FARM AND GARDEN.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 319, 10 December 1910, Page 6

FARM AND GARDEN.

GATES ON THE FARM. The question of gates often troubles farmers. Many like to purchase the gate made up, either of wood or iron, and our advertising columns give them an opportunity of purchasing a reliable article at a very reasonable cost. Many, however, make their own gates and hurdles, and the difficulty of getting a good, tough, durable timber is very great. Australian timber, with its double railway freight is very expensive, and is little used. The heart of rimu is the best, but that, again, is very high in price. White pine, if it is made durable, is as good as any and a mean 3 of preserving it is on hand on most farms. Anyone using an arsenical dip has the means at hand, costing nothing. After dipping is over, the dip is generally about half full. It the gate timber is plunged into this and left for a few months, weighted down so as to be under the surface of the solution, taken out and stacked with strips, the timber is made tougher and more durable.

KEEPING MILK SWEET. Considerable interest i 3 being aroused in Australia by the remarkable method, which does not appear to have been made public, whereby Mr W. D. Passey guarantees that milk can be kept fresh for an indefinite period. So far the results are reported to justify the claim, but how far the methods are sufficiently economical to enable the practice to become general does not transpire. A bottle of milk, which was said to be about five months old, was some time ago handed to the public analyst for analysis. Mr Mann kept the milk for about a week before making an analysis, and he then reported as follows: - Total solids 14.31 per cent,, fat 4.55 per cent., solids not fat 9.76 per cent., tash 0.73 per cent, specific gravity 1.034 per cent. The milk has apparently been heated, but it is free from any of the ordinary preservatives, and gives a very good figure on analysis, It in a peculiar

manner in certain respects, which cannot be explained without full particulars of the treatment it has undergone; but I see no reason to believe that it is in any way detrimental to health.

Dr F. Anderson, who was given a sample of the milk for bacteriological examination, said that the sample was stated to have been two months old, and he kept it for four days before making the examination. The milk gave almost the test of normal milk. It differed from any preserved milk he knew of in that respect. It formed almost a normal junket. The junket was slightly softer than that lormed from ordinary cow's milk; but that, from the point of of infant's food, would be a very great advantage. He made twelve cultures from the milk, which remained sterile after four days in the incubator. "To me," added Dr Anderson, "The most striking thing about the milk was the way it remained fresh. After opening the bottle, ordinary pasteurised milk only keeps for a limited time, and for a very short time once exposed to the air. I kept this milk exposed to the air three days, and drank some of it then, and though I did not re-examine it bacteriologically, it was perfectly fresh milk so far as ! taste went."

SUMMER FEEDING. There must be no stint in the matter of food for young stock. Let them have the best of everythnig, and seo that they have plenty. While the hot weather lasts, all heating foou must be stopped, for the birds cannot do well if they are over-heated from the inside as well as out. Oats, barley, and wheat, fed one week each, can form the grain diet, and if boiled and allowed to stand in the water until cool, it is much appreciated by both young and old birds. This is the time of the year to avoid maize. Whatever may be said against rice as a food for poultry, it is a food I like very much, and it has the advantage of being one of the cool foods suitable for summer use. It should be boiled until the grain swells as much as possible, then mixed with pollard and bran to form the morning meal. In this form the i young stock are very fond of it. It j keeps the bowels in order, and in conjunction with the other grain foods mentioned, helps the young birds to grow.

THE HEN HOUSE IN WINTER. To keep the fowls in unfailing health in the winter time the floors of their roosting houses should be kept quite dry. Roup and other ailments are avoided under such a condition. If th2 floor is kept bare the droppings make it very unpleasant. If bedded with littery material, this soon becomes moist. Both the droppings and atmosphere induce this. It is an unhealthy attachment which none should put up* with. Three is no better bedding material for fowl houses in winter than dry ashes. These are available to all. They absorb moisture and disinfect as well. They keep down smell and prevent unclean atmosphere. The ashes as collected in the house can be put into the coops daily, and every three or four weeks clear all out and begin anew. Do not let them remain so long that, they become mucky. They are then in an unfit state.