Farm and Garden.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 164, 14 June 1909, Page 3

Farm and Garden.

America's Ambition.

The American Government has made op its mind to rob England of supremacy in heavy horse breeding, and a buyer has recently been in England securing the best animals to be obtained for the stud farm. A new breed is to be established from a cross between Shires and Clydesdales, and the name selected is "Amgrey." A ccording to the writer in the Daily Miail who describes the experiment, there i i some prejudice in England, against greys, prejudice which the Americans put down to laziness, for a grey can keep its looks as well as a bay if well groomed. There seems to be no reason for the prejudice; in fact some good judges believe that greys are distinctly longer lived than other horses. The purchase in England of animals for the epxeriment was an official recognition that England is supreme in heavy horses. The belief was an old one, and it was clinched by the greys Mr Armour showed" at the recent International Horse Show. They were greatly admired, bat as draught horses they did not compare with English Sbircs in the judgment of any specialist. They were inferior, indeed, to many working horses on English farms. The American experiment may throw light on several vital questions of breeding. "Why England has been supreme in the breeding of animals has never been determined. But with the progress of scientific inquiry it becomes clearer every year that English sheep, cattle, horses, and even English pig», poultry.and pigeons owe as much to the soil and climate as to the breeder. What the quality is no one can determine. It exists in high measure in Ireland, and, it is thought, in parts of Australia. Some English counties have it; some have not. Cattle proper to South Devon lose quality w hen transferred to the north. Soitlbdown sheep deserve their title because the South Downs arc the makings* of th*»m. Cart horses flourish from generation t«» generation in the fen country of the Eastern Midlands." Practically all the great flocks and herds of the world have to be strengthened from English stock. Is there something in the air of England and Ireland which fixes species ami maintains quality? Is it an accident Chat in international contests Irishmen have jumprd further and higher and thrown weights further than other people, and that most of the mote famous jumping horses are derived from Ireland? It will be interesting to see whether the "Amgreys" will keep up their standard without strengthening from England. The British Board of Agriculture gives little or no a?.tent:on to horse-breeding, and it is suggested that it might well follow America's example.

SOUR MILK.

The last convert to the theory that a dirt of sour milk is the basis of perfect health is I'-ishnp Fallows, of Chicago, who announced recently that he was satisfied of his ability to live to the age of 120 years. Most people are aware that milk is a perfect food, supplying all that is needed in the way of nourishment by the healthy individual, and it is claimed that sour milk, while containing the valuable constituents of fresh milk, has also an acid that destroys the dangerous bacteria in the internal organs. Bishop Fallows is now seventy-three years old, and he states that he feels like a youth. He attributes his splendid health to the plentiful itac of sour milk and pure butter milk, and he is urging the general use of these articles of diet in the United States. The Bishop is only following in the steps of many men whose opinion* arc entitle! to rspect. Josiah Oldfield, a prominent diet specialist in London, expressed strong approval of Bishop Fallow's ideas. "Professor MctcbnikofF demonstrated the value of sour milk as a food some years ago," be a*id, "ar.d the Bishop is quite correct in saying that its more general use would prolong life. Statistics have been compiled which show that the life of all vertebrate animals is roughly about live times as lung as the period which they occupy in coming to maturity. On that principle, man, who is a vertebrate animal, and who takes from nineteen to twenty-one years to come to maturity, should live to from ninety-five to 105, and then he ought to die of old age quietly and painlessly, just as one falls asleep at the close of a hard day's work. The advantage of sour milk, in my opinion, is that it is a perfect food and the most easily digested food known." Another eminent medical man in Ixmdon remarked that the value of sour milk as a food bad been recognised for centuries by the peoples of Eastern Europe, who use fermented milk in various forms. He saw no reason why men should not attain an age of one hundred yc"»rs, and statistics showed that the civilised races were 'gradually approaching that ideal. The difficulty about the general adoption of a sour milk diet, apart from all questions of taste, is that the dairy herds of the world would have to be increased to an enormous extent to secure the necessary supply. Each person would need one or two cows.

Lucerne Growing.

Soil inoculation for alfalfa seems to be necessary in about half of the cases where the crop is first introduced. It is quite probable that the spread of alfalfa culture is already having some effect in lessening the need of artificial inoculation. The experiments reported show that in many cases nodules developed without special inoculations, and many similar cases have come under our special notice during the last two years. It has often been observed that where manure is applied the need of special inoculation may be avoided. The so-called pure cultures of bacteria for inoculation have not produced noticeable results in a single instance where they have been tried. Wherever inoculation is considered necessary, we would advise the use of soil from a good alfalfa field where the bacteria arc known to exist. At least 100 or 200 lbs of clean soil should be used per acre, and if at all possible it should be incorporated with the seed.

—Catting.— The information we have concerning the cutting of alfalfa during the first season is too contradictory to permit of making any general rule. It seems, however, that cutting has sometimes been overdone, and that alfalfa should rather be allowed to grow undisturbed so long as it is doing well and does not bloom. With early seeding one cutting during the spring will generally be advisable. Otherwise cutting should only be practised when the growth seems checked, or the tops of the plants turn yellow. If not too heavy the cut material should be left on the ground to act as a mulch.

- Cutting for HayWhen alfalfa is used for haymaking it should be mowed whenever about onc-tcnth of it has come into bloom, regardless of size. The general treatment in curing the hay is the same as that for clover, Great care must be exercised in handling it to avoid breaking off and losing the leaves, which dry quickly and arc then very brittle. Pasturing.

Alfalfa should never bejmsturcd the first reason, and in many cases it will be best to use it for mowing during the second sca?on in order that it may become thoroughly established before animals arc allowed to tramp it over. It should never be pastured closely, as close pasturing injures the crowns of the plants. Horses and sheep are more likely to do damage in this way than cattle or pigs. Alfalfa makes excellent pasture for all kinds of live stock, and it is especially desirable for pigs during hot weather. With cattle and sheep, care must be taken to avoid bloating. At first the animals should be turned in for only a short time each day until they become accustomed to it, and when the alfalfa is wet, as after rain, there is still greater need of care. It is wise to be a little more careful than with clover.