FARM NOTES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13509, 26 August 1907, Page 2

FARM NOTES.

- j 1 r-r-* — '}' : - It is : thought the leoture, which should have been delivered at Tikorapgi last week under; the auspjces.of the Agricultural Society ,wiU .have to be postr poned indefinitely,' owing' 'to ' Captaiii Young being* at present unable .to place 1 his services at the disposal of the Sobriety. At a 'meeting of ,the, Taranaki Agricultural Society on Saturday it was deci4^.^o carry put^a number of experiments in supplying winter; feed for. dairy cows. Experimental plots are to be laid down at Bell Block., The Agricultural Department has. been asked, f or < advice as to what seeds are considered most suitable for this district, in view of the experiments already carried out- at the State farms, course will Jsave the Society a great d^al bf valuable time, and also keep down the initial expenses. In his address at, Egmont Village under the auspices of the Agricultural Society, Captain Young told his hearers that in his opinion farmers would have to substitute for the present motto of "Faith, Hope, and. .Charity// that of " Cultivation, Separation^ and Refriger; ation." He pointed I 'out that Taranaki was now carrying 120,000 dairy cows, whilst the land .was - really., of carrying 240,000. The Society hoped through, its efforts to educate the farmer in the matter of providing winter feed, in which direction }h,e was ptea&ed te say there, was already"; a' vast improvement. Captain Young also impressed upon his hearers the importance, of conducting tb,eir, farms on the niost up^to-date lines. The price of land at the present time was high, and it. was therefore imperative that, they should go in *for a higher class of farming in order; to make it pay. This could be done. Tbjpre were thousands of acres of land going to waste which should be. utilised — gullies, for instance, wjiicji' .w.ere found on :\al-[ most every farm. ~ These could be mide to bear, feed ,of v . some sort, ox perhaps suitable shelter, which during the winter months was in itself equivalent tjb a large amount of feed. \ „ Dealing with stock the lecturer sfeid farmers would require a greater knowledge of animals- than .they, had hitheprto had. It was an undoubted fact that the more highly animals Were developed, the more sensitive they. became and the more liable to disease. ' This was especially the»<jwsewit>h milking cewa^lf one got a high milker the chancesjwere this brie organ KadHbeen developed at the expense of others. , r . _i . , v -, An. amusing case occupied the attention of Judge Brady, aij Belfast, foVtlie best part of the day recently. Charles Hamilton, a Fermanagh man*; explained that he went to the fair at Fivemiletown fancying, that he knew something about cattle-dealing, $nd v under tjfaf impressipn purchased a cow from a man named Furiston. The cow was examined by Hamilton, wjio tested everything' except, the tail, which on the following day appeared to his eyes to have suddenly developed a corkscrew twist. On closer examination he discovered that the greater part of the tail was artificial, and was merely secured to the stump of a tail by pitch and fine cord. Amidst loud laughter Hamilton produced from his poqket a paper parcel, and took therefrom the fictitious tail which he had found attached to his purchase with tar, and which was the cause of the action. The defence was that the cow was sold as bought on the previous day, and the action was dismissed. Pigs are not generally noted as cleaners. However, there was a very dirty paddock in Parramatta district (IS .S.W.) — dirty with^a troublesome weed called onion grass. Some pigs were put on it, and (according to the Sydney Herald) they soon cleaned it thoroughly. Strangely enough, while the Weeds induced gripes in horses and scours in

young heifers, the pigs thrived on it and put on weight. Private information has been received that Mr. E. Short, the well-known Romney breeder of Feilding district, who is at present in England, has purchased fifteen of what he considers are the best Romney rams in England. Included in them are the leading prize-winners at ,the Royal Show. It is expected that they will reach the colony in time to be out of quarantine for the Palmerston North «how.