Farm and Garden

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 653, 9 December 1908, Page 2

Farm and Garden

• ■■'■■:■/■ - ' V ORIGINAL ARTICLES. '

(All Rights Reserved). . v

COWS FOR SMALL HOLDINGS.

The usefulness of the cow whilst alive depends entirely upon the qua' ity and quantity of the milk she gi ves. No matter how handsome appear ance an animal may be, she is worthless for dairy work if she furnishes only a small quantity of poor milk. A small hardy cow of the Kerry or Dex : ter breed may be kept upon a poor ex--posed pasture where one of the less hardy kinds would almost be starved to death. ; Given a good, pasturage and not too exposed a position, no cow will beat a Jersey, but when barren this breed are of very"; little use to feed for the butcher, because they carry but little flesh. The Ayrshire is a good milker and hardy, so also is the Polled Scot. The former is the deeper milker of the two i but on the other hand, the milk from the Scot is generally richer. Both ; these breeds; though larger in size than either, the; Kerry, Deiter, or Jersey, are quite hardy,' ancLwell worth a trial. The cow responds to o-ood treatment more perhaps than any other domestic animal for not Qnly does she respond quickly to good Seeding, but also to kind usage. A cow that is treated kindly Will milk much; better} and many cowsj even if, fed on the very best of food, will very quickly run off their milk if treated at all harshly. On an average four acres will be sufficient- to keep a couple of small cows (Dexters or Kerries), three of these to be grass and otte arable. If a start is made now, have one cow to calve early in May and the other in November.

RENOVATING OLD LAWNS. Old lawns should have some sort of dressing every spring or autumn, and there is nothing better for this purpose than some of the various artificial manures mixed with soil that has no seeds of weeds in it. Farmyard manure, although very valuable for many purposes,;'';ais the worst; dressini for lawns, as it invariably in numerable seeds of coarse grasses am weeds only waiting for favourable cot ditibns to germinate.* Only the ;--yer.y best grass seeds "should be sown, because many of the \cheap mixtures advertised and sold for lawns, are chiefly composed of common feeding grasses,' that are quite Unsuitable for a garden

lawn owing to the strong growth thrown up to them. In places where the grass has become sunken, the turf should be cut in the shape shown at I. in the illustration. Roll back, and then add soil so as to bring the grass up to its proper level, as shown at 11. re-lay the turf, and roll firmly. In the case of old lawns, it is a great mistake to allow the grass to remain uncut until quite late, as there is more or less growth made during the. winter in nearly all cases, and the earlier this is removed in the spring the better appearance the lawn will have. In the case of a large lawn, a bush harrowing will do good, for a small one, a thorough,sweeping with a birch-broom will answer. This will break up anil distribute the worm casts, and when the operation is completed the lawn should be thoroughly rolled.

STABLE FITTINGS. The fittings of the stable should never be wholly composed of wood, as this is clumsy in appearance, easily damaged, liable to infection, insanitary, and difficult to keep clean. The heel-posts or columns of stalls and loose-boxes should be of stout cast-iron from four inches to six inches in diameter, and not less than five-eighths to

three-quarters bf ah irich in otherwise they wi|l be fractured by a kick. ; No .sharp corners, mouldings, ;br Should be tbleratedior a moment an Shy stable-fitting, as serious accidents have resulted from such vagaries on the part of makers ignorant of stable

Every hard surface in a stable must be smooth and rounded off, even at the sacrifice of appearance. Doors of loose boxes should be provided with a safety latch which the horse cannot open himself, and which offers no projection open or shut against which he can hurt himself. Mangers should be fixed.about 3 feet 6 inches from floor, or slightly lower, according to height .of horse. The manger fitment should contain a water trough, and the'whole be made of galvanised or enamelled iron. Care must be taken that the edges of all openings are rounded and curled under, or a horse will cut or chafe himself. The. front edge of the manger plate must be carefully curved under or formed into a barrel for the same reason. In many cases it is a safe and neat v. xpedient to board in the front of the manger fitting, sloping- from under the curved -lip right back to the wall just above the floor. This prevents crib-biting, prevents a horse getting his bedding pushed under' the manger and prevents danger to the animal in rising from the ground.

CLEAN FARM SEEDS. While it is perfectly true that even good seed requires a good grower to secure the best results, it is equally true that "ho grower is able to produce a good crop from seed-, that is bad, dirty, or impure. It is rather difficult to say which point in connection with seed demands the greatest attention. Whether it is' in its germinating or in its being true' \6 variety, or in its evenness and or in its cleanliness. A great deal might be said on each of these points, and under special circumstances >each one might be in the individual; case the most important. But, apart.from this, in no case ought dirty and unclean seed to be used. In all cases when the ' magnifying glass shows that a sample of seed contains dirt and seeds of other plants, that seed ought to be rejected; On the seed depends, to a very great extent, all the labour and all the expense of the year. These may be entirely thrown away and, lost; if they are expended on worthless seed. In the case of clovers and grasses hot only may the crops be poor and unremunerative if grown from bad seed, but there is the additional danger of sowing, seeds of weeds, which not only

take up the place that should be occupied by •■ profitable plants, but which may, as in the case of dodder, for instance, become a growing parasite oh the fields which will take years of labour and great,expense to thoroughly remove.' The seed shown at i. in the sketch is a sample of fine, clean, well-harvested clover seed, such as will yield a good return. That fehown at 11. contains a few /good clover seeds mixed up with a good deal of rubbish and weed seeds, and is an example of what no man ought to purchase and sow.. ' v ''- ' '' ''■ ' ;i ' ;