AGRICULTURAL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13834, 20 February 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

AGRICULTURAL.

. A little over quarter of the luilk supply coming into the Riverdale Cooperative Dairy Factory, Taranaki. at tlie present time, conies from mil King machines, and the cheese is grading The"dairy farmer who wishes to improve the quality of his milk must look to breed rather than to the character of the feed. Within the breed he most =select those animals shov\n by the fat- test to yield high percentages of the desired ingredient. I j ur +i 1 ° suitable animals, he will reach the quantity of fat sought by supplying lus cows with nations ample in ' rich in digestible components and altogether palatable and wholesol' r ;tinoA. correspondent m Victoria o on the high, land values in the district of that State sums iiP the position . as follows -.-Sheep and fat Ss have forced values from to or tiat icre to £>B £ind > . up to £f . where £IOO per- acre i> reached dairying is the Reading tacto^ rn* o Qvstfiin of mixed ., lals ofH to £2 10s per acre are paid ; n - narts of the western for alone, the sown grasses he, n D entirely unassisted by crop S t>- • About the worst way to statis t sit down and figure out the I ro %>, orbfit on ten hens in a year, multiply that bv 10, or 100, or 1000, and tnen (t 0 and" buy 100, or 1000 hens, and expect to realise to the extent of your calculations. There are two ways to start that ensure all the pprofit there is to be obtained from the business First, to start with half-a-dozen head ' without in any way depending on them, and study all the little intricacies of the business as you go along, growing until you feel qualified to make a living from it on a large scale. Second, to take a year (or two years, if necessary) on the farm of some successful poultry keeper. Do not rush baldheaded into the business any r.ore than you would into the grocery or butchering, or any other business, ol which you have had no experience, ion willbe sure to fail-if you try thai way. This-may Seem -discouraging, »mt it .s better to discourage you than to let you spend" your good money discouraging y ° UrSe coAIMONW E ALTH LAND . HOLDING. A very interesting return lias_ been presented showing liotv the lands m the various States of the Commonwealth are held. lands which have been alienated absolutely only 4.0S pei 1 cent, of the total area of the Commonwealth <89,247,790 acres) has passed from the Crown, but 6.44 per cent. (122,604,785 acres) is either alienated or in. process of alienatipn Of this total 49,970,330 acres (20.16 per cent ") are passing into private hands in ' ■ .sST South Wafes, . acres (47 r 71- per cent.) m Victoria. 15.322,b-ld acres (3 68 per cent.) in* South Aus-S-in addition .to 473 289 acres <Ol4 per cent.) under lease with covenant to purchase, 12.375,902 acres (2.01 per cent.) in West Australia, and 5,479,538 acres (32.06 per cent.) in Tasmania. Thus nearly, one-halt ot tne public estate in Victoria, and one-third in Tasmania, has passed from the Crown, as against a quarter m South Wales. Altogether /46,001£9-. - acres (or 39.21 per cent.) of the total ': area in the various. States is heid uncler lease or license, over one-half ot this area being in. Queensland and 2sew ■ South "Wales, while-no less than 1,034,625,963 acnes are unoccupied in the .Cdmmonwealth, representing 04.30-per cent: of the whole. Of this vast area ■nearly 700 million acres are m _tlie Northern Territory and West Aus tralia, and it is safe to say that a . - -- proportion of it will for many vears to come; <3.o< per ce . of the area of West Australia is m this TO PULP FRUIT. The plant necessary for P ul P m S ° n moderate scale for the wholesale trade does : not involve a J e ry large of capital. A large shed djTideci into Uo rooms will usually afford ample accom- • modation for the fittings and Utensils required. In' one room the fruit , boiled in smill copper vats of a capa- * ciW of 30 gallons" each, which are arranged against the wall, the remaining space being occupied by the casks and other receptacles into which the boiled ptilp is poured and allowed to cool. ' The second room contains the boiler which generates the steam for heating the copper vats, and in this room the -caikl jars, tihs, etc., containing the , / pulp are finally closed ana made ready * - * ' for market. Any type of boiler is suitable so long as it- will steam readilv at a small expenditure of coal. The vat consists of copper pans with outer jackets or pans of iron, upon the rims of which the inside copper pans are suspended. Between each inner and outer pan there is a space of halt an inch in which the hot steam circulates'. The vats are supported on uprights fitted with brackets, which al- ' • low them to be turned for emptying or filling as the case may be. Sometimes the pans are heated by hot water in--stead of by steam, but this system is not considered so satisfactory. The method of dealing with various kinds of fruit may now be described. It should be noted that the better the quality of the fruit the better will be the pulp. In the ease of hard fruits such as apples and pears the fruit is first cut up - into small pieces without being peeled and without removing tlie cores or seeds. For the finer kinds of jellies it is,' however, better to grind or crush the fruit in a pulping machine. lhe pieces of ruit are afterwards put in cold water to prevent them turning brown, and if they show a. tendency to dis-colour quickly, salt is added to the water at the rate of. rather over U oz to the gallon. The next step is to deposit the cut fruit in the vats in which it is boiled with a little added water until it becomes quite soft. This operation is assisted by the use of a wooden stirrer. When the fruit lias heen •boiled to a pulp it is strained through hair sieves which remove all the coarse parts, cores and seeds. The strained pulp is then again boiled and continually stirred until it is of such | a consistency that it will hang without dropping from a silver spoon dipped into the mass. Apples or pears will usually yield a fifth of their weight in pulp. If very hard or unripe fruit is used, sugar should be added at the rate of -lib to lilb per 101b of fruit, as required. . ' For plums and soft fruits the process is almost identical with that described above. Ripe plums, the-fruit of which separate easily from the stone, make the best- pulp. The plums are put into the copper vats described above, and sufficient water is added to cover the top layer of fruit. The process of boiling is then proceeded with, the contents of the vats being constantly stirred until the whole becomes a pulpy mass. This is then poured through a cow. hair sieve to remove- the skins, stones, and coarse particles, and the strained pulp is again boded: but at this stage sugar is usually added at the rate of 4.Ub to each cwt of fruit converted into pulp. The boiling and stirring are continued until the pulp is thickened sufficiently to hang from a spoon without dropping. For raspberries and strawberries the foiling must not be prolonged, and lhe

pulp need not l)e strained through so Hne a sieve as in the ease of plums.

The scum must in all cases be skimmed from the pulp . at the first boiling, and this operation should never be-neglected in the pulping'of stone fruits. Fruit pulp can be prepared without addition of sugar, though sometimes a small quantity is added in the process described above. The usual practice, however, is to pour a solution of sugar-(iii the proportion of IJlh of cane sugar to -.i-gallon of hot water) over the pulp after the latter has been placed in the iars or other receptacles, and immediately before those are closed. When no sugar is added to the pulp the latter is weir shaken down in the jars or tins, which are then placed for a short time in a warm oven until a hard layer has formed on the top of the pulp. The iars, or bottles intended to hold the pulp must be thoroughly cleansed before being used. They should be first well washed out with hot water, then rinsed .with tepid water containing a little salicylic acid, and afterwards dried. It is a good practice to limewash the walls of the shed in which these receptacles are cleaned. Small casks for pulp are sometimes treated for four or five minutes with a solution of loz of bisulphate of liitie dissolved in a quart of water. Tins are the most suitable receptacles for the storage of pulp. After being filled tlie.y are -soldered down and boiled in water, which makes. it possible to detect any tins that are not air tight. Tins take up very little room and preserve the pulp'fSr a considerable period.

Glass bottles are sometimes used — the best are those which are closed with glass-stoppers or flat glass plates, and afterwards tied down with parchment paper, and there is an improved form of bottle which can be hermetically sealed. The bottles must be boiled after the pulp .has been put into them.

Casks are occasionally used for pulp which is to be stored for some time, but they are chiefly employed for tne cheaper kinds, such as apples tnd plums. A cool dark shed is the best storage place • for pulp, and jars or other receptacles should be -placed on open shelves round the walls so that the pir may have free , access to them. The principal points to which should be devoted are • the processes of boiling the. fruit. -The iirst boiling should be continued only so long as .the consistency of the mass is such as will enable the pulp to pass through the sieve for straining, and at the second boiling the pulp must i.-ot !?e allowed to get too thick, otherwise it will acquire a bitter flavour.