FARM & DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 October 1915, Page 10 (Supplement)

FARM & DAIRY.

PQUIREMENTS IN A GOOD .SOW. No sow is valuable to a fanner or bleeder, no matter how highly bred she may be, or how long her pedigree, or how high her cost, that is not a good milker and aide to feed her pigs in auch a way that they grow with ordinary and reasonable rapidity. Complaints of young pigs doing badly while with the sow are very common. Occasionally the person making the complaint recognises that the sow is a poor milker or a bad mother as the general run of pig breeders express it; but in the majority of cases it is not even dreamed of that the pigs are doing badly because they do not get sufficient milk of proper quality to satisfy their growing requirements. A large number of pigs die young from no other cause than that they are starved, that is to say they are unable to get sufficient sustenance from their mother. Young pigs are difficult to rear by hand; they do not lake kindly to cow-*s milk, or mther it does not suit them, because it is deficient in fixed constituents, particularly in fat, and they do not pay for the new milk received. There is no greater nuisance on a farm than a litter of motherless pigs, or a lot that are practically orphans, because their mother has not enough milk for them. Pedigree pigs are the worst offenders in the matter of deficient milk production; especially is this the case if the herd has been inbred. But bad milkers and poor mothers have been found among all breeds and classes and requir« to be looked after in selecting breeders, and to be ruthlessly weeded out if the discovery of their imperfections is delayed until a little of pigs has been spoiled or starved.

In a general way when engaged in breeding ordinary stock no second chance should be given a sow that has proved herself unable to bring up her pigs in a thoroughly satisfactory manner. There may be some hesitation in sacrificing a pedigree animal that has cost a lot of money, but if she does not look like a good sucker, or if she fails at a second trial, she should be fattened for the butcher. She. may have excellent points in other ways, but they cannot compensate for the loss which results from the dying off of half or perhaps three-fourths of each farrow. It is also advisable, in cases where the progeny is to be kept to strengthen the herd, to select boars from the dams which show thorough maternal capacity.

HINTS ABOUT MILKING. Very few cows can be thoroughly finished by milking with the full hand, and when the main flow has ceased, to strip the cow, it becomes necessary to gently press a quarter with one hand and milk with the other, thus drawing the udder (says Farm, Field, and Fireside). A cow, once started, should be always finished without interruption; the milker's mind must be centred on his work to gain the sympathy of the animal; dilatory or slow milking, talking, and noisemaking should be avoided—such actions cause a decreased flow. Where milking machines are used, the cows should be first tried for udder troubles and stripped immediately the machines are removed; any time elapsing between generally results in the cow holding back the last and richest of her milk. This is the cause of many of the complaints about milking machines being unsatisfactory, as the cow soon becomes dry—really the fault of the operator. If an animal docs not let her milk down freely to the machine, do not persist in its use, as sueh persistency will surely cause her to go dry. It is much better to milk such a cow by hand, or any oth-ir whose udder conformation does not lend itself to easy milking; very large teats with hard skin, are unsuitable. Best results may be obtained with low hanging udders by the attendants using a very low stool and keeping the arms on a level with the teats. Approach the cows gently. It is desirable that the usual attendant attach the teat cups on the first occasion. The cow is governed by habit, and most cows dread a new milker. In cold weather, provide warm water to insert the teat cups in, and wash the udders. While the milking machine, in the care of an intelligent man, may solve the labour problem, it will do endless damage in the hands of a. careless operator. The cleanest and purest milk can be obtained by machines if properly handled. Do not wash the udder too far in advance of the machine, as the cow will have taken her milk up again; she should be milked immediately after the washing and drying, when her teats will be full of milk; then the machine will do its work more effectively and quickly. '

SPJJOUTING SEED POTATOES. In answer to an inquiry as to the best method of forcing seed potatoes to sprout, an agricultural journal states: —We asked the Government expert if he could give us the best method, and he has now replied as follows:—As to the forcing of seed potatoes to sprout, it is just as well to say it is a most reprehensible practice to attempt to force potatoes to sprout in any way. I have found many cases, and have come across two or three cases within the last few days, where growers attempt to force potatoes against nature. The potato is similar to an individual who requires a certain amount of rest, and this is necessary with potatoes especially. A reasonable time should elapse between the time potatoes are dug and again replanted. Some will sprout in a few weeks, and others will take mouths, according to the maturiug qualities Sprouting, no doubt, weakens the vitality of the tuber, with the result that it becomes very quickly deteriorated, and is liable to take and pick up any diseases that present themselves, which otherwise would have been resisted had tinpotato been allowed to sprout of its own natural ability. Only recently I found one grower who had dug his potatoes a inonth previously, and, as he expressed it, "desired to get another crop quieky," placed them on a heap of wellheated manure, placed a bag over the top, and caused them to sprout within a week's time. This is an unnatural process, and the consequence is a \ enweakly potato, which every time the process takes place, deteriorates very rapidly, and at the same time yields 'a very poor return. There is no doubt that (Ins kind of thing causes potatoes to run out very quickly. With regard to the second question, referring to the quantity of ground sulphate o! copper and iron that should be added to each owt. of potato manure, your correspondent does not mention for what purpose tlite is required, as a complete potato mauure should have all the ingredients that are required to produce a profitable crop, if used in such quantities as are required by the particular district, climatic conditions and season when plant-

NOTES. The Winton Record reports that on Mr. Irwin's form at Hokomri a lambing percentage record has been established by his flock of thirty-six ewes producing seventy-two lambs.

In some manurial tests on turnips conducted in Irelaud it has again been demonstrated that dressings of farmyard manure at the rate of from H) to 16 tons per statute acre, supplemented by superphosphate or basic slag, are better than a heavy dressing of manure alone.

The Japanese Government has again purchased stud sheep in Australia —a stud merino ram and ten ewes and live Romney ewes. About fifteen years ago, some sheep were bought in the Commonwealth for Japan, but little development in the sheep industry has taken place, as in all there are only between two and three thousand sheep in the country.

The Royal Agricultural Society in England, in conjunction with some other bodies, is getting up a big scheme to aid in Belgian restoration when the war is over. All the leading agricultural and breeding societies are to be invited to cooperate. Some of the latter have already done their share, but the object is such a good one that there should be no lack of helpers.

Iu niauiuial tests on peaty soils in Ireland it has been found that by using what is known as a standard mixture of artificials the best results were obtained. The standard mixture was as follows: —One cwt. sulphate of ammonia 4ewt. superphosphate, and lewt. muriate of potash. Along with this was given a dressing of farmyard manure, the potato being experimented with.

The old Derbyshire cheese is still manufactured in considerable quantities. It has also attracted the attention of the foreign maker. It is a quicklyripening cheese, and, frail the maker's point of view, has the advantage of producing a considerable weight of curd for the amount of milk used. It is reckoned that 301b of ripe cheese can be made from twenty-nine gallons of milk.

At farms where milk records are kept it is a good plan to have the milk-weigh-' ing apparatus hung up near the door of the cowshed. This is the most convenient poaition, as the milk' can be weighed as it is taken from the shed to the dairy. To the dairy fanner milk records are of great value in selecting and building up a herd of profitable dairy cows.

(Prices for stock in Australia continue to rule very high. A firm of Victorian auctioneers report that they sold during the month of August, at Flemingtou, 4520 head of cattle, of which bullocks and steers averaged £2O 14s 7d, their highest average for a single consignment being £39 7s 3d realised for 29 bullocks. They also sold 1144 cows and heifers at an all-round average of £l2 9s lOd.

It is not advisable to make artificial-ly-coloured butter except in special cases, as this product is better without the addition of artificial colouring mat-, ter. At times when the natural colour of butter is practically white, it is sometimes advisable to use a little colouring maticr, as many customers consider pale-coloured butter is of inferior quality, but this, however, it not always the case.

"The Argentine Ministry of Agriculture" (says the Review of the River Plate), "is at present engaged on the formulation of a project or law having for its object the prohibition of the export of breeding cows and the restriction or prohibition of their slaughter. The indications that the present demand for Argentine meat will increase substantially in the near future are unmistakable. The entry of France into the Argentine meat consuming market is an accomplished fact." A substantial tax on every calf killed has proved useful in the Argentine as a chock to their indiscriminate slaughter.

Some experiments conducted in the United States bring out interesting points about the fattening of pigs. Contrary, perhaps, to expectation it is shown that it costs as much to put a pound of fat on the porking types as it docs to achieve the same object with a baconcr like the Large Whites or the Tamworth. In the experiments above referred to the fact is advanced that in the use of beans in equal part with maize meal it required 4.01i1b of that concentrated food to create lib additional live weight, and that when beans were used alone 4.21b of beaus were needed to achieve the same purpose.

A suitable system of rotation is on» by which the earliest fodder can be übtained, followed by further supplies to enable the system to extend over the largest possible period, thus maintaining the greatest carrying capacity and the largest profits. This can be done by growing Japanese millet in the first paddocks, and having relays of maize, rape, or sorghum to come in as the millet becomes exhausted; then such crops as teosinte, amber cane, or imphee for lute summer feed should carry stock on until the early crops arc ready to feed oil" or rape and rye have reached the useful stage.

Ayrshhvs are showing up in butter tests in America as in Australia. At the age of fourteen years the Ayrshire cow, Jean Armour, made a twelve-months' nj. cord of 18,35211> milk, containing 71ti)b butter-fat; while one of her progeny, Jean Armour 3rd, as a two-year-old, produced 14,0871b milk, 0001b fat. The two-year-old championship of the world is claimed for Dairy Gem, an Ayrshire, with a record of 17,9241b milk" 7.181 h butter-fat, 4.11 test. This cow is bred from tested animals for several generations.

Subdivided paddocks allow of far greater carrying possibilities than witli one tield of their combined area. The change from one paddock to another in which there is l'rc?li untrampled feed acts as a stimulant to stock to eat more, and the rest given the previously stocked paddock enables the growth of the crop to recover, the leaf and stem of the plants receiving time to make a failleaf surface area occasionally to taki- in from the atmosphere the 93% per cent, of nourishment it derives from that source. The surest way to kill any crop is to keep it fed down with no chance to breathe through its leaf system. This explains the great necessity for allowing lucerne to reach a certain growth for cutting in preference to grazing. Three to five paddocks are generally sufficient but more would be advantageous, as the more constant the eliange the stock get in reason the better they and the csops thrive.