AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Bush Advocate, Volume V, Issue 354, 16 August 1890, Page 11

AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

The secrets of large yields always and everywhere are rich soil, good seed, and thorough tillage. The farm may not yield big profits, but is there any other calling so sore to give a man a living ? Give yourf arm creditf orfTirnishingyou a home rent free and for a thousand and one necessaries and luxuries which you would have to pay cash for in a city. [ I Running a dairy without* thermometer ia as inconvenient as running a household without a timepiece. The good workman must have good implements to produce the beat results. A few shillings invested in paint will not only add to the attractiveness of the farm, but will save wear and tear. Nothing is so economical as paint ; it ornaments and preserves the buildings. An inherently lazy man has no use for a small farm. More than anything else it demands a "man of affairs," eager to try, quiokto learn and with a knack for all kinds of work. Muscle alone will not accomplish the desired ends. There is a patriotic charm? a lOßtering and admiring our native blessings. Trees planted about the home and on the farm give a person a better standing in the community. They show energy and thrift. Their absence indicates narrow mindedness and a lack of progression. As with man, so with the do esticated animals ; fully 75 per cent, of the diseases usually met with are the consequence of neglect. If this be true, then seventy-five persons out of 100 who are sick owe it to their own carelessness, and the same number of animals to their owners' want of care. s food for thought. S The fruit-grower who uniformly grows the I best fruits is the man who can successfully develop a home market for the same. Good fruit never goes begging for a market. It is saleable anywhere. On the other hand, it is the great quantity of poor fruit in every market that makes a glut, and often makes low prices even for the best. It is a remarkable fact that a farmer who produces an unusually large or profitable crop, or one that has been unusually successful, you will - find has commenced farming on a small farm, and increased its size as his means increased, and only aa he could give the same care and attention to the additional acres that he formerly gave to the original. Small farms, as a rule, pay better than large ones. It is the farmer who sayß the garden doee notpay, who never knows the happiness to be derived from a good one. He is content to live on old withered vegetables and beef or mutton. A man may be known by his diet. One who eats too much meat, is apt to partake largely of the animal make up. A well* kept garden ia the best paying investment on the farm. A little care for the ground and some judgment exercised in selecting and planting seeds will ensure to any farmer a good garden, and bring joy and gladness to the whole family. Trees properly set along the highway are an ornament, and add to the beauty of the country and the value of farms. They should not be so thick as to prevent mud drying ; but set a few rods apart they will. not., in any way, be objectionable on this account, and their shade will be appreciated by the summer traveller. Trees, evergreen^ set far enough away from a dwelling not to darken the light, will temper the winds and cause lees fuel to be required for heating. Plant evergreens. They give a cheer to winter. Now is the time to plant, and don't forget it. There is a constant outgo of money used in conducting a farm, part of it for labour and household expenses. Unless there is something to be sold every week, bills will run up, and it will be hard to balance the account at the •«nd of the year. It is a wise forethought to diversify farm pursuits at least far enough to provide for these smaller expenses without drawing on the main crops. A supply of butter and eggs will often buy the family groceries right through the year. Besides, these there should be summer fruits and vegetables, the surplus of what is needed for home use. If farmers marketed more of such products, city men would have a better idea of the profit of fanning than from marketing only green crops. Things generally are in a very disagreeable condition at Bourke, A visitor to fiat place describes the surroundings as being of a wretched character, the streets being almost impassable and the houses in such a condition as t# be almost uninhabitable. Bridle tracks are th&. rule in the streets and there is just the one beaten way for vehicles and another for pedestrians. Stock movements about there are both difficult and expensixe, and as regards sheep can only be effected by means of pets, which have to be employed at a large expense. The river is reported to be rising at nearly all stations above the town. Tho lambing there has been a most successful one, and^wifi go a long way towards recouping for* tho great losses which occurred during the recent disastrous flood. It is surprising how much there is about the nature and management of cattle which, with all our supposed knowledge, we really do not underl Btand at all, or at best imperfectly. Every fre3h investigation and experiment brings to light some new facts bearing on these important matters which had previously not been taken into calculation, showing how much farmers and cattle-growers have to gain by more cloae study and observation of the habits and performances I of the animals under their charge, and how greatly the profits of their business may be modified by the degree to which these details are understood. This is very forcibly illustrated by some observations of Mr. Thornton, the wellknown English auctioneer and live-stock writer, on the milk record of the Audley End herd of 1 Jerseys, which has been kept with great care and detail for the past eight years. This record, which has been published in complete form by the Breeders' Gazette, shows that although a cowmay givo an indifferent yield one year she is not necessarily a bad producer. An instance is given of one cow which gave 3,603 quarts one seagon, fell off to 2,589 quarts the next spason, increased again to 3,009 quarts the next season, fell off to 1,409 the next, and the following four seasons scored a record respectively of 2,694, 2,451, 3,195, and 3,134 quarts. Anothor cow varied from 1,242 quarts to 3,262 quarts, and still another from 1,372 to 3,642 quarts. The causes which led to thoso extraordinary variations cannot be even surmised from what appears in Mr. Thornton's communication, but the bare facts, as stated, indicate that there are subtle influences operating which it will be profitable for tho dairyman to understand, if he can possibly make them out, since it is more than probable if he understood them and their causes he might bo able to counteract their effects. It is likewise undoubtodly true that similar influences operate at times hi controlling the gains made by animals being fed for beef, as is 6hown by the sometimes surprising variations in weights in animals which are tested by the 6calea while the feeding operations are m progress. Evidently tho feeder, as well as the dairyman, has much to gain by studying closely the nature of his animals. In tho same connection we may state that these records also show that heifers that milk heavily after their first calf arc likely to fall off very considerably after their second, and to regain it after their third. A number of instances to tin's effect are given, showing a wide variation. On the other hand, those which begin with a moderate yield generally settle down into good regular milkers aftorward. The importance of keeping a comploto record of the performance of cows cannot bo over-estimated by thoso who regard themselves as engaged in a regular business, Many valuable facts and suggestions will result from tho keeping oi' such a record.