Farm Notes.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 43382, 13 October 1908, Page 4

Farm Notes.

:> It is all very well to have' vague ideas as to which cows are good, iwhich bad, but these must bo made bin crcte if selection is to be successful. "Therefore, the first thing to be done in these cases is to introduce the daily weighing of the milk of each cow, and the testing of it for butter fat. The figures cannot deceive us, and we shall know at the end of the year what cows are to be kept, also those that do not pay for their keep.

Quite a number of farmers in one of the leading Australian breeding districts have lost some valuable horses owing to the bot fly, and one owner suggests as a good remedy that the horse attacked with bot fly be starved until the stomach is practically empty. Then a drench of three quarts of new milk, in which suitable medicine has been mixed, be given to the horse. He has found this effectual in the cases of his own horses, and recommends it. A useful precaution is the application as a wash of a solution of sheep dip to the horse’s jaws and cheeks.

The following simple method of estimating the weight of pigs is .riven by an authority Measure the girth in inches back to the shoulder, and the length in inches from the square of the rump to a point even with the point of the shoulder-blade. Multiply the girth and length, and dhido the product by 144. Multiply the result by 11 if the girth is less than 3ft, or by 16 if over 3ft. The answer will be the number of pounds of pork. If the animal ,is lean and lank a deduction of 5 per cent, from the above should be made.

An experiment with the object of ascertaining the suitability of apples as a substitute for roots and silage in the feeding of dairy cows was made a fow years ago in Canada. The results showed that cows in milk throve satisfactorily on this diet. E&ph cow was allowed 25 lb. of apples daily in place of 30 lb. of rootsyind silage, the ration of hay and meal being unaltered. It was found that during the time the cows were fed on apples they not only milked more''liberally, but at the same time increased in weight, and when the apple ration was stopped and replaced by roots and silage the animals lost the weight they had gained. The apples were of mixed varieties, and were apparently much relished by the cows, which seemed to improve in health as a result of the change. The plan is not recommended from an economical standpoint, but as the alternative to letting the fruit rot on the giound in seasons when it does not pay to market it.