LIVE STOCK AND THE FARM

Southland Times, Issue 20538, 14 July 1928, Page 2 (Supplement)

LIVE STOCK AND THE FARM

WOOL PROMISES WELL. FUTURE OUTLOOK BRIGHT. BRISK SALEYARDS BUSINESS. The New Zealand farming community is ringing with optimism born of a year of uniformly high prices for every class of primary produce, together with the soundest possible prospects of another successful year. In no way is confidence in the coming season more emphatically expressed than in the phenomenal prices being paid for sheep in anticipation of another season of peak wool (says the New Zealand Herald). London wool sales since the close of the New Zealand selling season have showed no weakening of the wonderfully strong position which obtained throughout our summer. Although it is wise ever to remember that the wool market is notorious for fluctuating at short notice, there is nothing that does not indicate a resumption of wool sales in the coming season, on a parity with the opening rates of the 1927-28 summer. The monthly sales crutchings, throughout the autumn and early winter, have been on a par with realizations of the main clip, and Japan and Canada have freely operated on the market. GOOD PROSPECTS FOR CLIPS. The next London wool sale will bo conducted on July 10, but it is the September auctions that give the most valuable “pointer” to what may be expected when, not many months off now, the wool buyers of the world come to the Dominion to “fill their books.” Certain it is that unless the country experiences phenomenally bad weather in the next two months, the Dominion’s flocks will clip well. Except in extreme cases, sheep do not suffer to any extent from the dry spell. The growth of wool, which depends so much upon the health and condition of the animal, has been uninterrupted. Sheep are entering the sharpness of winter splendidly conditioned, and with an abundance of feed in practically every corner of the country. Buying with the double warranty of excellent prices for mutton and the sound probability of another bright wool season, the farmer is seeking to stock liberally this year. He has the feed—after last season he in most cases has the money, too—and the saleyards witness brisk business. NEED OF HIGH QUALITY. Some things that were said- at the meeting of Romney breeders held at Palmerston North, however, emphasize the necessity for sheepfarmers not forgetting to breed from high-class rams in order to sustain the quality of the fleece. Mr Quentin Donald, president of the Wool Research Board, alluded to complaints from spinners about “hairy” wool, and Mr A. H. Cockayne, director of the fields division of the Department of Agriculture, dealt with t/he effect of climate, feed and soil upon wofed. In respect to Mr Donald’s remarks, they have been uttered at previous conferences of sheep men, and not without result, since the improvement of New Zealand wool, through better selection and management of sheep, has been commented upon from time to time by visiting experts. Doubtless the advance in scientific sheepfarming will be hastened by the work of such institutions as the Massey Agricultural College. Mr Cockayne’s remarks about the effect of climate and feed are in themselves messengers of good promise, having regard to the splendid autumn experienced and the wealth of pasture on all hands. DAIRY COWS. INVESTIGATION OF DISEASE. WORK OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Extended activities of the Department of Agriculture in connection with diseases of dairy cows have been announced by the Hon. O. J. Hawken, Minister of Agriculture, in the following statement: — “During the last three years the veterinary staff of the Department of Agriculture has been engaged in special investigation work into certain diseases of dairy cows which are causing serious loss to dairy farmers through decreased returns from their herds. These troubles—contagious abortion, failure to hold to the bull, mammitis, and vaginitis—are all associated with the reproductive and milk-yielding organs; and while more or less intensive methods of dairy farming naturally predispose cows to troubles of this kind, it has been realized that every effort must be made to assist farmers to overcome them to the fullest extent possible. The work already done by the investigators here has brought out some valuable information bearing directly upon the problems which have been faced; but ’effective and reliable methods of preventive and curative treatment, especially methods capable of application by the dairy farmers without too much expenditure of time, money, and labour, have yet to be discovered.

“During his recent trip abroad, Dr Reakes, Director-General of the Department, devoted a great deal of his time to inquiries into what was known and what research work was being done in regard to this group of diseases. He found them to be more or less troublesome in all the countries he visited, and made a special point of discussing the subject with the most ’eminent authorities in Great Britain, the Continent of Europe, and South Africa. A great deal of information bearing on the question was obtained, but it is evident that the knowledge necessary to effectively cope with these troubles is not yet available.

“On Dr Reakes's recommendation it has therefore been decided to further extend our investigation work in the Dominion, and to set aside two skilled veterinary officers— Mr C. V. Dayus (now stationed at Hamilton) and Mr W. M. Webster (now at Masterton) —to devote the whole of their time to special field investigations in connection with this group of diseases, in direct conjunction with Mr C. S. M. Hopkirk, Officer in Charge, and Mr D. A. Gill, Assistant Officer in Charge, of the Wallaceville Veterinary Laboratory. While these officers will specialize in the investigation, it will be supplemented by the general assistance of all the field veterinary and stock inspection staff of the Department. All the four officers mentioned have for the last three years been concentrating as much as possible upon the work in question, and thus already have a special knowledge of it; hence it is hoped that the more systematic and wider research now being .initiated may bring about more knowledge of these difficult troubles, and enable better methods of preventive and curative treatment to be found. The information obtained by Dr Reakes regarding methods being used in investigation work in other countries, especially in Denmark and South Africa, will be utilized to the fullest extent, and every advantage will be taken of the personal relations he established with scientists overseas who are working at the same problems for the interchange of views upon the progress of the work.” STOCK AND FENCING. A farmer’s stock is safe when he erects Eclipse Holdfast Fences. Eclipse Fences will be giving good service when others are worn out. Only the best of material and workmanship go into the making of Eclipse Holdfast Fences. Write to Eclipse Fence Co., Christchurch for Free Illustrated Catalogue.— (Advt.)

BRIGHT DAIRY PROSPECTS. “ATTRACTIVE CHEESE POSITION. VIEWS OF AN ENGLISH AUTHORITY. That the outlook for cheese and butter is bright, and that the dairy farmers of the Dominion should not hesitate to increase their output to the fullest extent, is the heartening advice of Mr. F. Warren, C.8.E., a leading London authority on the dairy produce trade, who is making an extended visit to New Zealand, says the Dominion. Mr. Warren is managing director of the well-known firm of J. and H. Lonsdale and Co., Ltd., ond of the oldest and largest dealers in dairy produce in London, and one who has been associated with the handling of New Zealand butter and cheese from the start of the industry in the Dominion. By reason of his long association with the trade, Mr. Warren is recognized as a leading authority on all matters pertaining to the handling and marketing of dairy products. During the war he was Director of Butter and Cheese Supplies at the Ministry of Food, and in recognition of his services he was decorated by the King with the C.B.E. “This is my first visit to New Zealand,” he said, to a reporter “and in making it I am fulfilling a long-standing desire. I have been connected with the dairy produce business for 37 years, and I am the son of an English farmer, so that I have a double j interest in seeing for myself the production ■ methods of farming in New Zealand. The J firm of J. and J. Lonsdale and Co., Ltd., one of the oldest and largest distributors in Britain of dairy products, is very largely interested in New Zealand butter and cheese.” Mr. Warren, accompanied by his wife, arrived from London by the Makura on Tuesday, and has already fulfilled a number of engagements in the country. He states that what he had seen in the very short time since he landed had caused him to form a very good opinion of the country, particularly in regard to the possibilities of a further extension of the dairying industry. Mr. Warren intends to make a tour of both islands, and see as much of the country and of the dairying industry as possible during the next three months. Mr. Warren expressed the view that the prospects of the dairying industry were very encouraging. “After travelling for 33 days from London to New Zealand,” he remarked. “I had got out of touch with the British market. I therefore cabled to London immediately on arrival for a report on the position, and I am pleased to find that the market has gained further strength and that there is every prospect of good prices for the coming season. The . cheese position, particularly, looks very at- ' tractive. The prices now ruling on the LonI don and other English markets indicate ; that there is a distinct shortage of supplies. This shortage can only be made up by increased production of cheese in New Zealand. “So fai! as I am able to judge from the indications, producers need not have the slighest hesitation in increasing their output to the fullest possible extent. “The American continent is shipping smaller and smaller quantities of dairy produce to Britain, and tends all the time to become an importer. This applies especially to the United States, which is now taking very substantial quantities of milk and cream and of manufactured cheese from Canada. All this should make the British market more and more attractive to the New Zealand producer. “Another important factor in the situation is that in Europe the purchasing power of the masses of the people is gradually increasing; and, as we all know, one of the first uses made of increased purchasing power is to apply it to more and better food. European countries may increase their output of dairy produce to some extent, but their populations are increasing and industrial conditions are gradually improving all the time. From this it must appear that the industrial centres will absorb a very great portion of the ini creased output of dairy produce in those countries. “In a nutshell, therefore,” concluded Mr. Warren, “it appears that the policy of the Dominion should be to produce ail the dairy produce it can, for it will find a ready market awaiting it.” INCREASING THE YIELD. MORE CULTIVATION. Successful farming depends upon the productivity of the soil, which in turn depends largely upon the proper use of fertilizers says an exchange. But the proper use of fertilizers does not consist only of applying the right kind and amount of fertilizer for special crops, on specific soils. It involves proper methods of farming generally, as was clearly illustrated by the results of a number of experiments in various parts of the Lichtenburg district last year. The results of • some experiments show clearly that the soils of the Lichtenburg and similar areas, when properly cultivated, respond profitably to the application of 3001 b. superphosphate per morgen, and that planting in rows is much superior to broadcasting, the yields of maize being doubled and in some cases trebled thereby. The results of other experiments again, where the soil was not properly cultivated, show the superiority of proper spacing of the I plants by means of the planter, over irregular spacing, but apparently the applied fertilizers did not benefit the crops. This was, however, more apparent than real. Due to poor or no cultivation, these crops were literally smothered by weeds and consequently suffered severely from drought. On the contrary, the excessive growth of weeds on all the fertilized plots showed strikingly how much the soils of the drier , areas are in need of phosphatic fertilizers. Such results are typical of what is experi- . enced in every part of the country every year. One farmer has the greatest success, notwithstanding droughts and other troubles; another, under similar conditions, is badly hit by the drought, the stalk-borer and other pests. Great wealth is lost to the country every year because many farmers are not making sufficient use of fertilizers. On the other hand, many tons of fertilizer are waster annually, because farmers expect the fertilizer to do what the plough, good seed and the cultivator should have done. The use of fertilizers is essential. It will i help you to overcome many of your • troubles, but then it mus.t be accompanied by sound methods all round. Do not > waste your fertilizers by giving your cultiy- ; ators and hoes too much rest, as happened in > some of the above-mentioned experiments. ■ Assist the soil and the fertilizer to pro- ■ dtice successful crops; and become a more ■ successful farmer by ploughing thoroughly 3 and preparing a favourable seed bed with r the harrow, disc and roller; using the 1 right kind and amount of fertilizer; apply - , ing it the 'right way at the right time; 3 planting selected, healthy and acclimatized - seed, and by thorough and frequent cultivs ations, to conserve the moisture supply of i the soil for your crops only, and to make the applied fertilizer available to your plants.

Mr Van Lear Black, a Dutch-American millionaire, has hired a triple-screw monoplane from the Royal Dutch Air Lines to take him 40,000 miles from London to Cape Town, India. Tokio, and back. The Spanish Cabinet, presided over by King Alfonso, has decided to start immediately on the construction of new naval units which will cost £20,700 each.

IMPROVING CHEESE. LESSONS FROM CANADA. THE MATURITY FACTOR. Reasons why at times Canadian cheese commands higher prices than the New Zealand product, and means whereby the quality of New Zealand cheese may be improved, were discussed recently by Mr A. A. Thornton, retired chief dairy produce grader at the Port of Auckland. Assisted by information received from the Dairy Commissioner of Canada, Mr Thornton has framed suggestions for several experiments in the manufacture of New Zealand export cheese. Touching upon the strides made by the dairying industry in New Zealand, Mr Thornton said 23 years had passed since his appointment as chief dairy produce grader at the Port of Auckland, and while in his first year of office—the financial year 190506 —the Auckland province exported only 13,595 boxes of butter, the total had grown to 1,905,764 boxes for the 1927-28 fiscal year. DEVELOPMENT IN CHEESE TRADE. “The most startling development, however,” said Mr Thornton, “has been the expansion in the cheese export trade, which has grown from 2,714 crates in the year 1905-06 to 172,241 crates last year. That is an eye-opener to those interested in the industry, and it has surprised me to find that Auckland and Wellington ports are about equal in cheese exports, in third place after New Plymouth and Patea. “Not alone have we greatly enlarged our production, but we have also phenomenally raised the standard of quality, especially in butter, until we equal the world’s best,” said Mr Thornton. He had, however, been wondering for some time just why Canada, on occasions, should command a higher price for its cheese than that received for the New Zealand product. Correspondence from Mr J. A. Ruddick, Dairy Commissioner for Canada, had afforded useful information, which threw light on the discrepancy in realizations. “In the first place,” said Mr Thornton, “Mr Ruddick says Canada is aiming at producing cheese as nearly resembling as possible the English and Scottish qualities of Cheddar cheese, and he declares a large pleasure of success has attended the effort. Regard must be paid, too, to the conditions of manufacture in the great Dominion. UNPASTEURIZED CHEESE MILK. “There they do not pasteurize the milk as we do in New Zealand, because in Canada there are so very many small factories that pasteurization would be rendered uneconomical. Then, again, the majority of Canadian cheeses are matured on arrival in Great Britain, which means that they possess a sound cheesy flavour, and generally speaking, a fuller flavour, than ours, together with a close meaty body and texture. As Mr Ruddick states, there is more of a neutral flavour in New Zealand cheese. It is well-known that unpasteurized cheese will mature much more quickly than pasteurized. Conditions of shipment from Canada differ from those in this country—for instance, cheese is transported at a temperature of about 50 degrees. “ ‘I note,’ writes Mr Ruddick, ‘that some English firms hold the cheese in Canada, presumably in order that it may be fully matured, as well as for other reasons,’ To Mr Thornton’s mind, there should never be such a difference as four and six shillings in favour of Canadian as compared with New Zealand cheese, even admitting that at times, in the off-season of either country its cheese might be in short supply and therefore in stronger demand. “I have for some time thought that if our cheese was more fully matured before leaving New Zealand, and thus arrived Home in a matured condition, we would obtain better prices,” said Mr Thornton. EXPERIMENTS ADVOCATED. “While I believe New Zealand is alone in pasteurizing its milk for cheesemaking, I am certain that the practice has been a great boon to the industry here, because it has improved the flavour and given more uniform flavour, even if there have been some serious drawbacks as well,” he added. “It has been frequently reported by Mr W. W. Wright, the New Zealand Government’s supervisor of dairy produce at Home, that there is an openness and looseness about our cheese and the appearance of eliptical holes. These are effects which have been equally noted by the trade at Home. “Under the Dairy Industry Act, factories need only hold our cheese in the factory for 14 days,- which in most cases is the term observed before it is sent on to the grading stores, where it need only be held four clear days for cooling down purposes before shipment, with the result that a lot of cheese enters the holds in a ‘green’ condition and takes quite a time to mature in Great Britain. In such a case there is insufficient of the requisite ‘cheesy’ flavour.” Mr Thornton questioned the wisdom of the reported intention of the Director of the Dairy Division and of the chairman of the Dairy Produce Board to raise the storage temperatures of cheese in some months of the year. He said such departures should be fully tested by the professors of the Massey Agricultural College, in collaboration with chief graders at New Zealand ports. Pasteurization was a proved boon to the cheese-making industry, but he would like to see one or two cheese factories experiment in the manufacture of export cheese from unpasteurized milk, send it Home and carefully compare it with the Canadian, English and Scottish varieties. One of the leading Auckland companies was

paying for milk on a quality basis, and he felt sure it would be pleased to act on the suggestion. Mr Thornton said he had noted with pleasure the appointment of Mr G. Valentine as the Massey College expert in the manufacture of butter but deplored the fact that no mention, so far as he knew, had been made of the appointment of a separate expert on cheese. FAST OR SLOW MILKING. WHICH PAYS BEST. AMERICAN OPINIONS. Have any comparisons been made of the production of cows milked rapidly with that of the same cows milked slowly? In ot her words, does the rate at which cows are milked have any influence on their production ? This query is answered in an American journal by Professors Fitch, of Kansas, Reed, of Michigan, Fraser, of Illinois, Davis, of Nebraska, Eckles, of Minnesota, and Wing, of New York. Their replies, in substance, are as follows: Professor Fitch says: “I can find no reference to experimental work that would indicate the best rate of milking cows. I do know, however, that it has generally been believed that a cow should be milked rather rapidly. I believe, too, that when a cow becomes accustomed to a milker that the speed of milking, within reasonable limits, has but little effect on her production.” Professor Reed says: “To distinguish between rapid and slow milking one who milks from 8 to 10 cows an hour is a rapid milker, while one who milks from « to 8 cows is a slow milker, 1 do not know of any experimental work done that would answer the question as to why it is good practice to milk a cow rapidly, but it has been our experience that a rapid milker gets better results than a slow milker.” Professor Fraser says: “A number of years ago I had a student do some work on this subject. He milked some cows for a time at a certain rate; he then took twice the time to milk each cow. The cows decreased in production quite perceptibly, but after the fourth milking they have just as much milk as when milked at the more rapid rate. This seems to indicate that cows tend to adjust themselves.” Professor Davis says: “We have carried on no definite experiments with reference to this. For a cow giving two or three gallons of milk I consider six minutes as rapid milking, eight minutes as medium milking, and ten minutes as slow milking. Based on some milking machine experiments carried on a number of years ago at the Pennsylvania State College, it is my opinion that reasonably rapid milking should be encouraged. The element of time (labour) is a factor that must be considered.” Professor Eckles says: “Rapid milking is always advised, and I believe is based on sound experience. However, so far as I know, no definite scientific experiments have been made to determine the actual facts. I cannot even give a theory as to the physiological reason for the better results which apparently follow rapid milking.” NEW ZEALAND WONDERS SHOWN ON FILMS. PICTURES TAKEN ON CANADIAN SOCCER TOUR. A number of citizens were privileged to attend a private showing at the Dominion Theatre of the films brought to Canada by Adi. James Adam, manager of the Canadian football team which toured New Zealand last year (says a British Columbia paper). The two reels took twenty-five minutes to run off, and when they are released for distribution in Canada theatregoers will be treated to a very liberal education of the wonders of New Zealand. The films will be shown in Victoria at a date to be announced later. Although this province possesses a great deal in the way of natural beauty, New Zealand offers a variety of wonders and scenery which it is difficult to believe could be crammed into such a small place. It has everything, from geysers, mud pots, and miniature volcanoes, to great towering peaks, topped off by Aorangi (Sky Piercer),, which pushes nearly 13,000 ft skyward. The 1 pictures take one from a boiling, steaming spring to the cold, jagged glaciers, down calm, peaceful rivers with dense vegetation ' on the banks, and into the beautiful fjords which rival the best in Norway. The pictures show aerial views of the leading cities—Auckland, Wellington, Christ- | church, and Dunedin. There is a comedy ' feature in Christchurch, where the streets are alive with bicycles. The boast of the town is that “everyone owns a bicycle,” and it certainly looks like it. War dances and greetings by the Maoris are also of interest. The tongue plays a great part in these events. The Maoris are very strong, powerful men, and their flappers put on a show all their own, in which, strange to say, the tongue plays no part. There are glimpses of the Canadian football team in the pictures. They are shown playing at Auckland before 23,000 spectators; at Dunedin, Wellington, and Christchurch. At Wellington a splendid shot is made of McDougall, the New Zealand goalie, who plays like a jack-rabbit, and saves ten whistling drives in almost as many seconds. The Canadian players are shown far up on the glaciers; looking at Sutherland Falls, 1,900 ft in height, the highest waterfall in the world; travelling on the Wanganui River, and in various other parts of the country. Aid. Adams is easy to pick out in the pictures. The pictures will undoubtedly meet with a great reception wherever they are shown.