Farm and Garden

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 205, 4 November 1909, Page 3

Farm and Garden

A:>V OF A <;;IAS- r.i'N. trv if ::f r ' on a ;;ra: : run, obtain a iarge quantity of focci • food which i; j natural v/hi'-h decreases the food hill. They will r.ot need at any time of the year to have green food supplied as they will eat a large quantity of grass and innumerable seeds. Frogs, beetles, spiders, worms, etc., will be picked up in large quantities—in fact few things are unacceptable to fowls. Some people say that poultry do a tremendous amount of damage to grass by scratching it up by the roots. This may be true if poultry are kept in too large a quantity for the size of the piece of grass. But it also must be taken into consideration the amount of manure deposited on the ground by them and the numbers of harmful insects which they destroy. It not being necessary to give them green food or meat except in the depth of winter, when insects arc scarce will cause a great saving in the food bill. If a pen of birds is kept on a grass run of some considerable area, the eggs will be more fertile than if the pen was a grave! one. Also the progeny of the birds kept on the grass run would be much healthier and stronger than the descendants of the birds kept on the gravel run. Birds with yellow legs or white plumage arc greatly improved in appearance by being kept in a grass run. For this reason all fanciers who show should, if possible, have a grass run. On a grass run, grit and dust bath must be seen to, aa they cannot too well look after themselves. The expense of this is to slight as hardly to be noticed. A few days after chicks are hatched, they begin to have a desire for green food, and the best for them is green grass. If one has not a grass run one has to cut it all which is a gerat waste of time, as, if allowed the opportunity they will pluck it for themselves. Little chicks thrive on nothing better than the small insects they scratch up and the seeds which they find in the grass. Keeping chickens on grass encourages them to scratch, which in the healthiest exercise for them. The dew which the chicks drink off the grass is very good for them, as it is so fresh and is in such small quantities. Keeping them on grass enables them to feather quickly, and get a beautiful lustre on their feathers. MILKING COWS. "To determine definitely the amount of filth that gets into milk during the process of milking, and how much this can be lessened by washing the udders, the following comparison was made: — It was determined after several trials with different milkers that it requires an average of 4$ minutes to milk a cow. A glazed dish, 11 in in diameter, the size of an ordinary milk pail, was placed in the top of a pail and held under the cow's udder in the same position as when milking. For 4i minutes the milker went through motions similar to those made in milking, but without drawing any milk. The amount of dirt and dust which fell into the dish during the operation was, of course, about the same as would have fallen into the milk during the milking process. The dirt caught in the dish was then brushed into a small glass weighing tube, the udder washed, and the process continued. The dirt which fell from the washed udder was also carefully brushed into a weighing tube. After drying 24 hours the contents were weighed on a chemical balance. Many trials were made at different seasons of the year. With udders that were comparatively clean it was found that an average of 34 times as much dirt fell from the unwashed udders as from the same udders after they were washed. With solied udders the average was 22, and with muddy udders the average was 90 times as much dirt from the unwashed udders as from the same udders after washing. If we were to place a pail of water just beside the pail in which a cow is milked and observe the amount of sediment that has gone to the bottom and the particles of dust to be seen floating on top, it is not likely that we would be willing to pour that water into a kettle to make the coffee for breakfast. And yet we use some of that cream and milk in our coffee without question. Cows giving milk should have water before them nearly all the time. It is natural for them to drink after feeding. Dry cows and heifers could do very well watered twice a day. There will always be a good demand fur butter of extra qualtiy and at remunerative prices. The demand for that kind of butter by those who have abundant means to pay for it is in excess of the supply. A young boar or sow that is intended for breeding purposes should be cared for well and kindly treated. Agriculture ii the true foundation of all trade and industry. It is the foundation of the riches of the States. The public should be prepared to meet all the cost of adequately inspecting the condition of dairy cattle. The utmost cleanliness should be observed, not only with all dairy utensils but also rabout the cows and stables. Compared with the weight, the pig consumes more food than any other farm animal; he also makes more meat from the fooud which he eats than any ether animal makes from the same quantity of food. There is no reason why the highest tirade of butter made in the world cannot be produced from the cream separated on the farm if the farmer observes the ordinary precaution of low temperatures and sanitary conditions in caring for bis cream. Integrity requires that the milk or cream received each day shall be accurately weighed on accurate scales, and the weights carefully and accurately recorded. No wonder so many farmer patrons have lost faith in their creamery managers in the past. The Chinese never use any large •juantities of milk, as they usually allow the calf to tak/ all the milk for its nourishment, so a? to later have another animal, and f'aring that the caif ill rjitfif it i? deprived ft'rany part f-i "i<-h r nlia 1 nutrition. dairy :';irre>:<-fj>t in th»; vl','"-

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