FARM AND DAIRY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 271, 13 May 1912, Page 7

FARM AND DAIRY

■STOCKBREEDING LAWS. In discussing Mandel's laws and stoekI breeding, in an article in Hoard's Dairyman, Professor Wilson Ireland divides mature cows of Shorthorn size into three grades—the 1000-gallon grade, the 700 to 800 gallon grade, and the.soo gallon grade. "We have only to find," he concludes, "some 1000-gallon bulls—if we may speak in this way—and mate them with low and intermediate grade cows. If mated with low-grade cows, the progeny will be medium grade. If m»U& with medium grades, half the projgwiy will be high grade; and if mated with high-grade the progeny will all be highgrade. There is one serious difficulty however, and that is to indentify the thousand - gallon bulls. A white hull or a red bull can .he told by the naked eye, but a 1000-gallon buli cannot be told in this way. As yet he can only be told by the way in which he Weeds, that is, by the yields of his daughters, and before that can be done he has usually gone to the butcher. But this might be suggested—that no son of a 1000-gallon cow should be sent to the butcher until his grade is known. He will be either high-grade or medium; and in either case he is of value as a breeder. But when it is found that all his (laughters by low-grad'e cows are medium grades, or that his daughters by medium cows are high-grades, or that all his daughters by high-grade cows are high grades, then he should never go to the butcher at all! and it should be remembered, further, that so soon as a bull is identified as a high grade, his sons by high-grade cows are all high grades also."

INTENSIVE CULTIVATION. The problem of successful farming nowadays, and particularly the problem of small holdings, must depend for its solution in intensive culture, which means that the crops grown owe after the other in quick succession must be sown in soil worked into a condition as perfect as possible and must be regularly nourished with ample supplies of available plant food. If horses are put to extra hard work they are supplied with extra rations, including energy-producing grain. Similarly the soil, if expected to produce a quick-succession of exhausting crops, must be supplied with the nourishing material to enable it to bear with some success the strain. Farmyard manure applied in moderate quantities will maintain the soil in a good physical condition and keep it supplied with humus'. Then phosphoric acid and potash in suitable forms must be used liberally; the fertilising elenwnts' in them are not liable to be'washed away, and, therefore, any balance not utilised by one crop remains available for the next. By the growth of cloyier between other crops a supply of nitrogen can be stored in the ground, although it is necessary to give the cTops also the advantage of more available nitrogen in the shape of guano, nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia or other quickly-acting material. Deep ploughing and thorough harrowing 'mu^t'be" given before all seeding, for we must understand that one great advantage in using fertilisers is that they are so fine that they may be worked 'or mixed through the soil, and unless the. soil is thoroughly fined this cannot be 1 done:

';■ THE MILK TEST. • CAUSES OF VARIATION. ■ We variation of the test of a cow's ■milk from day to day is, says Professor E. H.' ! Farrington,-of the Wisconsin Dairy 'Sehdol, UiS'.A., influenced by at least ten 'different things, viz.,— 'l. The natural disposition of the cow, ■lf she has a quiet, even temperament her 'milk will test about the same per cent. '•of fat from day to day; while, on the other'hand, if she is nervous and easily 'cxeite'd the per centage of fat will change from one milking to another, in some cases as much as 1 per cent. '2. The breed of the cow has some in'fliiettceon the test of her milk. As a [ rule,' the Guernsey and Jersey milk is ['richer, than that of the Ayrshire and milking Shorthorn. • X/Tlle period of lactation. Most cows give the thinnest milk when the How is file largest, or a few weeks after the cow is ; : fresh, the test gradually increasing until the time when she is a stripper. There iSj however, some difference in cows regarding this increase in test as the milking period advances. Some cows [ do not give much richer milk when they are drying up, while with others the per centage of fat often doubles during the latter part of the milking period. 4. The influence of feed on the test of a cow's milk is usually only temporary. A sudden change of feed, which disturbs a cow's digestion, may have a very marked effect on the per centage of fat in her milk; otherwise the increase or decrease in feed affects the quantity of milk only. 5. The surroundings under which a cow is kept may have a great effect on the test of her milk. Protection from rough weather will have a tendency to help the milk production and keep the test of the milk uniform, while rough treatment and exposure to sudden extremes of temperature may cause the test to vary greatly. 6. The kind of milking, such as irregular milking, milking fast or slow, etc., has a great effect on the test of a cow's milk. Every cow should be milked in a uniform and quiet way, as this helps her to produce the maximum quantity and to keep the quality about uniform. 7. Intervals between milking. The longer the time between milkings the thinner the milk," and the effect which this has on the production of milk by cows is so great that some dairymen milk their cows "by the watch" —that is, at exactly the same minute both morning and night. 8. The treatment of the cow during milking and at other times has a great effect on the test of her milk. 9. Sickness. If a cow is "off her feed" and her temperature rises, the test of milk in almost every case may increase, while the quantity decreases. 10. Change of milkers. This is one of the. most important factors in getting a uniform amount of richness of milk from cows. Any change of milkers is noticed immediately by a cow, and the effect is often very striking. All these factors have an influence on the milk production, and the extent to which they will effect the test of a cow's milk will depend very largely on the sensitiveness and the nervous disposition of each particular cow. The individual who rises early and also feeds his young birds very much later in the evening than is necessary with adults, will see his young stock progress much better than the one who rises late. I The birds are practically starving until j they receive breakfast. A late feed by I artificial light makes a wonderful difference to the growth of chicks, as anyone may prove to his entire satisfaction by experimenting on two clutches hatched out on the same date. Give the one j their last feed, say, at C p.m., and the other a feed of wheat between !) ami 1(1 , p.m. Other things being equal, then