FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 140, 6 November 1914, Page 7

FARM AND DAIRY.

FKEMM4 DAlltY ,LO\VS. > Probably tile most difficult animal to | feed is the milch cow. This class or / eiuck ha» been developed to such a high !, pitch—its natural ins;inct of milk-pro-duction has been so sharpened and stini- . ulatid by man's needs and his methods of breeding stock, that the question of | feeding is adequately and economically j one of surprising difficulty. -Not the \ least hindrance to a rule of thumb svsi tern of fowling is the fact that no two «ows are alike in their requirements. Tl)e dairy cow mus!, not "be regarded as a. milk-'produeng machine. She is, aa a matter of fact, a very highly-organised creature, with a nervous temperament that responds to the slightest influence. The food she consumes lias no direct effect at all in the manufacture, or • rather, secretion of milk. It feeds the I organs of the body, provides warmth and energy and onricb.es the flow of 'blood And it is the blood that is chiefly concerned in the secretion of milk. One cow. fed on a ccniain ration may produce only half the quantity »f milk ■that another docs fed on a similar ration. This fact should teach the feeder the value of observation. Keep a careful watch on lilie .different individual members of the herd, and you will- soon bo nh!e_to descr- the.difference in certain animals in (he respect, and thereby adjust the ration to a much economical result; for the, excess »f food fed to the first cow is wasted in one or two wavs. It may either be stored up in in. the form of bodily fat (which, of course, must be regarded as waste by the milk producer), or it may pass through the cow's body in an undigested form, and be 'voided as solid excrement.

The foods consumed by animals may be said to be in part otfdisod and in part wasted (as manure). The first portion is burnt or dissolved by the digestive juices, and so passes into the blood, where the elements it,contains (nitrogenous matter or protean, 'and caroohydraets or starch) eventually become.utilised in providing bodily heat and energy, and in repairing waste tissue. The second portion, which V's not digested, passes out of the body and returns to the soil (where, it originated in' part, in the form of growing crops) as manure.

Of the digested portion, the nitrogenens portion is chiefly utilised in the production of bodily tissue. It is gener- ' allv classed as the "albuminous." Fats or oils, and albuminoids are considcred as of equal value, and for purposes j of comparison are estimated to be two-and-a-half times as valuable as the car--1 bohjydrates or starchy constituents. I Therefore, in calculating the number of j feeding units in a food, one must add ! the quantity of fat to the quantity of | albuminoids, multiply' by i%, and ' add I the result, to the quantity of earboI hydrates. But the albuminoids also contain the I elements that produce carbohydrates: no < doubt, therefore, fat is produced by j their assistance. • The starchy matter Lor carbohydrates, are chiefh" concerned in the production of heat and energy; and the small proportion of fat or oil present in most foods also induces heat and the mechanical construction of fat. Both carbohydrates and oils have no residual value as manure; in fact, very little of cither of these food constituents arc wasted in the form of manure. It is the nitrogenous portion that is never fully utilised, and this is the cause of tins liquid excrement of farm stock being so rich in nitrogen. For trie first part the eonstitiie:vts~-of ■foods serve to maintain an animal, or, in other words, they keep it alive. That portion is commonly known as the "'maintenance diet." 'Every feeder should careful!,- observe the requirement* oi his charges as far as this maintenance diet is concerned. Tables are publish- ( cd giving typical rations for this actual purpose, but. after all, persona! observavation and individual inquiry and experiment are far more satisfactory in .the long run than feeding by rule, how ever carefully the rule may have beet compiled. '

FKEDJXG YAULiIi OF PASTUKES. An experiment to determine the influence of-manures on the fccding-valuo. of pastures was instituted at the Kuakura farm of in.stniction in Juno of 101-r The result of the first year's experience was recorded in the Journal of Jul}', 1913. In this it is pointed out that this is net an experiment in regard to the renovation of worn-out -.pastures, lmt rather one to determine the length of time required to deplete a prevously well-treated soil of its fertility to an appreciable extent, and to ascertain the advantage gained by top- [ ping such soil.

There are four plots in all, one being unmanured and the others top-dressed with basic-slug, superphosphate, basic slag, and superphosphate respectively, The soil all over the plots is fairly even in quality, and no manure plot occupies the central position, fiach plot measures 2Vi acres, and the sheep were weighted monthly, or as near as the weather conditions permitted. When it is taken into consideration that only a few years ago this land' was almost despised, ami fact that eacli acre of top-dressed plots has carried, for twelve consecutive months, an tveragc of eleven wethers (several lotß