FARM AND DAIRY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 62, 4 September 1911, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY

j There are too many animals in our yards to-day saved from bulls bred from I cows for no other purpose than to , "freshen them again." ■ Do not Hush the separator bowl with ■ skim-milk to secure the separation of ! what whole milk is left in it. Use warm j water instead. A collar that fits properly will rarely ■ gall the shoulder, providing the driver i sees that the face of the shoulder is not allowed to "scald." Dirt taken into the stomach along • with feed impairs digestion and reduces > the gain, also affecting the appetite and II general health of the pig. | The wise breeder of cows always keeps ; his eye on the sire. The wise breeder of i j bulls traces back for a long line of I high-producing mothers. • | The old saying has it that good fences beget good neighbors. It is a pretty sure way to keep on good terms with '. one's neighbors, at any rate. | Good care of pigs means good breeding, good feeding, constant watchful- ' ness, more labor, closer attention to I little details, and, finally, more money in I the bank. A pad is serviceable where a horse is run down in flesh, and does not fill the ; collar as he should; but, as a rule, they are tile cause of more harm than good. | A Berkshire sow pig which turned the scale at 557V211> was recently offered at , the Addington sale. Well-built, efficient fences, kept in repair, not only place an important appearance value on a farm, but they pay substantially in protection to crops and stock, 1 Do not feed and rest the horse at noon with his harness on. A man might as 1 well think to enjoy his dinner by sitting down to it with overcoat, hat, and ' gloves on. 1 The feed of the pig should be as clean as for any other farm animal. It should not be mixed or contaminated with any substance that contains no feed value. ! The total number of horses in Canada j has risen from 1,500,000 in 1901 to 2,214,000 in 1910. Of this number, apI proximately, 1,000,000 horses are in Western Canada. I Groom the horse outside, either hobbled and eating grass, or else hitched to a post. It is more healthful and pleasant I for both man and beast than cleaning in stuffy stalls. The country has one trade—farming—and every country boy has some fundamental stock of knowledge. Why not adopt the sensible plan of grafting his education upon it? Quiet firmness is important in handling horses. The cool assurance of a masterful horseman produces an immediate effect upon the nerves and be- i haviour of a fractious team. I A well-known Australian stockbreeder I and dealer, Mt. John Moir, commenting on New Zealand horses, says that if there is one thing more than another that calls for Government assistance it is the laudable efforts to maintain New Zealand stock to the highest standard. It is a national asset affecting everyone in the community. Mr. A. B. Wood, agricultural chemist, strongly recommends the growing of peas for soil renovation purposes. "Not only would the farmer find it profitable," says Mr. Wood, "but the land would be left in a good condition, the farmer getting a free supply of nitrogen from the crop. I consider this one of the best means of regaining nitrogen from the atmosphere." There can be no doubt about the quality of the New Zealand draught stock that have been sent to Victoria (says Mr. John Moir, a well-known Aus-

traiinn breeder), but those Unit have gone from the North Island have a very I doubtful reputation in Sydney, and the ] quality is fast falling off. Gelding for gelding, they bring at least £5 per < head less than the New South Wales | products flint, inay be offering. They i look well, but they are soft, and it takes in most eases quite six months { to acclimatise. A hearty laugh was raised at a meet-' ing of farmers in Tiinarn recently, when J Mr. John Talbot, with a view to supporting what lie had previously said against depending too much on book learning in farming, quoted from the ! May issue of the Journal of the Department of Agriculture to show that. the best advice the Department's expert could give to a South Canterbury farmer who had asked a simple question was. in fact, to look over his neighbor's fence and observe what was being done there. J The New South Wales Department of ! Agriculture has just reported on some ' further lamb-docking experiments which ' go lo show that the knife is, if anything, preferable to the searing iron. The lambs tested comprised the whols 1 year's drop. Both ewe and wether lambs were marked at a month to six weeks old. Their progress after treat- ! ment wan carefully noted, and all dc- | tails regarding the condition of the j wound and the time occupied in healing were recorded. At "marking" time half of each were operated upon with the searing iron and the other half with tlip knife. No actual deatli as a result of marking occurred, so that, as far as the influence of the operation in causing disease is concerned, the experiments af- | forded but little data. There is, how- ' ever, quite sufficient evidence to dispose | of the notion that the loss of blood I after knifing seriously checks the subse- | quent development of the lamb.