Farm and Garden.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 411, 24 March 1904, Page 2

Farm and Garden.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES.

"FEEDING THE BACON HOG. •SECURING the winter period in the j\ra districts warm, well-venti-akafi lated sheds should be used for

shelter and feeding purposes. Summer feeding may be done on pasturepreferable on lucerne. The pigs will under these conditions, if fed a little grain daily, thrive well; so also they will on clover, rape and rye. When they are turned out on pasture, moveable pens should be used, which may be fastened on skids that can be readily moved from place to place. Beans produce a poik which farmers assert is soft and of inferior quality. Buckwheat should not. form more than one-fourth of the grain ration as it is too heating. Bye in itself is about equal in feeding value to barley, and has a favorable influence on the quality of the bacon. But rye, bran and pollard are prejudicial to obtaining the best quality of bacon. Too much sloppy food is objectionable. In some parts great stress is laid on having the feed just moist enough to run easily into the trough. Also in some parts barley is favoured above all other pig foods, the bacon resulting therefrom being very sweet and of high quality. Wheat has a feeding quality practically equal to corn as regard the amount of gain in live weight, and the bacon produced is of good quality, It is only, however, during a period of low prices for wheat that it can be economically and profitably used for feeding purposes. The value of pollard as a food for both young and older pigs is well known Pollard by itself has a tendency to produce soft and undesirable pork, thorefore should be fed in combination with peas, barley, corn or other grain If, however, skim-milk is fed in combination with the ration of which pollard forms a part, and in addition to that the hogs get plenty of exercise, the quality of the bacon will not be affected. Bacon from pigs fed exclusively on pollard and bran is darkish in colour, and contains a large proportion of lean meat. The choppy character of bran renders it unfit for young pigs, but it may be fed ■with good results to breeding stock, and to a limited extent to fattening swine Peas make an admirable adjunct to other grains, but they are best fed ground; but if the whole peas are soaked in water for bo me hours give fairly good results They should not ba fed alone, but in combination with barley, oats, corn or other grain. Oats are valuable for both growing and feeding swine, but should always be fed in connection with the grains .already mentioned. For young and growing pigs two-thirds oats and onethird corn or peas give excellent results. Corn should not form over half the ration at any time. Corn meal should always be soaked in water before feeding; it gives the best results when fed -in combination with oats, barley and skim-milk. Pigs will maintain their weight on pasture without making any appreciable gain if half a ration of grain is fed, the grain is utilised entirely in increasing weight;. A satisfactory pasture for swine must be short and tender—such as lucerne, rape, clover, &c.

ABOUT BLIGHT IN THE OECHaBD.

It is generally agreed that rapidly growing trees are more likely to be attacked by blight than slower growing trees. In general terms, conditions conducive to rapid growth in the apple and pear are conducive to blight. Heavy manuring and cultivation both induce a rapid growth, and the new rapidly growing tissues are the first attacked. Old bearing trees growing in sod land rarely suffer from twig blight. There is but little new growth on such trees. When one endeavours to obtain information on the extent of blight as affecting different varieties, usually very conflicting answers are received j and it seems doubtful if an? variety of apple is more susceptible to blight than any other. Neither can we learn if any particular variety is perfectly immune ; and the same is probably true concerning pears as well as apples. Any conditions that induce rapid growth afford conditions favorable to the blight bacteria. The remedies which are of most interest to fruitgrowers ao not afford much satisfaction. However, it is generally agreed that spraying is of no value in checking blight. The organism that causes the dig saga works wholly within the bark, in twig blight at least, and is therefore beyond the reach of sprays; if orchards are treated so as to induce an excessive growth, the trees are then more liable to be attacked by blight, while if only a normal growth occurs, they are less likely to be attacked. Certainly the disease may be checked by cutting cut the blighted twigs in summer, if cut back one or two feet below the visible point of inju y. The most valuable work cinsists in cutting out every blighted twig late in the autumn in order to remove any possible cases of hold over blight.