AGRICULTURAL CLUB

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 12821, 16 August 1939, Page 2

AGRICULTURAL CLUB

CALF REARING (Contributed) Feeding Separated Milk. —In the feeding of young stock .there are three main conditions to be obsei'Ved: (1) The food supplied must contain sufficient protein or flesh forming materials and also minerals foi growth; (2) It must be easily digested and palatable (tasty), with no fibrous material for at least one month from birth; (3 1 ) It must contain sufficient nourishment without being too bulky.

' Change of Diet: —It is recognised in sound feeding that sudden changes of diet are harmful. The change over from whole to separated milk must be made gradually, the time taken being about a fortnight. It may be made more quickly but betresults follow a longer period. During the change over, replace one pint of whole milk with one pint of skim milk daily, until the only difference in the food value of separated milk and whole milk lies in the loss of butter-fat, which must be replaced by some other food.

Supplementary Feeding:—ln order to make up for this loss of butterfat the calf when it is at least a month old may be given cereal grains or meals which are the cheapest materials for this purpose. They should not be used before this stage as the, calf cannot successfully digest them until its cud develops. Watch for your calf to start chewing its cud! Of the grains, whole oats or crushed maize give good results. With these, commence feeding gradually starting with 2oz. daily, and working up to | to Jib in ten to fourteen days. Thereafter, increase the amount until at about twelve weeks old the ration is i to lib daily. Aim to reach a maximum of lilb at weaning. To feed, place in the bucket when the calf has nearly completed its milk. Then after a day or two, di'op a small quantity of dry meal into the bucket as the calf is finishing. Many farmers prefer to use meal mixtures to whole grain so next week the use of these will be discussed. HOME GARDENS

(By C. Cameron.) Those of you who have not prepared your plot should attend to this as soon as possible. Get your soil turned up and exposed to the weather, and stir it up at every opportunity; this is one of the finest methods of increasing the fertility of the soil. Whilst the very unfavourable weather conditions continue, it is not advisable to commence any planting or sowing; much more can be gained by working the soil and getting it thoroughly prepared, ‘ Before commencing our seed sowing it will be as well to have a look and see what takes place in the germination of a seed, so that we shall the better understand how to handle these fragile vessels.

All true seeds contain the living germ- of the^ future plant, knd sufficient food to sustain; the little plant in its early stages. The bulk of the seed is food. When the seed is subjected to the requisite conditions of heat, moisture, and oxygen, it s\yells and bursts its skin or shell. The little plant then protrudes and sends roots downwards, and when these have got sufficient hold to sustain the young plant, it begins to push its way upwards, usually carrying the food store up with it in the form of food-leaves, which not only supply nourishment themselves, but gather a further supply from the atmosphere.

It need hardly be that germination can only take place in the case of living seeds placed under the required conditions. vary greatly in germinating quality. In some the germ, may be dead, and germination therefore impossible, while in others the food-supply may be so small and badly matured, that although germination may take place, the young plant is starved and stunted in its growth.

In nature, seeds are sown as soon as they are ripe by falling to the ground, -and while some germinate almost at once, others may take months or years before germination actually takes place. Although many seeds, if carefully stored, retain their vitality for years, they lose in vigour, and the produce of old seed is generally less robust than that resulting from fresh seed. If the needful conditions be ensured, the sowing of sound seed will result in a succesfui yield of plantlets.