ON THE LAND

Taranaki Daily News, 8 June 1927, Page 11

ON THE LAND

IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. DECREASE IN OUTBREAKS. London, March 9. An extraordinary discovery, made by the Foot and Mouth Disease Research Committee, was announced in advance of their report by Lord Bledisloe, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, in the House of Lords. The virus has not yet been isolated, he stated, but it is now proved that whereas the virus becomes inert in the flesh of a carease twenty-four hours after slaughter, it remains active for thirty to forty days in the blood, and for seventy six days in the bone marrow. One immediate result of this discovery, which he described as one of the most valuable made, in this branch of research for many years, is that the Government are about to issue an order compelling pig-breeders who use slaughterhouse offal to boil such offal before using it as feeding stuff. A GRAVE SOURCE OF I ANGER. Figures given by Lord Bledisloe show a striking decrease in foot-and-mouth outbreaks following the tracing of a case in Lanarkshire last year to pig carcases of foreign origin. A drastic order prohibiting the importation of carcases from the Continent was- then made, and the steady decrease of British outbreaks, taken together with the new discovery and the continued increase of outbreaks abroad, show that science has put its finger on one of the gravest sources of danger to British stock breeders. Lord Bledisloe said that there have been only nineteen outbreaks this year, compared with thirty-nine in the same period last year. Outbreaks had fallen from 1929, involving a payment of £2,205,000, in 1923, and 1440, with a payment of £1,389,000 in 1924, to 204 last year, when £128,000 was paid in compensation. In the same period foreign outbreaks have increased enormously, and the numbers for last year were:— Germany, 187,200; Denmark, 97,000; Belgium, 3.5,000; and France, 48,000. “The order prohibiting foreign importations,” said Lord Bledisloe, “has protected us against the real danger of the prevalence of disease so near our shores.” He added that the research committee had traced many of the recent outbreaks to the consumption of slaughterhouse offal by pigs. The chairman of the research committee which has made the new discovery is Prdfessor C. J. Martin, F..R.5., director of the Lister Institute and Professor of Experimental Pathology in the University of London. FEEDING AND MILK. VALUE OF VARIETY. The dairy division of the United States Department of Agriculture has been investigating problems pertaining to advance feeding of dairy animals. Since the high producing cow has become so common the problem of feeding her has become more complex than feeding an ordinary animal. The early students of feeding did not recognise the differences in proteins, did not relay stress upon the necessity of an adequate quantity of mineral matter, or take into consideration vitamines found in the feeds which form the cow’s ration. Several kinds of feeds were suggested for making a cow’s ration (says an American authority), because it was thought that variety made the ration more palatable. This is true, but perhaps a more important reason is that few, if any, of our plants or grains supply a perfect protein, that is, a complete protein for the manufacture of milk which contains a complete protein.

It is, therefore, necessary if the animal is to be properly fed and to secure the best results, to feed several kinds of grain in order to make sure that a complete protein is supplied for making milk. The experiments have revealed clearly that unless the animal’s ration contains an adequate supply of lime and phosphorus the cow draws upon her bones for the elements. One of the reasons why abortion reduces the milk yield is because the cow has no period of rest for restoring the materials which have been taken from her body for the manufacture of milk not supplied by her ration. Indeed, it is possible that the lack of minerals may have caused premature birth. On the latest figures the sub-continent of South Africa carries approximately 14,000,000 head of cattle, which incidentally is about 1,000,000 more than the whole of Australia. Of the foregoing 14 million, the Union of South Africa claims about 10,000,000; Southern Rhodesia, 2,000,000; Bechuanaland, Southwest Africa and Basutoland, over half a million each, and Swaziland and 'Portuguese Territory the balance. What should it cost to produce cheese? It is generally accepted that when the costs per pound of fat do not exceed 3.8 d lb f.0.b., the factory is in a very satisfactory state; when the costs are 4d or under, a fair return is secured; anything over 4.5 d is getting on the high side; when cheese is costing over 5d to f.o.b. per pound of fat, the danger line has certainly been passed. The factory whose wages costs do not exceed l.ld per pound of butterfat is working economically enough, but every point above that figure represents waste in some direction.

The increase in primary production in Canada during the last quarter of a century has been phenomenal. For instance, wheat production in 1925 was more than 600 per cent, larger than in 1900; oats, 200 per cent; barley 500, per cent;rye, 600 per cent; forage 200 per cent; and hay, 100 per cent. Horse-

breeding for the term had expanded by 125 per cent; beef-breeding, 70 per eent; and swine, 88 per cent. BUTTER AND CHEESE. LAST YEAR’S FIGURES. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, June 2. In the statistical report on trade and shipping, issued by the Statistics and Census Department, it is gathered that the dairy industry was responsible for providing the Dominion last year with exports valued at £15,086,870, made up of butter £8,605,188, eheese £5,939,359, casein £106,251, dried milk £300,794 and preserved milk £35,278. The quantity of butter exported during the year was 1,168,040 cwt, and of this quantity 1,130,037 were taken by the British Empire, and only 38,003ewt by foreign countries, and yet it can be said that New Zealand butter gets a wide distribution. Thirteen countries within the Empire know something about our butter, although the exports to some of the places is very small. The United Kingdom took 1,062,278 cwt, leaving only 67,759 cwt to be taken by the other twelve countries. After the United Kingdom, Australia was our best market, for the Commonwealth took 34,945 cwt, valued at £289,453; then came Canada with 29,403 cwt valued at £230,562. The exports to other countries were very small. Last year New Zealand butter was exported to eight foreign countries, the quantity being .38,008 cwt and the value £297,776. The I United States was the principal buyer |of our butter, taking 22,958 cwt, valued lat £172,593. Our butter appears to have a very wide distribution, and it is doubtful whether more markets can be found for it. Instead of wasting efforts in endeavouring to find new markets it would be more advantageous to try and stimulate consumption in the countries to which our butter is already sent. The exports of butter last year from Auckland were 728,518 cwt, valued at £5,471,639, from Wellington 261,443 cwt, value £1,926,39’6, from Lyttelton 32,226cwt, value £241,957, from Dunedin 21,185 cwt, value £154,983, and from I other ports 124,668 cwt, value £900,213. The average value is equal to nearly 149 s per cwt. The quantity of cheese exported last year was 1,461,548 cwt. Of this quantity I 1,450,0i39cwt went to the United KingI dom, leaving a balance of ll,sllewt, i which was shipped to nine different countries. Wellington was the principal centre for the export of cheese, the quantity shipped last year being 770,183 cwt, valued at £3,168,302. Auckland came next with 220.571 cwt, valued at £929,738. The exports from Lyttelton amounted to only 25,876 cwt, worth £104,031, and Dunedin 38,584 cwt, valued at £132,360. From other ports there was shipped 411,334 cwt, worth £1,604,928. The North Island has almost a monopoly of the dairy industry, and the exportable output of butter and cheese is veryjnuch greater than from the South Island. ( In addition to butter and cheese New Zealand exports powdered, dried, condensed and preserved milk, but the figures of these products are small. The exports of dried full cream powdered milk amounted to 4,'249,5621b, valued at £222,956, and of this quantity 4,2370781 b went to the United Kingdom. Auckland has a monopoly of this business. The quantity of dried milk exported was 5,350,2921 b, valued at £BO,838, and of this product also the United Kingdom took the major portion with 5,470,2241 b, Auckland holds a monolopy of this trade also. The exports of preserved and condensed milk other than dried were valued at £35„278. New Zealand dairy produce is fairly well distriubted, and our best future market appears to be the United States, especially for butter. JOTTINGS. Basie superphosphate is a useful manure and has come very much into favour of late. It is prepared by adding slaked lime to ordinary superphosphate until the mixture is distinctly alkaline. Don’t be content to grow the same crops year after year, and to feed in the same old way without trying out new ideas to see if modern methods of cropping and feeding are superior to the old. The yield of mangolds on light and poorer quality lands is proverbially uncertain. Silage, though it will not produce the same quantity of food per acre as a good crop of roots, is much more reliable, and therefore more satisfactory for the dairy farmer upon soils where roots are uncertain.

It is best to plough the land as soon as one crop has been utilised, giving as long a period as is possible before sowing the next. If necessary, a second ploughing will then be able to be given later.

In bulletin isued by the British Minister of Markets, it is stated that during 1924 about 775,000,0001 b of butter entered world trade, the chief supplying countries being Denmark, New Zealand, Holland, Russia, Australia, and Argentina.

It may be quite correct that turnips contain anywhere around 90 per cent, of water, but there is something in the remark made by a farmer: “It must be very good water.”