Farm and Garden

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 247, 2 April 1910, Page 3

Farm and Garden

AGRICULTURAL LIME. A yield of 24 tons of potatoes per acre, which is more than double the average for Scotland, is reported from the Rosebery Experimental Farm at Dalmeny. In this result the application of lime is described as having considerably contributed. The soil of Dalmeny. as in several other parts of the Lothians, is peculiarly adapted to the potato, but the foregoing yield, grown with the direct aid of crushed caustic lime and artificial manures only, surpasses all former records. For most soils lime in some form is needful in order to preserve them in a healthy and productive state by neutralising accumulations of acids and otherwise promoting and facilitating the activity of the nitrifying organisms. In Scotland, until recently, it was the practice to apply large dressings of three to six tons per acre perhaps once in a decade, while in some cases the land was thought to have been satisfied as regards lime if it received one good dressing in a nineteen-year's lease. All this has been changed, as far as intelligent interpretation of well-defined practical results are' concerned Large applications of lime have not only been shown to be wasteful, but to some degree, harmful, in that the excessive quantities defeat the primary objects of the application. The proper dressing of lime found to be most effective at Dalmeny is from 4 cwt. to 6 cwt. per acre, applied annually. According to the tests conducted by Lawes and Gilbert there is an annual loss of lime from the soil per acre of about 5 cwt., removied by crops and drainage water. The annual applications as practised at Dalmeny therefore compensate for depletion of lime in this way, while stimulating fresh every season the action of the beneficial soil organisms and neutralising hurtful acidity. There are, no doubt, plenty of cows offered for sale at a -low price, but even this price is often very much above their value. A i a rule, the prices for dairy products vary less from year to year than those of any other commodity produced on the farm. SORE SHOULDERS. Sore shoulders in horses is a source of great trouble on many farms, and the formulae for curing sore shoulders are many and varied. With some horses nothing but absolute rest for several weeks is effective, but at this season of the year one requires the services of all his working horses. There is no doubt that much unnecessary pain is inflicted upon our animals owing co the want of a little care and attention. It is safe to say that nineteen out of twenty cases of sore shoulders could have been prevented. Sufficient attention is not given to the fitting of the collars, and to badlyfitting collars much of the trouble is due. Insufficient grooming is another contributing factor. Horses that are in regular work all through the year and which are regularly grocmed can be quite free from this trouble. Farm horses that have not been worked for a month or two should only be given short spells of work at starting, and the shoulders should be cleaned as soon as the collars are taken off. A good plan is to keep in the stable a little carbonate of soda dissolved in water and bathe the shoulders with this. A solution of tannin from wattle-bark is recommended by some farmers. On this subject one of the leading American farm journals contained the following;— "'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' is an old saying that we all know. While I do not say that you can prevent them, if you take the trouble to wash your horses' shoulders morning, noon, and night with pure water, you will find that you will not have a sore-shouldered horse

on the farm. Do it for the firs.t week or ten days after you commence hard work. Do not use the sweat pads, as they do more harm than good. I think that it always pays to take the harness off at noon. The horses can rest that much better after a hard half-day's work. Some people think that it is too much work to clean off their horses. I clean mine off once a day, whether lam working them or not. I believe that if you will clean your horses every day they will work quicker and better, and will pay for the time 'it took to brush them off,' "