FARM AND DAIRY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXII, Issue LXII, 17 May 1912, Page 2

FARM AND DAIRY.

ft A djiiry Sp)rth||ri, Ea|l6tho&e An|y "Stti, c^vend jby ; S/£SandyV of Isriglaf^ctj gaVj^J 6e»lb milk iv one day, 568^16 in^lie weefe^ and from OStobei- '% 1918- to September 30, 1911, produced 13,£39i1b or. milk. She calved on July 23, .1911, anu* was dry 44 days. The high price of butter has caused ft great increase ill the i§ale of oleomargarine in Europe and America.- - A man who endeavors to run a dairy farm by hand-milking in the present condition of labor should have his head read: This is the opinion of a leading dairyman. . , The advantages claimed for ber method of milk testing over the Babcock are rapidity, a clearer fat column, and a more accurate test, especially of "separated milks arid bivfrberrnilks. A: great argument for the home-sep-arator ' "was the fact that the careful stockbreeder cpuld better prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Mr G. A. Britnell, an Australian, has found that the dairy cows will yield higher retiuvns when fed on either green or" dried lucerne than on any other fodder "he: has tried. In proof of th,is his cream cheques alford eloquent testimony. . » After pulling and topping, mangels should be carted and. stacked, overarpund, in a place accessible to the homestead. The stack should be formed pyramidically, and covered with a layer of straw (,-uheaten for choice), or, in its absence, rushes, about four to six 'inches thick. From nine to twelve inches of earth should be placed on top of this. Preserved in this manner the roots will keep good for months. Before feeding they should be cleaned by removing the fibrous rootlets and .the divt which adheres to them with a large knife, or a specially sharp steel instru7nent made for the purpose. After a thorough cleansing in this manner the pulping machine completes the preparation for feeding to the dairy cattle.Although cows in milk will put on condition when fed solely on mangels, they are little good by themselves in either maintaining or increasing the flow. They must be supplemented by some nitrogenous food to give the best results. When mixed with" oaten chaff/ rich in grain, which has been previously steamed, they form a palatable and sufficing ration. The great advantage from a dairyman's standpoint of having a supply of .roots ;on hand is that, Avhen a shortage of oaten hay ocurs, they will serve the purpose of making it go further. Where a silo is in use.the necessity of growing such a crop as mangels would not arise, but. ■unfortunately there are still a large number of dairy farmers not seized of the manifold advantages of silage. The "feel" of the hide and coat in dairy cattle is of great importance. The hide of a good milker should be thin, elastic, aud loose, also soft and pliable to the touch. The coat should have plenty of soft hair. The Jersey herd at Tring Park (Lord RothschikTs) have an average of fi,7741b of milk for the 19 cows which were in the herd during the year. There were 74 animals in the Shorthorn herd, and the average was 6,0581b. Artificial fertilisers are necessary; but they must not be looked upon as sufficient to maintain the soil in good condition. The idea! of progressive agriculture is well made and preserved farm-yard manure, and carefully-selected artificial manure. • The consensus of opinion seems to be that it is better for the ordinary dairy farmer to persevere with a dairy breed such as Jerseys or Ayrshires. ■ > Milking Shorthorns, when carefully selected, give yields quite comparable with those of the distinctly dairy breeds, but unless selection is strictly adhered to, they deteriorate. In regard to the dairy farmers' difficulty of obtaining a fodder that will flourish in winter, the principal of the Roseworthy Agricultural College, South Australia, reports that while in Egypt last year he saw the Berseem grass (Trifolium Alexandrium, or Egyptian clover) growing luxuriantly in the cold weather, and lie secured a quantity of the seed. He had put in a small quantity on an acre of graded land at the college. It was sown on April o, and was irrigated with a sprinkler, in order to start it. On June 16 —ten weeks after the seed was sown —the clover was Sin. high, and a start was made ■cutting it and feeding it to the cows. Since then the grass had increased in height to 18in. For the first week twenty-seven milking cows were fed on the clover regularly twice a day, and for the past three ■weeks twenty-lour milking cows had been fed in the same way. Only half an acre had been cut for that purpose during the four weeks, and the fodder weighed G tons 11 cwt.-72 lbs, being an average of 13 tons 3 cwt 34 1b per acre. That was- heavier than their heaviest crop of ensilage. The ensilage yielded 11 tons 18 cwt. to the acre, and the heaviest crop of peas and vetches he had grown only weighed 9 or 10 tons when cut in the bloom.- In the case of the Egyptian clover, the yield was over 13 tons before the crop had matured. The great point in its favour was that it had grown at a time when rape or barley would not make any headway. Stockowners who are handy with animals, and like" to do their own doctoring will probably be pleased to have this simple method of curing flesh wounrls: For the first few clays foment with warm water three or four times a day, or, if practicable, put on hot water bandages night and morning; apply carbolised oil on pledgets of fine tow or cotton-wool, putting some right to the bottom of deep wounds, and should there be much swelling, apply acetate of lead lotion with laudanum in it to relieve the pain. When the wounds have well commenced healing, a little compound iodoform powder, dusted on mubt and morning is all that is needed beyond keeping the parts clean. The ointment usually employed for growths is the ointment of the biniodide of mercury, whirh.may be obtained from any chemist. It has the effect- of blistering the oart to which it is applied unless reduced in strength by the addition of lai-d. Unless the animal "is properly secured he will most likely rub +be blister off or probably lick it. The ointment should be applied every ten to fourteen days.