On the Land

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 39, 14 October 1925, Page 53

On the Land

W- ' MARKET REPORTS. At Burnside last week 230 head of fat cattle were yarded, the quality, with the exception of a few pens, being very indifferent. Owing to a number of country butchers operating, pi-ices firmed on the previous week’s rates by 25s to 30s per head. Prime heavy bullocks made £27 16s to £3O 10s, prime £23 10s to £26 os, light from £l7, prime heavy cows and heifers made £l6 to £lB os, extra £o £2O 2s 6d, prime £l2 10s to £l4 os, light from £8 los. Fat Sheep. 1636 were penned, a fair proportion being of good quality. The market opened firm at the preceding week’s rates, but sagged towards the middle, of the sale, but there was a sharp rise of 2s 6d to 3s at the end. Prime heavy wethers made 66s to 58s 9d. prime -!8s 9d to 545, light from 10s 3d, prime heavy ewes made 46s 9d to 60s Gd, prime 40s 3d to 45s Gd. light from 335. Lambs.— Six spring lambs of good quality were forward, and sold at from 41s to 46s Gd. Pigs. — Very high prices were realised for the 97 fats and 67 stores that were forward. The price of haconers went up to more than £7, and porkers brought up to £4 15s. Stores made up to 4Gs, suckers from 28s to 30s, and slips up to 365. . At Addington last week there was an easier beef market, hut a slight improvement in store and fat sheep values. Spring Lambs.—37 wore penned and sold at 30s 3d to 41s 9d. Eat Sheep.—The entry was a ■shade below the week’s necessities. It was a very free sale, with an improvement of Is 6d per head. An Invercargill draft of 41 made from 63s 7d to 60s Id. The top price of the day was 65s Gd. Extra prime wethers 57s to 65s Gd, prime 48s Gd to 645, medium 43s Gd to 48s, light 37s to 42s Gd. extra prime ewes to 60s Id, prime 40s Gd to 445. medium 37s to -10 s, light 35s to 36s 6d, prime hoggets to 39s Kid. ordinary 34s lOd to 38s 6d. Fat Cattle. 446 were penned—a normal entry. •The market all round was easier than that of the previous week by 30s per head, on which occasion peak prices were realised on account of the short entry. Extra prime medium-weight beef made to 61s per 1001 b, prime medium-weight beef 55s to 595, prime heavy-weight 62s 6d to 665, medium 49s to 525, light 44s to 475, and rough down to 30s. A North Island line of 48 averaged £25 7s, and another of 34, £23. The top price of the day was £33 2s 6d. Extra prime heavyweight steers £2G to £29, special to £33 2s Gd, prime heavy £22 to £25, medium £lB to £2l 10s, light £ls to £l7 15s, rough £ll to £l4. extra prime heifers to £lB 2s Gd. prime £l3 10s to £l6 10s, ordinary £8 5s to £l3, extra prime cows to £2l 12s Gd, prime £l3 ss, to £l6 10s, ordinary £lO to . £l3, light £G 10s to £9 15s. Vealers .There was a small entry and a good sale. Rupners went to £9 17s Gd. Fat Pigs. Vyiipte was a weaker bacon demand, but porkers were' firmer. Choppers £4 to £9, ■baconers £4 10s to £7 2s;* average price per lb 81 d to 9jd ; porkers 53s to 70s, extra heavy to 80s; average price per lb 9|<l to 10R1.

/ WHEN TILL OTHER FELLOW IS DRIVING, ’ When another fellow’s driving. Though 1 constantly am striving To behave the way a passenger should do; Still in spite of my endeavor s T discover T am ever I discover 1 am ever Sitting tensely there beside him driving too. At the highway I keep peering > And my mind is busy steering, ; And I figuic (‘very chance the driver takes; In a manner highly graphic, ; When he’s threading through the traffic, i. keep putting on imaginary brakes. In his skill and in his science 1 may fondly place reliance, I may bow to his experience and years, .... Yet 1 sit there all a-quiver In a six or in a flivver. While my mind is feeding gas or shifting gears. So wherever I am riding I. am driving, 1 am guiding An imaginary wheel is in my hand! With the closest application I conduct each operation II you ever drove a car you'll stand. —G. I). .McCarthy, in Form, Field, mid Fireside.

MILKING POINTS. The quantity and yield of milk may he increased by milking at a medium pace. Ii is far pleasanter to the cow. and thereby increases the yield, whereas very rapid milking will frequently cause a cow to hold up her milk. Be sure that the cow is stripped clean, for nothing is worse than careless milking, as it tends to dry off the cow prematurely, and also proves detrimental to the udder. 'I he periods between the milkings should lie arranged as equal as possible. By far the most important point of all is to see that everything is clean. The udders of all the cows should he carefully wiped with a damp, warm flannel and thoroughlydried, and the milker’s hands should he scrupulously clean, as also should all utensils. In some districts (says a writer in a Home paper) wet milking is still practised, hut one cannot speak too harshly of this method. ft has a disgusting appearance, and invariably results in contamination of the milk, while it also leads to sore and cracked teats. The Human Touch in Milking. I here may or may not be some unseen spirit of sympathy between a cow and the person whose task it is to extract the milk from her udder, but in a report before me 1 notice that a change in milkers reduced the yield of two cows to the tune of Iff gallons per day, and the yields again increased to normal when a third and better milker took on the job. - Now I think of the local societies which encourage good milking by organising instruction in the work and arranging competitions for milkers. With the dairy cow

still one of the most reliable sources of profit in fanning, one lias to realise the fact that milking is amongst the most important of operations. »