FARM AND DAIRY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 122, 1 September 1910, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY

Good dairy produce is nevi'r a drug in the market; it is Ine inferior stull' which stays unsold. Give your horse his Sunday rest. When he lias worked the six days, he has done a fair thing by you. • ' Swine fever has been extirpated in Denmark, and the disease is now unknown there. Do not knock a horse about for not understanding things. There are times when you are that way yourself. It is stated that the- amount of the income from the sheep industry of Australia has been put down at the colossal sum of £3,000,000 per annum. Some individual breeders, particularly those engaged in the breeding of pedigree sheep, make fine incomes. It is declared that the profits from the sale of the wellknown Boomoke (Xew South Wales) rams for 22 years have averaged nearly £20,000 per annum.' 1 American authorities say the mule is as useful on'the farm as the horse, and will do more work on less food. The mule stock of'the country is on the increase. • Last year's output of frozen and chilled meat from all the works in the world I amounted to about half a million tons, |of which the great bulk was taken bv Great Britain:! > i • The Briti'sh'. fafiii'er ' lays considerable stress upQH • sfotltie of permanent grasses for Lay-' ami pasture. A third of the cultiv^Stibfr 1 of the United Kingdom is for grassland OiliS'. One good ''wary'''ito l save the stable manure so as to'giA' the best value from it is to dig. a pit atttf ttump it all in. The pit should l>e dry. and, if the shows a ti?»j:f(sn<'y' tto burn, earth should be thrown dSi atfil'jpn'fkeU. well down. The Talari'kgrictilttmil Society, which has for ]bng s T>&en T an Influence for good in the agfJeiirfu'ral country of the Taieri, this year 'its fiftieth jubilee. . Cattle hnd'dheVp'ani wintering well throughout tli'C Auckland province, and everywhere are 5 signs of good feeding. In several districts lambs can be seen, but .lambing is by no means general yet. However, as an early spring is expected, new arrivals will likely thrive. Leg weakness is due to a deficiency of earthy nia tter hrthe food. Brittle bones are the result of too much of it. Do not set egss from hens that are mopy and inactjy#.Like begets like, and you can onjy get ctullards from such. Mix the mash m hot water, and feed warm, not on tliq .ground, but in a tin or dish. Boiled liver*.or meat meal are indispensable,,for me,at makes eggs. After a little experience almost any intelligent' rna-p, piake a success of egg production; when it comes to breeding a store-of i experience is absolutely necessary. , •„ Creosote ip nqt only an excellent wood preservative,; but, it .is also one of the best of germicides, and for this reason should lie constantly made use of toy the poultry-keeper. The easiest way to distribute it l>y means of a spray. It is not entirely unsafe to judge a cow by lier looks; if she is well-bred and looks good ie .will m<>>t likely be good. Fowls on the farm should have their own run wire-netted, so that tliey cannot run all abroad timong t-he crop. There is no money in chicken-raising unless you are prepared to give the business a good deal of attention. * Do not ha, vq. too r many roosters in the flocks fro)n -wjhicjtyou propose to breed. One to ten.isi'a fair thing. There must be .a perpetual war against vermin. Gq round the perches with the kerosene tin once a 'fortnight. A shelter should ajvvays be arranged under which'which the little fowls can run when ,it rains.

A single plant of- the commonest of weeds, say the thistle, will produce as many as 45,000 seeds. As a gleaner of small crops, a saver oi little wastes;, the 'sheep isMas necessary as the cow or, the hog. The dairy-farmer can better afford to give £ls for a good cow than £5 for a bad one, "but- it, is difficult to make some people see the point. Leaflet No. 13 of the Board of Agriculture for Ireland' points out that "the prevention of abortion consists in disinfection—that is,' poisoning the germs or 'seeds' of the •disease," and for this purpost a solution >of one teaspoonful of Jeyes' Fluid in a pint of water is recommended, the same solution being prescribed for the disinfection of the dis charges of cows suspected of the disease

The disinfectant-mentioned, it is claimed, is not only more x powerful tthan carbolic acid, (but is 1 also guaranteed to be non-caustic, non-toxic,- and harmless in every way. It' is therefore both safer and more efficient for use in abortion than carbolic acid.

British agriculturalists are agitating for legislatiQn to make for the prevention of 'the spread of tuberculosis in cattle. Ordinary cream from the separator tests to about. 22.24 per cent, of butterfat, while some rtiris as high as 30 per cent.

Do not ikeep the cows whose milk is only up to the value of skim when it is .submitted to the test of the separator. Experiments have demonstrated that calves fed on cod liver oil instead of milk have done better than the milk-fed.

A South Australian farmer is the own- I er of a cow which has established a re- 1 cord, having given birth to eight calves i during 2y 3 years. Two lots of twins j were successfully reared, but the last i batch of four, owing to an accident, did not live. This is thought to be a record for the district, if not for Australia. Among other experiments to be ear- j ried out in the Wairarapa this year (says the Wairarapa Daily Times) under fhe supervision of the officers of the Agricultural Department, will be the growing of approved varieties of peas and Ibeans suitable for export, to the Old Country. Owing to the havoc played by ' the pea weevil among leguminous crops in 'Great Britain, a strong demand has sprung up for the best varieties of peas and beans, and experiments are to be carried: 'out throughout New Zealand with a view to ascertaining if these crops can be successfully grown for export. As an instance of the keen demand that I exists, it may be mentioned that one | firm in the Old Country has special representatives out here who have guaranteed to take all the available supply j of the approved varieties'grown. | A farmer states that an alarming disease has made its appearance among some cattle in the South Wairarapa. It attacks the animal's foot, which becomes somewhat swollen, and then emits a pus all around the top of the lmof. So serious are the effects of this that it seems to eat right through to the bone, and, eventually the foot falls off. The disease is stated to be contagious, and much apprehension is felt among farmers for their cattle.

A heavy mortality has occurred in breeding ewes on some of the stationsbeyond Masterton, as a result of protrusion. The cause of this complaint seems to have baffled veterinarians. Probably it is due in a measure to the rough ~Qo . rn of ewes at the time of crutcb- *** .1 ■ i-.-L..

Keep the cow in health. This way pro- , fits are increased and possible 10-ses minimised. Good feeding adds to the value of the cow, as it does to every animal on the farm. If there is in the herd a" cow which is a heavy feeder let her have all she wants; as a result she will 'be a good producer also. Weeding is recommended by the experts who know gardening. It is a good thing in a dairy, too. Let the cow which shows no sign of disease chew her cud in peace. It is fairly safe to drink her milk. Think about your horse as you would about some man on have a good opinion | of—yourself, for instance! Directly there is a sign of shoulder soreness have the collar looked 'to. Chaniberinf may prevent tjie trouble accentuating. Reasonably hard work will not hurt the mare with foal, but she must not be too heavily back-burdened or girthpressed. An American expert recommends a pound of formaldehyde to 50 gallons of water as a good pickle for the prevention of smut in oats. When pigs rush the wood ashes emp- 1 tied out from the kitchen it is a sign their food is short of bone-making material, lime mostly. 'Bran is a very useful and wholesome diet for horses, cattle, sheep and pigs, and when used in moderation with disj-. cretion. Birds' heads to the nuiilber of 21,093 have been paid for at the office of the County Council at Ashburton since April, at a cost of £9l 12s 9d. At Methven, the agent has received 10,800 heads, and paid £45 in return. At Rakuia 7200 heads have been bonr!-' « i rost of £3O. A total of about -J-'t.OftO small 'birds have ■beeu poisoned during the present season. One man at Rafeiia, engaged in trapping from the 4th of July till the 18th received a cheque for £9 15s Sid. Rats are' also bought by the County Council at 3d each. There is one great factor that the man who is going to keep a stud bull mu-t bear in mind before buying one. A good sire has never been too dear, His owners may want a lot of money for him, and if he is an honest man the mere objection to parting with the animal must be considered to some extent a certificate of character and value. The intending breeder does not want the bull the actual breeder does not want and is in a hurry to get rid of.' There are other things to 'be borne in mind 'by the man buying a bull for stud purposes, but this j is one of the first. Of course, there are bulls and bulls. One bull may be no good to the man who wants another kind ofbull, another breed, and for another purpose than that for which the animal being considered is suited, but when you have in sight the one which seems to suit your purposes, buy promptly. A former resident of New Zealand, writing from Argentine to a friend in Christchurcih, says: "The American trusts have got this country in the pajm of their hand, as there is not a concern here that will freeze on owners' account. As a consequence, although meat is up to unprecedented prices in London, here fat stock are actually selling on a continually falling market. Out of La Plata works the trust made £250,000 last year. In three and a-half years they have taken the purchase price of £JSO 000 out of profits. They have now bought La Blanc works, and are extending them, so as to kill 1000 bullocks and 4000 or 9000 sheep per day. They have got, so it is said on good authority, the American home meat trade in their hands; they have certainly got the export trade, and now they are going for the local trade. They are extending their works for this purpose. Once they get control of this they will'be masters of the meat supply in England, the 'States, and Argentine. They will then squeeze New Zealand on the' Smithfield market. You have got no beef,, and they will corner your buyers by making them pay more for beef if they don't take mutton from them. It would pay the New Zealand Government to study this question closely." ,