268 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



November, 1913 



k-gs. The teats should be as far 

 apart as possible, and should all 

 point in the same direction — 

 rather forward, in the direction of 

 the front feet. The most import- 

 ant indicatitDU of a good milker, 

 and an infalliljle one, is the siz-e of 

 the " milk veins.'' These are the 

 large blood-vessels leading from 

 the udder along the bellv, and if 

 th«se are not large and well de- 

 veloped the cow is not a milker, 

 no matter how large the udder 

 may be ; and, on the other hand, 

 no cow with well-developed veins 

 was ever a bad milker. The calf 

 should be with the cow, as when 

 dealing with a reliable vendor its 

 age may be taken as an indication 

 of the length of time she has lieen 

 calved ; but as a cow , will often, 

 in the absence of her own off- 

 spring, suckle any that may be 

 given to her, unscrupulous traders 

 do not hesitate to sell as fresh 

 calved a stale milked low, having 

 with her a young calf. Hence it 

 is as w-ell to know with whom one 

 is dealing. Sometimes cows can 

 be purchased to goml advantage 

 before they have calved, but in this 

 case their dairy qualifications have 

 to be taken very much on trust, 

 and frequently when thev calve 

 their too-confiding purchaser dis- 

 covers that his new acquisition is 

 minus the use of one or more of 

 her quarters. 



Having got our cows, we will 

 proceed to deal with the question 

 of milk. In case of a person 

 starting a dairy, only "enoagh 



cows should be i)urchased to pro- 

 duce about the (^uantity of butter 

 or milk de.sircd, others being added 

 to the stock as the first purchases 

 get stale and fall off in their 

 mUk. 



— Milking. — 



The operation of milking sho.uld 

 be conducted in as cleanly a nxati- 

 ner as possible, and though wash- 

 ing the hands l^efore milking is al- 

 ways strongly insisted upon, and 

 is, of course, very proper, as a 

 matter of fact the hands should 

 not be allowed to touch the milk 

 at all. The teats of- the cow 

 should be seen to be clean before 

 the pail is placed underneath, and 

 milking with a " dry hand" should 

 be insisted upon. In the case of a 

 cow very " hard " at starting, 

 and inclined to be tender, a draw 

 of milk may' be taken into the 

 palm of the hand and teats 

 rubbed with this until a start can 

 be made, the pail not being placed 

 underneath imtil all possibility of 

 any drip Drom the fingers falling 

 into it has been removed by the 

 absorption of the surplus milk. 



— Cleanliness. — 

 Foddering of the cows with hay 

 should be postponed until after 

 milking, to avoid the dust created 

 by this operation finding its way 

 into the pail. The milk while 

 still warm, after having been 

 sieved, should be passed through a 

 separator, which takes out the 

 cream, and at the same time re- 

 moves all suspended impurities 



from' it, thus having a most im- 

 portant bearing on the quality of 

 the butter to be subsequently 

 made. As regards a cream separ- 

 ator, choose one that is simple and 

 easy to clean, -.and have one of 

 ample capacity, as if too small 

 the process of separating becomes 

 extremely tedious and wastes a 

 great deal of time. A most im- 

 postant point is to ha\ e the ma- 

 chine m-ountecTon a rigid bed, and 

 if possible on the ground rather 

 than on a wooden, floor, as if there 

 is any vibration or movement the 

 work of separating becomes very 

 much heavier and the w«ar and 

 tear on the machine proportion- 

 ately increased. Alwa3's use the 

 best lubricating oil for a separa- 

 tor, as the gearing is very high, 

 and an}' friction of the working 

 ]iarts materially increases the la- 

 l>onr of working and wear of the 

 machine. — Exchange. 



♦ 



Preparing for Bush Fires. 



(Jn the a^'erage farm the Jniming 

 of grass strips between ploughed 

 furrows as . preventive fire guards 

 around the boundaries is so indis- 

 pensable a requirement that in no 

 case should its carrying oj'.it be 

 neglected. The mixed system of 

 farming is steadil)' extiending, and 

 if it was universal the general dan- 

 ger would be greatly minimised ; 

 but that time is not yet, and 

 hence the necessity for a general 

 adoption of precautionary m.ea- 

 sures. The greatest danger 'of bush 

 fires springs as a rule ' from the 

 large farms worked' on the single 

 crop system. In the hottest, 

 driest part of the vear these areas, 

 as the natural result of this mode 

 of working, are like tinder. The 

 wheat paddocks carry a bedraggled 

 mass of stripped straw, the 

 headlands wave knee deep iu 

 ripe drv grass and weeds. The 

 weeds and • grass on the rest of 

 the area, having become rank and 

 dry, are as inflammable as ben- 

 zine, and a fire once started swift- 

 W spreads, unless a check has been 

 provided in the shap'c of burnt 

 grass sbrips between ploughed fur- 

 rows. A mixed farm is not to 

 the same extent exjiosed to this 

 risk. In the first place, at the 

 season when thousands of areas of 

 strijjped wheat straw are being put 

 to\the match, and when risk of fire 

 is greatest, there is a smaller pro- 

 portion of drv material on a good 

 mixed farm. The wheat stubbles 

 are buried in the fallow ploughiuif. 

 Instead of it being necessary to 

 save the natural grass to sustain 

 the stock in summer, the worker 



T. J. BIGHABDS & SONS, 



CARRIAGE, BUGGY 

 SULKY & MOTOR BODY 

 BUILDERS. 



THE LARGEST PEIZE TAKERS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 



Two yeais' guarantee with all new Vehicles. TjTeing included. All ma- 

 terial kept in stock until naturally seasoned. Write for Catalogues and 



Prices. 



INSi'ECTION INVITED TO OUR SHOW-ROOM AND FACTORY. 

 Eatablished in 1886. 



Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide. 



IMPERIAL HOTEL 



Corner King William and Grenfell Streets. 

 - DELAIDE. 



Hot and Cold Baths. Electric Light Throughout. 'Phone 327. 



J. FLANNAGAN . . Proprietor. 



