FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 166, 7 August 1909, Page 6

FARM AND DAIRY.

IiOOD STUCK LAND. A well-known Sew z,c.i...ud stockman writes: "lu uus uawKc 0 uay district rueiu.y a larm uf ISO »ms. w «t which

nniii rape, carried i»J e..cs, and laticiied DUni tneni, uicr laiuus, and anj additional IWO iambs, UnauiJg ill ail iiauu iu.i.us and siiccp, that wuru jrozm iur An wrciago crop Of lapo Jias tunica 20 hiuihs tu the aero for two nionuis, and alter a spell carried eight lor a i duller two months, lu thin mstance uio stud was dri.ied in with about ly s cwt oi bonedust and superphosphate mixed, luiud sown broaueast; in the spring wuli liauau rye and rape, and »iven 2c\vt, ol dry biood manure, liaa been known to latten 40 lauibit to the acre, provided they were in good torward condition. A crop of yellow globe mangolds in this district the whiter before last kept IUU sheep per acre lor lour mouths. A crop of 20 acres of pumpkin* of mixed sorts', sown without mauurc, and carted on to gross paddocks, tarried 2500 sheep from Ist May m audi June. These sheep did remarkubiy well, aad had the weather been .ess inclement a large number would nave come oil fat. In the Poverty Bay district the Hats, simply in grass, without fodder, will carry about five sheep lo the acre all the year round; with the addition of Cape barley or green oats, double Unit number, with rape, somewhat more; and with turnips, 15 to 21). With a fairly good crop of pumpkins, iroiii 15 lo 20 may be carried, provided ilie ground can be kept from getting too foul. The liiil country in grass carried about two sheep per acre, but with assistance in winter, with cultivation and fodder, that number could be doubled, lu the Canterbury district it lias been lound that turnips will feed from 250 ! to 300 s'heep per aero for a week, and that one acre will fatten about. 30 sheep in ten weeks, ltape will carry from 10 to 12 sheep per acre, kale from 15 to 20, and Italian rye from 12 to 15."

You -can breed better mules than horses from indifferent mares; but the better the.mare the better the mule. When cows have ailing teeth they will sometimes drop out the food thej have raised into the mouth for remastication.

it appears from observation and experiment that cows with the most ,iighly-strung nerves) are, as a rule, the .icrit milkers.

Comfort and abundant feed are the keynotes to success in handling the ca.ry herds. \Vithout comfort the milk How' will dwindle. ]\-rsi'Veruncc and. intelligence are the only two things that will win in the dairy. Without these you had better get out of the business. A large coarse sponge is the bevt thln<> to wash a cow's udder. The i.ponge ihould be washed every day in u disinfectant and thoroughly aired. The stables should be well ventilated and drained, using plenty of bedding. Sawdust or land plaster will readily absorb all of thejiquid manure. The .South American freezing works exported to the United Kingdom 271,508 tons', Australia 37,430 tons, and New Zealand 104,274 tons of frozen meat last year.

If the amount of milk that passes through the separator in a given time is increased, the skimming will not be so perfect, for Hie centrifugal force is not exerted on the milk so long a time. Because £2O will not buy the same ?Uiup of horse now as it would fifteen years' ago does not prove that horses have fallen oil' in quality. * It merely establishes the fact that they have gone up in value.

When we produce a cereal crop and dispose of it almost everything is taken away oil' the land, and 'wo have to be continually replacing these, tilings, while if we feed ..to stock we have the most of it returned l» the land. The four cornerstones of successful farming are live stock, legumes', crop rotation, and tillage. Upon these a uhle system of farming can lie built anywhere. When employed, old depleted -Mils liven up and respond to culture, abandoned lands again come in favor, and good soils, although heavily cropped, maintain their fertility, and even increase in producing power. The really successful farmer is the man who understands Die keeping ot accounts'. It is all very well to rub a long with only the baiik passbook to show how he stands at the end of the linaiicial year, hut unless he keeps books ! n a systematic manner the farmer will never know which of the various brunches of his industry arc profitable or otherwise.

A propo,nl is' on foot in Gape Colony to establish a com market. The Director of Agriculture there suggests that such a market should be established in Capetown, when, the farmers of the -in-rounding districts could bring their Main for »ale in fair competition. The market would „| W) l„. „f assistance in that it would facilitate the compiling periodically of n reliable schedule of the actual prices of grain in Capetown. While aUciilhui is being eoiitinuallv drawn to (he foot of the horse after i'l is shod, few references are made to the hoof of the shoeless colt. The latter is, by some peculiar oversight, left to take care of itself, as if it required no preparation whatever ill the earlier stages of iU existence. Consequently the limbs ami action of many young colts are impaired from neglect of proper supervision of the most important of all aidi to locomotion—his hoofs.

A now method of packing grapes for market is described in the Hovue Horticole ot Ist .May, MOD. A portion of the stem w left ;ittnclteil to the bunch, nun" I he two cut end*' of the stem are covered with wads of cotton wool -well soaked =ii water. Piece* of waterproof paper are wrapped over the wool and kept in place In- elastic rings. The grapes are then put up in boxes, with the usual packing between the bunches. Bunches packed by this method and others] packed in (he usual manner were despatched from one part of France to another, and after having travelled over a thousand miles w ere inspected hv competent judge'. Those specially packed were found to be <i* fresh as when cut; the others, packed in the ordinary wnv were in a lamentable slate. The extra cost of the special packing conies to 2s to 3s per 1001b.