THE FARM.

Te Aroha News, Volume XII, Issue 22692, 4 August 1903, Page 2

THE FARM.

Touching the of potatoes as. cow food, Holxgrefe, a Mount Ghmhier (Vietoria) farmer, expresses surprise that, with yoiatws.so cheap the growers, inst A-V'.-f glutieg the market, did them fer s ock feed. He had ed a le to hii cws this season, an i found i> a profitable way to utf Le them. Milch cons es-pecially-made,good useef them. When the distillery was working at Mount Gambier it used to foe the practice to fatten cattle on the white potatoes. The quaint way the Americans have, of puttiug a point: Tn a Massgehuasetta farmer’s addtesi to a local*oeiety~upon the folly of feeding Unprofitable stock, he is report** #s saying: ‘What return does a farmer get for t|e hey, and grein fed to *ecriD*ei< cxrp beyond the pleasure of her compear ? Mjkud wh?n a man feeds a pig all winter, which weigh* no more in spring than it dit the previous autumn, what'haa he for,his ' attention and( food besides the squeal?’’ ' ‘ mill Much has been written for .and against'the TorVihirSe as pigs fdr 1 bacon' trade. The principal ff'ult found ; Ijy critics with th*' 1 . gihiteaiis that they ‘ scald ’ badly ia th* inn/ [a drawback which,is deolered to b*.common to! Yorkshires. It lei 4 stilted by breeders, however,, that the defect in question is only known Irith th* email variety, and that the large Yorkshires are absolutely immune of sun and weather on their bodies, which are well protected by a/ftrong growth of hair.

,'‘ ' t According to t|e Lytytlren Times some residents in Gkriktchureh* eajr they are anxious as to th* future of the potato. They complain that they can never get the fin* Savoured floury article that used to be produced ih the early days, and that the famous Dierwent has seriously deteriorated,, being tasteless and indigestible. , Several produce merchants in the city, who deal largely in potatoes, state that the present season has been an exceptionally bad one for various reasons; but they express a strong opinion that the -local article, on the whole, is as good as evet it was and shows absolutely no signs of deterioration in any respect. .

Perhaps the most successful farmers' club in the direction of improving the breed of horses may ba claimed by Wai* roa South Farmers’Club.' Sincaitsincep tion much attention has been given to this desirable object. Last year all•■*£-* vitation was givens to the' Franklin Mounted Volunteers to conjointly call for tenders for stallion with a ; view toremounts, nd resulted in obtaining the services of St. Hippo, the well.known thoroughbred. The Club was. equally fortunate in securing the . favourite draught Better Times,; _ ;V ffw ~ . The question of- impure seed waa well ventilated at 'the Cotferehce. An Auckland delegate, Mr Smithy stated that it was & comm on custom, to. mix seed remaining over from a previous season or seasons, generally infertile samples, with some fresh seed, and sell mixed lot as. c ‘ farmers’ seed, ” the ‘best machine dressed not -being' a cleaner and better filled sample, bnb this t'-rm was used to describe perfectly fresh «e> d. It was generally agreed at the Conference that it would be in tbv interests of all concerned if the results of tests of seeds .together '.With thi' names of the vendors, could, be .advertised.

An important lesson was taught chw'semakers at the late Dunedin Winter Show—the fact that a starter can be prepared with success from an impor:e<i laboratory-prepared culture. * The lact that such a starter was used , in the manufacture of the principal prize winning cheese is not such a • pi ouf o|» r s value as would at first sight appear, as the cheese was made by such a noted maker as Mr James Sawers, but it is conclusive proof that the commercial culture can be itnporfr*’ ed in a * live ’ form, a fact generally discredited among New Zealand dairy men. The culture was introduced to Mr Sawers’ notice by Mr Singleton, who obtained it from the American laboratory of the Hausen Company.

A dairy farmer .of considerat e** perience in milk production in Taranaki remarked the other day that too little attention was paid to the value of cab*' bages as food for dairy stock* In hit opinion—after a long series of practical tests—there is nothing batter, that laif the cabbages are fed judiciously. The plant, thousand-headed kale, should be sown like turnips, and pmctically no attention is required during its development. Kale will give more weight per acre than mangolds,and will last longer It is nacessary to cart the cabbages out to the cattle, which waste too much if turned on to the field. Feeding must take place after the night milking, the . cabbages being carted out to the night, p&dd.ock by the farmer in question.