FARMING OPERATIONS FOR JANUARY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 3, 4 January 1896, Page 3 (Supplement)

FARMING OPERATIONS FOR JANUARY.

jg looked upon as the hottest year, and as the closing daya TLember h»Tfl beeu exceptionally warm ■ nly natural to conclude that we will Teswpe without) experiencing eorae so. 9 d ry weather. At the samo time Tniißt' b6 kePb in mind thab is considerabla liability of heavy m sometimes almost tropical in L' character, which, wheie no profonsbave been taken, often do serious PL to nlie crops id course of baing I, ijted 'lne harvesting is now the •linal work od the majority of our farms Sffifor cropping. Wheat, it should be snembered, is better cub before the grain • tod rip".tbat ia< Jusb wllGn fche sfcraw Tdertbeearhae turned yellow, and wliou iks grain gives out no juice on being ,lead- The besb sam Ples of malting bar" W are those harvested when the crop haa Za allowed to reach maturity and) the MJnbaa thoroughly ripened, bub there is Litlerable risk when this course is Led of spoiling the sample which ,21 remit through a fall of rain. Csv should be harvested, even when , l(J ar e to bo threshed for grain, Wore the straw has lost all its greenness, unban allowed to mature a considerable wtity of Kram is Ehec*- Beans and I, should ateo be thatched before they fcicome too ripe. They should be quickly ws into the stack and thatched. This mfekaesa applies to all harvesting work. Mils there is work to do of this catore, no time should be lost) in competing it. No regular hours should be bat work should be Btarted early jo'tbe morning and not discontinued till tfcefehl) ban become too dim to permit) of aajmore being.done. The sheaves should [uitscted aasoon aa fairly dry. I believe I'm practice of threshing from the atook, titan all round, is a bad one, and ib is batter to stand the extra expense of stacking than chance the severe damage which jay happen to tho grain while in atook tkoogb'unfavourable weather. > In tha c*3e of oat stubblos a good plan is to skim, plough and add aome Dun oats wfaicb will give a good green crop for Hiatsrfeed. For the regular catch crops Each as winter vetches, Capo bar'.oy, TOtertye, or crimson clover, the stubble bd should be ploughed aboub 4 inches d«p, thoroughly harrowed, and the wed planted late in February or in JJsrcb. Crimson clover is a very profitable ksgecrop. Itabopld be harrowed in in February, or early in March, at the rats of SOib to the aero, and afterwards heavily rolled. The best; soils for crimson clover iresarm loams, nob too light. In showery weather a few soft turnips may ba ioi7D, and those farmers who have not Jo 4 gob in thoir Swedes should do so afc Inca. Maize may be sown broadcast fcragreen crop or for ensilage. The main toaizs crop should bo kept as clean as po3lible up till the ears are sot, when ifc should kalefs entirely alone till harvesting. The concensus of opinion is thab level cultivation snawera fae3b with maiz«. Potatoes may still be sown as a chauca crop, and the main Wop should be moulded up. Horses engaged in harvesting work Should bo well fed. Lambs should be ffeaaod when aboub three months old, find this month is a good time to begin. The lambs.after weaning should be nipped to Rebridof vermin, etc., and then turned in Rood pasture, while tho ewea aro pub on poor feed for n fortnigbb to dry up their milk supply quickly, fiheep should bo culled fitout this season, and the old and worthless enssremoved lor fattening or sale. Milch cows should nob bo allowod to get down in condition as the hob weather dries up the pastures, but should bo kapt up bj feeding green fodder, of which, if the advice of theso iotas during the past few months h;ive been followed, tliero will be an abundant smpply jus!) now.

Period of Gestatiox in Mares.—We ta'e it on tho authority of no les« dintinchon than Profoasor Brown, veterinary Mviaer to the Royal Agricultural Socioty, ■sst a mare served by a thoroughbred MKe will go longer with foal than one served by a 'cold-blooded boree,' and thai; a mare goes longer with a mule colb than (nth a horee colt. Whab this difference exactly amounts to has not, however, boon y«t_ sufficiently established. Tho average Period of geatation in the me.ro ia 340 %s. Recorded period a in 284 caeca Mentioned by Fleming in his ' Veterinary "batefcrica' give 307 for the shortest and ""for the longest period—a moan of 346 J»y«. In twenty-five cases noticed ab tho •™a at Pin in France, the shortest time £»' 323 days and the longest 367 *>ys, tho moan being 343 day?. Boauneuter states that tha period of pure-brad *e«ian mares was 28S days for mrtro foals. *M 343 for horse foals; is? pnrobr.ee} «aba there wore 337 and 339 days for Kmale and male coke respectively ; in wrioa m areß tho averaga period was 341 i kll'a ln halfbred English mares ib was •*>aJ days. The majority of foals are born "°m the 340 th to the 350 th day ; living Sin'" 6 ra™ly born from the 300 th to tho the t-?Z'J° ut freclu ently from the 350 th to livol-Iu ? ay- After tho lßttcr P eriod • 'veoirbhis rare. Ib has been generally nhn,* j . tha Per«od3 of gestation are eZv by the moro favourable physical 2 T PrQvai«fff '" high-bred utad^ the yd , k L ee PinX the vigour are of to W Mb cbar «ter. The period of the H»e mwj ay* 80mewhat lon Ker than fchab of

BUad! f 0F SICK Horses.-Bran StL W» Bdly for^o S b aa the food it wta^ enS Uy in ÜBe for tho invalid horßetion tk* atlve ' and i 8 eafiy of digestreatment, 8!! "no Parb of the general ■übSS rB unive»al than offering this horacT ß w 3 r uhan" e of food- Does a fever a° W 8ll? hb Bymptoms of cold or Tayof RhT • an maßh is a convenient Jnßth e S!!! g> and con sequently sootha'r pas a . mucous membranes of the n<"e stiinni^- l\™ a ■nbßtifcnlje for the digestWft y cpromoteß the activity of the »»«"i 2" rafcU6i ib i 8 alao a conm aediuiq for the giving of

certain simple remedies. When it is necessary to administer a purgative medicine, a bran mash or two renders tho bowels more susceptible of its action, and a smaller drug is therefore required to produce the do3ired effect). Bran mashea may be given hot or cold—cold are perhaps quite as grateful to the horse—but the nibbling of hob maeh in catarrhal affections ia particularly beneficial from the necessary inhalation of the steam. Of all the roots with which horses are tempted, the carrot, as a ruie, ia tho favourite and perhaps the iiiOßb boueficial. Ib is said to be somewhat diuretic in its effect, an d to excercise a salubrious influence upon the skin. Certain ib ia that a sick horse may on coaxed into eating carrots, when disinclined to partake of other nourishment, with the greatest beneficial results. For the. ailing horee carrots are moab valuable aa an article of dieb, and a few may be given with advantage to <i horee in a healthy condition. " Oatmeal ia extremely nutritious, and aa a food for tho convalescent horse is most valuable ; the bruising process the grain has undergone breaks tho husk and renders ifc more easily acted upon 6y the digestive organs. Ib is usually given in tho form of a gruel, and in thab form ib 13 ono of the most essential articles of diet for the horse infirmary. Linseed ia decidedly to be included in the sickdiet! roll. Ib is nutritious, and from ita olea ginous nature soothing to the frequently irritable mucous membrane of the alimentary canal, and hence ia particularly to be recommended in tho treatment of sore tbroabs. Nor ie its effect local only ; ibn more general influence is particularly observable in affections of the kidneys.