Subjoined is a table of results obtained from all varieties, except those which suffered from the ravages of parrots.

Dairy Notes, Hawkesbury Agricultural College Dairy.

THE following notes are from the annual report of the College dairy expert, Mr. C. R. Cassidy, an ex-student of the College. The experiments referred to were conducted during the late drought, and should therefore be of especial interest as showing how at trifling cost in the direction of conservation and preparation of fodders our dairy farmers may be able to avoid the disastrous effects that so often result from long spells of dry weather. It is needless to mention that no matter how good the produce of a dairy may be in ordinary seasons, a dairyman can only maintain his hold upon a market, whether it be in England or elsewhere, by keeping up a certain uniformity of both quality and quantity of produce throughout the year. The trials in this direction that have been made with financial success in competition with the butter and cheese of such countries as Canada and Denmark, have been conducted for a twofold purpose. Firstly, for the sake of affording the College students a thorough training in the art of dairying, and secondly, with the object of showing our dairy farmers how by the use of easily-grown cheaply-prepared fodders, uniformity in quantity and quality of first-class produce can be maintained despite extreme variations of season.

It may be argued that the College as a Government institution possesses advantages with respect to appliances and labour over the ordinary dairy farmer. Even granted that this is so, it must not be forgotten that in the production of first-class cheese and butter, where care in manipulation is of such importance, the College Dairy suffers the disadvantage of the employment, for the most part, of unskilled labour of lads who are learning the rudiments of the art. There can be no question that the chances of producing butter and cheese of even quality are greatly in favour of the dairy farmer, because the individuality of so many beginners must to a greater or lesser degree become worked into the produce of the College Dairy.

BARLEY CHAFF AND MOLASSES.

THE first part of the year, as will be remembered, was very dry, and altogether unfavourable for successful dairying. Though short of natural pasture, we had sufficient ensilage, chaff and corn, and other foods, the use of which

afforded students a practical knowledge as to their relative values for feeding dairy stock. To the dry cows we fed barley chaff. Though this was full of grain it was damaged by mice to such an extent that the cows refused to eat it; but we got several casks of molasses from the Colonial Sugar Refining Company and by dissolving 30 lbs. of it in boiling water, making liquid enough to moisten six or eight bags of the barley chaff, produced a fodder for the dry cows, which they soon became so fond of that they would follow the cart to the feeding ground. The use of molasses in excess of the above quantity caused scouring.

ENSILAGE.

THE ensilage turned out well, being made from chaffed green corn with cobs on. The cows at first did not eat much of it, but soon took a ravenous liking for this fodder. For a while the ensilage scoured them freely, but after the first few days the scouring stopped, due largely to the dry grass they ate while out in the paddock, modifying the tendency of the ensilage to scour.

It was found that the ensilage did not increase the flow of milk, but gave a marked increase in the percentage of solids, thus increasing the value of the milk for cheese making. Excellent butter was also made while the cows were fed on corn ensilage. This is clearly shown by the fact that we obtained 128s. per cwt. for our butter in London, at the time the best Danish was bringing 120s. per cwt. At the time this butter was made the cows were fed entirely upon corn ensilage.

CHAFF AND CORN COBS.

FOUR bags of unhusked cobs cut into three or four pieces were placed in a tank and covered with water; steam was then turned on and the corn boiled until soft. It was then thoroughly mixed with 12 bags of chaff with sufficient water to thoroughly moisten the chaff. The whole was then fed to the cows in the bails. The milk from this food was rich in solids and produced excellent curd.

LUCERNE.

DURING the hot part of the year, the cows were at different times turned on the lucerne, with the result that the flow of milk was greatly increased; but the milk produced from lucerne feeding alone was, strictly speaking, unfit for cheese making. It gave a soft tainted curd, and the cheese when cured gave off a very disagreeable odour.

TURNIPS.

AFTER the best of the turnip crops were gathered the dry cows were turned in to eat the remainder. They were fed in this way for some weeks without a sign of any of them choking as would probably have been the case had the turnips been pulled and topped before given to the cows.

NATURAL GRASSES.

THE natural grasses growing on the Farm paddocks cannot be depended upon. During a rainy season they do very well, but as soon as the weather gets warm and dry these grasses lose all nutriment, and are of little or no use for dairy stock. But there is one thing to be said in favour of the natural herbage of the College Farm, and that is, while it is in a fit condition for food for milking cows it produces milk rich in solids, which makes a good curd, and ultimately a cheese of good quality. The cause of the grass drying off so quickly is no doubt due to the sandy nature of the soil.

CATTLE MOLASSES.

As instructed by the Principal, a full experiment was made with the Colonial Sugar Refining Co.'s cattle molasses. Two cows were selected for the purpose, named "Snowdrop" and "Stranger" respectively. Both cows were confined to the cow yard and shed, which prevented them getting any other kind of food than that fed to them. Before the test commenced the weight and test of each cow's milk was separately and carefully taken. "Snowdrop" gave an average yield of 15 lbs., with a reading of 36 per cent. of butter fat; "Stranger" gave 15 lbs. of milk and a test of 2.9 per cent. of butter fat. At first both cows refused the food, but soon took to it, and after a while showed a liking for it. They were given on an average 30 lbs. of chaff and 38 lbs. of cattle molasses per diem, and were fed on this food for six weeks. At the end of that time both cows had improved greatly in condition and also in their yield of milk. Several tests were made from time to time with the Babcock milk tester, which showed an increase in butter fat from the time of commencement with the food. After the cows were fed for three weeks the yield and test were as follows:

66

'Snowdrop" gave 224 lbs. of milk, and 3.7 per cent. of butter fat.
"Stranger"

20

3.1

After the expiration of the first three weeks the percentage of butter fat and yield of milk remained very nearly the same to the end of the trial. "Stranger" was in very poor condition when this experiment was commenced, and she put on condition, while her milk increased in richness up to a certain point, which clearly shows that if a herd of cows are in low condition, on poor food, giving a low percentage of butter fat, by feeding well on suitable food, the richness of the milk will increase up to a certain point of condition of the cow, beyond which the food has no perceptible influence over the richness of the milk; and if the food were changed to one which would cause an increase in the quantity of the milk, and at the same time keep up the condition, it would be found that no perceptible increase in the percentage of butter fat had taken place. We have used a variety of foods which bear out this statement. The only way to look for a high percentage of butter fat is through the breeding and selection of dairy stock.

MILKING.

To show the necessity for taking the last drop of milk from a cow, the following test was made:-A cow in full milk was taken for the purpose and milked quite dry, the milk weighed, and the following morning the milk was taken

from the cow in three separate lots, as nearly equal in weight as possible, and a test made of each of the three lots, with the result that the milk first drawn gave a reading of 9 per cent. of butter fat; second, 26: third, 46.

If a cow is continually allowed to go without being milked quite dry, the result will be that she will become dry sooner than she would if always properly milked. Even after the udder is quite dry, it is a good plan to strip the teats for a while, demanding more than the cow possesses, and thus educating the cow to increase her yield. This cannot be too carefully practised with young cows, especially those with their first calves.

LACTIC ACID FERMENT.

WE have used the above ferment with great success, both in butter and cheese making, and there is every reason to believe that it will play a most prominent part in the dairying industry in future. Compared with the advantages derived by its use, the trouble of maturing it is trifling. Our method of cultivating the ferment is as follows:-We take two gallons of milk from cows that are known to be in the best of health, it is then separated, and at once heated up to 165 degrees Fahr., and kept at this temperature for an hour, then rapidly cooled down to 86 degrees Fahr., at which temperature it should be kept for about eighteen hours, at the end of which time it is generally found ready for use.

By its use the butter-maker knows that the desired bacteria, needed to bring about the proper ripening of the cream, are added, and that when put in at a suitable stage, these bacteria, which bring about lactic acid, increase so rapidly that they retard, if not wholly prevent, the growth of injurious bacteria. The startoline (the substance prepared from the lactic acid ferment) gives the best result when the cream has been pasteurised before using. The amount to use depends on a number of conditions, which can only be arrived at by continual practice. In cheese-making the milk can be kept at such a temperature that there is no danger of it going sour during the night. In the morning, the startoline added (the quantity used being regulated by the condition and ripeness of the milk), and in about half an hour to an hour the milk will be ready for the rennet.

By its use we get the rennet in the milk about 10 a.m., while the same batch under ordinary conditions would take until about 1 or 2 p.m. to ripen sufficiently for the rennet. Great care should be exercised not to use more than is sufficient to ripen the milk gradually.

SEWELL'S PATENT BUTTER KEG.

THE keg from outside appearance resembles an ordinary 70-lb. butter keg. Inside the keg is a round casing made of laths about one inch wide, with a space of half an inch between them. The butter is packed inside this casing, which has a bottom to it. After the butter is packed in it, the case is placed in the keg, two out of the four hoops on the keg being removed and the third one loosened. The lid of the keg is then placed in the groove around the inner part of top of the keg, the hoops placed on, and tightened, which fastens the lid on and makes the whole water-tight. Brine is then poured in through a bunghole to fill up the space between the sides, bottom, and top of the keg and inner casing. There are two cross pieces on the inside of lid for the purpose of keeping the butter under the brine.