NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXV, Issue LXV, 20 December 1913, Page 10

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

- A leading Percheron breeder, of Al"berta. brands his horses on the neck, close up to the mane, with copper branding irons, the numbers on which are about l£in high, and burning face about -Jin.. '

- The finer ensilage is cut the hotter, for it packs more firmly, and is more ■easily, chewed by the animal than if cut coarse. Maize chaffed into onehalf inch'lengths will not injure any animal's mouth.

; Peas are not so responsive to artificial manures as other crops, and are ,yery independent; and succeed fairly well without help. They also do well on fields where they had not previously been grown; and in such circumstances direct manuring is not necessary.

Much has still to be learnt with, regard to the inoculation of the soil. At some experiment stations the result of inoculating soils occupied by leguminous plants has been to increase the yield, but it is not yet definitely proven that the policy can he accepted generally.

■'. The United States Department of 'Agriculture shows by experiments in a recent bulletin (No 505, Farmers' Bulletin)'that.if a 12001b hOrsecati pull 20001b on al' level dirt road, he haul '50001b on a level macadamised JX>ad. With a rise of 1 in 20 the horse can • pull 10001b on a" dirt, road; and 16001bTon afcardstone road: f. \ '

:: An enquiry has been received by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock from the Department of Agriculture and Stock of Nairobi, British East Africa, relative to the possibility of obtaining 150 to 200 head <h dairy, cattle and a certain number of etud Shorthorns and Ayrshires for the improvement of dairy stock in the protectorate. The department is taking action on the request.

Every effort is being made by importers of Australian meat to America ,to foster the trade by establishing distributing centres. One difficulty experienced is the scarcity, of return cargoes, and an experimental shipment is being made by the Monterey Packing Company of California- with frozen fresh fish. Enormous quantities of fish are caught in shoals in the Pacific, dipped in water several times., and frozen each time, then packed in parchment paper in parchment-lined boxes, and placed in refrigerating chambers.

The measurements of Bawdsey Laddie, the English champion Suffolk, imported this year io West Australia, will interest horsemen and afford means of comparison with those of leading Clydesdales. They are:—Forearm, 29in; below knee* lOJin; thi^h, 23£ in; girth, 7ft llin; height, 17 hands. Laddie is considered a. model Suffolk horse, ami aa such was selected for exhibition »t the Olympia Horse Show, wher© he was awarded the diploma.

There have recently arrived at Messrs W. J. arid A. F. Douglas's Te Mahanga Station. Hawke's Bay, from Home, three high-class draught horses, one two-year colt, one yearling colt, and one yearling filly, purchased by Mr W. J. Douglas while in Scotland, from Mr T Purdie Somerville, of Sandilands, Lanark, N.B. It is the opinion of those able to judge high-class horses, who have inspected the trio, that they lire the finest stamp of draughts im- '.- ported into the Dominion for many, years especially the two-yeavrOld colt, bred 'by Ir J. E. Kerr, Haviestoun, "Dollar, Clackmannanshire, by name Scotland's Sport (17648). r by Scotland Yet (14839), dam Peggy Pride (21641), •:■ 'by Baron's Pride (9122). Scotland Yet (sire of Scotland's Sport and yearling filly Parkhall Gem) is a great prize-winner, being first and champion at Lanark, and third at the Highland Show at Edinburgh as a yearling, and took the principal first and championship prizes up to six years of age, when he was first aged stallion at; the Stallion Show at Glasgow last .year, and won the Cawdor Cup, the recognised /stallion championship of the year. Scotland's Hero (yearling, unshown), bred by Mr Stephen Mitchell, of BoyuTian Ripper Station, Stirlingshire, sire Hevelanta (11876), dam Bessie Dunn (]s6P>9>, twice se«ond, only times shown. Revelanta won innumerable prizes, and took practically everything before him at all the j>rincipal shows, ' wherever shown, and is recognised as one of the best breeding sires in SjjOTland. Parkhall Gem (yearling ..filly, ■ynshown) (34485), bred by Messrs Dob- . aon and Murray, Parkhall, Douglas, Lanarkshire, sire Scotland Yet (14839) (sire of her shipmate two-year-old coltK dam Darling (23596). Darling worij many prizes.