FACTS FOR FARMERS.

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 140, 1 April 1873, Page 2

FACTS FOR FARMERS.

Fowls that eat their feathers need ani nal fooa ; they should have trah liver given them to peck at, which they would find more satisfactory diet than feathers. If livers cannot be procured, butMicrVjotial' or any fresh' meat would do as a substitute, but thesbftueas of the liver makes it very agreeable to them Thoj should »!»o be furnished with a drink made by dissolving «. piece of copperas as large as a white bean in a quart of" water. Many persons are greatly nrtioyed by the roof of their house* leaking wound the chimney. The best cement wo know of- for such purpose is made of one pound of rosin, ono pound of Venetian-red, by melting together, (or pure clay ground to a fine powder will da instead of the Venetianred,) with sufficient raw linseed od to reduce it to such a consistence that it will not crack when cold. The materials should be mixed and applied a1?a 1 ? stiffly 'as possible, while hot, with a paint brush, and two or three coats be given, the cement being worked well into the cracks and crevices. Bon<\s may be reduced to a pulverulent 6tate but not dissolved m unleashed wood-ashes and lime-. The n«hcs and bones should be placed in a box or cask in layers — the bones flrouM be reduced more quickly if they wero first broken — a little fre^h lime may also bo "mixed with the bbnea ; when tho box is full water should be poured on until the ashes are moist, they should not be so wet that utij water leaks from them. If kept in this way for two or three months, the bones will bo easily bi€kcn {to powder with the buck of a shorel. By all means every bone that can bo procured should be used in this way, if possible. They are the most valuable fertilizers for a field or garden that cSn bo procured. A correspondent su\3, the hair of some of some of his cattle comes off <n places ; these places are sore and hive scabs that aro white and crusty. " What 13 it, and what will cure it?" This is ringworm, a disease to which cattle are subjected, and which is not only communicated onej^o [ another, but also to horses and human beings. The proper . treatment is to separate all diseased animals, to wash the parts with enrbolic soap and water, and to paint them over with a solution of nitrate of silver or chloride of zinc The places where diseased cattlo have rubbed themselves should be washed with hot lime wasli. or carbolic soapsuds, as healthy cattle nibbing in the eauie places will acquire tho disease It is supposed to bo a parasitic fungoid growth wlrich spreads by spores or germ. The Bbston Journil of Chtmhlry gives an account of tho IO3S of milk on account of the cows being allowed to stand m water during hot weather. Dairymen who have streams, or any considerable body of water connected with their pastures, will have observed that cuttle, during hot weather, are very fond of taking their daily bath, so to speak. They will not unfrequently otand for a considerable time in the water. It seems the influence of water is to check the flow of milk : " During the past summer, in tho hot days of July and Augu3t, the animals resorted to lakes to drink, and, after slaking their tlnr3t, they "would wade in the water and remain sometimes for an hour or two with their U-gs half immersed. This habit, it wa9 found, invariably diminished (he flow of milk at night, and in order to learn the extent of the '.diminution observations two made, it was ascertained that »tanding in the water an hour diminished the flow to tho amount of eight or ten quarts m a herd of thirteen cows. The loss was so great that whenever they resorted to water they were driven to # pasture again at onco." We presurao there are few dairymen who are aware of tho facts above stated ; _ indeed, the habit of noting the diminishing flow of milk and tracing it to its true cause is too gonerally neglected. There- arc many circumstaneos influencing the flow of milk which ought to be more generally known and made the basis of practical management. It is surprising how much more milk may bo obtained from cows by the observance of littlo things tM respects treatment, such as the avoidan^o of all worry or excitment, proper shelter during cold storms, habits of kindness to animate, regular hours, and manner of milking — not to mention feed, and good water to slake tho thirst, which of course are more generally recognised by every one who is familiar with the handling of dairy stock. "Wo have learned," says the writer previously quoted, "that from simply turning the herd into the yard upon a cold day in winter and allowing them to remain fifteen minutes, the flow of milk was diminished to a serious extent, and consequently the animals were not allowed to leave tho warm stable during the entire winter, except for a brier period on warm, sunshiny days. The nature of the water supply and the convenience of access are most important points m the management of milch cows. A draught of ice-cold water taken by n, cow in winter cuts short tho supply of railk from ono to two pints." Mr Jamieson, of New Hampshire, a few years ago, made some direct experiments during winter in slightly warming the water for his cows in milk, and comparing their jirld with the quantity of milk when the cows were allowed to drink cold water from a trough in the yard. The flow of milk was so decidedly in favour of warm drink that he advocated tho plnn as moro than paying for tho labour, &.c. Probably thero arc not many who would caro to take the trouble of warming all tho water for the supply of a, large herd m cold weather, but the facts aro nevertheless important. If it has been found that cows will give moro milk in cold woather by warming their water artificially, dai^yinon might tako the hint that it would pay to lay water into their cow homes rendered several degrees warmer than cold water with which they are usually supplied in winter.