AGRICULTURAL JOTTINGS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8229, 5 September 1906, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL JOTTINGS.

USE FOR POWDERED ALUM

Finely powdered alum, as much aa will lie on tbe point of! a penknife, blown into the eye of a hoi'ae, cow, sheep ur pig, will remove any foreign substance as chaff or ciaiu of eund, etc. No case is hopeless, even 'where a layer tnambrane has grown over it. A complete cure is only a question of time. When the treatment is attended to enrly, ono application is usually enough, but when of long standing it may be necessary to repeat the operation two or even .three times a week, until recovery is established. If the eye should become iuflamed leave off for a week or ten days.

FITTING THE HORSE,

Ihe first thing to do when a horse ia out uf condition is to see that his teeth are right, make his quaitera comfortable, then give birn a purgative, aftir fasting him for 24 hours. Generally a bran mash or'a feed of boiled barley will be sufficient for the purpose. Then feed him well and r«gularly upon clean and wholesome hay or chaff, with oats depending in amounts upon the size of the horee and the work he may be doing. Along with (the feed may be given a condiment of which there are *nany excellent preparations on the market. It does not always follow, however, that a horse treated as described above will respond as desired. Some horses are naturally hard feeders, while others, suffering from some constitutional disease, cannot be got to lay on flesh or improve in spirits.

SILAGE—SOUR AND SWEET.

There are praotioalJy" two kinds—oour and sweet, although certain modifications of temperature admit of subdividing these. Oroya out when immature, and at a time when there is a large percentage of waterop to 90 per oent.—develop more acidity in the silo, and temperatures do not run so high. On the other hand, more mature fodder, containing about. 70 per oent. of moisture, develops leas aoidity, and runs tohigher temperatures. With high temperatures there is a 'greater loss of nutritive materials. Sour: In appearance should te of a pale'green colour, and should have a pleasart vinous aroma, pWitb. a slightly aoid flavour. Dairyrcen favour this class for milk produotion. lhe controlling faotors in making are aB follows: 1. The crop requires to be cut when full of succulence, and is more often produoed when just a little immature. 2. It roust be carted and siloed directly after cutting. \ 3. The silo must be filled rapidly and thoroughly tr&mped all over. 4. The temperature must be kept at from 90deg. Fanr., to 120deg. j Pahr., but the lower temperature is I most in favour. I To keep in the region of the j nineties,quiok filling and trampling must be resorted to, whilst above, from lOOdeg. to 120deg. Fahr., the filling may proceed each day. To lower temperature when filling the mass must be consolidated by trampling, and then add more silage. If,full, and the temperature is rising lay down some bagging, and put on a layer of earth or handy weighing material, allowing it tc remain. Sweet: In appearance should be of a nut to dark brown colour, and have a rich, fruity, somewhat alcoholic aroma. The controlling factors in making are as follows: 1. The orop must be out when succulent. 2. The process of filling mast go on gradually, sufficiently sq to allow temperature to rise. 3. The temperature may rise from 120deg. Fahr. to 150deg. Fahr. 4 Best results i. are obtained at temperatures ranging from 130deg. to ldOtfeg. Fahr.

"BABY BEEF."

The praotioe of bringing dairy oattle into profit; at too early an age —a praotioe, unfortunately, common in some; of our dairying districts—cannot be too strongly condemned; and yet it is difficult to see how the line is to be" drawn when dairying and beef-making are carried on together, says an exchange. The growing of "baby beef" is on ail fours with the production of early lamb, and it can scarcely be since the animals whose constitutions" are undermined by foroing are not used for breeding purposes, but go to the butchers as soon as the forcing has reached the right stage'. Unforvtuuately, however, there is so muob dual-purpose breeding in Australia that the dairy cow as often as not has her constitution undermined by being bred from before she is decently matured. .Referring more particularly, however, to the production of "baby beef," it must be remembered that the amount of feed required for a given gain is less iu than in old animals; hence the desirability, if beef is the object, of commencing to force at an early age. In many of the Western States of America this question has received careful consideration. Scrubs are left out of the question. Taking well-bred cattle, the practice now adopted is to bring iu the cows in theautumn.so that the oalves can be fed on skim milk and grain until the spring pastures are green, then tbey can be turned out with a daily grain ration. When the pasture runs out again in the autumn, tbe oalves are forced on hay and grain to tbe age of sixteen and seventeen months. In New Hampshire the total cost of bringing animals to good market oondition at that age i 3 set down at about £6. In Michigan the early-maturing i breeds, if pushed from the start, can be sold at best profit at twelve Colorado seven to ten months old animals are forced for six months on corn, oats, sugar beets, and hay. The experience of lowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota favours dairying and beef production hand in hand