The W.E.A.

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 986, 31 May 1930, Page 31

The W.E.A.

Sei*vice for the Farmer

AX organisation that is Join unostentatiously among 1 ■Workers’ Education Assoeia rants considerably greater sir far bigger number of countr; selves of the service it offers Like many other worthwhile social services, the W.E.A. suffers from a chronic state of straitened finances; with an ever-growing demand for its services, it is always working up to the limit of the money available, and each addition to its financial resources immediately goes out in expansion of activities. The Association’s full-time tutorial staff is limited to two. as far MMMMMMMMWMAMMWMMf «f WV*

ig very good work quietly and the farming community is the ition. This Association waripport, and there is no doubt a -y residents would avail th emit’ they knew more about it. 1 I as the Auckland province is concerned, i | one tutor, Mr. X. M. Richmond has his headquarters at Auckland, and i the other, Mr. P. B. Stephens is > stationed in the Waikato. With such a 1 limited staff it can be seen that the i extent of the association’s personal f lectures to individual members must be extremely limited; so limited, in 1 fact that if each tutor gets round his territory once a year it is about all he l can do. To meet the need of the man on the , land the Auckland Association has inaugurated a Box Scheme. Under ’ this scheme branches of the W.E.A.

j are formed in different parts of the I province to hold regular meetings i much the same as the regular lecture I classes in the city. A branch or | group can be formed with a memberj ship of from 12 to 20, and during the j session it will receive a weekly box I containing materials for a lecture and discussion on a worthwhile subject. Each box contains sixteen copies of the lecture, together with gramophone records, pictures, books, etc., according to the subject dealt with. It is assumed that at least one member of the group will have a gramophone. Besides receiving the boxes, each group is visited at least once a year, transport permitting, by a staff tutor. Letters to the central office from groups of farmers who have tried out the scheme read, inter alia: “. . . I think many of us have learnt a great deal.” Te Papapa, 14.10.29. “. . . We reviewed the course we had

taken this winter and realised we had a fine opportunity of learning something beyond cows and butter-fat. Kaitaia, 22.10.29. There is no doubt that more and more support will be given the W.E.A. in the country when the full extent of its activities becomes better known. The box scheme was first tried out in the Canterbury Province, where it has

been an outstanding success, with the result that the range of subjects dealt with is being developed every year. Another feature of W.E.A. service this season is a course of lectures over the air by Mr. Richmond. The lectures have been drafted with a view to covering subjects mostly of topical interest to th& man on the land. Every farmer with a receiving set would find it well worth his while listening in during one of these lectures. In short, to those country dwellers who desire to think occasionally along lines not solely materialistic, the services of the W.E.A. are confidently recommended. CHEESE MAKING N.Z. METHODS CRITICISED FACTORY MANAGERS CONFER From Ov.r Own Correspondent HAMILTON, Wednesday. The need of better quality in cheese, to stimulate consumption on the British markets, was stressed by Mr. W. E. Gwillim, assistant-director of the Dairy Division, in an address at a general conference of dairy factory managers, held under the auspices of the Auckland Provincial branch of the New Zealand Dairy Factory Managers’ Association. Mr. Gwillim said that for many years now cheese of all qualities had sold readily on the British markets, owing to a general shortage of supplies. But with the shortage overtaken and cheese m plentiful supply, buyers might be expected to become increasingly particular in respect to quality, and better quality would be required to stimulate consumption. INSUFFICIENT EXPERIENCE

Unfortunately a number of brands of this season’s make were of mediocre quality in some cases, and Impart of the time this was inevitably due to insufficient experience of the best method of manufacture, and in other cases to a desire to produce the maximum yield of cheese from the milk, quality being only a secondary consideration. It had been found necessary to indicate to several factories that unless a better quality of cheese was made, consideration would have to be given to the question of cancelling the fac tory’s certificate for the manufacture of standardised cheese. As a check on the production of poorly made standardised cheese, it was proposed to introduce a regulation giving power to withdraw the certificates of factories if the quality was lower than might reasonably be expected. “It may be pointed out that over 99 per cent, of the cheese produced is manufactured by co-operative dairy companies,” Mr. Gwillim said. “This will indicate what pressure the producers may exert in connection with cheese quality, if they so desire. Producers have at least the right to say what quality shall be made, and I believe that the time is fast approaching when they will be as convinced as the vast majority of butter producers that, in the long run, the highest possible quality is the best to make, if the best net return is to be obtained. GRADING SYSTEM NEEDED “It seems that if a system of grading milk for cheese-making could he brought in, the results in the case of cheese would be as good as they have been found to be with butter. “It is, I believe, substantially true that there has been no general complaint about the quality of this season’s butter. It has been found true to grade, and finest grade is more appreciated than first grade. The standard seems to be well set, and New Zealand butter stands in a class of its own. “Most butter producers have satisfied themselves that finest grade quality is the one to aim at and maintain, and it may confidently be expected that the percentage of finest grade will continue to increase.” A hurried method of manufacture and lack of attention to detail were the greatest general weaknesses he had noted in cheese factory practice, said Mr. C. E. Stevenson, Government instructor, in reply to one of many questions he was asked in relation to cheese-making. Another was the striving after extreme yield, or more attention to quantity than quality.

Any criticism in this direction was particularly applicable to the Auckland Province, and it was very regrettable that to the end of April last Auckland had exported 881 per cent, of the total modified cheese from the Dominion. Mr. Stevenson advised managers to revert to the old orthodox method of manufacture as a remedy general. NITROGENOUS FERTILISERS INCREASING IN POPULARITY A great English agriculturist re- j cently said; Speaking generally, the! necessity for tile increased use of j fertilisers is being more and more \ realised and during the past year ' much publicity has been given to nitrogenous products as a. whole. As a result there has been a noticeable increase in the consumption of nitrogenous fertilisers and a more intelligent interest is being taken iu this subject every day. All producers of nitrogenous products are joining ( in making the value of nitrogen more i widely known and there is now at the j disposal of the farmers throughout the : world educational material of a tit or- i oughly practical nature, which should ! enable him. free of cost, to learn how to use fertilisers to the best advantage. WASH FOR COW SHEDS For walls in dairy buildings and j cowsheds a wash can be made up as i follows:- —Mix some air-slaked lime i with freshly-skimmed milk to a suit- j able consistency, so that it can be j applied to the walls with a brush. To J every gallon of this mixture add one | ounce of ordinary table salt. Use | this mixture TVheti it is fresh,

DERATING FARM LANDS

INCREASE OF PETROL TAX CIRCULAR TO FARMERS “Seeing that many of our baekblock farmers have paid road rates for years without having the privilege of a formed and metalled road, and seeing that most of the farmers’ transport on our roads is now by motor-vehicles, the farming community of the Dominion desires that all road rates be abolished, and that a petrol tax sufficient to pay these rates be imposed By doing so, the users of the roads will pay their just share of the upkeep.” This is the concluding paragraph of a circular that is being sent to members of the Royal Agricultural Society and New Zealand Farmers’ Union. The remainder of the circular is devoted to a summary of those portions of the Local Government Bill presented to the British House of Commons by Sir Austen Chamberlain, providing for the total exemption from rates of agricultural land and buildings. In addition to providing for the derating of agricultural land and buildings, houses occupied by those engaged in agriculture, their servants, or tenants, are to be valued on the basis of the rents they may reasonably be expected to produce if not occupied and used in connection with agriculture. VICTORIAN WHEAT YIELD LAST SEASON’S HEAVY DROP •Statistics issued by the Victorian Government statistician of the wheat yield in Victoria for the season 192930 indicate that the average yield for the State was 7.13 bushels an acre, compared with an average return of 12.59 bushels for the previous season. The production of wheat was 25,412,587 bushels. 11l the 1925-29 season the State yield was 46,818,833 bushels.

The most serious decline in production was in the North-Western Mallee districts iu the counties of Millewa, Weeah, Karkarooc, and Tatchera. In the Millewa area the total harvest amounted to 5,460 bushels only. The yield for the previous season was 626,812 bushels. A decline of more than 5,000,000 bushels was recorded in the Karkarooc district, more than 3,500,000 bushels in the Tatchera area, and approximately 1,300,000 bushels in the Weeah district. Other areas of the State which showed a serious decrease in yield were the northern districts of Gunbower, Gladstone, and Bendigo. EARLY BREEDING TESTS WITH HEIFERS That many dairy heifers are bred to freshen at too young an age, with a constant tendency to check the growth of the individual, was the conclusion arrived at in an experiment conducted by t 1 e Missouri Experimental Station last year. The trial included 70 Jerseys and 25 Friesian heifers.. Jerseys calvingunder 20 months of age averaged 207 pound of butter-fat during the first three lactations, while animals of similar breeding, but freshening 24 and 30 months old, had an average of 2GOlb. for the first three years. This represents a difference of 531 b of fat each year. When only the first three lactations are considered, it means a goodly income for the extra mouths the heifers were dry. That is not all. When mature, the heifers which were bred later had larger capacity, and could consume larger amounts oE roughages. This assures a lower cost of production, as digestible nutrients can be supplied more economically in roughages than ill concentrates. Similar results were obtained with Friesians.