RURAL NOTES. A COLONIAL FARMER AT HOME.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1859, 5 June 1884, Page 4

RURAL NOTES. A COLONIAL FARMER AT HOME.

A \ alued coutiibutor sends the Witness the following extracts from n letter reieivcd from . i Now Zealand fanner, who is at present on a visit to the Old Country. The letter is dated Isle of Wight, March 26 : — By all accounts you seem to have' had a \ v ery wet summer in New Zealand ; bul if you had been for any length of time in this country you would be quite used to that sort of thing. We have had, how- ! ever, nothing to complain of in the weather lately, in fact we have had w hat the papers call a phenomenal winter — haven't seen the colour of snow, and only an occasional frost, all through the winter. The weather has been most unseasonably warm, and everything is weeks foi warder than usual, and if we don't get a check it will be a remarkably eaily spring. You will think that enough about the weather, but that topic absorbs a large proportion of the conveisation here when fnends meet. I am sony to say the meat trade has been in a very stagnant state for the last month or two ; but lately things have taken a slight turn for the better, according to the reports of the Smith field Maiket. No doubt yoii wonder what farmers can find to complain of in getting only 9d or lOd per lb for their meat, but they bought in their sloie stock last autumn at such a high pi ice that the present price of moat won't pay expenses. Very few farmcis in this pait biced a stock flock. They say it doesn't answer for vai ions leasons. They buy in ewes m the autumn to eat the loots, and sell the ewes and lambs' fat when they are gone, and buy in a fresh lot again the following autumn Last year they had to give £4 each for good ewes, and unless they can get Is per lb for the mutton they have no profit. If they could buy in the store stock at half the present pi ice and sell in the fame proportion, theie would be just the <=.\me room fo) profit, and not require such a large capital to begin with. The only places where they keep stock flocks is where they have cheap land to inn them on dining the £vmm r. It is quite out of the question to keep store sheep during summer on laud rented at £3 pT acre. They grow hay and graze cattle on the meadows. The corn market seems to be in a poor way. Coin has not boon s>o cheap before w ithin the memory of man, and no one seems to think it is likely to improve ; they can giow such overwhelmingly large quantities m America and send it here &o cheap that local glowers have no chance It compete with them. The repealing the malt tax has spoilt the bailey trade, for which the farmers cordially hate Gladstone. ENSILAGE. "Ensilage, its influence on British agiicultuie, "' was the subject of a lecture lately delivered at the lecture-hall of the South Kensington Museum by Mr Woods, who, I (Ot.ig.) Daily Times London corlespoiuhnt) understand, is one of the gicate&t English authorities on this feature of agricultural economy. The meeting was pi esided over by the Prince of Wales, aim included several noble lords and a numerous assembty of gentlemen intei e&ted in fodder. The subject really concerns everybody, for all flesh is gmss. After ionic lemarks on the increasing popnlaiity of this method of preserving food fur oat lie, Mr Woods went on to (loon) c tlif latest improvements in silopi acti c. The fii&t has reference to sluinkage. If the t>ilo be reopened to make good the loss of bulk w Inch results fiom the pressure, the sin face thus exposed to the air becomes deteriorated. To obviate this Mr Woods fixes over the silo pioper a deal box, without bottom or lid, and about 30in. deep. This is filled at the same time as the lower receptacle, and after the mass has been under pressuie for a week it is generally found to ha\ c settled dow n to the level of the silo, and the upper box can then be removed. By this simplecxpedient only one filling is rendeied necessary, and the whole capacity of the silo is utilised. The cover lecoiiiinended by Mr Woods consists of ciops tied boards in three divisions, and over that a layer of bran about sin. deep. As the bian does not come in contact with the grass it remains dry and loose, and may be given to cattle when removed fiom the silo. Sawdust does not answer so well as an air-excluder, for particles of it run thiongh the crevices of tiie barding and mix with the grass, rendering the latter less palatable. Among the improvements mentioned by Mr Woods is a redaction in the quantity of salt employed. He finds the best pioportion to be abont j!lt> to e\ery cwt of fodder. The pressure he applies is 701b to the square foot, the weight being obtained from boxes filled with stones, which are hoisted into place by a rope and pulley. Lever presses and similar machinery are not only more costly, but the pie&sure they exert is not so fa vo in able to the chemical processes which ought to take place in the material as when a dead weight is used. Ensilage is something more than preservation — it is a paitial digestion ; and this is best promoted by a gradual and continuous subsidence of the mass. In conclusion, the grass intended for ensilage should be caitcd in moist weather, then chopped vciy fine, and packed into the silo by means of cast-iron rammers weighing about 211b each. According to Mr Woods this process conveits the most worthless and unpalatable giass into excellent food for cattle. The Government veteriarian for New South Wales has, after personal visit and examination, pieparcd and presented a report of tuberculosis in rabbits in Tasmania. He confirms the statement made by the special correspondent of the Australasian as to the existence of tuberculosis in rabbits there, and he as cnbes the origin of the disease to " contamination by the products ef scrofulous inflammation, resulting from a chionic disease frequent amongst the cattle of Tasmania." There are abundant proofs of the direct hereditary transmission of this malady, which is doing good service in Tasmania as a rabbit exterminator. Great Britain, including the Channel Islands, possesses about 28,000,000 , sheep ; and the United States, 50,(;00,000; Australia and New Zealand boast between them of no less than 76,000,000 sheep. But this number, large as it is, must yield the place of honour to the 94,000,000 possessed by the River Plate provinces in South America. The growth of sheep in these provinces has been marvellous, and bids fair to increase at the same rapid rate. Enormous tracts of land still remain to be taken up, and big runs can be got very cheap. The climate is most suitable for sheep, for the plains rarely suffer fiom droughts. The following is an American method of feeding a co«v :—•• If you want a large yield of rich milk give your cows every day water slightly warmed and salted, in which bran has been stirred at the rate of one quart to t\\# gallons of water. By ' this daily practice the cow will give 52 ' per cent, more milk" immediately under' thp effect of it, and , she will become so attached td the flietf'aa to refuse to drink [ clear water. Minleas 'Very thirsty. I 'The amount of thisdrink necessaryiis an otdi- ', nary pailful at a time— morning, jiopn ' and night." ' ' ~ v> I