Farm Notes.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4412, 18 May 1909, Page 4

Farm Notes.

THE HORSE. •OINTS TO BE LOOKED FOR. 'vnadiax farmers are advised in a C“nf Government bulletin what to ) lktfor in a good horse. Herb are ofpjthe point?:—lf a horse is horfc ribb d he is light in his middle, nd is nearly always a poor feeder, le has n--t the stomach to contain ucoulent food to serve him frwn onn neal to another. A light centred horse eldom we : ghts well, and weight, in a raugh f -horse. if it comes from bone, inew and muscle, goes a long vay • determine his c tmmereial value. When a horse is well-conpled toother on top, and bao a short hick, e must have the length below from le point of the shoulder to thi back f the thigh. When so built, he will tand. the strain of drawing heavy >ads ramih better than if he has a rng, loose back. , The front feet and hooks are 'he arts of either a draught or driving orße that come directly into contact rith the'hard work, and unless they ,re sound and good a horse’s useful* mss will very much impaired, and lis commercial value much lessened.

Before purchasing a stallion get he gruom to lead him away from rou Stand square behind him, and ee that he picks up bis feet and places hem, not striking the ground first rith the toe. and then bringing down he heel. The feet should be large, md waxy in appearance. The sole of he hoof should be concave, the frog pongy. plump and elastic, because it ,cfs as a buffer to prevent the codcusion from acting too severely on the oot, pastern and Sen that ioth sire and dam have sound feet, ree from flatness, brittleness and are i*t contracted. There should be no 1 gumminess ” about the hoofs of the raught horse, as it indicates coarseess. They should be large, fl it and irm, and should be wide, especially ora a side view. A stallion whose feet are contracted nd brittle, and whoso hocks are puffy ad fl shy-looking, should be avoided, s such hocks are generally associated nth a coarseness throughout his whole ODformation, and a general lack of ualry. An oat crop of 110 bushels to the ere is reported from Edendale, Southind. Tho afforestatation of 9.000,000 ores of land in Great Britain and re’anl is recon minded by the Eoyal Commission on Coast Erosion. It. is ilculate 1 that after the fortieth year ii for» st would be more than selfappoitiug, ard after eighty years the efcjincome would be 17£ millions, ’hile the State would be in possession E property worth £1u7,000,000 in scess of the total cost.