FARM NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume LVII, Issue 8068, 30 November 1906, Page 1

FARM NOTES.

Some idea of what Manawatu and adjoining districts owe to the dairying industry will be gained by consideration of figures obtained by a Standard reporter this morning from the secretary of the New Zealand Farmers' Dairy Union. If appears that no less a sum than £667,973 has beeD paid out by this oue company during the thirteen years it has been in existence. Of this amount, £615,403 went to suppliers for butterfat, the balance being for wages, fWwood, cartiDg, etc. For the last five or six years the Dairy Union ha» bpen paying out to suppliers some fJO,Oi)O per annum. At Apiti, Feilding, although the cows that are being milked give u exceptional supply, quite a number have gone wrong through what appears to be inflammation of the udder. In one herd of twenty, four cows have already been lost, which makes a co> ■ siderable difference to the monthly t jeque of the small dairyman, The Government are gradually establishing a very fine head of milking cows at their Levin farm, their aim being to secure a herd of about 100, all of which shall be exceptionally heavy milkers. They have cows on the farm now which yield 74 lbs of milk daily, and those cows whoseyield is not well above the sixties will be fattened off and passed on to the butcher. Ten tbousaud pounds of milk per season per cow is the standard that is being worked up to. The cows will be bred to purebred bulls from established milking strains, and the progency will be available for farmers to purchase. Arthur Garland, t. milkman, summoned at Mistley, Essex, for selling milk containing only 2 7 per cent of milk fat, said the deficiency was caused by the dry weather and by the operations of thousands of flies who removed the cream for themselves. The case was dismissed. Mange in hogs is not ditli-ult to cure, and seldom causes death. It is caused by a parasite under the surface of the skin, which produces irritation and later a scab. This is contagious The best treatment is the pigs in soft water and soap, then rub in dry sulphur. Repeat in a week. A third treatment is seldom necessary. The N.S.W. Agricultural Department has received an additional £I,OOO for the purpose of assisting in the erection of silos, and the fact that the increase has been found necessary indicates that ensilage is receiving more attention from small farmers, to whom such assistance is important, than amofrg the holders of larger areas. It is gratifying te Dotice some increased attention to silo-building in Victoria as well as in other States, and the progress is no doubt largely due to the demonstration that effective silos of wood aud iron can be cheaply provided. The tendency of cheapness to popularise the ensilage system confirms the view which I (" Lana," in Sydney Mail) have often ixpressed in regard to the importance of giving attention to the still cheaper processes of the stack and trench. For the great majority of settlers in Victoria the stack or trench is well suited, and ensilage will not become common until the most practically suitable methods aie adopted. Before ensilage was known to the world the author of "A Ride to Khiva" found the Turkomans uncovering grass for their stock, which had been covered with earth the season before— practice which had probably been |6oserved from before the dawn of history. Opening up a trench with plough aud scoop, filling in with grans, and covering by scooping back the excavated earth, I have found to give quite satisfactory results.