THE FARM.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 86, 22 September 1915, Page 4

THE FARM.

Feeding Linseed to Calves.

Mr S. Hoare Collins, M.Sc., of the Agricultural Department of Armstrong Cillege, Newcastle-on-Tjne, contributes a short article on linseed for calf feeding to the May issue of the "Journal of tbe British Board of Agriculture." He writes

Linseed in one form or another is in general use for calf feeding on farms where it is the. practice to sell the bulk of tbe milk, or where tbe milk is largely used for cheesemaking, or where butter is made and only skim milk or separated milk is available. Crushed linseed may suita ly be added to skim or separated milk for calf feeding, but linsetd cake mesl, i.e., ground linseed cake, would usually contain insufficient oil fur tbe purpose, especially for feeding with separated milk. When little or i,o skim milk is available, calf meal containing only a moderate proportion ot linseed should be used; crußhtd linseed alone would be too oily, ad linseed cake meal al me too rich jn albuminoids.

Lirseed is a very goal atd very safe food when properly used but its preparation requires some care, since a poison—prussic aciJ —may be formed if the conditions are such ae to bring together two substances present in tne seed, viz., an ei zyme and a substance known as Lkimaiii.

1. la the first place, different kinds of linseed vary according to their origin in respect of the amount of poijon which is capable of being produced from them. As a rule, linseedi grown in England are less poisonous'than those grown in hotter climate?. 2. In the second place, with liaseed cake the amount of prussic acid wbicn may be formed will vary wiih the treatment of the seeds previous to tne expression of the oil. If the seeds are oi-ly subjected to a gentle dry heat, the removal 'of the oil has the effect that the poison (together with the other remaioing constituents of the seeds) is greater proportionately in the cake than in toe seed. If the seeds are subjected to both steam and heat, tae erzyme is either destrtyed or, at least, decreased in amount, and the rate at which the poison will be formed is diminished.

It happens that, while containing more poiton, linseed grown in hot climates contai s less water than English-grown linseed, and this renders it necessary fur the manufacturer to use steam before pressing the seed?, thus unconsciously counteracting the higher proportion of poison. The exunt to which ttis counter-action takes place varies, however, so that corresponding vatutiats occur in the cakes produced. Id some cases only a very Bmall proporti.n of the total amount of the poison is liberated. There is, however, no linseed meal which contains so much Linimarin that it would not be tendered quite harmlees if fed in a proper manner. 3. In- the third ilacj, it may be aßsumed for all practical purposes that there is extremely little risk to adult animals in good health being poisoned, as both their salva and gastric juice check the development of the poison in the body. The problem of the prevention of poisoning is thus resolved into the question of tbe proper preparation of linseed when feeding to young or sick animals.

In this connection it may be definitely stated that so long as the seed is fed whole, or even if it be fed simply crushed, there is no risk of poisoning forming; but if the seed be botb crushed and soaked in water the conditions favour the production of the prussic acid, especially if L tho lins:ecl is subjected to a dry heat before soaking, in which case tbe maximum formation of poison takes place. Further, if the linseed in tbe form of fine meal i 9 partly mixed with warm water so that the meal is in the form it a number of balls such conditions favour the maximum production of prussic acid inside these balls. If the meal in this form is not properly chewed the balls of meal will break up in the stomach and there liberate the poison. Boiling water will destroy the enzyme, thus preventing the formation of prussic acid, in preparing the meal for calves or sick animals, therefore, the linseed should be actually boiled with water, thus removing all risk of prussic acid formation, or else well mixed with twenty time* its weight in water, which is absolutely boiling at the time, when the chance of poisoning is too remote for practical consideration. Not more than lib of linseed should be mixed with a gallon of boiling water; ground linseed and lirseed cike meal swell and troth a good deal with water, and the mixture should be carefully stirred until quite smooth. It is of advantage to mix a little wheat flour with the linseed meal to counteract the laxative influence of the latter; the wheat fljur will also supply some starch, produce a better balanced food, and will not swell eo much with water as linseed meal does. Maize meal or oatmeal may be used instead of wheat flour if the laxative effect of the linseed is desirable.

Maize. I-. the United States ma z; is more extensively grown than any other grain, the acreage being abut double and tha traduce four times greater than wheat. More experimental work bus been carried on with maize at their various experimental stations than any other farm crop, and all tbe more important cultural tacts bave teen pretty definitely worked out. The rich, friable loams are ideal forelands, but good crops can be obtained on a variety ot soils, varying from the lighter sandy loams to heavy clays. When a choice can be bad, a warm, porous, well-drained loam should be chosen. Maize is a rank grower, and succeeda better und.r unfavourable soil conditions than most farm crops. Ihis is due tn the remarkably strong root system of the plants. Within sixty aays of planting maize roots have been traced eight feet deep and as tar laterally. The main bulk ot roots, however, baa been found to develop within eight inches of tbe surface of the ground. Within this area a dense network of feeding roctlets, reaching from row to row and completely permeating the whole soil area below the cultivation portion is formed. Investigations have proved that the fourth inch of soil contains a larger amount of roots than tbe three inches above it or tbe four inches below it, and nearly as much as both put together. Thin Boi I should be ploughed shallow. (Jn good soils depth of pluughing seems to have little effect on the crop. Ploughiog live to etven inches deep is usual, and is to be recommended. Sub-soiling for maize is not a profitable practice. It should be cultivated about once every ten days, espenally after rain, in order t< break up. the cruet and preserve a dust mulch, Begin soon after the seed is sown, and continue ihe cultivation umil the stalks are about one and a-half metres tigh. A light spike tooth harrow can be run over the field until the plants are Bix inches high. After which a cultivator which will run between or straddle the lows should be used. Tne essential thing in maize cultivation is to keep the ground free from weeds and covered with a soil mulch. Tha results of fifty-six tests at seventeen different stations show an average increase of 42 per cent resulting from shallow cultivation as compared with deep cultivation. In moist years cultivation is of less importance than in drv years. It has been determined definitely that cultivation conserves soil moisture and makes the ground warmer. If we base methods of maize cultivation on tbe root development, two to three inches deep is tbe most logical, and tbis depth is favoured by the most experienced aud successful groweis. The kind of implement used in tbe cultivation of maize is not ot so much importance as tbe thoroughness and carefulness in using. The time for planting maize will, of course, vary with the locality and weather conditions. The rule Bbobld be to plant just as soon as the danger from frost is passed, and the eatlier thereafter toe better. From two to three inches is cor.sidered the best depth or planting corn. With close planting, rows of toree feet apart, it is found that there are larger yiel 's than if planted in rows five feet apart, if grown for silage rows forty inches apart, with stalks three to nine inches distant, give the best resultp. lhete is practically no difference in the results whether maize is planted in bills or diills; convenience ii, planting and cultivating being tbe chief factors fjr consideration. The length of the growing period of maize vaiies very much. There is a clasp, small flint, which in the northern provinces develop in seventy to eighty days, which is also tbe length of time for tbe larger-grained varieties when required for «ilagc. Tbe usual class of'maize sown here requires JSO days to mature. SEED. The general belief that seed maize obtained from other soils and localities is better than homegrown seed is not substantiated by experience. Experiments bave proved clearly that it is desirable to use only maize for seed that has been grown in the same latitude and preferably in the same neighbourhood where it is to be planted. On the whole, it is best for the farmer to use mature seed grown on his own farm, or, at least, in his own neighbourhood. Tbis should be selected in the field, the beet ears fiom the most productive stalks being taken Seed maize should be stored in a dry place during the winter away from nice. A large number of stations have tested the relative merits of kernels from the butt, midrh and lips of the ear for seed purposes. The average results show that maize grown from butt kernels gave 53.86 bushels, middle kernels 59.27 bushels, lip kernels 58.70 bushels per acre. One series of experiments extending over five years gave practically the same results. Where planting is done mechanically the grain will be more uniform if selected from the middle portion of the ear. This seems to be the only practical advantage of selecting the seed from the different portions of the ear,