WAIKATO FARMERS' CLUB.

Waikato Argus, Volume XVI, Issue 2628, 2 May 1904, Page 2

WAIKATO FARMERS' CLUB.

HAMILTON BRANCH. TIIK Hair.iltoo branch of the Waikato Fanners' Club met at the Council Chambers, Hamilton, oo Saturday uight. There were six present, and Mr W. Chitty presided. APOLO(.TES. Apo'ogies were received from Messrs S. Knight and Allen Bell (secretary). NKW MEMBERS. The following new members were elected :—Messrs A. Barker and Thomas Hinton, FLAX OROWINQ. Mr E. Ciiftou, of the Agricultural Department, notified that he would be pleased to plant a small area of flax at the Experimental Form. This had already been done at the Wairangi Experimental Station.—Reoeived. SPEYING. Mr A. W. Barker, of Hamilton, wrote [ upon the subject of opeying cows. He ! said that cows may be made steiile with a very simple operation which did not endanger the life of the cow or the off- ' spring. He would undertake to carry out the operation tit any time except the fall of the year, without risk or loss by death or abortion, and the cuwa operated upon may after calving be at once milked for an indefinite time before drying off, but will never again get iu calf. He end '3od credentials from the Live Stock aud Brand Office, Brisbane, Queensland. —Received. DAIBV CAT l'L E. Mr Blaokmore l;heu delivered a somewhat lengthy address upon the subjects brought forwaid by Mr Edwin Hall in the paper recently delivered by him at the meeting of the Hamilton traoch. The speaker devoted his remarks mainly to the question of the improvement of the breed ..I dairy c tile. He was, he said, sorry to see so little interest manifested in this matter, whioh was of the utmost importance to all of them. When it was known that the British public consumed 386,000,0001 b of butter annually they would heo the importance of striving to secure that market by producing the best possible article. Denmark, Canada, Siberia, Argentine and Rutsia were all doing their utmost in this direction, while we were doing practical y nothiug. One had ouly to read ' The Real Siberia ' to find out what the Russian Government was doing. He referred to the growth of the dairying industry during the last 21 veins aud i-aid they had all cause to feel griteful to Mr Hall for collecting the mass of information he had done. It was apparent to everyone that dairymen must soon face a reduced price, and the question was how were they *oing to produce 1001 b of butter al the same price as they were now producing 901 b, This was ouly to be accomplished by the grading of herds. How many farmers in the YVaikato knew anything about the testing of oows ? He ventured to say not one in 100, and yet this was the real secret of dairying. Mr Hall had given them instances of cows which produced from 600 to 9001 b. This was what they had to aim at, and it was wonderful what could be done if farmers weut to work in a systematic manner. During the last three years hii calves had averaged £2 161 free of commission—some of them oti the bucket. He believed in a herd that wouk' not ouly produce good butter, but also animals fit for the butcher; but anyone who attended sales could not help being struck with the number of mougrels that were brought torward. Tiny were of little use to the grazieis und woithless to the dairymen They could only build up the industry by selecting the best cows and breeding from them, and getting the cows tested. There was more trouble and ill-feeling in Waikato over the lesis than over anything else he knew of. He knew of one man who supplied a factory on bis own place, and the tests weie so unsatisfactory that he had taken his milk to another factory five miles away. Here agaiu the same trouble occurred, and he was so dissatisfied that he went right out of the industry altogether. He considered that the Government were singularly apaihetic, and pressurs should be brought to boar upon thexi to take the matter up. In Pennsylvania last year the Government had voted 250,000 dollars for the equipment of an establish. ment for the testing of dairy herds, and he thought the New Zealand Government might adopt similar methods with advantage.

Mr J. Davis said testing was the rook thy all split upon. Mr Melville said arrangements cmld bo made with the New Zealand Dairy Association for the testiug of herds. They did not want quantity of milk but quantity of fab. This was of much more importance than breeding.

Mr Davis said Mr Spragg had promised to send men round to carry out this work. Mr Blackmore said he had been con' uected with the industry for 13 years, and he could not help being struck with the tact that herds in this part of the co ony are inferior to those of other parts as far as the production of milk was concerned. He said many of the settlers were going in for pedigree beef bulls to mate with their cowe and their progeny was placed on the market as dairy bulls. This tended to introduce tho element of beef, but did not tend to iucrease suppliers' milk cheques. He referred to the decline in dairy heifers, which, as a rule, were either weedy or beefy, with a tendency to produce beef rather than milk. Dairy farmers should know exactly what each cow was doing, and thereby be in a position to cull out perhaps a dozen from each herd for fattening. At present how many farmers knew which cows were profitable and which were being milked at a loss. At the Hawkesbury College, New South Wales, by culling out thico"'s iu one season they had raised the standard from 3'6 to 4"2. This was an instance of what could be done if settlers went to work in earnest

In reply to Mr Melville, the speaker said he would not advise dairymen to go in for purebreds of any kind, as crossbreds in all parts of the worlil came out on top, although at the present time the heaviest milk produc ng herd in the colony was composed of purehred He referred to that belonging to the Sunnyside Asylum in Christohurch. He did not advocate any breed, but thought it was a question of selection and environment. The soil on the farm is only of medium quality, but the pastures are frequently renewed. Lucerne is a mai:i Bpring and summer crop, with maug>l-, hay and ensilage for winter keep. The cattle are never allowed to get low in condition. It is here that many dairy larmers make their greatest mistake and their greatest lobs, viz , in allowing their dairy cattle to get too low in condition during the winter months, and not supplying shelter from cold cutting winds, etc. It is by strict attention to such matters that such satisfactory results are achieve"! at SunDyside. For example let us take 'Beauty Srd's' record, which shows that she gave 12,4Ud£lb of milk in 12 months and 11 days. Her test taken ut frequent intervals durinc tho year was from 4 I to 4 - 4 of butter fat, thus yielding 5461 bof commercial butter (based on 4 per ceut. of butter fa'), calculated at lOd per lb the average price at which butter has been sold from the factories, equalling £22 10s for the yoar. Her record on her first calf was 4441 h of butter at, say lOd per lb, equalling £IS 10s for 13 months aud 15 days. The record on her Becond calf was 5491 b of butter at, say Hid, equalling £22 17s 6d. During the last nine years ho bad noiiced that herds ot covva that came in poor during the spring months were the ones that gave the poorest return until thoy began to get condition on, and owners ot such were usually tho ones who complained loudest about the costs.

Mr suit) that farmers did not nppoar to desire to improve their cows. Thu Government had now al the Experimental Farm * bull with one of the, nest milking stratus in Kngland. Farmers, however, did not make use of him, but left it to the owner uf two or three cows to do so. Mr LUchiiold add the coat was too great. He thought the Government should purohase a cumber of bulls and distribute them about tliß oouutry, and give their services freo. Mr Blackmoro thought if the Government started a good herd, bred young bulls and sold them annually it would meet the case.

Mr Muloahey add this was alroady being undertaken, and at the present time ihey hud sumo very nice young animals cominu on.

Mr Melville remarked that much of Vlr Hall's information did not apply to th s country, ' ut only to countries where >hey houto-1 oows Mr Blackmoro said where suppliers mttdo tho greatest mistake was in letting cows got iuto poor condition during the winter months. Speaking agam on the subjeut of testing he was of opinion t&at the mvtbod of touting cowu euggflited by

the Dairy Association would bo almost valueless H> was averse to having tests taken oi.ce a year, as it generally resulted in the weeding nut of the best cow. Testiny shoulif he den-- systemthree or four times a year, and he would adviso settlers to purchase a liabcock tester of their own, as anyone who owned ten cows could afford to buy one. He thought the I airy Association and different Co-operative Associations should employ sutnuient men to go round and instruct farmers how to take the tests.

Mr Melville said that the Newstead cows hid averaged over £lO for 80 cows. Mr Blackmore said his cows had previously returned £9 15s, but they had reached £9 16s this year. Mi Chitty thought the besc and simplest way to test cows was for the farmers to take the matter up themselves and engage men to go about amongst them and take tests. They should not look to the Government for everything in these matters

In reply to other questions Mr Bhckmore said that most heifers bred from pedigree Shorthorns were absolutely useless. Ihe Ayrshire or Jersey cross brought double the price, and it would almost pay farmers to destroy the steers and save the heifers. A vote of thanks to Mr Blackmore closed the meeting.