THE FARM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 258, 24 October 1908, Page 6

THE FARM.

There is somewhat of a slump in the sheep market in the Clutha district at present (says the Leader), and sales are (lillicult to make. The drop in prices (hiring the last few months be.ni about 525 per cent., and some pretty still' losses have been made on prices alone, not to count feed. Sheep arc still a law* price, however, and the trouble arisen

from speculative values. The Free Press says that larmers who bought *hecp at inllatcd prices in May to put on turnips ior fattening have "fallen in" grievously. A Clinton man paid 12s Ud for a iiue of hoggets, and the other day .was compelled to sacrifice them for 10s, aftjr having fed them on the best for four months. Another line near Balclutia cost 13s lid to begin with, and only realised 12s.

Says a writer in the Live Stock Journal:—"Some few years ago the Danes tried a few Jerseys, but, being a cautious people, they did not get up a sudden furore in their praise, but waited to see how they would really acquit themselves as practical and profitable dairy cattle. They have evidently stood the test to their satisfaction, for their numbers have steadily increased, and now the latest news informs us that the largest consignment on record has just been shipped from the island to lienmark by Mr. Le Brocq. Four hundred Jerseys aru an unusual number to leave the island at once, and the transaction shows that Denmark nicau s business. The animals have been selected chiefly for their dairy qualities. Not show points, but big yields of butter, are sought by the Danes, and therefore there is little doubt that the prices paid are moderate. These animals are not going to be housed and groomed and coddled like racehorses, but are to be treated on business lines like any other farmer's cattle."

One ambitious and one lazy horse make a most unpleasant team. The real value of a team may be increased many times by proper traming. li sown alone the quantity of prairie grass seed required for an acre is about 401b. Farming is a business, and the 'successful farmer must be, first of all, a business man. Salt fat pork is more than twice as rich in nutriment and fuel value than sirloin steak. Lucerne is a very deep rooting plant; there arc many instances where roots have penetrated to fifty and sixty feet. Therefore lucerne will not grow on swamp land, as it cannot stand stagnant moisture. No practical horseman will deny that most of the unsoundness in horses arises from hereditary causes, and could in, time be eliminated by an universally judicious selection of stallions for breeding purposes.

Says the " Lancet The firing of a haystack is nearly always the work of a bacterial incendiary. This is a newname for the ordinary sundowner who lights his pipe under the shelter of ». stack. The agricultural mare, whose work is performed at a slow pace, never beyond a walk, \\iho can always be worked in chain harness, and is not required to start or back heavy loads, can be kept going until within a 'jew days of foaling with advantage to both owner and inare. Nature is constantly fertilising the soil in her own way, but she requires assistance, and that aid should be given by the liberal anil scientific use of fertilisers, farmyard Manure, feeding stuffs, green manuring, and the other means which science may place at the disposal of the farmers. The fanner's wife is mi dill'ereut from other women. She likes pretty things in the home: likes pretty clothes and hats; would enjoy going to the theatre now and again; but she saclilices most of these. On the other hand the farmer and his family have heai!,!i, strength, and the simple comforts ot life in a far greater degree than the wealthy class of people. In discussing the diOicultics attending the task of building up a stud llock a correspondent of an American paper supplies some information regarding troubles met with among one of the best merino stud (locks In the United States. This flock in particular had a history of fully 50 years. The best ram in the stud was mated with ewes specially picked out to reproduce desirable qualities. Among the ewes was a

noted prizetakcr that had already given birth to two iambs, both rams, an! a third was expected. Thi s in due course appeared, and was also a ra.n lamb, but it was most peculiarly marked with black and white stripes. The ewe had never been out of the paddock except to be shorn, and there was no ram with a trace of black distinguishable, even if it had ever got out. In another stud llock many hundreds of miles away a second instance of the same nature happened. Again one of the best stud ewes mated with a grand champion rani gave birth to a ewe lamb with a brownish face. The pedigree of sire and dam were undeniable. This ewe at three years of age mated with her sire, and the result was a black lamb. Both ewe and ram were descended from a ram used in the flock 21 years previously. There are some breeders who are of opinion that it is a feasible thing to stamp out faults or other inherent qualities of ancestors. Scientific investigations have proved that this is im-

possible. Atavism—the recurrence of any peculiarity or disease of an ancestor in a later generation—can lie dormant perhaps for a century or more, but it is bound sonic time or other to come to life again. It is to atavism that one must look for half the troubles that occur in building up a stud flock. It is in consequence of this that breeders can never feel .secure that once a good foundation is laid the rest is easy. There is a vulgar saying, " Every dog has his day." But it is aptly applicable to stud-breeding, for «vcn with the most 1 experienced o'i lloek-owners it is always a case of the dog coming to life again. It may take, perhaps, two or three years, but he will soon find what ewe or lamb is responsible, and out of the' lloek it "will have to go. 1 Veterinary-surgeons often use the expression, "(Jive it as a drench," which , means that the meffieine is to be in liquid form, put into a strong, rather long-necked bottle, and administered from it to the animal. But there are many who do not 'know how to accomplish the job without trouble, and possibly a deal of unpleasant labour and vexation. The quiet method is the best with a quiet animal, and it is just as well to dispense with assistance, if possible. Assuming, says the Kunl World, the drencher is right-handed, he should stand on the right J'tont of the cow. pas fi ti c lett hand over her taw, insert the fingers of' that hand under

I her dental-pad behind the point where I the incisors meet it. and elevate the j head to the right angle, passing the [ bottle into the mouth well back own* the thick pari of the longue, and .let its contents Ilow regularly and smoo Lhly as fast as the c-ow can swallow it. A less complaisant animal may require an assistant to stand on her left side to help elevate the head by grasping both horns, while the drencher mav grasp the nasal septem with the lingers instead of putting them into her month. Keally relractory animals may require a roping. The head should not be ele-

vated more than is absolutely necessary, and should be released the moment anv disposition to cough or choke becomes apparent. Lither a horn or champagne bottle may be used, but the latter"'is best and most expedient. The . tin drenching bottle made by mos| veteri i-i ary instrument makers is very service-

able. -Vo <i).c need lie discouraged if the lirst, foals lire lint, up In ex|)cft:itioll. Hares do 11,' it always breed alike, even when mated willi (lie same sire. Tnilcvil it is proverbial that two full brothers are rarely alike, ami, what is more remarkable. 1.1,ev ,|„ not 1,r,.eil alike, the bc*l one iniliviiliially heinjr. as a rule, the must successful sire. IJiirinu the period of the last fifty years jjreat progress has been made ii; the I'atioual eultivalimi of crops, lint according to (he opinion of (l,e secretary of Ihe Vniteil States Department m -A»rieui;nre, fannin" is yet i„ its infancy, and the present, production of farms is merely a forerunner of the marvellous results which will he obtained in the future. Ho no| I rouble io keep a sow that is not a .muni breeder ami a u'ooil niolhe". II she throws litter after litter nnmlior'"'l. live or six piVs, or a greater number of which half die after a week or two, oi' if she eats her pi«s, which is frequently the ease when they are weakly, feed her ,m for the butcher. Klie is ill her wrong place as a breeder.