine in ! comparison with horses. Now, few farmers are in a position to quote the actual costs incurred in the carrying out of cropping operations with horses, so the arguments are mostly on one side. Turrentfield Demonstration Farm, in South Australia, which is being run on commercial lines as a mixed wheat and sheep farm, supplies exact figures for its working horses, and, as the farm accounts are under a trained accountant, these maybe accented as correct for that district. A statement made in South Australia shows the cost of upkeep of between 36 and 37 working horses over a time of three years, which is summarised in round numbrs as follows: Wages, £7O; feed, £450; grazing. £76 : depreciation and repairs, £36; sundries, £l7; total, £649. This works out at £l7 15s 5d a horse, the distribution being: Wages. £1 8s 2d; feed, £l2 6s lOd; grazing, £2 Is 9d; depreciation and repairs, 19s lOd; and sundries, 8s lOd. In a detailed statement the cost of a horse-hour of work is put at about 8.4 d, which makes the cost of an eight-hour day 3s 24d. The estimated cost per acre of various farm operations has also been summarised as follows:—Fallow ploughing 9s 2d; cultivating 4s 9d; harrowing Is 4d; combine drill 4d 2d; drilling 3s Id; binding 7s 8d; harvester (wheat) 9s 4d; harvester (barley i 8s 2d; reaper-thresher (wheat) 7s 6d, (peasi 12s Id, (barley) 4s lid; stripper (wheat 9s 2d; stocking 2s 10. These are valuable figures to anyone interested in farm economy, and will serve as a basis for many farm contracts. Other useful costs are also given. Under costs per bu«hel, grading seed wheat is put at 6.2 d, picking (bluestone) 1.7 d, winnowing 3.2 d, bag .sewing 0.4 d. In this summary is included costs per ton of stocking Is 7d, carting and stacking hay in field 8s 2d, blinding 4s Id, chaff-cutting 13s 4d. HIDES AND THINGS. The offals of a beast are generally referred to as the fifth quarter, and a’ more important quarter these are than most men who rear and sell cattle fancy. First of all there comes the hide, which by the same token is not selling well at present, and is going to the tanners at a much reduced rate per lb. As a rule, the proportion of hide weight to live weight varies from I—lBth to l-19th, so that a lOcwt bullock might be counted on to give a hide drawing from 70 to 751 b on the scale. Strangely enough, sex differences are developed in hides. Thus, cow hides are thicker through the hindquarter and lighter in the forequarter, while bull hides are quite thin behind. and very thick over the shoulder. The hides of bullocks are intermediate, but are heavier behind than a bull’s hide, also being wider. Hides are also thicker in winter than in summer, but the shrinkage due to cure, which generally amounts to one-sixth of the green weight, is greater in summer than in winter hides. Then the other sources of by-products are multifold and various. They include such things as the viscera, the glands and even the bones. The hair and hide provide all kinds of leather as well as brushes, binder for plaster, felt for padding, as well as material for upholstering mattresses. The sinews, fat and blood can be transformed into such varying products as lubricating oil and case-harden-ing bone. The glands and the viscera lend themselves, as if by a fairy’s wand, to be transformed into perfume bottle caps, tennis strings, clock cords, surgical ligatures, violin strings, as well as preparations* which the chemist vends under bewildering names. The bones supply combs, buttons, napkin rings, crochet needles, dice, chessmen and even artificial teeth, and many other odd articles in common use whose origin is little dreamt of. Even the hoofs and horns have to their credit the source of inkwells, hairbrush backs and neat’s foot oiL It is little wonder the English butcher wants the live beast from Ireland. That he does so, on the other hand, should make the Irishman ponder over the economic choice between eating Limerick sausages and yet wearing boots made in Northampton . (

CREAM TESTS. SWEET AND SOUR SAMPLES. Does sour cream test more than sweet cream? Tfie statement is sometimes made that it does; and it is also reported that some cream buyers tell farmers to let their cream stand and send it only once a week as they will then get a higher test than if they sold sweet cream. Tests made at the dairy department of the Wisconsin College of Agriculture show i conclusively:— That the fat in milk or cream is not : increased or diminished by the souring of the milk or the cream; and That if the test of either the sour milk or the sour cream is different from the test of the same lots of milk or cream when sweet, this difference is caused by the method of taking the sample or by evaporation of water and loss in weight, but not by a change in the fat content of the milk or cream. The idea that sour cream tests more highly may have been gained from the fact that it looks thicker than sweet cream. This is because of the coagulation of the casein in the sour cream. In addition, sour cream is more difficult to mix, so as to take a fair sample. It is also likely that in testing some sour cream samples small lumps of butter-fat may be added to the test bottle. This of course would increase the test of that particular sample of cream. > NO DIFFERENCE FOUND. The effect that excessive souring may have on the test of both milk and cream is shown in the following reports of tests made to prove or disprove the claims made for the sour cream. A ’sample of sweet milk was measured into sixteen Babcock test bottles. These were placed on a shelf in a warm room where the temperature ranged between 80 and 90 degrees F. Two of these bottles were immediately tested while the milk was sweet and both tests were found to show 3.6 per i cent. fat. After three days two more of these bottles were tested in the same way as were the first two bottles, and in both cases this sour milk tested 3.6 per cent. fat. After the end of one week two more of these bottles were taken from the shelf, sulphuric acid was added to the milk, the test was completed as usual, and both tests read 3.6 per cent. fat. The remainder of the bottles were allowed to stand on the I shelf until the milk in them was three • weeks old. This milk had soured, turned i brown, and mouldy. At the end of the three weeks acid was added to four of these bottles in the same way as would have been done if the milk had been sweet. In every case a good separation of the fat took place, and a test of 3.6 per cent of fat was obtained. This shows conclusively that the souring of milk does not change the fat sufficiently to change the test of the milk. The difficulty in mixing the coagulated curd with i the whey and of getting a uniform sample | of the sour milk is the cause of any change : that may be observed in its test, which may be lower or higher than the test of the sweet milk, depending on the care used in , taking the sample. , If sweet milk is measured into test ! bottles and then allowed to stand in a warm place for days, and even for weeks, i until the milk is sour, it will be found that ■ by adding acid to such milk and completing j the test in the usual w-ay that the same I percentage of fat will be obtained as was J found in the milk when it was sweet. SIMILAR RESULTS WITH CREAM. ; A sample of sweet cream was measured with a pipette, into each one of twelve test bottles. Two of these were tested at once, , and the result were 31 per cent, and 31.5 per cent, of fat. After three days two more of these bottles were tested. The results obtained were 31.7 per cent, and 31.5 per cent. fat. After one week two more were tested with the same results, both showing 31.5 per cent. fat. At the end of the second week two of these test bottles were taken from the shelf, acid was added, and tests made in the usual way, with the result that both tests showed a reading of 31.5 per cent. fat. The same thing was done ’ with the cream in the test bottles when three weeks old. and the test was 31.5 per cent, fat or just the same as it was when sweet. LAND DRAINAGE. Drainage of land, which is so necessary for the healthy and successful growth of crops, is a question which should be considered before the land is ready for spring operations. The presence of rushes or other water plants in grass land, indicates the parts of the farm on which the operation is required. The problem of land drainage is to remove water from agricultural land where it is not wanted and does harm. Water can only get from one point to another by flowing over an inclined surface —that is a truism which it would be needless to repeat were it not that the consequences of it being forgotten are so often painfully evident. In certain places, of course, water may have to be lifted, that is. pumped on to the inclined channel; but its ultimate destination is the sea, and it eventually arrives there by gravitation. UNDERDRAINAGE. The practice of underdrainage is so prevalent that few words are needed to recommend it. Having found the lowest point or outlet from the spot which conditions indicate is requiring drainage, a main or principal drain should be taken along the greatest hollow. In the case of large fields more than one drain may be necessary. The parallel drains, which in veiy stiff clay soils should not be more than five yards apart, and about three feet deep, while in free working soils they may be as much as eight yards apart, and a foot deeper, should discharge their water contents into the main drain which should be three inches deeper than the others. The means of conducting the water is either pipes or broken stones. Pipes are now most commonly used. In laying the pipes i it is very important that a proper fall ■ should be given, so that the water and dirt may not stand and collect. They should be laid gradually deeper as they get nearer the main drain; the fall should be about an inch in every six yards. . Underdrainage should be done in the early part of the year. After laying the pipes should be covered with a layer of soil. Later, the trenches may be filled in. If the weather is wet, it is better to defer the commencement of the filling, as trampling the earth along the lines of the drains may do harm. THE COURSE OF THE RAIN. I It is often a puzzle to many how the water, which soaks straight down over the whole field can be collected in pipe lines or pipes which are placed so far apart. The answer to the question bv the man working at the drains world likely be: “The pipes draw the water in.” This is not correct. The fact is the water does not go down into the pipes at all, but rises up to them. Let us follow the course of the rain. Let us suppose that there has been a long soaking rain in the autumn. This gradually sinks straight down in the soil. More follows it all through the winter and it sinks farther and farther down, much below the level of the drain pines, scarcely any going near them. At last the rain comes to a bed of clay or some close substance through which it cannot soak. Having now come to a standstill, it thoroughly soaks the soil , which lies on this impervious bed. More • water continues to sink down and the pores | of the soil fill with it until it rises higher | and higher to the level of the drain. Now they begin their work of keeping the water down to this level, and they will keep runi ning as long as the land is in a thoroughly | soaked condition. THE CAUSE OF POVERTY IN SOILS. If poor soils are to be made more fertile the cause of their poverty must first be known. Some of the causes of poverty of soils are wetness, sourness, coldness and want of fresh air and fresh rain water. Now each of these faults may be set right

! by good underdrain age, that is, by laying j lines of pipes as indicated that will carry ■ away the water that is spoiling the land, ! and keep the surface soil from being conI stantly in a soaked and sour condition. Fresh rain water will then soak through it instead of running off the surface, and will ■ carry with it warmth and gases that will j improve the soil; as it soaks down, fresh I air will follow it and sweeten and enrich 1 the soil, as well as help the seeds to .grow, while the sun’s heat, instead of being all used up in drying the land, will be absorbed by it, and so make it warm enough for • rapid plant growth. I DITCHES AND DRAINAGES. j Why are the ditches of the farm so often ■ neglected? Every effort should be made to keep them clear of weeds and other obstructions. Where it exists the field ditch should be effectively maintained. No general rule can be laid down for the widths and depths of field ditches, as much depends upon their various duties in relation i to size of field, nature of soil, 8 rainfall, slope, etc., but it may be broadly stated that ditches are for the most part no larger than their original dimensions, which would be too small for safety were underdrainage in more general use. The broad question which presents itself at the outset of any drainage proposal is, how best to discharge into the sea that i part of the rainfall which is neither infiltrated nor evaporated. In general this ; j may be achieved by the improvement and ! maintenance of the natural channels, or j by the creation of artificial channels into | which the water which might otherwise i inundate the land can be carried off and directed by gravitation. ‘•BALANCE” OF THE RATION. It might be thought that the adjustment of the mineral content of rations would present no difficulties. At first sight all that appears to be necessary is to add a salt mixture containing anwle amounts of all mineral elements liable to be deficient. Unfortunately, however, a mineral element might be present in the food in ample amounts, but only a very small proportion may be absorbed from the intestine, and until it is absorbed into the blood stream it is not available for the animal. Thus, in the case of lime, of all the I mineral elements, probably presents the ! greatest difficulty in absorption, the | amount absorbed may vary from nil to i I over 80 per cent, of the amount in the . ; food. Even when it is absorbed, its utilis- j ation by the animal depends on the presence of other food constituents. Hence, too much or too little of one food constituent is liable to interfere with the absorption and utilisation of the others. There appears I to be a correct ratio of the constituents to ‘ each other. This ratio, or “balance,” as it has been called, is, in the case of the j mineral elements, almost as important as 1 the absolute amounts in the foods. Hence, an excess as well as a deficiency of one or more element may be harmful. In .adjusting the mineral content of rations, therefore it is necessary first to determine how much of each of the mineral elements is already present. It will frequently be • found that some are present not only in sufficient amounts but in excess of the needs of the animal. The problem is then i to balance up the ration by the addition of those believed to be deficient. • It should be explained that most of these . evil results of deficiency or excess of min--1 erals, or beneficial results of the addition | of minerals to the diet, have been obtained under experimental conditions. Their true value will be known when tests have been carried out under practical conditions. DAIRY PRODUCE EXPORT. OPERATIONS OF CONTROL LARGE SAVINGS CLAIMED. A claim that the Dairy Produce Control 1 Board had already fulfilled most of the more 1 important promises of its advocates was made by the chairman of the board, Mr W. 1 Grounds, in an address to the North Auck- < land Dairy Conference. An approximate bal- 1 i ance-sheet of the current year’s operations, ■ which Mr Grounds submitted to the dele- < 1 gates, showed that the board had been able : to effect a savings in freight rates and in 1 insurance costs amounting to £150,000, while f only £25,000 of the total levy of £52,000 1 will have been spent by the end of the board’s financial year. One of the points upon which stress had been laid was the necessity of improving i , the organisation in connection with ship- 1 ! ping, Mr Grounds said. It was claimed by i

the opponents of the board that the reduction in freights would have come about in any case, but the members of the board who had negotiated the contracts knew what a strenuous fight there had been to obtain the reduction. The Australians had been unable to obtain a reduction and had endeavoured to enlist the assistance of the New Zealand board. r Diat could not be done, however, as the two bodies were nego. tiating with two different seta of shipping companies. The saving which had been ! effected amounted to £120,000 for the first two years, while in the third year there would be a further saving of £20.000 in cheese freights. SHIPPING ARRANGEMENTS. The board was also taking up the question of improving the type of steamer to cany dairy produce, and its representatives ! would confer with the owners in London i during the slack season. More regular ar- i rivals of New Zealand produce on the Ix>n- ' don market had also been effected by the. board, which could not be blamed for the congestion which occurred in January, This had been due to the shipping strike. It had been necessary to get the produce away in order to break the strike v and thereafter the position bad been stabilised by the . board, as the shipping figures would show. | A saving in insurance costs by means of the consolidated policy effected by the board was claimed by Mr Grounds, who said that 'i . the lowest rate on cheese from the factory ' to 30 days alter arrival in London had been 13s 14d. On butter the lowest rate had been Ils 4d. Under the board’s policy the charges were 90s lOd and 7s 3d respectively. i A further saving had been the reduction I of the agents’ commissions from 2} per cent, to 2 per cent., the amount saved being in the vicinity of £lOO,OOO. It had been said that when the board made this claim it did not take into account the expenses of the organisation it would have to set up to replace the local agents. That, however, had , been done and it had been calculated that the total cost would be about £B5OO. ADVERTISING PRODUCE. These were tfie principal objectives when the Control Board was set up, said Mr Grounds. There were other minor ones, among them being advertising. The board had that in hand, and included -in the advertising matter that was being sent Home I where a number of moving picture films de- . ! scribing various phases of the industry. ; I Although the second year of the board’s ! j activities would not be completed until next . month, it was now possible to give a forei cast of the board’s balance sheet for the year. The levy for the year amounted to approximately £52,000, and of that sum about £25,000 would have been spent by the board by the time the books closed, leaving a balance of approximately £27,000. On the expenditure side the London office ac- 1 counted for £6OOO, and the New Zealand office for £4700. Board and travelling expenses amounted to £4OOO, payments to the dairy associations for handling and supervising shipments on behalf of the board to £2900, shipping inspections £l2OO. the newspaper Exporter and postages £2300, the Empire Exhibition £lB5O, and expenses of the agency members £9OO, making a total of nearly £24,000. If only the saving of £lO,OOO in shipping freights and £40,000 in insurance were taken into account it would be seen that a very substantial balance remained to the credit of the industry as a result of the operations of the board. REGULATION OF SUPPLIES. It was essential that New Zealand should maintain its connection with its customers, Mr Grounds said, with reference to the policy of regulating supplies to the market. It was not the intention of the board to withdraw New Zealand produce from the market during periods of depression Such action would allow the Dominion’s competitors to take away its customers and would prejudice the disposal of the remain- ' der of the New Zealand dairy produce that i was coming on the market. The indiscrimin- I ate withdrawal of supplies from the market I during the past season and the season before | had reacted to the prejudice of New Zea- I , land. Mr Grounds stated, in reply to a ques i; on, I that 93 points had been definitely decide 1 j - on as the minimum points required for j . butter to qualify as superfine. > j Mr W. M. Singleton, director of the dairy , division of the Department of Agriculture, advised the delegates that if any butter reached 92i points, and it had gained the standard points with regard to flavour, it . would be classed as superfine.