THE USEFUL SCRUB COW.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13728, 18 August 1908, Page 8

THE USEFUL SCRUB COW.

In a letter to the Dominion advocating the breeding of scrub cows, Mr James Prouse, of Levin, states: "I claim that the cow to breed is one that can be milked in five minutes. How many farmers give this subject a moment's thought? With them the only things considered are pounds of milk and points of butter-fat. Their time, apparently, is of small consequence ; and yet, if .they gave the matter any attention at all, they would be startled by the results. The difference of time between a cow that takes five minutes to milk and the one that takes fifteen minutes will, in a week, amount to two hours twenty minutes, which time, if paid for at one shilling per hour, will amount to 2s 4d per week. It will thus be seen that the man who breeds a herd on the lines I advocate can save more in the labour of milking the cow than the whole cost of it§ feeding. "To me it is passing strange that a matter of such vital importance as free and easy milking should have no place in the ideal of the pedigree breeder. Even J. P. Dowling, on page 66 of his book 'Practical Dairying for Australia/ in Itule 36 for the guidance of the judge, says : 'The teats moderate size, large enough to be held in the 'full hand-squarely placed behind and wide apart/ It made no difference to the pedigree breeder if sho took twenty minutes to milk. There were no extra pomts^ for the easy against th© hard milkers or dribblers. In the 'New Zealand Dairyman' of April 20 of this year there is fc, photograph of the 'Champion Butter Cow of the World/ a Holstein Freisan. But I should say from fc her photograph it would take twenty minutes to milk her, by the style and shape of her teatsi "I claim, therefore, that if the Government is going to help the strugglino dairy settler— who has always more to do than he can find, time for—they should breed stock that will save time and make money for him together, and what is now, often drudgery would then be a pleasure to him and his bovine rriends. , "}Y G all know that if anyone wants iashionable articles he must be prepared to pay fashionable prices : but ] advocate the article that most dairymen want ; and I hope that some attempt will be made at Weraroa tc make provision to supply this want." A Taratahi dairy farmer who has made a modest fortune at the business ot milk production informed a Wairarapa correspondent that he thou<r]ii that £17 per cow per annum was foe low an estimate of the gross returr winch dairy farmers should recem who railed their milk away for the Wei lington city trade. In a 'herd of sixto cows his gross return from butter fal SSEP -!n d to the Tarat ahi Factory was £. d 10s per cow per annun*, and lit thought there should be a much lar^i margin of profit obtained by roiMrijn ing to Wellington: than was s&ied lhe demand for milk from the Waira rapa tor }yellmgton consumption i<s oi the increase and is certain to affect "th* price of dairy land to an appreci,ibl< degree in the course of a few years / A big bullock sold at the Addinetoi saleyards on Wednesday week on ao count of Mr W. O. Rutherford, iMon S» weighed when killed and dressec . Speaking of New Zealand's preai butter rival, Denmark, Mr Cucldic (Dairy Commissioner) says that in Den mark they do not feed the calf , on milk to begin— they give it pure null tro . m the cow, and when giving ?Wn milk they soak oil cake in it, and Mte] on give the calf mangolds, which .* tin principal food grown for cows. Th< equipment of dairy factories in Den mane m not as good as those of Sev but in everything pertaimm to butter production the Danes lee, everything very clean. He urges th importance of this on th© farmers o. New Zealand. Once mow a high wind from tin couth, carrying its load of salt, ha: visited the district and left its narl on all things green or growing (say; the Hawera Star). Of it., uTtiinat, benefit to the pastures there is litti« doubt but at the present time farm ers Will have cause to regret the loss o grass and the effect on stock Tin country-side shows a blackened appear ance— perhaps not as bad as in previou: years, but still quite sufficient to mak< the loss ot'the new' grass a matter foi concern. Feed has been short 'lurim the wuiter, but enough has been ? -<m ing to keep stock in good condition lioxthom fences show the inroads th< storm has made, and whereas on oik side of a road there is a beautiful jn-oei surface, on the other there is no' yes tige ol colour, the wood being Dare o leaves. Pino and such-like trees gjjov that peculiar grey tinge whicli mdi cates only 100 surely t)ie coming of i stunted and half-sided tree. There arrived from Home.by lh« i\lamari, a. consignment of black-raw (Highland) sheep, practically the fjrsi importation of the famous Scots nutton sheep to this country. They arc from the famous flock of Adam -Vrchi bald, of Overshiels, Scotland, and hav< been imported by Mrs Townshcnd <i,e< Miss Moore), of Glenmark, Canterbury lhe Mamari also brought a vouiu Jersey bull from the great Englisl herd of Lord Rothschild for Mr v'ava«mr of Ararlborongh. Tho b ill s £ good specimen of the English type---anstoeratio all over. He lifts tin almosi perfect head, and it is the best part cj liim. His bodyM's on the fine side, nin he could have stronger indications' oj constitution. However, the young nri s . tocrat ls a fino specimen of the brund and should repay Mr Vavasour for Hit enterprise. The new factory of the Eltham Dni n Company will be in concrete and thi jmotivo power will be water. *Any tactory,, says Conn, which dc. pends upon tJ)o farmer to wash nis aim will suffer for it. „ T i l ?.J? a , st season's output of buttor ol the Hillsborough Dairy Company, which was consigned to a Cardiff firm, net tec ll|d, one consignment realising 154s In Cc-nn's.excellent work, <f Practica Dairy Bacteriology," reference ;s i,iad( to tJie vexed point of the relation ol the discarding of the first milk drawr and tho thorough milking out oi" the udder to the number of bacteria h the milk. Jt has commonly been .supposed that it would always' pay to discard tho first of tho milk as this >vonlo carry away any bacteria which nia\ have collected at the mputh of the teat. Corin shows, however, that there is not m,uch in this contention. On the other hand, he maintains thai thorough milking, or complete stripping, has a very important bearing or the bacterial Content. If any milk it leit m the Udder it hastens the development of bacteria in the udder, and this, of course is conveyed with the milk at the subsequent milking. One of th*j best rocords for Jambs sc far this season (says the Pnteu Press) is reported by Messrs W. and G

Balmforth, who from a small flock of ewes have 150 per cent of lambs. Maize is going to be used more largely in the Manawatu this season than formerly. It is being- planted principally with the object of providing »reen feed for dairy stock in the dry .manner' months. Of course if the nature of the season does not demand its use it will be allowed to mature. The horse-iooth is the variety principally favoured in the district.

Holding up milk is rather a common habit with some cows, and is sometimes worst with the very best milkers. It often happens when a stranger milks an animal, and it happens still -noie often when the milker is rough, and abuses the animal. Some people think that a cow can intentionally hold up her milk and prevent the milker from drawing it easily, but this is not so, for the whole- matter is practically due to nervous ■ tension, which in its turn is due to fright. Many years ago Mr Hoard, one of the most noted dairymen in America, and editor, of H>ard' Dairyman, pointed out that a cow milked in proportion to her nervoxis power. The sluggish plethoric animal never yielded so weir : as one of a nervous, active disposition — in tther words, the more brains^ a cow had the better she milked. The consequence of this, however, is that it is just the brainy, nervous; cow that is the most easily frightened ' and upset, and which should never be milked by a. rough or brutal milker. The cow does 'not knowingly and intentionally hold up. What happens is that when she is <: raised" or flustered, or has her nerves on edge from any cause, the tension induced extends to the milk glands, and the milk ceases to be secreted and to flow easily. As it is a fnct that the nervous animals are naturally the best milkers, it follows that it is the breeding and development of those that should be encouraged, but it equally follows that it is the workpeople who are gentle and careful with the cows that should bo employed. A nervous animal will fail as a milker if, roughly treated, and this ! is the reason tiiat a stupid, second-^ate cow often mijkjf as well as a really bet- j ter one. The stupid cow does not mind i being "knocked about"' a bit, while the better animal does badly, because her nerves get upset with the bad treatment, the milk is frequently "hold up," and the total yield reduced.

The woman who woars good clothes over an inferior corset repeats the folly of the man in the parable -who built his house' on the sand and went out with the first flood. T-he costumes that fit and sit properly are always based on the P.D. Corset. The wearer looks smart, and generally makes the most of herself. The wise woman wears no other. Suppose you get a P.D., now. 5,