RURAL NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3115, 2 July 1892, Page 2 (Supplement)

RURAL NOTES.

Breeds ok Cattle. -t-Tlir difference be- ] tween a dairy breed of cattle and a beefproducing breed is neatly put by the Breeders' Gozette. You may take an Ayrshire and n Hereford cow, each has n perfect type of her breed, feed and treat thorn exactly the same. In six. months the Ayrshire will have given 50001b or 60001b of milk, turning every day everything you give her into milk, while the Hereford will be dried up completely and loaded with fat. The Hereford has, by the skill of man, been converted into "a miser who will hoard up everything she eats and keep it for herself, and only give it up with her life, while the Ayrshire, by the same skill, directed in another line, has been converted into a prodigal, retruing nothing for lu-rself, but freely pouring out her all for the daily blessing of her owner.

Common Sense inßrjcedino : Beekor Mn.K.— The following pithy remarks on the breeding of dairy cows were made by Governor Huare at the New York Farmer's Institute : " Breed for a purpose. Don't mix beef and milk together in the same hide ! The general purpose cow is a mith ! The foxhound will cross a bird's track 1000 times without notice ; but when he scents the fox-track he throw up Ilis head, and in tones clear and musical says, ' I've found it.' 'Found what?' Mr Foxhound. ' Found that for which I was bred.' So the bird dog. He crosses the fox-track 1000 times and pays no attention. When he scents the bird his nose and tail say, ' Iv'e found it—that for which I was bred. . There is not a schoolboy in all Onondaga County who can be eoaxed or hired to go hunting foxes or birds with a bulldog. But there are hundreds of ' daddies ' in the same county who go every day α-hunting for butter in a beef cow."

Land Cultivation.—The United States Government intends, so it is reported, at once to open 3,500,000 acres of laud in the Indian territory to settlers. Some of the agricultural newspapers speak of the movement as a mistake, and urge that the Government should keep these lands in possession " until they are needed." We are told that when one of the troubles which farmers have had to contend with has been competition with each other, the opening up. of new farming areas is not well advised. Neither do the papers which take this view regard with favour the big schemes of irrigation which are talked of. With such good crops as the Yankees had last year, and the relatively remunerative prices made of their produce, it seems strange to hear such complaints and objections In the United States there is thus a fear of too much land !>eing settled, whilst in England they are suggesting all sorts of wdys to get people to settle on the land. Small holdings are either a synonym for, or a stepping-stone to, peasant proprietorship, which is to work such a wonderful transformation in our country and for our countrymen. The dismal picture drawn by Mr Warburton, the British Vice* Consul at Lα Rochelle, of the agriculture of the Charante Inferieure. and the miserable position filled by, peasant proprietors, may be well studied. They are worse off than tenants, and are fast selling their small holdings to men with capital, which will result in farms becoming of a size more suited to modern practice. Can we in England expect to do better with petite culture than a nation which has followed it for generations ? is a question which agitators with a penchant for land settling might ponder with advantage. But the craze is on now, and it will be carried out, whether it be wise or not.

Potato Growing : Forty-two tons to the Acre.—lf there is any truch in the report furnished by Vice-Consul Wjirburton, of La Rochelle, France, regarding potato growing in that district (says the Leader), the growers of Koroii, Lancefield, Bungaree, and other noted potato producing localities are no longer justified in feeling proud of the yields they from time to time have obtained. Average crops of 10 tons per acre for entire districts and individual yields of 20 tons are authenticated; but these pale to insignificance when compared with the reeults chronicled by Vice-Consul Warbur~ ton. The system of cultivation adopted by a French farmer is said to have resulted in a crop of n» less than 42 tons per acre of tubers having been obtained. An official document purporting , to give par tieulars of such a phenomenal yield may fairly claim to be sensational. Nothing approaching such a return has, so far as we are aware, ever before been harvested, arid we hesitate to believe that any such crop has ever been grown ; nevertheless, the system followed, and to which such wonderful results are said to be due, is certainly worth trying , , if only as an experiment. The detail* furnished refer to deep and thorough tillage and the selection of sound seed tubers of moderate eize, which are planted whole. The novelty of the system, however, is in the treatment to which the seed tubers are subjected before being planted. A bath consisting of 61b of sulphate of ammonia, 61b of .nitrate of potash, and twenty-five irallons of water is prepared, and iu this the potatoes are steeped for twenty-four hours. When that time has elapsed they are taken out and left for another twentyfour bourn, to allow the germs to swell, and are then planted in the well prepared soil. To the treatment of the seed is mainly due the success in cultivation, the increased activity of germination produced by the stimulating bath being , the main factor in achieving the wonderful result referred to. Vice-Consul Warburton states that the same farmer has obtained very good roHiilts firpm treating grain, especially wheat, iri the same way, except that for-corn there should be added to the bath ljlb of sulphate of copper. Wo hope some farmers will be enterprising enough to tost the value of these statements and let us know the result. No harm can be done by trying, and as the ingredients mentioned are not costly, the experiment will not be expensive, and may add to our knowledge of how root and cereal crops should be cultivated.

Points in a Good Mutton Sheep.— In choosing a mutton sheep, either to feed or to breed feeding stock from, there are some principles that can be laid down which are true and applicable in almost al! cases. The easy feeder must be a thick-fleshed, compact sort; for daylight that shines under a sheep, hop;, or bullock can never be made into meat, and the possessor of long legs rarely makes a firstclass feeder. The ribs should be well sprung, so as to give a broad straight back from shoulder to hip, upon which good, high-pnced meat can be placed with judicious feeding. The hips should be carried out on a line with the back to the tail, keeping a good width all the way, and should be well filled at the thigh or twist, while the fore leg should be well filled with meat above the kaee. The shoulders must be full ami muscular. In short, the carcase must lie plump and full throughout the entire length. Constitution and healthy condition are allimportant, and are shown by a bright clear eye, one that is not yellow, bloodshot, not watery ; a sprightly, active step as the animal moves along ; a short thick neck that tapers gradually from shoulder to head, and is full and muscular on the top. so that the head is carried well up witb or above the top of the shoulders ; a wide, deep chest and heart, good girth, giving room for large lungs; and rich pipk skin, With all these points well developed, and a large abdomen to give plenty of room for the consumption and digestion of food, you have a sheep that with proper foods, fed at regular times and in a proper manner, will yield profitable returns to the feeder, and give satisfaction to the butcher and consumer. Rams and ewes that have been highly fed and "coddled" in yards or sheds should not be selected for breeding.—Melbourne Weekly Times.