AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Te Aroha News, Issue 6, 14 July 1883, Page 4

AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

After the wheat came up on a Kentucky farm, a sleet storm covered the field with ice. Before this melted a flood swept over, and the ice, rising to the surface of the water, pulled every blade of wheat out of the ground and carried it away. The Jersey Bulletin says :—lt: — It is a common practice among iome dairymen to give the cows, while dry, but scanty living. When a cow ceases to give milk, or is dried up, any food is considered good enough for her. I think this is a great mistake, and the result of a diminished product of milk, both in quantity and quality, when she , does come in. There is a large draft on the system to sustain the calf while the cow is carrying it, and to keep the cow in good condition good feed is as important as when she is giving milk. It is the opinion that one dollar's worth of food when the cow is dry is worth one dollar and a half's worth after she comes in. An animal in poor condition cannot digest as much food as an animal in good condition. If a cow is poor when she comes in she will not digest enough food to support the system and, at the same time, to make a large quantity of milk. A writer for the Breeder's Gazette relates the following : — A pleasant word to a horse in time of trouble has prevented many a disaster where the horse has learned that pleasant words mean a I guarantee that danger from punishment is not imminent. One morning a big muscular groom said to his employer : " 1 can't exercise that horse any more ; i he will bolt and run at anything he sees." The owner, a small man, and ill at the time, asked that the horse be hooked up. Stepping into the skeleton, he drove a couple of miles, and then asked the groom to station along the road such objects as the horse was afraid of. This was done, and the horse was driven by them quietly back and forth, with loose lines slapping on his back. The whole secret was in a voice that inspired confidence. The man had been frightened at everything ho saw that lie supposed the horse would fear. The fear went to the horse like an electric message. Then came a punishing pull on the lines with jerking and the whip. Talk to your horse as you would do to your sweetheart. Bo not fear but what ! | he understands and appreciates loving tones, if not the words ; while it is by no means certain that the sensitive intelligence of many a horse does not com prehend the latter. The English Cart-horso Society have passed a resolution that all stallions at 1 its future exhibitions shall be inspected by a veterinary snrgeon, and unless found entirely sound and free from disease of any kind, shall not be entitled j to an award, whether it be that of money or a simple commendation. With neither of these' the owner of the stallion will find it impossible to get his horse used, except by the most ignorant farmers. If tho same rule could be established for all kinds of horses in the world, it would be worth millions annually, and we should in a few year 3 be rid of the miserable unsound brutes j which are now only a curse, instead of a i profit to their owners. The practice of i usiug a mare for breeding when she is worthless for work is without doubt a very bad one. Breed from the best, if superior animals are desired. The experience of a California stage proprietor in oiling wagons led me to try his plan for prolonging the usefulness and strength of wagons. He soaked in oil all the wood-work of his vehicle before it was put together, and discovered that he had little need of repairs. The oil used is crude petroleum. I wash my { wagons with it twice, even to the end of the pole. It is quick work with a good brush. An application once in six or eight weeks sufficed to save me from repairs, except of a slight character. I ascribe these results to the oil preventing the wood from shrinking or swelling. The cost of crude oil is but a trifle, and the application of it a very insignificant item compared with, the cost of smith work and the increased durability of the wagon. Petroleum oil is better than other oils, because of its superior penetrating character. — " X.0." in American Agriculturist. A writer on the subject of laying hens says, he began with a flock, the average laying of each hen being only 65 to ,85 eggs per annum. By selecting for hatching, from year to year, the eggs of those that laid the greatest number, he brought them up in process of time to lay from 190 to 210 each. There are well authenticated instances of hens laying 250 eggs in a single year, and even more than this number is guessed at. It is highly profitable, under ordinary cir-

cnmstances, to keep hens which lay 150 to 200 eggs per annuity baft .quite ,t>he' contrary if they produce only 60 to 8O. ( The non-sitters are' such as give the former; but the sitters, when of a good breed will generally reach about two-j thirds of thi? number. Hungarian Grass. — Is a valuable crop supplying good green fodder, as well as hay, and a large quantity can be obtained from a small area of land. It can be sown late in the season, after the ordinary hay-crop is pretty accurately estimated, and the demand for fodder known. Hungarian grass may be sown after rye, or on sod ground. Plow the land to a moderate depth and make the surface very fine. A liberal dressing of fine manure, or some commercial fertilizer, is essential, if the soil is not already pretty rich. If the crop is wanted for feeding green during the summer, the seed can be sown at intervals from the lnst of May (at the North), to the middle or last of July. If for hay, delay sowing until about the middle of June, as the plants will not grow rapidly uotil the, nights are warm ; this will give plenty of time for a full growth. Use fresh ' and well ripened seed ; one bushel porj acre is sufficient, though a bushel and a half is sometimes used. The crop should be harvested before the seed ripens, but not until the heads of the grass are well formed.