FIRST CENTURY OF DAIRYING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 



lie- thi> Stau- wa> supplying Melbourne* and Adelaide with hams, 

 bacon, &c. Late- as the early eighties the State was supplying 

 Queensland, and though prices have advanced fully 30 per cent., to- 

 day we- cannot nearly meet our own requirements. This is a highly 

 unsatisfactory condition of affairs in a State with all our facilities 

 for pig-raising, and is a very serious matter for the country, and 

 one that should receive careful enquiry at the hands of our Agri- 

 cultural Department to ascertain the reason why. With the spread 

 of the dairying industry throughout the State it was anticipated 

 that there would be a large surplus of pork, and some of us went 

 to a good deal of trouble and expense to exploit other markets in 

 order that any surplus might be profitably shipped at -from 30 d. t. 

 4d., which must be regarded as profitable prices. 



" Following are the weights of pigs bred and fed at the Hawkes- 

 bury College some years ago, when Mr. Valder was in charge, the 

 pigs being under eight months old : 



2 Berkshires, 224!!). 



1 cross Yorkshire, U2lb. 



2 Tamworths, 290!!). 

 2 Yorkshires, 244lb. 



i medium Yorkshire, I04lb. 



" 1 may say I have had much better results than are shown in the 

 above figures with the Berkshire and Tamworth cross. I have had 

 them weighing n61b. at 16 weeks old. 



"In breeding pigs successfully, great care must be exercised in 

 the selection of your stud. The boar should have especial attention, 

 as he is the mainstay. My experience is that, with the right boar 

 (be careful that he is a prolific stock-getter), select good roomy 

 sows with plenty of length and with well sprung ribs, so that there 

 is plenty of space for the action of heart and lungs. Avoid the pig 

 which contracts behind the shoulders, and carefully select from a 

 strain of good sucklers. This point is often missed: but if you are 

 going to be successful and get your pigs quickly on the market, you 

 cannot afford to ignore it. Another feature o-f successful pig rais- 

 ing that is too frequently lost sight of by the growers is that breeding 

 sows and young stock require a good deal of green stuff, lucerne 

 for preference, or green barley or broadcast corn if lucerne is not 

 available. I am fully convinced that one of the reasons why pigs 

 are more affected with tuberculosis and throw smaller litters is owing 

 to this want of green -feed when young. In former years, before 

 settlement was as close as at present, the practice was to let th^ 

 sow and young pigs have the run of the paddocks, where they could 

 obtain the succulent clover, whereas now they are more confined. 

 The following ficrurcs show the decrease in our herds of niors that 

 is taking place in the State, while the increased qMnntity ^i bacon 

 needed by our greater population is al>n >li nvn : 



Production. 



1905-06 33o.555lh. 



1906-07 3io,7O2lb. 



T0.053lb- Decrease. 



Hams and Bacon Sold in State: 



1905-06 io.o8o.532lb. 



1006-07 11.052.440111. 



97 1, 908! b. Increase. 



" The I'lgurcs for 1906-7 are not to hand at the time of writing. 

 but T am convinced that they show a further marked decrease in our 



298. 



