Agricultural.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 85, 24 February 1876, Page 7

Agricultural.

PIG FAIIMINTGi. : " What has become of all the pigs ?".. asked a Canterbury man, j after a sojourn of- two or three years in other lands; - He v had<been formerly'accustomed, .in going }about the country, to see pigs to the right of him/aiM pigs to the left, both where they ought and where they ought not to be, but- on his return he found that a familiar feature of the landscape was wanting 1 ,. for ife had become almost a rarity to see a herd of these interesting ; animals adorning the fields by. the wayside. Pigs had gone, out of fashion; they had fallen so low in price that the profit to be derived from keeping them did not recompense ' the farmer for having* his fences serrated; — pigs not being- .in the habit. of recognising artificial boundaries — and having his land turned up at unreasonable places, and times, to say nothing about the general powers of aggravation possessed by 'these versatile animals. It must be admitted, by those who have had experience, that the Moslem has very good grounds for believing pigs to have inherited some of that spirit which possessed a certain historical herd of swine ages ago. So systematically do they set at nought all Pounding and Fencing Ordinances that at one time our Legislators seriously considered the question of < withdrawing- the protection of the law from them altogether, and empowering- such of her Majesty's, subjects, who from time to time might suffer from the predatory habits and customs obtaining among the commonwealth of swine, to inflict punishment suitable to the circumstances without reference to the Statute book.

Colonial people have a habit of going to extremes. Whenever any branch of industry is found to pay, so many enter upon it that, with our limited markets, it is soon over-lone, and great depression ensues. This. is particularly noticeable with regard to agricultural produce difficult to export, . But,, as the population increases, and a larger home consumption is thus created, besides the means of export being multiplied, this feature, will, of course, become less marked.

Not very long ago, farmers were anxious to dispose of their cattle in order to invest their money in sheep, and cattle-breeding being 1 to so large an extent discontinued, has resulted inthe high prices obtained at present, prices scarcely dreamt of two yearsago. Pio-o, also, huve become scarce and dear in proportion to their scarcity, if will probably be several years before, the stock will be bred up again ; indeed we think it unlikely with enlarged and improved curing establishments, tog-ether with an increasing home demand, that the price of pig-s will again reach such a low ebb as has been the case in former years. We think it woul^ be to the benefit of many of the small farmers if they turned their attention more particularly to pig keeping. We do not mean pig keeping, as the term is usually understood by Colonial farmers, that is ; keeping a sort of moss-trooper regiment of swine wandering about their fields without any ostensible means of living*. What we recommend is to keep, them styed up within impregnable walls, except at stubbling- time, and to devote their land, or a portion of it, to growingpig- feed. Take for example the man with 100 acres of medium land. He can keep but a very few sheep, and if he demotes his land to grain growing-, his income must be of the smallest. Now thequostion is, whether. he would reap a greater profit by converting the produce of his land into pork, and belling it in that shape, than by disposing- of it in the raw state. This. Province can at least boast of a very good breed of pigs. In pig farmingit is of the greatest importance to get a thriving sort. '1 he LaUn proverb says that, ib is the silent sow tliet drinks the milk, and it may with truth be added, that it is the silent sow which derives benefit from the milk it consumed. The profitable pig is that one which eats and drinks, and then seeks out a comfortable place to repose. Energetic pigs, as a rule, don't pay. ■We think that if pig keeping were carried out on a systematic .plan by small farmers, it would prove a very lucrative industry.— 'Canterbury Times.'

Horses which pull at their halters, will find the habit inconvenient if the York plan is followed. Put the middle ,ofc' a small rope under the, tail; cross the ends on the back of the horse and tie them in front of his breast. Put the halter strap through the "hole or ring in the manger, and. tie it to this rope in the centre of the breast. , :

■A correspondent of the' 'Agricultural Gazette' resents a sneer at ; .oatmeal and milk porridge, which, he asserts,is not only common, in the farm 'houses of England, but also in' the homes of the gentry , .tradesmen, ( and ■■. artisans. " His own appreciation is based, on an experience of thirty years, during which long period- the article in -question " constituted his sole breakfast," and he has often walked a distance of thirtyimiles after such' a repast without par'tjaMrigf of other food. . "-" ': V

On the- 25 tk ultimo the :^Mary..borough- Standard,' had. an, opportunity of inspecting 1 a very 4 gocrd sample of wheat, : grown,,, ,.by, : ,. Mr Provest, ; o£ Majorca. ; ' The" wfrVat was of .'-..the; I Egyptian- • description ; < Nearly ajl the

heads were triple^eared *■ and were well, . filled.- with 3\\\\, 'ripe,*!-dr,y v g : rain"j r .an_e.o£. which, was-iplucked promiscuously,. , cpn--;. taihing pve? 120 ' ; M r * Provest states^ that fce^had only a small; lot sown, and estimates-' the crop at 80 bushels to the^'acre. - Being; hand ' threshed a and good ; grairi- he" has sold some, seed ; at 7s perbusheli , ; „-r In reference to exhibitions ,of brood mares <at fairs, an American p.aper says : —A good br6od mare is one that produces good foals. ; One that has never produced "a foal nevXr compete .in. such a, class... , 'in judging in this class, reference, should be .had to the quality of the foals as welLas 1 to,, that of the mares themselves ; but if the foals are not -shown with the mares, the judges- should -he ."/governed by the quality ; ; of the - animal shown, unless they have a personal knowledge of the produce. Prices are not always correct .guages of quality. ; ""-'- --, "How many horses suffer by the want of attention tp : the axles of carts and waggonr, . We often see; the wheels running at . an angle ten or. fifteen degrees '"put of true," the. teamster seeming not to "realise how much this increases the burden. If the wheel will only revolve, it seems, all that, is needed, by the thoughtless driver. Then, again *. want of care in greasing the wheels, is another source of unnecessary labour for the horses. 'It is only fair that while we require reasonable labour " from our animals, \we shall grant them reasonable .facilities for doing it. . . In treating. of ,' : clover-sick soil," Mr Bruce, an Aberdeenshirs farmer, states that in some Districts of Scotland the c over plant dies out after taking root. Having- noticed in several fields where this occurred that there was a good grow th of plants near the gate, and head, and end .ridges,- which was much trodden, upon— a circumstance, we need scarcely say, that has been often observed—Mr Bruce procured a heavy roller, and rolled the field twice, before putting in the grass seeds. The experiment was perfectly successful, a full plant of clover being' the result, although-, the field had for years before showed signs of sickness. Again, on one of the . largest farms in Aberbeenshire, there were several fields which 'refused to prow clover, The farmer got a roller which .weighed 15 cwt, ,and rolled, his fields, leaving in one field a

ridge which was not rolled, in order to prove the. efficacy of the operation. The result .was that whilel" there was abundance of clover where the soil was rolled, on the ridge. that was left unrolled;scarcely .a plant was -to be seen. FEEDING HOGS'. WJCTH COAL. A contributor to. a Chicago paper says: — The losses from, hog" cholera seem to be appalling in many parts of the^ Western country, and may well excite serious apprehensions in districts not yet affected, Indeed,; I know of no other subject which addresses itself so directly and so immediately to those .who feel an interest, in the welfare of those engaged in agriculture as this. I am not advised that its cause has bee clearly ascertained, or a- successful remedy prescribed. Is.it contagious or epidemic? are questions, I believe, still open to controversy. Surely it is not beyond human investigation, and what more important task can the State Agricultural Soeietj'-, the State Grange, or other association of those who may be interested in the subject, take upon itself than the employment of thoroughly competent persons to investigate the subject to its very "bottom, and see if there be no way of preventing its approach, and no remedy for it when it, has come. No doubt many intelligent farmers who have stock suffering from this disease are trying remedies, some of which, at least, we hope may prove successful. If they will favor you with an account of .their efforts and their results, especially wheii sncessful, they will render an important service to the balance of your readers. .

The hog- seems to crave carbon in a concentrated form, and' hence we may conclude it is necessary to his wellbeing 1 . He will eat charcoal freely, which is tasteless, and is riot nutritious] From the same natural prompting I,'we1 ,' we see them eat wood' when so decayed that, they can do so.

For myself I have for rcany :}"ears been, in .the habi.t of I feeding 1 my hogs with an abundance of our bituminous coal, preferring' : the ; jfooi'e'st, or that swhich contains a large amount of sulphur and iron, and I think with the ■happiest -results/- Jjet who -has never, tried it, throw .in. a.lump of coal as large as his fist, iind lie will be surprised to see the hog' leave the corn and crunch the coal;, .as if jit. were the. modt luscious morse). Sulphur has long* been known as a valuable, remeclial agent for hogs,. and iron- is .a wellknown toniCj-acfcing; specifically; upon the -blood,' thickening', and .strengthening it. Here then, ,the hog, , by eating 1 the coal, gets . other . important elements beside the carbon.

-I have never known- a f hog 1 well supplied with this; coal, to be sick or off his 'feed 'for a single ; day, arid although L cannot" give^figures : showing* results of* careful '" ex peri men ts to j prove it, I "believe hogs -'thus ' stip|)lie4 will eat iriore^ - ; arid- f^siraila'tla ; lheir food; better, will 'make-appreciably; LniorV pork;: Hvith ~\ a amount 'of j tb^f than those which are. withouti'tV^ ;A*t -leas.^-I. :.apa;- welbsatisfied with the v^ayv . in t y^hicWiinj ..hpg's.pl.hriverr^grop'arid^ fatten-^-uiidev this,troatinen,t>, A ;,v:;'; . „ -