FARMING NOTES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 5, 19 January 1915, Page 4

FARMING NOTES.

Pastures Manuring.

Profitable Practice. There is one phase of pasture manuring worthy of special note, namely, the beneficial influence which fertilisers exercise nn the composition and value of the grass or fodder. Such a manure ae Thomas's phosphate not only increases the bulk, but alto imptoves the quality. In trials it baa been found that grass hay grown on manured land contained 8.75 per cent aluminoids, while that grown on urmanured contained 6.45 per cent. This iB an increase ot over 30 per cent of the total albuminoid content of the crop, due to the use of manure. The fodder grown upon the manured land contained not only the maximum amount of albuminoid, but also showed a tendency to contain the minimum amount of fibre. Test experiments have shown that fodder which contains the least fibre ia the mo*t digestible; hence the gain in digestible albuminoid resulting from the use of manure is greater. Tbe larger amiunt of plant food in the manured soil piaces at the disposal cf tbe grass or fodder a larger amount of building material in tbe foim of tbe essential elements, and as a result a crop of higher feeding value is secured. If the soil fails to contain the requisite amount of nourishment the resultß are inferior both in qmntity and quality. In feeding for milk, and beef production as well, the largest returns at minimum cost are secured from using the most valuable and nutritious fodder. The quality ot the fodder is the deciding factor in determining economy of production. Increasing the fertility of soil through the use of manure results not only in larger yields, but also in better quality of crops. There is much loss of liquid manure from stock when fed in the sheds, and this valuabla fertiliser is allowed to run to waste down draias and into ditches. It has oeen calculated that 1000 gallons of liquid manure if applied to grass land would have the same beneficial effect as would be obtained from the application of 2cwt ot the best Peruvian guaro.

Constitution of the Dairy Cow.

A strong constitution is indicated by large nostrils, a broad, strong muzzle, a e'eep chest, and a rocmy middle. The wide muzzle and roomy middle are in direct relation tn the feeding capacity of the individual, and the ability to consume a large amount of teed is a condition which is sought for in both the dairy cow and beef animal Thia is true because an increased consumption of feed in the case of a beef steer means an increase in daily gain. A dairy cow that is capable ct consuming a large grain, hay or root ration has a higher milk yield than a cow witb a similar milk test, a simihr disposition and udder development but of inferior feeding capacity.

Large nostrils indicate a large lung surface, - and a deep cheßt indicates a large chest cavity with plenty of room for breathing. A cow with small nostrils and a shallow pinched cbest materially lacks in constitutional vigour. Breeding cows having this conformation will transmit the condition to their offspring, and a lack of constitutional vigour is one of tbe predisposing causes of tuberculosis.

In this connection calves are often reared on skim milk, buttermilk, or whey after the first week. If one or two cows in the herd are giving off tubercule bacilli in thur milk, or the milk is being contaminated by manure and dirt falling into the milk pail during the milking process, the skim milk which is used as a calf food will contain the germs of tuberculosis. This milk is very likely then to be the means of spreading tuberculosis from the older cows to the young stock in the calf pen. The skim milk from creameries returned to the farm for feeding purposes ia alsu likely to contain tubercule as the milk is collected over a larga territory and from a number,^of different farms. The transmission ot tuberculosis through the feeding of skim milk tu calves can be avoided by pasteurisation, and the heating of milk to 175deg. F. for five minutes is sufficient to kill all of the bacilli present.

Dairying Hints.

It is now becoming fairly well recognised how important it is to have a bull descended from a cow with a constitutional power of giving a heavy yield of milk of good quality if they mean to build up a herd of good milkers. Feeding alone is not sufficient to increase either the quantity or quality of the milk, if the cow herself is not naturally a good milker, and it is only by selecting the best and breeding from them that improvement can be expected. A dairyfarmer, for example, bpys a bull at £ls more than oridnary market value, but then the animal's dam has given, say, a good yield of milk per annum for four years back, while the sire is also of a notable milking strain, and has bred many good cows. Assuming, therefore, that no accident happens, this particular animal should breed heifer calves with ordinary good cows which should be good milkers

in their turn, and raise thp av rage jield'very much above the usual run. Tte proper way to look at the thing is that of £. s. d. If the bull only gets twenty good heifers per year for three years—and he may do double this—it means that these calves only cost 5s per head more than a mongrel-bred would do, and for this 6s good milkers are obtained to a certainty in nine cases out of ten. "The great value of a root crop in the dairy feed," say an Australian farmer, "is no longer a question. The only question which arises i* as to the proper root crop, and I would say that beets are the best of all. A point in favour ot the sugar beet is the keeping qualities We are feeding sugar beets after keeping five months; we have them ai tender and sweet as the day we took them from the ground. It is a very easy matter to keep sugar beets without them decaying. Simply place them in a long A-shaped pile to a height of about four feet, and cover with earth, leaving a few holes for ventilation. Greater care should be exercised that the beets do rot heat than they should freeze. Sugar beets can stand very severe cold. A dairy farmer with anything of a milking herd should grow at least an acre or two of beets each season. This would place at his disposal a great supply of cheap and valuable feed. A ton of BUgar beets is about sufficient for one cow for a period of 100 days, but may be increased if desired. A cheaper and better feed than this it is hard to find, unless it may be a ton of lucerne hay. Many in feeding roots to the cows place them in the mangers whole, but this is not the best practice. They should be chopped or sliced, and then there will be no annoyance to the co*s and no choking. S\»me feed the beets in the middle of the day, and some duiing the morning end evening, along with the regular ration."

The Most Profitable Manure

What Is It?

That is just what farmers would like to know; bat, unfortunately, no definite answer can be given, it is a subject on which opinions vary accordirg to circumstances. "Muck is the mother of money," according to an old proverb, but muck, meaning farmyard manure, is costly and getting scarcer,.so that farmers have to turn to fertiliseis, and then the problem of the mcst suitable kind has to be fac-.d.

One may prefer nitrate of soda, another guano, or sulphate of ammonia; one man pins his faith on superphosphate, another finds that basic slag gives the best results; one man considers potash essential; another says it is an unneessary expense, and so on. There is no hard and fast rule. Ail may be right, according to the varying conditions of their soil and sjstem of farming. The fertiliser which supplies the requirements of the particular soil and particular crop is the best in each cese, but it can bs said definitely that the surest system is to apply fertilisers which for general purposes supply tbe principal ingredients of plant food. It may be thought that chemical analysis of the soil would supply the answer, but soil analyses ate not trustworthy guides. They show the total ingredients present, but not the available proportion, and that is what the plant utilises. Tbe use of a one-sided fertiliser, whether only nitrogen or phosphoric acid or potash, is not a rational system, Of course there are exceptions, as, for instance, in growing leguminosao the application of nitrogen may be dispensed with, and on well-woiked heavy clay land it is not necessary to add potash for cereal crops, but in general the precept holdß good that it is best to supply the crop wi>h the important constituents.