Agricultural column

Bruce Herald, Volume VI, Issue 304, 23 February 1870, Page 6

Agricultural column

OSTRICH FARMING. The letter addressed by Mr Samuel Wilson to the secretary of the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria, and published in the ' Argus * of Wednesday, December 15, shows that ostrich farming is now a success in this colony, and that this valuable bird is established amongst us. The first ostriches imported into "Victoria were shipped from the Cape of Good Hope by Captaia Layard, on behalf of the Acclimatisation Society, but oa the passage the male bird died, and only one female reached Hobson's Bay. Dr Thomas Black, president of the Society, at whose instigation this attempt had been made, urged the council to try another importation, and four more birds reached Melbourne in safety. They were at first located at the Royal-park, and for some considerable time attracted much attention, principally from the young street Arabs who visit the gardens, and who, under the fallacious pretext ot giving them some biscuit to eat, plucked their feathers. This reason, as well as the complete want of increase amongst them, decided the council of the Acclimatisation Society to send the ostriches to Mr S. Wilson's sta tion in the Wimmera district, where they have been kept since, and with what success we have learned a few days ago. That the birds were young when the landed we have sufficient evidence from the size of the feathers gathered from them, and al?o irom the fact ot their having laid this year lor the first time ; but nevertheless some of the feathers of last year's crop, sold by auction in Melbourne, realised as high as 16s. apiece. On the other side, the hatching of the 12 young ones this season proves beyond doubt that the climate of Victoria is suited for the keeping of these birds. There is no doubt but ostrich farming is a new industry which will repay largely the enterprising settler, and at very little outlay. This bird will thrive in sandy localities and dense scrubs, where no sheep could be kept It requires little or no water, and very little supervision, if any. If taken up when young, they can be made very tame and this is a great advantage when the feather-plucking season comes round, as they allow you to select from their back whichever " marabous " appear the most valuable. In Algeria, where ostrich-farm-ing is very extensively carried on, ostriches are kept in paddocks of about 20 acres. A paddock of that size could carry only 10 birds, viz. two acres to the bird. The land is generally selected of a sandy nature, with patches of thick scrub, where the ostriches delight to take shelter during the night or in bad weather. This cover is always kept trimmed up to a height of about^ ft. 6 in. to 4 ft. to prevent the bird from destroying its feathers. It has been proved by experience that the feather grown on black soil will always be ef an interior quality and color, the flossy tissue being injured by it, and the pure white color being tarnished without recall. During the summer months, when the grass is dried up by the sun, the ostrich will keep in good condition upon grain. They are very fond of Indian corn, and particularly of buck wheat. The rearing of the young birds is no trouble to the farmer j indeed, his interference would be sure destruction to the expected brood, as the ostrich will pick her eggs, and break all those which may have been touched by any body else but herself or mate. The incubation lasts six weeks, during which period the female and male sit on the eggs alternatively. The ostriches do couple, and the male will allow nobody near his mate when on the ! nest ; in fact, it is dangerous for a man to approach it unless on horseback, as the birds are very savage when the female has begun to lay. It is only after three years that the tail feathers are fully developed and fit for the market. Those are the most valuable, and command a very high price. The wing feathers drop every season, if not plucked in time, but their value is much less. It is computed that a paddock of 10 birds will bring ia a yearly income of L2O. This is certainly a branch of farming which ought to attract the attention of the Victorian settler.— ' Australasian.'

A correspondent of the ' Gipps Land Mercury' writes :— " Many of the cropf at Upper Maffra have turned out less favorably than was anticipated, chiefly caused by caterpillars that have infested tho neighborhood during the last two months or more. They might .have been seen for many square miles around—particularly in the morn — in myriads. Indeed it may be said that not a foot of ground was free from their incursions, nor have the dwellings escaped their encroachments. Numbers of harvest men have— by hold^ ing out for an exhorbitant rate of wages, unable to be paid by farmers — not only injured themselves in a pecuniary point, but also the proprietors of farms. The laborer, by travelling from place to place, has lost much time — consequently work, and impeded the progress of the farm operations, in preventing the crops being gathered with sufficient and necessary speed." The advisability of encouraging the growth of hardy trees and shrubs suitable to the colony, was stropgly urged by Mr Morton at the meeting of the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society on Saturday, says the 'Star.' Mr Morton was of opinion that the growing of barley, oats, and wheat should not monopolise the attention of the farmers, and urged that, besides offering prizes for hardy trees and shrubs, the society should encourage the growth of apples and the making of cider, by placing prizes for these articles in the list. The suggestions were acted upon. The ' Ly ttelton Times ' says : — From first to last, from seed time to harvest, with scarcely a single day's exception, the weather could not have been more favorable if the farmers had had the making of it themselves. The year, whose fruits are now being gathered, has indeed been one of exceptional abundance. So bountiful has nature been, that it is almost impossible to find a lean beast in the country. Indeed, fat cattle are described in the cant phraseology of the market as " quite a drug." And the same rule holds good with regard to other farm products. There has never been such a season for dairy produce, and everyone allows that the grain crops are universally abundant. A good deal of grain has been carted without being stooked, and the thrashing machines Lave in many cases been set to work as soon as reaping has been completed. With the exception of a passing but severe storm which visited a very limited area, there has been no rain siuce the commencement of the harvest. This has been especially fortunate, as the crops have been exceptionally heavy and labor unusually scares. The warm dry weather has also helped to check the spread of rust, and enabled the grain to be gathered in a condition fit for immediate use. As nearly' all the crops have now been cut, and the greater part safely carried, it is not premature on our part to record the pleasurable fact and express the gratitude which will be universally felt for so great a public benefit. A vast number of cattle are reported by the • Geelong Advertiser ' as dying in the neighborhood of Oanaperdown of pleuropneumonia. Mr Selby. of the Sportsman's Arms, Mackinnon's Bridge, stated to the councillors atrhe council meeting recently, that upwards of 40 dead cattle were lying in a paddock convenient to his hotel, and that they were becoming a perfect pest to him. In the vicinity of Cobden also, a number have died lately. It is said that the disease was brought to this neighbjrhood among a mob of store cattle lately brought there. Many of the farmers on the Bet Bet, says the j* Maryborough Advertiser,' have been sadly disappointed with regard to their wheat crop. The thrashing machines have not visited the fawners yet, but the stripper has told a sad tale. Those who were certain of 25 bushels to the acre, had only 15 ; and many who thought 20 would be the least, have had but 11. Altogether the future bodes anything but prosperity to the small agriculturist. A considerable quantity of wheat was lost by the storm succeeding the hot days last week. Flesh as Food for Hens. — Almost every writer on poultry, says a correspondent of an Americau contemporary, recommends the use of flesh as an article of food for fowls. It is said to make them lay, and if there is anything in the facts that hens require a very lar#e amount of nitrogen for the manufacture of eggs, and that flesh is peculiarly rich in nitrogen, there ought to be some ground for the popular belief. For ourselves we have been in the habit of using flesh freely as an article of food for fowls. We always cook it, and have never found any bad effects from it. The other day, however, we were assured by a gentleman who is very successful with his fowls that meat tends to make them broody. Have any of our readers ever observed this effect to result from feeding flesh to fowls ? If this supposition is well founded, then it will be necessary to abandon the use of flesh during thespringand summer months. During fall and winter, however, there can be no objection to giving fowls liberal supplies of flesh. If we do not give fowls flesh, they ought to have such grains as are peculiarly rich in nitrogen. Perhaps the cheapest nitrogenous food is vheat screenings or bran. Bran contains 14 per cent, of nitrogenous matter; wheat, 13 per cent. ; millet 14£ per cent; buckr wheat, 9 per cent. ; corn, 10 per cent. An excellent article of food is prepared by making a thin mash or gruel of corn or buckwheat flour and thickening it with wheat Iran. Fowls eat it greedily, and thrive on it. The most nitrogenous of all grains is the lupine, which contains 34 per cent, of albuminoids. Has anyone ever cultivated them or tried them as food foe fowls ? We propose to try them on a small scale this season. — ( Irish Farmer's Gazette.