FACTS FOR FARMERS. ON PULPING TURNIPS

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 163, 24 May 1873, Page 2

FACTS FOR FARMERS. ON PULPING TURNIPS

My answer to the question— ls pulping the best way of using turnips tor fattening cattle- I—is1 — is emphatically an nfftrinative—nt lea->t my experience lends nu> to hold this opinion, and I intend to id. k to the practice till I inert with a better, or till some one finds out a plan for dispensing with turnip culture altogether. Pulping commends itself to mo by two reasons— one a priori, and the other a posteriori— -in other words it ought to succeed, and it does succeed. My first argument i» based on the facts that cattle are, at temperatures perceptibly above the freezing point, inordinately fond of turnips, to the prejudice of all other kinds of food, and that this desire must be kept in check No one who makes turnips part of tho fare on winch he feeds cattle can gainsay me here ; for the evil HFects of too many roots mnke themselves manifest to the most casual observer. This being the case, the question arises, Low is tho consumption to b • checked, and the necessary supplementary amount ol" -olid matter supplied ? The most obvious method is to curtail the amount of roots given, and to make the animal satisfy himself with fodder — hay or straw — eaten either in its rough state or au nalurel, or "iteamed and flavoured with such condiments as may be found to tickle the palate and stimulate the appetite of the somewhat capricious gentlemen we have to deal with. And I have found that although beasts may be induced to partake of these mc^o, yet they always seem dissatisfied with such treatment, and aw nit with eagerness the next supply of sliced roots. I think that if we can avoid this, aud keep, so 'j speak, their minds at ease, we shall have gained a great point. If then, they are determined to have ti-impsnrd libitum, and wo are determined that they shall not be so indulged, the only way of solving the difficulty is bv resorting to a compromise, and arranging matters so that, while getting turnips at ever} inea', they shall not get too many. This is accomplished by passing the roots through a pulper (I use Bentall's) which reduces them into very Binall fragments, and then mixing them with chopped straw. The quantity of straw may be equal m bulk to that of turnips, bul 'tins must depend on the forwardne3S of tho animals, and on the amount of artificial food they are allowed. I ma> add, in passing, that unless intelligence and judgment are brought to the task, aided by constant and careful supervision, tho results will not be satisfactory. Into this mixture a little salt may bo put, and any concentrated f iod which the animals may be receiving, provided that they will not take it in any other way ; but, if they evince a preference for it separately there can be no harm, but rather good, m humouring them. I rai testify that cattle, with tory rare eveption*, neter refuse the mixture when not more than two dn\B old, and consequently not sour. They may be fed three tunes a day, but of course, that dopeivl*. on circumstances, any symptoms of a desire for a change being watched for and at once gratifie I When I aid that their troughs must be kept scrupulously clean, and that plenty of water must be supplied, I think that I havj indicated all tho leading points in practice. It only remains to givo the result of an experiment which I hate made on two animals. They sire steers of as nearly as possible the same ago, size, breeding, and coid.tiou. They were not far advanced, and therefore had good appetites. They were weighed on Not ember 9, and one of them, which then turned the scale nt Bewt 2qrs , or 68 stones, got 2701b sliced turnips per diem, along with a quantity ofhav, and was allowed besides 2lh of linseed cake and the same'quantity of cotton cake. On December 3, or nt tho expirj of three weeks and a half, he weighed 9cv>t. 111b, or 72 stones, showing a gain of 5 stones. The other animal weighed, on November 9, 8 c wt ,or fit stones, and received lk)lb of pulped turnips per diem, mucd with equal parts by measure of chopped oat straw, and same allowance of cakes b« his neighbour. By Decembi r 3 he had laid 6 stones additional, and then stood at 70 stones, orSewt 3qrs .haying gained one stone upon the other, with a consumption of lit tie more than half the food. I am sorry that I found it impossible Lo include in a trial a third similar animal, giving 1401b of sliced roots aud straw ad hint tun ; but from daily inspection of animals which are receding somewhat analogous treatment, I am satisfied that such a regimen would not have afforded results so satifactorv ns pulping As the expense would not be alike toant two turn, I hate sai 1 not lung about them —Mr Douglas in the Koi i/i Bntifh AflUculturist.

Thk Flea -When a flea, under a microscope, m made to appear nsUrgo rti an elephant, we can see all the wonderful parts of its iornmtion, and are astonished to find that it has a coat of armour niueh more co nplete than over warrior wore, and composed of strong, polished plntes, fitted over each other, ench plate lovered with a tortoise shell ; and whero they meet, hundred* of small quills project, like thoie on the back of a porcupine or hedgehog. There are the aichod neck, the bright eje<», the transparent cases, piercers to puncture the skin, a sucker to draw away the blood, wx lon:,' jointed leg*, four o which are folded on tho brenst, all ready in a moment to be thrown out with tremendous force for that jump which bothers ono when we want to catch him; and at llie end of each leg hooked claws, to enable > him to cling to w!uitt'\er lie lights upon. A flea tan jump .1 hundred tunes its own length, which is the same as if a man lumped lnv lvi 1 livil leet ; an 1 he can divuiM load wo hundred times his onn weight