FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 November 1917, Page 7

FARM AND DAIRY.

An acre of turnips will carry in tlie winter time for three montlia as much stock as 13 to ~>.o acres of pasture on the same class of land. Common worms in horses, whitish,, stiff, round worms, pointed at both ends, can easily lie removed by giving the affected animal a light, laxative diet, such as bran mashes or green fodder, for 2i hours, then fast him for twelve hours, and finally give 2m turpentine in a pint and a-half of raw linseed oil. The Imperial authorities have made arrangements with a number of motor manufacturers to take in hand immediately -the construction of ] 0,090 farm motor tractors. The new machine which will be known as the "M.O.M."— the initials of the Ministry of Munitions, will, it is anticipated, help to solve the pressing need in England for rapidly increasing the food production of that country. When fresh warm milk is left uneooled for several hours in summer weather, and does not turn sour, but becomes ?trong-sinelling, this denotes that the milk is contaminated with several species of bacteria. Clean milk should naturally turn sour if kept warm for several hours, as it contains chiefly the bacteria which sour milk. Contaminated milk will''often putrify without first souring. A tractor which is now being tried in England has the caterpillar grip instead of wheels, which the famous "tanks'* on the war front have made familiar. It is an American machine, and has a creeping tread of 7ft, which enables it to work with ease in broken country or on sticky land. The length over all is only lift, so that the weight is well distributed over a large area. The engine—a fourcylinder—is started on petrol, and then runs on two gallons of paraffin per hour, giving a. speed of two miles and a-half in that time when a three-furrow plough is attached.

The black nose of a'Guernsey does not indicate impure breeding, declares an American writer. There are many splendid purebred Guernseys with black noses. A few of tho Guernsey breeders make considerable objection to Guernseys having black nofcs. It, is rather a'foolish fad that Guernsey breeders must contend with. Thero was a time when it was held that the Jersey must have a black tongue and a black switch, but this fad has passed, and the black nose will receive less attention in the future than it has in some instances in the past. However advantageous the use of commercial fertilisers may bo, farmers should still regard farmyard manure as the basis for maintaining the physical condition and fertility of the soils, and should endeavor by careful management to make on the farm and protect from waste a good supply of this most valuable substance. It should bo reserved for such crops, except in cases where one white crop follows another; then farmyard manure is essential. It has been proved that crops can be grown successfully with artificials alone, but such a method does not represent sound farming. The numbers of live stock in Spain in 1916 were as follows (the corresponding numbers in 1915 being shown in brackets): Horses, 488.715 (512,453); cattle, 3.070.903 (2,926,170) . sheep, IG.OI-2,-277 (10.994.603); pigs, 2,814,465 (2,883,0811.

Tho council of the Central and Associated Chambers of Agriculture, at a recent meeting in London, adopted the report of the weights and measures corrmittce, suggesting that the present legal standard pound be the unit of weight and that the existing legal cental of 1001b be substituted for the hundredweight; 20 such centals to be a ton of 20001b; also, that transactions for sales or purchases of agricultural produce and requisites other than liquids, but including milk Bold wholesale, shall be by weight under this standard and system. Writes our"Durham Rd. Correspondent:

In connection with an item I forwarded previously ancnt growing artichokes as pig food to keep up the supply of pig? for bacon purposes, and which seems to decrease with the introduction of casein, manufacture, the attached dipping should prove of interest to many who wish to go in largely for pig reaving. The information contained in the clipping is very conclusive and I venture to say" that any who may decide to give the ulant a,'trial next year would be conferring a favor to other* by making public alf particulars possible. Farmers should cut this par out and keep under eye lest they overlook the matter:— The Jerusalem artichoke makes a splendid pig-feed- It will grow well on poor soil; but if the soil is wet, the tubers will rot. It will thrive and produce abundantly on light sandy, or gra- 4 velly soils too poor for many other crops. Its main requirement seeins to be a "dry" soil, It is remarkably droughtresistant, and, as a, rule, free from fun-, gns diseases or pests. The soil should be well cultivated before the plants are set out. One acre of artichokes fed fifty piss for two months during winter at the Jlawkesbury Agricultural College. The pigs each averaged 501b in weight, and gained from lib tn ni'i per day. They had, in addition, an occasional load of pumpkins. The artichokes being of a starchy nature, some green teed, such as lucerne or cow-pea's, should be fed occasionally. Pigs in good store condition at about three months old are put on the artichokes until they reach about 1201b (dressed weight). They are then fed for a little time after, coming off the artichokes with maize and skim-milk to form the flesh, and are then sold. Tn feeding for milk production, and beef production as well, the largest returns at minimum cost arc secured from using the most valuable and nutritious fodder. When forage crops contain the maximum amount of albuminoids less grain and milled products are required to secure returns than when low quality forage is used. To secure the maximum nourishment in forage, farm manures aire very valuable, and the farmer who feeds crops grown upon fertile soils has a decided advantage over the one who feeds crops from poor soils. Increasing the fertility of soil through the use of farmyard manure and fertilisers will result not only in larger yields, but also in better quality of crops. According to a by-law passed by the authorities in Germany, the inhabitants are obliged to put on one side all the household food refuse, which is collected once or twice a- week and delivered at a central factory. The refuse is then ground, pressed, dried, thoroughly mixed, and finally converted into a kind of meat, which is sold under the name of breadmeal, either without mixture, or mixed with molasses. The product, without" molasses, has been found to contain on an average 12.25 per cent, of digestible albuminoids, 8.52 per cent, of fat, and 40.17 per cent .of carbohydrates. The feeding value of this "bread-meal" has been tested on milch cows. The number of 78 cows was divided into three lots, one lot having ration of bread-meal substituted for other food, a second lot having bread-meal and molasses, and the third lot ordinary rations. The results arc re«orted to have been quite satisfactory, and Its general adoption is being strictly enforced

The use to which the additional cold storage accommodation provided to overcome the congestion caused by tiie shortaye of shipping will be put after the war was the siibpetl of remark by Mr. S. J. Ambiiry, at tlio meeting of shareholders of the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company, on Thursday. He said the necessity of sending regular supplies of produce to the Home markets all the year round, instead of shipping large quantities for a few months, and then leaving the markets without supplies for long periods, wa3 becoming better understood. When producers thoroughly realised that the old system of irregular shipments Was simply playing into the hands of those who were wise enough to supply the retail trade ail the year through, he did not think the storage would he unused. He would like to see the trade organised to provide for regular fortnightly shipments, and this might be accomplished with sufficient storage space available. The area won back (rum the- Germans in France now amounts to about T2r>,(w acres, or approximately one-seventh of the 5.1)00,000 acres which the invader had at one time under his domination. Of the reconquered area it is hoped that agriculture may be resumed over about t-lO.nno acres, of which about 325.000 are arable. In the task of re-establishing the small farmers of our ally in this regained territory, the Agricultural Relief of Allies Fund, inaugurated hy the Royal Agricultural Society, has taken an Important part, and sacks the full support of the more fortunate British farmer in carrying out the objects for which It was formed. Some itlea of the value of the frozen »irg (rude in China can be obtained from the following figures extracted from an article in lee and Refrigeration. Messrs Vestey Bros., operating under the nnme ot International Export Company, own plants at Hankow and Nanking, and their exports in 191(1 amounted approximately to 15,000 tons. Tn addition Messrs Vestey operate meat freezers at Hankow with a capacity for handling 500 pia<s. 50 cattle, and 20,000 chickens daily. They own six 5000-ton steamers, eneh fitted with two 60-ton refrigerating machine*, and are said to have under construction in Great. Britain two steamers of 10,000 tons each, to be fitted for carrying frozen meats, poultry, and eggs. One prime heavy-weight bullock was sold at the Burnside sale-yards on Wednesday for £34 15s, which is a record price for Burnside. The Wairarapa Age says: It is understood that the prices to be offered by the freezing companies for fat stock at the opening of the season this year will be somewhat lower than last year. The Wnirarapii companies have not yet begun to operate The French Government publishes figures showing the decreased live stock in France as a result of the war. On December 31, 1010, according to the official French figures the cattle had decreased to a total of 12,341,000 as compared with 14.507.000 in 1013, or 10.6 per cent.: sheep decreased from 16,213,000 in 1913, to 10,845.000 December 31 last, or 33 per cent.; swine decreased from 7,043,000 in 1913 to 4,361,900 at the dose of last yea'.', or 38 per cent. The per capita consumption per annum of meat in France at the present time is estimated by the French Government at 00.61 pounds of beef, 11.16 pounds of mutton and 21.48 pounds of pork. The relative costs of house feeding and pasturing cows for milk production was the subject of a trial at the Ontario College of Agriculture last year. Nine cows led in byres showed an average record for the year of 14,0481bs of milk and 52SIb of butter-fat, and produced a profit of £lB 12s 3M from £24 16s 2a worth of food, returning 7s 2d for each dollar:; (Is 2d) worth of food consumed. Nine similar cows (a3 near as possible same lactation period and same percentage of fat in milk), showed an average record for the year of 12 3611b of milk and 4CBlbs of butter-fat. and produced a profit of £lfl 17s 5d from £l7 10s !5d worth of food, returning 9s 7d for every dollars worth of food consumed. For every dollar spent in food the grazed cows returned 2s 5d more than those fed in the byres.

In order to assist in re-establishing the forests of France, so severely devastated during the war, the Agricultural Belief of Allies Committee, with the co-n"--ii;on of the Royal English Arboriculturnl Society, have sent to Dieppe a quantity of seeds of Scotch pine. Close on 70001b of the seed have been obtained from British forests, and' will be given to the peasants and small proprietors, who in France own a considerable area of forest land Free facilities for the convevance of the seed have been provided by' the British War Office. The gift has been greatly appreciated by the French Government, and tho mature trees will form near Hie battle-fields a permanent memorial of the close alliance and sympathy, not onlv of the British and French troops, but of the farmers and arboriculturists of the two nations.,

When phosphate of lime, containing a large percentage of phosphoric acid soluble in water, is applied to the soil, the fertilising constituent does not long remain in the water-solnblo condition. It ,is quickly dissolved, distributed through the soil particles, and enters into weak combination with the lime and other bases in the soil, then again converted by the soil acids into a condition to be assmilated bv the plants. There is no danger of its being washed out of the soil, in the same way that nitrogen or even potash may be lost by drainage. Now, as there is no risk of phosphoric acid being washed away, and as it is important that the young plants should find at their immediate disposal a supply, there would appear to be good reason for the suggestion that farmers should supply their soils with liberal quantities of phosphate of lime; it is then stored up to be used as required. There seems to be no limit to the prosperity of the Holstein-Friesian, for, after beating all records for any dairy or dualpurpose cattle sales in the United Kingdom, says the Live Stock Journal, by the average of £236 lis fid, realised on July 24 last at Mr. John Bromet's at Tadcaster, Mr. Alex Munro's herd at Doll of Inshes, Inverness, dispersed on the flth August, averaged £172 Is 4d. The programs made by the hlack-and-white breed is phenomenal, at least, it is phenomenal to the partisans of the breed, who openly boast there has been nothing quite like it in the whole history of pedigree stock breeding. Who (they ask), six years aso, would have imagined that the 'Holstc-in-Friesian would beat the Dairy Shorthorn in tho matter of herd average at sales? Who (they also ask) would have dreamed that the number of breeders would be multiplied by twelve? And who would have thought it possible for a calf of this breed to realise 1000 guineas at public auction f