Farm and Garden

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 192, 20 September 1909, Page 4

Farm and Garden

CLEANSING D.UKY i TKN.SII.S. Many people who hat. ':> milk do not knew bow to clean utensils properly. The absurdity of first scalding and then washing with cotd water must be evident to anyone who considers the question. By the first operation the albumen of tne milk is fixed on the sides of the can. whilst the bacteria may be destroyed, and by the second operation larger numbers of bacteria may be added through the use of contaminated water. Immediately after use milk buckets and cans should be rinsed out with either tepid or clean cold water. Mot water containing soda, lib to 20 , gallons, is then added and the utenI sits given a thorough washing, a scrub- ! bing brush, and any amount of elbow i grease being used. The brush used ' should not be worn to such a condition ' that it will not get properly into the i corners. After this scrubbing, which i includes the outside of the utensil as , well, the bucket or can is subjected to \ steaming by placing it over a jet for \ about half a minute. When steam cannot be obtained, boiling water must be used. Every farmer, however, sboold have a steamer, which can be obtained for £7 or £B. These are always 'useful for steaming pig or calf food, and the housewife will also find such an article very useful. After the cans are scalded they should not be dried with n cloth, but placed mouth downward on a table with laths several inches apart, and the moisture will drain out. The table should be in a clean situation, and exposed to the i sun.

LAM PAS IN HORSES. Lampas is a common disease among stable horses and the barbarous practice of operating with hot irons on the tender bars of the [horse's mtouth is often followed with a view to effecting a cure. The disease affects young horses before they have their full set of teeth. Young horses, changed from"gTeen pasture to dry hard feed in the stable, arc much troubled with it. The bars of the roof of the mouth will inflame, and the horses refuse to eat the feed. The treatment shoudl be simple. Merely give soft food, consisting of bran mashes, to keep the bowels open, soaked or scalded oats, boiled roots, etc.. for a few days, and the trouble will generally disappear. It can positively be said that no other remedies need be used. In cases of loss of appetite, one tcaspoonful of rex conditioner may be sprinkled over each feed This will restore a vigorous appetite. Avoid burning the horse's mouth. It ruins the delicate sensitiveness to the touch of the reins so necessary in a pleasant, well broken roadster. It often destroys the palate, and makes the horse a confirmed "wheczer." Burning is inhuman, and lessens the value of the horse, and it is unnecessary.

MIXING MANURES. Chemical changes resulting in lc*t may take place after manures arc mix?d, J»nd before they arc applied to the land. For example, the mixing of lime or superphosphate of lime with manures containing nitrogen causes nitrogen, in the form of ammonia to be set free and escape into the air.

The chief nitrogenous manures arc farmyard manure, some of the guanos, sulphate of ammonia, steamed bones, and other fertilisers of an organic nature. If ammonia is not lost in the manner stated harm may be done by indiscriminate mix-ing in rendering the soluble ingredients more unsoluble; lime has this effect on very soluble phosphates. Then, again, injury may be done in a mechanical way by improper mixing some time previous to application. Kainit and other potash salts when mixed with othtr fertilisers cause the whole to harden and solidify. Lime, kainit, and other potash salts, basic jtaff. and nitrate of soda may be mixed immediately before application. Any of the following may be mixed at anytime :—Superphosphate, sulphate of ammonia, potash manures, nitrate of soda, basic slag, guano, and farmyard manure.

Chemical reactions may be largely avoided by having the manures to be mixed perfectly dry and powdery, and by sowing immediately after mixing. Basic slag should be applied some time before the sewing of the crop it is intended to benefit; sulphate of ammonia should never be applied until the day the crop is sown; and super* phosphate for cereal crops should not be sown earlier. Fish guano and bones may sometimes be sown in advance with advantage, while nitrate of soda should not be sown until well on in the spring.

SOUR PASTURE. It is well Known that grass sown on sour soils does not possess such nourishing qualities a* grass from good soils, but this is not the only drawback. According to experiments carried out by the Agricultural Institute at Halle, such sour grass and the bay made from it produces in the animals eating it, and especially in cattle, an inflammation of the mucous memof the digestive organs. This shows the necessity of taking steps to improve the quality of the hay by putting the soil into a better condition. Drainage is generally the most needful and applications of phosphate of lime and potash with adressnig of lime.

Plenty of exercise is absolutely necessary for stock. This is especially true of the brood mare, brood *ow, and breeding ewes. Without __ it they arc very certain to disappoint their owner at the time they bring forth their young.

Milk, when turned into the receivingvat at the creamery may possess the maximum of cleanliness, yet, forced through pipes in which are the rotten accumulations of weeks and months, its quality will, in consequence, be seriously injured. When the sows have the proper care and attention before the pigs are farrowed the pigs will usually be strong and vigorous, and will not need assistance in getting to the teat; it is sometimes ncrsesary, however, and when it is. the help should be given with caution.

Cows do not usually cjnsuire more food than they can properly digest. The ration, therefore, should be made as palatable as possible in order to induce the cow to eat large quantities. The size of the chaff for horses should be about half an inch long; if too fine it is net sufficiently masticated, and, being too quickly swallowed, may give rise to indigestion and colic. Few farmers possess pure-bred mares. It will be a long time before they do; but they can improve the character and quality of their farm horses by eliminating the inferior mare from the breeding list.

On soils rich in vegetable matter, where decay proceeds rapidly and organic acids are formed, the ground phosphate rock will give in many cases satisfactory returns, if applied in sufficient quantities.

It may not be generally known that about half a century ago France imported between three and four million sparrows to protect the fruit trees and gardens. This was the result of previous war on small birds. Cows' udders should be brushed clean and rubbed with a damp, coarse towel before milking. Be as particular with your hand*, your clothing, and the udders of the cows in milking as you would have your wife be in making bread. Lucern should only be sown on land that is thoroughly clean, and it should be given a dressing of dung at the rate of six tons to the half acre when preparing the ground this autumn. A clean and well worked seedbed is essential to the crop.

Don't forgot to test jour cow* and see if she is returning a profit- -if not fatten and sell her. More milk and richer milk is the object of all farmers and dairymen, and to get it select your best cows and see you are not feeding at a loss. Every market now in the central portion" of Sucsex, Englnnd, is working under insurance schemes against tuberculosis in fat stock sold at the respective markets, and the arrangement appears to give every satisfaction to buyers and sellers. The horse is a strict vegetarian and the most particular animal about the quality of his food known to domestic lifp. Good food, sanitary stabling, grooming regularly, and kind handling will tell their story on almost any horse in an incredibly short space of time.

FERTILITY IN EGGS. The United Stales Department of Agriculture has been conducting an investigation frr the collection of data rcsjarding the factors which affect Hie fertility of egg*- The question has been carefully studied at a number of the State expcrmicnt stations in the United States and elsewhere The results of these experiments go to show that too warm quarters for laying stock and over-feeding commonly exercise an unfavourable influence on egg fertility. The way eggs are handled or stored was Iso found to affect the proportion which will hatcbas will also the condition under which incubation occurs. The vigour and character of the parent stock and the length of time the male bird has been with the flock arc also important questions as determined by the tests. Fertility and hatchability are not necessarily identical. An egg may be fertile and still the germ does not have sufficient vitality to produce a healthy chick under the ordinary conditions of incubation. In a series of incubator experiments at the Rhode Island station, of 8677 eggs tested, 83 per cent, were found to be fertile, while only 16 per cent of the fertile eggs, or 38.6 per. cent, of the total number of ogga hatched under the conditions of the tests.

The various observations made, while not entirely conclusive, indicate that in order to secure fertile eggs, which will hatch, the layng stock must not be kept in very warm quarters or overfed; the males must be kept with the hens continuojsly, and that only eggs should be used which are produced after the male has been with the hen several days. Only the fowls from very vigorous parent stock and those known to produce a high percentage of fertile eggs —hens vary widely in this respect — should be used. The hens should be allowed a rest after each laying period, while the eggs should be handled carefully, not subjected to extremes of temperature in storage.