FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81917, 5 February 1907, Page 4

FARM AND DAIRY.

To improve dairy UejJn ilureform 1!l< right way. I'etter euw;<. bettor ration?-. regular feeding, warn and sullicienlly airy slab'ees, good water, clean, careful, and gentle trealnietilj ml these are steps which taken together go far to/ bridge over the dill'erence between loss ami profit. The total production on Uie farms of tin; I'nited States Ml li>f>3 has beaten all records for that or any otiicr 1 country. The value of the crops reached 'the astonishing ligures of XI--283,000,000. These golden harvests i»ave had their natural ell'ecl on the vaiue of the farms. They are woith 11.225,800,000 more than they wore live years ago. H lias boou ligured out that ill ISUIi it required 200 hours of hard labour to grow ">OO bushels of potatoes Now niachiiiery has reduced tin- homto So. Similarly the hours of work to produce .*>o bushel's of Mlctled fH'll and cut the fodder have been reducco from 22~> hours in IS.m (o ;!| hour now, and lo grow oO bushels of wheal l!ie labour ha* been reduced h mil ll»U hours Mi is:W to about eight houi> now, (.Jreal is llc machine.

The pi'chi-l"ric liaise did ma iu.ab il America, Au.-traia. or tie- island.-* of liie I'acilic. lie was an inhabitant of the e,)>lcrn coldin.-nl. and i.known to have exis.cd in Wesier: Kurope and the I'ritish Isle-. l-'o-sil remains of 111 horse haw been disriverod in the caves of England, minted Willi the boiie-> of 1 in* elephani. rlun oceros. ox, and tiger. That was at a time when the vegetation of Xovlh ern Knrope was of a tropical charsections in America where the farms acter.

It is becoming the custom in sonic are sniail for the farmers to exchange work, which tender to make much hir ed help unnecessary. One may own one kind of machine, and become expert in its u»e, while another can own and use another. It is possible by tin 1 'exchange! system for a hundred farmers to so organise their work that the crops of the hundred farms can be gathered much more easily, t.han if each were harvesting singly.

Ireland is primarily a grazing eoun 'try. About 7o per cent, of the win/c area is devoted to agriculture. This amounts to about liUceu willioii acics. About 70 per cent, of this is devoied to pasture: about lo per cem. to the production of all other crops. The acreage; devoted to hay and pasturage I has been increased for many yeai>. and the acreage devoted to the other crops has been decreasing, Oats aie the most important grain and cattle the mo»t important live stock. There are only a few large farms in Ireland. Figuring on the farms of more than oue acid ill size, tiie average 2') acres, which is less than half the average si/c of farms in Knghind.

Many of the New England, N.SAV., districts are prolific producers of potatoes, As for big things been dupe on small holdings, a few instance.-: can be mentioned. Mr \\\ Moore, of (iuyra. who lias -JO acres, about 2S acres of which are under cultivation, last year dug and. sold liiO tons of marketable potatoes. These wa> disposed of at prices ranging from C - 10/ to CS )»er ton locally, which lota's out at o\er .CI2OU. Ano<her n'sident of the same place (Mr dame*, (.Moore) taken o!f one acre. There are thou sand's of acre- of good potaio laud in the diMrict loekeil up, which, if nuuie available, would bo applied for ten time* n\vr.

CliYi.-irhuitli' Truth Urns fanners fur the cli'uu.uhl: —lt moans thai crops tj'oiierallv inn»i be short- in vield: hut whih' this i* so loiilj prices will In- obtained. From the settle's point «i|' view it is much better that he should have a crop WOl'ill '.\f per luwhel 1 it;\it one of double tho ijuaiitiiv and half the value. There are less labour and time involved; less risk, less cost of storage, a prolit and n (prick lvturn. Harvestin- In lit at •>/ nn.l onis ai 1/3 is heart-breaking work, even though !he season ha- been a I'niitfii! one. 3V<i horse of i|iiile another colour, prices and small crop.-, are invariably tui-t. Hut how tin' -vnevaj jpuhlitf is alV.'(-i"d in such eiivum.-dances is a .Main of tin- fruit- and Vegetables now eaten were ahu<>sl imkimwn to our forefather-. Not until 11.-nry VII!V timu were ra-pbemr.-. slrawherrx'a or cherries grown in Finland.