FARM AND DAIRY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 239, 14 February 1911, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY

■ i t ! AND NOTES. Ostrich-farming is going to be tried on a large scale in Sweden. The promoters hope for big pronts from feathcr,s and eggs. ' ' _ , Do not change the feed of the milkers too suddenly. Nothing cuts down the flow more surely and quickly. ' Every farmer who keeps four or five five brood sows can afford to keep a good boar: Not everybody may hope to own prizewinning herds, but let us do the best we can by breeding up. There is no wisdom in keeping, poor cows. There is a difference of opinion jvith regard to the advantage or otherwise of bruising oals. It is said that thpy.arcapt to produce diarrhoea, especially if the animal is worked hard, and 'it is further alleged that many horses will not eat them with an appetite. Agricultural scientists all over Europe continue to devote increased' attention to the influence of bacteria in tphe soil, with the object of discovering till! causes of greater or less activity, and the most effective way of encouraging the little to 'work for the benefit of the crops. It has'been found that well-culti-vated soil witli a .fine tilth possesses greater bacterial activity.tlian a soil full of clod. A well-aerated soil containing organic substances encourages the development of beneficial bacterial activity.

The education of the horse should be like that of the child. Pleasure should be as much as possible associated with the early lessons, while firmness, or, if need be, coercion, must establish the habit of obedience. ,

Milk cans should be so constructe<!-that every part inside is easily cleaned, and wken the lid is removed, no dust or water falls into the can. Lids must be close-fitted and dust-proof; they should bfl sealed or locked in transit.

A SOW will bnng forth her litter in about 112 days from conception. At farrowing time each sow should be in a pen by herself, placed' in her new, home, long enough beiore farrowing-lime, so that she will become accustomed to it.

Each year sees a greater necessity for improvements •in dairying methods — to produce a milk which contains less bacteria than formerly. There is no subject of greater importance in this regard than that of tlie construction of the dairy buildings. Nowadays the use of the concrete has become so •general that every man is more or less familiar with it, and should have no difficulty in carrying out all t'he necessary works on his property without employing skilled labor. According to all dairy experts, the milking-shed is the great breeding place for germs. The germs get in the wood of the walls, in the wood and cracks of the feed-boxes—get iu everywhere. But if one uses concrete the germs have no chance to nest. In addition to shell-making material, grit must be supplied if the fowls are not running at large. Road-scrapings, cinders, and broken crockery (broken to the size of wheat) all answer the purpose, but broken Hint is best of all. The sows for a foundation should be carefully selected. They must be of the right type to produce pigs that sell' well in the market—long body, rather short legs, and strong postern joints. This is the most important point in the selection of sows.

A profitable way to plant velvet beans is in alternate rows with corn, according to experiments at the Florida station, U.S.A. The yield of shelled beans planted in this way amounted lo' 23.35 bushels per acre. White velvet beans yielded 15.54 bushels last season. A farmer with an average-sized dairy should have at least one good brood sow or more where needed. One will usually furnish enough pigs to grow up and fatten on the farm, at least, and this means quite a saying when otherwise they would have to be purchased. As an internal stimulating application for the throat of a horse, in ease of inflammation arising from cold or other causes, common mustard mixed with water, as for the table, is an excellent remedy, and is equal, if not superior, to any of the complicated nostrums. Bowel trouble in fowls result" from numerous causes, one of the most frequent being unsanitary quarters. If food is thrown upon a foul lloor, the chicks are almost certain to eat some filth along with their food, with the probable result of disturbing the digestive functions.