AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 422, 13 December 1911, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

No one need fear that his mental or physical activity will suffer on the farm.

A little soot spread over the soil before onion seed is sown will prove beneficial.

It will give a horse great comfort and rest if the harness is removed at noon while he is feeding. A well-bred ram will often add two to three pounds in weight of flesh or fleece over a common sire.

It is natural for pigs to root, and it is profitable t.n let them do so under certain proper conditions. Sheep return more and better fertility to enrich soil and distribute the same more evenly than any other animal.

Whatever the pig assimilates in excess of the maintenance ration goes for growth, and it is this excess that counts.

It i? hardly necessary to point out the absolute necessity of high, individual merit and good back-breeding, whatever the type. These cattle were probably interbred with other races, possibly with red cattle of something like the Shorthorn type of to-day. The rate of pigs' growth decreases with the size and age of the animal, and the amount of feed required for maintenance increases.

Dairy type and masculinity combine to give strength of character or prepotency, that offspring may inherit the good qualities of their ancestry.

The man who raises, feeds, and works a horse has i he inside track and is in a position to know as no other man can possibly guess the good qualities in his horse.

The curl in a pig's tail is not a useless ornament; it indicates good health. When the curl begins to straighten out look for disease and give medicine or a change of feed. While a good fleece is always a good point, under average conditions we would not take a poor or undersized ram just because of a good fleece, however good it might be. Carbonate of lime is an essential part of the foundation of all fertile soils; without that substance one finds acidity of soil which discourages useful bacteria and encourages harmful fungi.

Digestion begins in the mouth of man or beast. When mastication begins to get abnormal by reason of sharp teeth in horses, or perhaps worn out teeth, we begin to .see more or less trouble with stomach and bowels. It should be the every-day rule to expose both collars and saddle-pads to the sun and air after use, and, before putting them on again, brush vigorously with a hard brush, or, in the case of leather liniugs, sponge them over.

Among the duties of the horsekepeer is that of keeping the shoulders and backs of the animals under his care in a sound condition, and this is more difficult in hot weather, owing to the linings being saturated with perspiration. It 33 easy to be wise after an event, and it is difficult to be prepared before the result of the event can be known. Were it so many a ram breeder would have made wethers of a good proportion of those rams that he has sold or sent to stud.

In rearing and handling lambs, like many other enterprises, the success, as well as the profits, depends largely on the man who cares for and handles the flock, and carries them over the critical period of weaning without any check in their growth. The best and wisest plan is to weigh every cow's milk at every milking, a3 the daily records are an aid and a stimulus to better feeding, milking, and general care, but weighing three days a month is much better than not keeping records at all. Red is one of the original colours of the Angus cattle. Galloways are probably of longer lineage of unmixed ancestry than the Angus. About 400 years ago we know that there were black and hornless cattle in the region where now Aberdeen-Angus cattle are bred.

Regular, hard, everyday work requires heavy grain feeding at regular hours, and horses must have it, and good care and watering and grooming with it. Light, irregular work requires greater care and the exercise of more judgment in feeding than does heavy work. While it is very imperative that we exercise the keenest of judgment in the selection of the females for rearing, the selection of a calf to be later used as the head of the herd is of paramount importance. Nothing but a purebred sire of one of the dairy breeds should be used.

If a heifer goes dry roo soon it is as well to pass her on. She is going to be a short-period cow, and when the period is too short there are not values in her from the point of view of the milker for profit. A good supply of drinking water, which should be pure and plentiful is necessary for cows. The cowshed should be kept in a clean condition, and strict cleanliness on the part of the milkers is most important.

Hay or other food must not be stored in the cowshed. If hay or other food is stored in a loft over the cowshed, the trap doors or other communication with the cowsheds must be kpet closed except during the feeding or foddering of the cows. When putting young horses in harness for the first time handle them very gently, and load them very lightly until they become somewhat used to the work. Many young horses are injured by being crowded into heavy work too suddenly and not gradually seasoned to heavy usage. Every effort should be made to keep the cowshed free from dust especially at milking time 3. The milk should not be left standing in ths cowshed but immediately after each cow is milked her milk should be removed to a suitable place used solely for milk purposes free from dust or other snnrcps of contamination and at onch

The use of washing soda as a cleanser for milking machines is not looked upon with favour by managers of cheese factories. The manager of a factory and the proprietor of_ an" oldestablished Wairarapa cheese factory, conversing recently, were both of opinion that it had a detrimental eil'ect on the milk that passed through the machines, in that it retarded the acid in the milk from rising during the process of clvjese-making. If the acid does not rise from the milk a certain amount of the bad flavour that may be in the milk will be retained in the cheese.

This is an Arabian view of what a. symmetrical horse should be:—A thoroughbred horse is one who has three things long, three things snort, three things broad, and three things clean. The three things long are his ears, his neck, and his forelegs. The three things short are the docks (the solid part of the tail), the hind legs, and the back. The three things broad are the forehead, the chest, and the croup. The three things clean ate the skin, the eyes, and the hoofs. Also, if a horse, when drinking from a stream that flows level with the ground, can remain upright on all fours without bending either of his forelegs, be assured that his form is perfect, that all parts of his body harmonise, and that he is thoroughbred. A healthy growing condition of the sheep is shown by a bright oily condition of the fleece.

Rape crops and pasture lands appear to have a partiality for bone manures, where they are applied. To teach a steady fast walking gait is one of the most important point 3 in the training of a work horse. The natural place for a horse is in the open air, and if he is confined in a stable it should be well ventilate! and have plenty of light. In buying a ram, if you do not know a good one when you see it, put your faith in the judgment of someone who does, but who has none to sell. There is an idea in some quarters that one of the best of the cow foods is brewers' grains, the outer covering of barley. It is a cooler, and not easily digestible, and should not be fed alone.

Denmark has come on as a dairying and pig breeding country within the last 30 years, or after the small holders of the country realised corngrowing was not for them on their little lots.

Mares in foal require careful attention, and should be given light work to within two or three weeks of foaling. Light work will prevent them getting too fat, and will keep them in good health. The foal will also be healthier than if the mareis allowed t« get fat for want of exercise.

See that the herd of cows are in a healthy condition, and if milk is low in fat "a Jersey added to the herd will be found to be an improvement ani will also give colour and finer flavour of the butter.

Calf food, after the calf begins to eat, should be bulky and nitrogenous; the latter for its nourishing quality, and the former to develop the roomy stomach, which is desirable in a milker.

The dairyman, and, of course, the dairy farmer, must not bo 'ed away to the following of other goods. They must stick to the milking "strain, leaving beef-breeding to the man with the big mileages. The breed of sheep for mutton is one that gives early maturity.

If you want a good sized sheep they must grow rapidly while young. Even on the most productive farms any money spent on fertilisers is well invested.

The only time to develop good stock is when the animal is young and growing fast. The selection of large, well-matured kernels is an important means of increasing the wheat yield, and merits more attention that it is receiving.

When a foal is five months old it is time'that it should be weaned. There are two methods of procedure—one the, gradual taking away of the foal and the other the abrupt.