FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 December 1916, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY.

VALUE OF SEAWEED. Seaweed lias often becii recommended as a good inaiuiria] substitute for potash. The Jersey potato growers stack all tlio seaweed that is cast up, and they regularly crop the,growing weed at low tide. Now the United States Department of Agriculture is experimenting with seaweed. The kelp is harvested in barges at a cost of half a dollar a raw ton. Drying in hot-air ovens is estimated to cost a dollar per dry i.on. When dry the kelp is brittle, and may be ground readily. From 1000 tons of wet kelp SO tons of dry kelp are obtainable, and this contains 16 tons of potash and.a ton and three-quarters of nitrogen. If mixed with fish-waste manure, it becomes, by the addition of phosphorous from the latter, a "perfect" artificial manure. Estimates of cost and price obtainable indicate that there is a fair margin for profit. There is plenty of seaweed to be obtained on the Taranaki beaches, and farmers handy should experiment with it.

INFLUENCE OF GOOD DIGESTION. The digestive organs have a great influence on the exercise of all the functions and particularly on the secretion of the milk glands. Where the digestive organs are defective good milch cowa are rarely met with. Good digestive organs are indicated by a belly of moderate size, with yielding sides, free from tightness, a large mouth thick and strong lips, a good appetite, glossy hair, supple skin, yet finij and somewhat oily to the touch. In aged snimuls the belly is often large, though the organs which it contains are in good,condition.

Animals possessing these characteris tics may be expected to feed and drink heavily, and, if they are properly fed, make much blood and yield large quantities of milk. The respiratory organs complete the system of nutrition The lungs bring ihe air breathed into contact with "the blood, and render the system of nourishment complete. Hence, a good form, quick digestion and a healthy (-tradition of the lungs are necessary to the production of a large flow of milk.