Farm and Garden

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 289, 27 August 1910, Page 3

Farm and Garden

HORSES' FEET. It is scarcley a matter for wonder that so many horses go wrong in their feet, when the result of careless and incompetent shoeing, and the amount of usage of hoofs experience are considered. Even horses which are driven slowly are subjected to almost as much risk from the effects of wear and tear as in the animal which moves faster, for, though the latter, and especially if he happens to be a high mover, places his feet down harder than the other, the slow mover puts them down considerably oftener. It has been calculated that a horse working at a slow pace will move his feet up and down over 11,000,000 time 3 in the course of a hard day, and about 8,000,000 times during a moderately hard one, whereas an animal worked at a trot puts down his feet some 7,000,000 times if he has a hard day out, and about half as many in the course of a moderately hard one. Assuming that these figures are worthy to be accepted —they are the work of an eminent veterinary authority—an idea will be derived from them of the risks of concussion to which horses are liable; with the possible result that some owners will devote more attention to the treatment of their animals' feet, especially if they work on hard ground.—"Live Stock Journal." METHOD OF APPLYING DISINFECTANT SOLUTIONS. The best method of applying disinfectant fluids is by means of a fine spray. It is vastly superior to a brush or ordinary sprinkler, for the spiay may be made to penetrate by the force of a pump, and can reach comers where it might be impossible to introduce a brush. Precautions should be taken in all cases of contagious disease to disinfect the attendants; hands, boots, and clothing should all receive attention. These should be immersed in the solution and scrubbed. Boots and the sleeves of coats are particularly dangerous in conveying the germs of disease from one place to another. Finally, in the case of infected stables or byres, it is good practice wherever possible to allow the premises to remain perfectly empty for several weeks. This will allow a greater opportunity for the death of the disease-producing germs that may have escaped the disinfectant application. Old and badly infected premises of-little value should be pulled down and burned. When the floor is made of earth, it is "well to dig it out to a depth of about six inches, or as far as the liquids have penetrated, and refill the excavation with fresh earth and lime. The litter —old wood-work, etc. —removed from infected premises should always be., burned. FRUIT WITHOUT SEEDS. The seedless oranges, which most of our readers will doubtless have seen and eaten, are generally supposed, to be purely the result of scientific culture. The first seedless orange, however, were undoubtedly freaks of nature. They were found growing wild in a swamp in a remote part of.Brazil, in 1872, and an enterprising planter, obtaining some shoots, started with success a plantation of seedless oranges. As the result, they are now produced in millions. The discovery of the oranges without "pips" no doubt led to the attempts subsequently made to grow apples, pJums, and other fruit equally destitute of seeds or stones. These attempts, it may be added, have met with some measure of success. Seedless tomatoes have been produced in numbers, and there are a few—a very few—Ftoneless cherries, plums, grapes and apples.