FARM & GARDEN NOTES

Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 357, 22 October 1898, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM & GARDEN NOTES

CiiKAff Dairy Utensils.—lt i* riot so easy as many people Ihir.k t> thoroughly cleanse vessels WMic.h have contained milk. A contributor to a contemporary recommends the addition of a little b rax to the rinsing water f«y h-ilf an ounce ot borax to a bucket of warm water—to be used after the vessels have been washed with cold water to remove the albuminous coating which the milk deposits on the vessels. There is nottiing that takes on impurities and odours so quickly as milk or butter, and tlvro is nn placi where there should bo such thorough cleanliness as about the dairy. Disease germs multiply wherever milk is skilled and allowed to dry. Tho borax sweetens and purifies pails and tubs as nothing else does and never darkens tinware.. A brush should be ti'pd !o thoroughly reach every part of the vess-i. It is also a great as-istance in the matter of scrupulously clean hands ami nails to wash th 9 hands in borax water, instead of using soap every time ; and even when soap is used put a little powdnvd borax in the water. The borax used thus may obviate the necessity for adding it in the obji dionabie form of boracic acid to the butter. t* I I Hereford Cattle in England.—At a time when Hereford cattle are being brought moio prominently to the front in New Zealand by the society formed by the owners of herds in this colony, it is interesting to note the position of the breed in England. At the annual general meeting, a few weeks ago, of the English Hereford Herd Book Society a very satisfactory account of the year's transactions was given, tho position and prospects of tho breed having made very marked improvement during that period. The balance-sheet showed surplus assets to the amount of £ll2l 10 6d, while the entries received for tho forthcoming Vol. 29 of the Herd Book numbors 639 bulls and 2735 cows, showing an increase of 135 bulls over the total in Vol, 28. But this is not all, nor are these the chief features upon which tho supporters of the weighty whit.efac?s are congratulating themselves The substantial revival in the export trade has given intense arid natural satisfaction. The extent to which foreign or colonial buyers have operated is shown by the fact that, during the year, 258 exportation certificates had been issued by the secretary. It is hoped the current year will show a still better and more extensive export business. t t t

Sheep-breeding.---The Bush Districts Farmers' Club's quarterly dinner was held at the Club Hotel. Wondville, recently, when Mr A. M'Hardy gave a short account of his experience with the breeding of sheep. The Romney-Lin-coin was the best cross he bad yet Btruck. He found that no aheep paid better than the Lincoln, but the breeder must have the country to suit that class of sheep. With him at Blackhead the Lincoln did splendidly until the rough grasses had come on his land, and then they fell away. He knew for certain that purebred Liucolns did not thrive well on rough grass, and the mothers were the best he had seen. He had tried the English Leicester cross, but the wool was too light, and he had gone back to the Romney-Lincolu cross, and was more than satisfied with the result. And with regard to the pasturage, when the paddock became foul it was necessary to keep cattle as cultivators, even if they did not show any actual return. It was difficult to tell the second cross back from tho Romney from pure Lincoln. He found that crossbred sheep eat up rough grass better than pure bred. The English .Leicester cross had not been profitable sheen to him. The last year he managed Blackhead, now ten years ago, he shore 57000 sheep, and the average was 101 b 7oz, but this included the lambs' wool.

Teeth and Age.—l. The mouth of the ox when full contains 32 teeth. Tho mouth of the newly-born calf presents an uncertain appearance, depending on the mother haviug exceeded or fallen short of the average period of uterogestation ; generally, however, two central incisors are protrudinj. At the close of the second week, a tooth will be added on either side, making four incisors. At the expiration of the third week the animal will have six temporary incisor or front teeth, while in a month the full number will have appeared. These are the temporary or milk teeth, which gradually waste away, and are absorbed in tho course of time. About a!little before that period, the milk teeth are pushed out or give way, and the two central permanent teeth appear. At three years old the baast will have four permanent incisors and four milk teeth, while at four years old there will be six incisors. At the commencement of the fifth year, the eight permament incisors will be up, but the corner on?s will 'be small, so that a beast cannot be said to be full-mouthed ; that is with all the incisors fully up, until it is six years old. From this time onward the age can only be guessed, and not decidedly affirmed, a great deal depending on the manner in which tho animal is fed. 2. The timo is somewhat uncertain, but generally at from 2 to 2h years old the points of the horns become smooth.

Diet and Working Horses.—The work which a farm horse can do lias something to do with the diet. In some experiments by Grandeau and Lcclerc, a horse walking 12$ miles a day was kept in condition with a daily ration of 19.41 b of hay, while a ration of 241 b of hay was insufficient when the same distance was done trotting. A horse walking the above distance and dragging a load (additional work, 1943 foot-tons) was sufficiently nourished by a ration of 26.41 b of hay, but a daily ration of 32.61 b —all that the horse would cat —was not enougu to maintain the horse's weight when the same work was done trotting. When the horse is trotting the frequency of the pulse, and consequcntiy the internal work performed by the heart, is much increased. The horse when trotting or galloping also lifts his own weight at cadi step but allows it to fall again, the result appearing only as heat. The temperature of the horse rises with exertion, and much heat is lost by the evaporation of water through the skin and lunge. The horse at rest evaporated 6.41 b of water per day ; when walking, 8.61 b; at work walking, 12.71 b; trotting, 13.4 ; at work trotting, 20.81 b. It follows, of course, that a horse requires more water at work. The Paris cabhorse on a mixed diet consumed 2.1 of water to 1 of dry matter when at rest, and 3.6 of water to I of dry when in the eab. When fed with hay only the proportion was 3.3 of water to 1 of dry at rest, and 4.3 of water to 1 of dry when with the cab. A diet of meadow or clover hay does not supply sufficient digestible matter for a full day's work, even at a walking pace, but the young grass of a good pasture is sufficiently nutritious for this purpose. Wolff found that lib of oats was capable of producing 778 foot-tons of work, and lib of maize 1007 foot-tons. Beans, though mote digestible than oats, did not appear to exceed them in value. The digestive matter of hay and straw is not equal to the disgestivo matter of corn in work-producing power. t t t

Rkarixg HEIKKJUS,—In the rearing of heifers for the dairy, says an Euglish authority, it is indispensable that they should he from stock of good dairying properties, especially on the sire's side, the farther back the better. She should be so treated as to develop a hardy constitution, and consequently should be kept, in good condition, but not pampered nor be too closely and warmly housed in winter. .She should have her fust calf when from 2 years 3 months to 2 years 6 months old, and for 3 months before calving, if in winter, and half that

time, if in summer, when grass is plentiful, should have an allowance of bruised corn or other artificial food, or the drain on her constitution in developing the calf will be too much for her to develop her milking capacity as well. In the case of a cow it is generally wise to let her run dry about six weeks before calving for Dhe benefit of the calf, and also a larger milk supply when the calf arrives ; but in the case of a fully developed cow, iu order to avoid milk fever, no forcing food should bo given ; and if grass be abundant, and she is in danger of becoming fat, turning her away into rougher pasture is advisable, No purgative medicine should be given either before or after calving unless there are symptoms that she is not well. As soon as the calf has sucked milk the cow should be milked as dry as possible, and the milk given her; give a bran mash, warm and very moist, keeping the cow in a house free from draughts ; the feed should lie much less iu quantity for about three days, for as the cow "is weakened by calving her digestive powers are weakened also, and .should not have too much work to do. It is best not to give purgative drenches, as first, there is likely to be a reaction to costiveuess; s eond, if the cow takes milk fever: for the drench which has been given is not strong enough to meet .the case, and would be likely to hinder the operation of a second dose. t' t t

Manures for Grass Lands Sir Bennett Lnwea and Sir S. H. Gilbert's famous experiments at Rothamsted, England, demonstrate that while nitrogenous manures, such as ammonium salts and nitrate of soda, are most beneficial to grarses, potash and phosphoric acid produce the most profitable crops of leguminous plants; that the application of any fertiliser, by increasing the luxuriance of' some individual plants, more or less reduces the total number of species ; that if artificial manures are largely or mainly relied upon certain descriptions of herbage will be unduly forced at tho expense of the others, and also that the character of development of the plants will be materially affected. In order to maintain a due admixture of herbage on grass land mown for hay, farmyard or stable manure should be liberally applied, aud it is also conducive to the same end to consume the second crop ou the land with cake or corn. The more a good condition of the herbage is induced and maintained by such means the more safely may some increased luxuriance, aud so increased produce, be obtained by the judicious use of artificial manure. Provided farmyard manure be liberally used it will not as a rule be necessary to apply potash iirtifically ; but phosphates may advantageously bo used such as basic slag and nitrogenous manures in the form of of nitrate soda, which, however, ahould seldom be used at the rate of more than 1 cwt,, or at the most lj cwt. per acre. Sir John B. Lawes recently stated that one of the very best artificial manures which could be applied to pasture land is 1 cwt. saltpetre mixed with 3cwt. of basic slag per acre, sown early in spring. At Rothamsted 500 lb. potassium sulphate, 1001 b. sodium und magnesium sulphates, 3£ cwt. superphosphates, 400 lb. ammonia salts, and 2001 b. cut wheat straw have been used yearly on meadowland which bas been laid down as pasture for several centuries, and on which no fresh seed has been sown for upwards of 40 years. Under these conditions these mixed manures produced of hay at the first cutting during the 25th year of using artificial manures, while pasture land that had during the same period remained untnanured gave a yield of only about 9£ cwt. per acre. It ought to be unnecessary to point out that a pasture cannot be expected to continue productive unless somo return is made to it to compensate for the continual drain caused by the production of meat, milk, etc. ; but the truth of this surely obvious fact is not yet recognised as it should bo by every farmer. Johnston, in his " Agricultural Chemistry," poiuts out that every 10 gallons of milk contains nearly Alb phosphate of lime, so that the cow giving 17 .quarts per diem removes 1-ilb of lime, which is equal to about alb of bonemeal. An impression prevails that the use of artificial manure on pasture land is exhausting both to the land and plants, but this only when one fertiliser, such as nitrate of soda, is used to excess, without corresponding proportions of phosphates, potash, and lime. From the single experiment mentioned above it must be clear to everyone that if Sir John, Bennett Lawes can fertilise meadow-land for 25 years with artificial manures only and can then get excellent crop?, there is not muoh danger of exhausting the land by the judicious use of properly mixed manures.