Notes and Gleanings.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 226, 29 October 1887, Page 2

Notes and Gleanings.

Draught Horse Breeding in England.— A. oonespondent of the Live Stock Journal 1 v» rites : — Any one must be convinced, who i took the trouble to compare the Clydesdales and Shires at Newcastle, that the foi mer must ere \ong return for f-ome more Shire blood to pet the weight they so much require. We (the Shiremen) and the Clyde«dalemen seem to be altogether on different lines, and the question naturally arises, which is right? If the object in view be to produce the bet-t draught animal, surely the Shiremen must be nearer the attainment of this object. I feel mi re you would oonfor n, great benefit on us all if you could " eel the ball rolling" through your columns, with the view of establishing or setting up a type for us all to aim At. At present it. is mere guess work. Carriage Horse Breeding in America.--Among the more noteworthy features of this season's importing trade, sayn the Chicago Breeder* Gazette, are the lfirge consignments of coaching etctllions now being landed at the seaboard. The trade in Clevelands in particular eeeraa to have received a decided impetus from the establishment of tho English and American Studbooks, and their near relatives, the so-called Ymk^hire Bays, are, we believe, receiving notice at the hands of some enterprising buyers. The dashing French " coacher" is coming in for a strong &hare of admiration and holds the attention of those making a specialty of the best horse etock of la belle France.. The production of a fine class of carriage horses is bound to prove remunerative wherever carried on with discretion and judgment, and we bespeak for the woilgaited, stylish coachers a more favourable leception this fall than ever before. Rabbit Extermination and the £25,000 Bonus. — Having had inquiries as to the conditions attached to the offer of the New South Wales Govenment to give a bonus of £25,000 for the invention of an effectual method of exterminating rabbits, we publish the conditions as follows : — The Government of New South Walesoffer? a bonus of £25,000 to any personorpereonswhowill makeknown and demonstrate at his or their own expense any method or process not previously known in the colony for the effect 1 ! al extermination of rabbits, subject to the following conditions, viz. :— 1. That such method or process shall, after experiment for a period of twelve months, receive the approval of a Board appointed for that purpose by the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council. 2. That such method or process shall, in the opinion of the said Board, not bo injurious, and shall not involve the use of any matter, animal or thing, which may be noxious to horses, cattle, sheep, camels, goats, swine, or dogs. 3. The Board shall be bound not to disclose the particulars of any method or process, unless euch Board shall decide to give such method or process a trial, Applications are to be made to the Department of Mines,

Profits of Mushroom Growing. --- Colonel Gascoiffttfc, of Parlinffton-Mvn^ ,fed Sjai ■mipft'e'an -experiment i^\tnjjfebt-opj^-|yi r 6w|ng '(feays the St James s Gautte) probably many farmers will be moved to do likewise. Ho planted 164 yards of manure, which was lying idle, >vith mushroom spawn, at a total expense, including the estimated value of the manure and the rent) of tho land, of £52. From some unexplained cause, 42 yards of the manure-beds failed to yield ; I bitt the crop from tho remaining 122 yards | was 'sold for £106. Colonel Gascoigne thus J cleared a profit' of £54, which is a ' little i more than cent/ por cent. The prices I obtained for the mushrooms varied from 4d tio Is 6d tho pound, according to the quality : but the average was about Bd. It would thus seem that (in England) the growth of edible fungi is much more to be commended than the ha/.avdo-is experiment of growing fruit for jams. In connection with the above we may lemavk that we believe a good profit could h>o derived by gardeners in Now Zealand fiora growing mushrooms out of the regular season. Of course it would be necessary to have facilities for conveying the mufihrooim to the towns in fresh and attractive condition. The Spurious Butter Question.— Both in England and America there has been a fierce controversy raging for some time past between the makeis of spurious or imitation batter, and the dairymen, or their prtss champions. In Amoiic/i a law has been passed reguHH ig th< -ale of butterine, margarine, or nit <-.mai<_ai tno, by which the stuff cannot Iw* sold^ifiiout an lionest declaration as to \\ tu.t it really is. The Eng lish parliament ir.s al.-o boen discussing the question, and it is now stated that henceforth what has been known as butterine can only bo sold as '" margaiino." In the difficult rotations to bo settled between butter and butterino, one of the American scientists has it is said, hit upon an important discovery, which may do much to finally settle it. He has proved that the fats of difleicnt animals differ in their crystallisation. For example, if final! quantities of buttor, laid and b ef fats be separately boiled and slowly cooled tor 24 hours the resulting crystals will >how very marked differences under the microscope. The normal crystal of genuine butter is large and globular. Id polarises briliuntly, and then shows a well marked figure of a St. An Ircw s cro«s. Tho fat crystal of lard Ins a stellar form, whi^t that of beef fax, him a foliated appearance. In course of time, as tho butter loses its freshness the globular crystals degenerate, and gradually change into peculiar rosettelike forms. The United States Government have taken the matter up, and me utilisin^thenbo .-c simple tcieiitilic discovery to bicak up tho tiadic in unwholesome and fraudulent butter compounds. Lung Weakness of Ennlish Thotouyhbieds. — To one evil, remarks a writer, the English thoroughbred horso is peculiarly liable. As w»^ lately remarked in a volume on •'Racing," bv wiitert. who speak with knowledge and authority, " the malady of our climate is defective wind." The promiMng careers winch have been ruined owing to this ivui.so arc innumerable. Prince Charlie, in tocont years, was a prominent instance ; for, though he did great things after he had turned roarer, these things were done over short couis.es, and serve chiefly to show what in all probability he would luiao been had ho remained sound ; while, seeing that pulmonary diseases aie generally believed to be-here- ' ditary, tlicic can bo little doubt -that his value at the stud was destroyed by reason of the disease he had contivicted. Prince Charlie, a >vn of Blair Athol and Eastern Princess, wa<- by far the be^t two-vear-old of hi* »l.iv. Ho won the Middle Park Plato, and So lowed up his victory by winning tho Criteria, in ■which he beat Cremorne, a perfoi nuiuco; which he repeated next spring in the Two Thousand Guineas ; but his infirmity was increasing, and invincible over short courses, ho could never last through one of those races which stamp the winner as a great hor«<\ Cremorne beat him in tho Derby, and Wen lock in the St Leger, both being colts over which ho had previously proved his superiority with little effort. Since Prince Charlie's time there have been many notable instances of horses apparently worth fivo or six thousand pounds, which, as the result of an attack of cold, have in a short time so decreased in value that they would have been bad bargains to the purchaser at as many hnndieds. The Arab is free from this complaint. Why it should be so common to his otherwise vastly improved ■descendant no one seems able precisely to explain. Plants and Electric Light. — According* to a Betlin paper some disagreeable results have {followed the electric lighting of the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg, the intense 'kulliancy of the light having been found toicaxise dire destruction among the ornamental plants used for tho decoration of Use Ibanqueting halls. It appears that the coonpUete illumination of the rooms 'for a i single night is enough to cause the leaves ; to tairn yellow and dry up, and ultimately to fail off. The damage to the celebrated collection of palms at the Palace is especially s-cnouF. It is supposed that the injury is principally due to the sudden change #om the sunlcei days of the Northern witftor, and from tho Bubdued light of the plant houses to the blinding light of the banqueting halls. It has been shown beyond a. doubt that the rapidity of the injurious action, and its amount, are directly proportional fco the intensity of the illumination, and plants standing in niches or other places partially shielded from the light are found to remain uninjured. There is no doubt that the injurious efiects of the light are greatly intensified by the dry, artificially heated atmosphere of the rooms, and that they would be minimised, if not entirely obviated, if the plants could be surrounded by a steamy atmosphere such as that in which tliey are grown. Stead's Patent Rabbit Annihi/ator.— An official trial of this invention was held at Bacchus Marsh on September 2l£t, in the presence of Mr Black and Mr Pearson, officers in connection with the department of the Minister of Lands, and others interested in rabbit extermination. The invention consists of a tank acd a centrifugal air pump, which forces a draught through the tank, in which is stored bisulohide of carbon, and thence through a tube, the forced air current carrying with it the poisonous gag. The appliance is portable, and worked without difficulty. In dealing with the burrow the mouth of the pipe is inserted, and after the gas has been injected some time, the mouth of tho burrow is closed up so as to retain tho gas. At the several trials held, the machine proved in every way satisfactory , in oach case the rabbits were afterwards dug out killed, afc distances varying from 3 to 36 feot from the mouth of the burrow. The machine was also tried in competition with cotton waste soaked in bisulphide of carbon, inserted in the burrow ; and also what is called the firing system, and in both cases maintained its superiority. So confident are the agents (Cozens and Harvey, Elizabeth-street, Melbourne' of the merits of the machine, that they have applied for, and will shortly have, further trials on ground where other methods have tailQd.—Awtralarian Ironmonger,

Clean Floor for Housed Dairy Cou/s. — period when cows are housed at i.mejwb? #r in cases where they are kept on the soiling systeni, it is very important that they should be kept thoroughly clean. By using slatted floors the animals can be kept clean much more easily than on ordinary solid earth or board floors. Where the latter are used the best way to ensure a clean bed is by covering immediately with an ample quantity of bedding material any droppings. The slatted floor is genprally,,, made in the fornrf of a movable frame laid upon a solid board floor or on, hard levelled earth. This frame can be removed to facilitate the cleansing of the stall underneath it. The front part of this frame should b6 boarded over with clo«o pianks on which the fore feet of the cow can rest for there is no object for the slafs at this oiid. The slats and boards should be let in to the _ bide pieces of the frame and not simply nailed to them. This will add to the strength of th« work and look far neater. On the-e slatted floors an animal can always lie dry. Wolsetey's Sheep-Sheaiing Machine is winning approval. Another advantage is claimed for it beyond the absence of .second cuts and injury to tho sheep. A practical •squatter of many years' experience on the Barwon River thus expresses his opinion on this subject :—" I am quite t-^ken with the appearance of the sheep shorn this la<t season at Eurolca by means of the machino shears. The top of tho wool is beautifully level, no straggling tips, and growth is decidedly more dense. All the wool being fresh growth is in healthy, bright condition without wasty tips. Tho du*-l ha** haidly entered the wool at all. Something of this may be attributable to the lateness of the shearing, but tho brightness and e\enne&3 of the wool is remarkable."