1909.] Foreign and Colonial Office Reports. 497 



sprayed trees, while the unsprayed trees only gave 4 and 22.4 per cent, 

 respectively of the best quality fruit. 



The net gain per tree, after deducting the cost of spraying, was 

 ys. id. in one orchard and 10s. Sd. in the other, which is equal to a 

 difference of £20 per acre. 



Milking-Machine Experiments (Nebraska Agric. Expt. Sta., Bull. 

 No. 108). — Experiments with the Burrell-Lawrence-Kennedy machine 

 have been carried out at this station with 53 cows, extending in 20 

 cases over the entire lactation period, and the experiments are being- 

 continued with 10 heifers which have never been milked by hand. 



The conclusions arrived at are summarised below. 



Heifers in their first lactation apparently give better results by 

 machine-milking than do aged cows that have been accustomed to 

 hand-milking for one or more years, while some cows are not adapted 

 to machine-milking. 



One man working one machine can milk about the same number 

 of cows per hour as one man milking by hand, but two men working 

 four machines can practically do the work of three men milking by 

 hand. One man with two machines can milk between ten and eleven 

 cows per hour, and two operators with four machines about twenty-one 

 cows per hour. 



It was found necessary thoroughly to wash and boil the milking- 

 machine parts after use, in order to produce clean milk, washing 

 the machines at irregular intervals or simply drawing water through 

 them being of no use. 



The milking-machine is considered to be better fitted for large herds 

 than small ones. 



Information as to the working of the machines was collected from 

 13 farmers who have installed them, and the replies show varying 

 degrees of success. Great importance is attached to the need for 

 intelligent working. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



Agriculture in Denmark. — The Report for 1908 on the Trade of 

 Denmark (F. O. Reports, Annual Series, No. 4,277) states that, in the 

 case of the majority of the chief items of agri- 

 Notes from cultural produce exported, prices fell, but the 



Foreign and Colonial amount exported more than covered the deficit 

 Office Reports. caused by the fall. The total value of the 

 agricultural exports is put at ^22,400,000, as 

 against ,£20,800,000 in 1907. The rapid advance in these exports must 

 in a great measure be attributed to the steady growth of co-operation as 

 applied to butter, bacon, and eggs, the exports of these three com- 

 modities alone accounting for ^17,394,000. Some brief particulars of 

 the spread of co-operation are given. 



The first co-operative dairy was established in West Jutland in 1882, 

 and in 1906 there were 1,068 dairies with a membership of 157,500. 



An instance of the successful working of co-operation in dairying 

 on a large scale is afforded by the Trifolium dairy near Haslev, which 

 now receives milk from 15,000 cows (in 1907, 14,000 cows). Its yearly 

 production of butter amounts to 30,000 cwts., and of cheese 30,000 cwts., 



