FARMERS COLUMN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 171, 10 July 1908, Page 4

FARMERS COLUMN.

there s a "cabbage patch" near Uiicugo nearly 2UU acres in extent. the turnip crops in South Canterbury .lie. ioi tin. most, part, disappointing lUs season. For a crop near Winchester, per acre was offered, but declined and now the man who made the offer would not give ;ll)~ per acre. A s a consei|uence of the indifferent crops, numbers oi sheep are being sent to Otu<'o and .Southland.

• , ,lilVl ' resided for the past 30 real's 111 Southland and never before have 1 ' such a mild winter as we have had so lar (writes the Uivcrton correspondent of the Southland Times) i do not think grass seed has eeased to grow so far; f sowed some clover about three weeks ago and the ground is now grctn with it. JUr. Atkinson had the bowling-green top-dressed, levelled, and sown with special lawn grass about three weeks ago. It is now up and j J-romises well.

Ml American farmer advocates as a I cure lor I Ik* bots t in; cho|tpin<;-up 0 f nail a gallon of small potatoes and saltnifr t lkmii well, ami feeding timin lu the but-:nlected animal. _\ot every horse will cat tin-in. hut. if they will, relief Jollows inside U u hour. Tito poison inside tiie [»oCat<» skin loosens, or kills, the white worm that is causing (he trouble. Potatoes are also recommended by tin; same practical authority as faistruuieiital m promoting (lie welfare of any mare thai lias not done well in foaling. One ijiiari. {.it liaif a- gallon I'm- from one to three leed,- will prove eilieaeioiis.

Tlio yonng sow should be l»'cd about eight months old, so as to have her first litter at a veal' old. When a largo urea of wheat is sown it- is an advantage to have varieties •which ripen in succession.

Any handy man on a farm can ring pigs as efliciently ns a vet., and a great point is not to omit one. Pigs without rings in their noses ure terrible torments.

live is very good for early feed, as it grows well in winter, but it is of no value for hay. as it is too (JYV.

All experience proves that a small area of land properly w r orked pays bettor than a large acreage imperfectly tilled. The work of ploughing hits been so delayed that the area that will be sown to cereals this season is likely to be substantially less than it was during the last three or four years.

The ■winnower is probably the most i useful implement that is used upon the farm in proportion to its cost. \\ liile H is useful for preparing grain to be marketed, its highest use is found in preparing grain for sowing. A really good brood sow ranks as one of the valuable assets on the live stock farm, nnd if is well worih while to look properly nl'ler her. and necol'd hej- such treatment as will ensure her doing well and profitably I'or her owner. It is a mistake to plant the potatoes too soon, and the soil must be in good condition. It in also a. mistake to ]mt the seed too deeply in the ground, iiin. or -till, is (juite deep enough, with Hill, to l:2in. apart, aliuiit 2liu. between the rows.

The Mangatoki Dairy Compiin,\ has paid 11'/jd for butter-fnt for nine months this season.

It has long been proved by the n.ost exhaustive test* that plump graded seeds give far the best results. The value of sound management is shown in farming as plainly as in any other business a man may undertake. Among the ancient llomans agriculture. was highly es!eemed. and pursued with earnest love and devoted attention. There is no ntlier stuff raised on the farm quite ,so good for eolts and calves as bright oats. Colts nibble at «:ts quicker than anything else, and it keeps them coining. One thing that practically a.ll authorities agree oil is that lime for soil should be finely ground. It should be uniformly spread, anil should be well incorporated with the soil by harrowing before rain.

Horse-breeding takes rank ;ia one of the first industries of America.

The feed of bows just before farrowin# time should be strengthening and not heating. If any one imagines that the typical farmer's wife has two or three servants to order about and do her house work for ber, and a groom to bring roumUier pony trap when it is wanted, he. is a long way off the mark. The accepted idea. also, that the typical farmer's life h one of independence and comparative ease, and that he is an easy-going sort of an individual, who does not bother bis head about anything outside of bis green crops and cattle, is also very far astray. Both the farmer nnd the farmer's wife live the strenuous lit'e 3 nnd do not. ii> n. rule, find the time hang lienvv on their hands. The farmer's wife is no* ol'leit M<'s*cd wiih the assistance of auv nniid-servanls, and liiids it necessary to do her own linking, boiling, and frying, not only for her family, but also for all the "hands'* on the farm, besides having to supervise the milking of her cows, the feeding of the pigs, and the attention to her poultry. The farmer has inherited a lovn for the farm and oiit-of-do<n\, iir!d work. Ue has freed himself at the earliest po.ssible moment I'rom his school work, and is proud of his handicraft in mastering the details of the most exacting labours.