FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 22, 19 February 1909, Page 4

FARM AND DAIRY.

NEW ZEALAND DAIRY COMIPAN'Y. By Telegraph.—Press Association. tWellingtou, Thursday. The New Zealand Dairy Co. pays out £20,024 for butter-fat supplied during the month of January. This amount exceed* by £2'JBu the payment for January of the .previous year.

Silago is always used to the best advantage when it is fed in conjunction w'ith other feeda.

Iu milk-production the development |ol' lire udder is. largely influenced by judicious Jecding as wcll'as the selectioii of the ou"spr.iug of tho largest producers. . Let no discouraged man turn from his dairy, or from any other line of stock husbandry which has been his life work, without due consideration and a careful counting of the cost.

The ideal milk of the intelligent tip-to-date dairyman is that which can be iproduced from healthy cows, fed healthy feed, kept in clean harus, and carefully handled after it is produced. In New York milk is 'being shipped ! 300 to 401) miles to New York city. The milk is handled iu 40-cuuirt cans, well packed with, ice, and shipped by express in milk cars or special train?. ; Altering the hours of milking, or milking at irregular periods, is inimical to lhe activity of lue. mammary glands and the temperament of the cow, and both yield and richness suffer as a consequence.

Ft is said that not one per cent, of coillia moth ,cau be found iji the apple trees of commercial orchards in the I'aimcrston district this year, owing to persistent spraying. Argentine wool exports for the twelve months closing 30th September are the lowest as regards number or bales recorded during the past thirteen years. The total falls 4773 liales short of that for I'JOG-7.

When the people learn, not to demand over-fat horses, and, .breeders learn lo break every stallion, to harness ami work him when not iu use in the stud, we shall have a much better class of horses than now. There is nothing like the farm when hard times come knocking at the door. There may not be much money going in seasons of stress, but there is always the assurance of a full table, a roof oyer one's head, and no. fear of an evicting landlord. There is no question that can be of greater importance to fanners than how to maintain the fertility of the soil if it is already good, or how to rcstoro it it partly lost, and the answer usually resolves itself into the magic words, 'Raise all the stock the land will support.'' An American writer irecommends turpentine and new milk as a cure for all pig ailments. For a young pig six weeks old) a teaspoonful of turpentine in half j a pint of milk would be sufficient, whereas for a 'mature pig a tablespoonful in, a quart of milk could be used. An important feature of the State control exercised in France over the horse-breeding' operations is that of holding annual "inspections" of brood mares. These inspections fulfil in some degree the function of local horse shows in England, 'but are less formal, and premiums take the place oi prizes. It is expected that £50,000 'will 550 to the Teviot district this year for fruit. At present there are no less than 250 horses engaged in carting the fruit to Kdievale. The men engaged in driving the fruit carts have just cause for complaint. Working, as many of t'hem do, no less than sixteen hours per day, driving eight horses, the best paid man on Ihe road receives 35is per week. Despite the preventive measures that were adopted last year in regard to the codliu moth, the pest appears to have such a strong hold in the apple orchards in the Ashhurton district that the only effective remedy is to cut the trees entirely'down (says the. Guardian). As a result of the pruning operations that were extensively carried out in the county last year under the direction o l ' Ihe Government inspectors, the fruit this season is said to be of much better quality. A good dressing of Lime to the soil

•.here .sorrel is troublesome lias been found successful in minimising the growth. This dressing should be harrowed in, not ploughed in, as sorrel generally grows in the top few inches of the soil." For a light soil a dressing of :',9ewt to the acre and for heavy wet -nils up to three tons has given good results.

It is estimated that there are 40,000,MK) pigs in the United! States. From liiem are exported pork products to the value ox .£12,000,000 annually. Denmark is also alive to the pig industry, where the farmers combine it with dairying. From one bacon factory in ISSS the number had increased to liikty-Mvo iji 1900, capable of treating I.(100,000 pigs annually, bringing in a total revenue of £3.50(1,000. No more Australian horses will be purchased for use in the Philippines I'm- the present (says the Sydney Daily Telegraphl. The officers reported favorably on the recent shipments at first, but it was afterwards ascertained that (he animals \ra'c too young and. too light to stand hard held service and practice marches. However, it was freely admitted that they were intelligent.' courageous, and spirited, and that a little training would make them ideal remounts. In a year's time the question of purchase in Australia will be further cous'idered, when those under trinl will be better subjects for decision. A number of useful experiments have ■recently been completed in England to find tlie difference of the temperature on cultivated and l uncultivated soils. The observations showed that ploughing and mellowing promoted a more rapid 'exchange of heat in the soil. The hcat--1 ing, as well as the cooling, .of the I ploughed and mellowed soil was conI -dcrably greater than that of the unploughed soil, the difference between I ilia mean temperature of the two during the summer weather reaching two degrees, and between the extreme niaxi-1 mum temperatures, five and more degrees. On the other hand, the minimum temperatures were lower on ploughed soil than on uiiplonghed by almost one Icgree. ' An area of 270 square miles oi a little country like New Zealand is a big slice to throw upon the mairkelt at one moincut. Yet this is to .happen next {Saturday week, in the case of a. group of Crown pastoral runs in the South Island. The total arc* to be offered by auction for lease is 172,534 acres, and the periods are for til years except in one case, where it is seven years. The territory is offerodi in very large areas. The names of the stations and the. areas :uut upset annua! rentals are as follow: Kogersou (Amurri), 4600 acres, £00; Ifiluutihorpii (Selwyn), 25,000 acres, ,C 200; Manuka iPoint (Selwyn), 33,700 acres, £135; Mount Algidus (Selwyn). 101,300 acres, £425; The. Spit (Akaroa), 2024 acres, £SO; .Waikoku. (Akaroa), 2550 acres, £95; Springburn (Ashbur-to-,i). 1800 acres. £00; part, of Clenl .Mills (Asbhurt'on), 1500 acres, £(i.i (seven years). 'Stated in .square miles, these •stations embrace, respectively, 158 miles, 52 miles.4o miles, 7 miles, 4 miles, 3 miles, 2% miles, and ft 1-3 miles. The total upset rental .per iunmini is £IO9O.