THE RURAL WORLD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 633, 10 January 1914, Page 6

THE RURAL WORLD.

AUTUMN AND SPRING MANURING. The application of manures takes place in the autumn and spring, and the reasons why some manure should be applied in the autumn and some in the spring are worthy of consideration. Manures may be divided into two classes: —■ 1. Those quickly available, containing nitrogen, phosphates, and potash in a form soluble, and therefore immediately effective. 2. The slowly available, containng the elements of plant food in a condition that necessitate 3 transformation in the soil either by bacterial, chemical, or physical agencies, requiring more or lees time before the plants can assimilate them. Moreover, it will b3 understood that autumn-sown crops which are a long time in the ground are in a position to utilise the more slowly acting manures, but even then they benefit by a little active fertiliser as a" top dress ing when vegetation starts after the turn of the year. Thus for wheat sown in autumn a moderate dressing of slow-acting farmyard manure is excellent when backed up i>y a little nitrate of soda, On the other hand, spring sown crops, especially oats, barley and spring wheat, having to grow and mature in a relatively short time and to assimilate in this brief period an equal quantity of nourishment requite all their plant food in a mora active forfti. From commencement of growth to maturity the fertilising substance required by the plant must be easily available and therefore the phosphates drid potash as well as * the nitrogen should he in soluble form* hence the valuß of superphosphate, concentrated potash salt, and active nitrogenous fertiliser. The same consideration applies to turnips, mangolds, and potatoes; they oiilv have a few months to grow, and therefore require a big supply of fertilising'material in an easily available, condition. Farmyard manure, unless applied in excess quantities, dees not furnish sufficient available plant tiiod to enable the rapidly growing plants to draw the necessary nourishment; hence the wisdom of giving smaller dressings of farmyard manuio, helped by superphos- 1 prmte'or citric soluble basic Elag, with nitrogen and potash .when desirable in quickly a/tiig forms. These are paints wortn bearing in mind when considering what fertilisers should be employed.' TREATMENT OF SCOURS IN CALVES. In a circular issued by the Wisconsin College of Agriculture, the following method jb given for the treatment of scours in calves:—' "Ah soon as symptoms appear, iwo to four tablespoonsful of castor oil are mixed with one-half pint of milk and given to the calf. This is followed in four to six "hours by one teaspoonful of a mixture of one part Balol and two parts sub-nitrate of bismuth. It can also be given with one-half pint of new milk or the powder placed on the tongue and washed down by a Bmall amount of milk., "The salol and sub nitrate of bismuth can be secured from any druggist mixed in the proper proportions at the time of purchase, and thus have the powder readily available for use at any time. As an additional precaution against contagious scour's, it is advised that the navel of the new-born calf be wetted with a 1 to sfto solution of bichloride o: mercury corrosive sublimate." WATERING HORSES. The following are the Australian's comments on watering horses as published in an Australian farmer's bulletin. It is full of good sense for horsemen anywhere:— Horses require from five to fifteen gallons of water a day, the quantity depending upon the temperature and the amount of work performed. The water should bo as pure as possible, clear in appearance, and free from taste, colour and smell. Pure water is just as essential to a horse as it is to a man, and it is a mistake to suppose that a horse can drink bsdly contaminated water with impunity. Wat-r obtained from pools or shallow wells, contaminated with surface drainage, or containing decomposing organic matter, frequently cuuses diarrhoea, and generally predisposes to colic. Water that contains a large amount Df sediment should not be given, as the aedi'mant causes a mechanical irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, i.e., sand colic. When at rest in the stable, water should be given three times a day, and should invariably be given previous to feeding. This latter point is of considerable practical importance. A horse's stomach is small in proportion to its size, and water does not remain in it, hut passes through the storrmah and small bowel, to the casecum, or watergut. If water iB given after feeding, besides weakening the digestive juices, a considerable portion of the food in the stomach and small intestinpa will be washed out in an undigested si ate, and indigestion and colic may result. Water in small quantities can be given within an hour or so from the completion of feeding if desired. After a long journey, a good plan is to water a mile or so before the journey's end. and take the horse ralowly in afterwards. This prevertß chills and colic., due to the ingestion of a large quantity of water in an exhausted state. An animal after prolonged exertion or fast work has his system depleted of fluid. He will not eat sufficiently until his thirst has been satisfied; therefore, the water should come first, and while the animal is still warm is the best time to give it. After standing, the body temperature falls, and to give cold water freely then is only to intensify the effect of the clod water on the system.

REMOVING WARTS FROM TEATS. Warts on the teats and udder are often very bothersome in milking. They can be gotten rid of in thia way, according „to the lowa Agriculturist: —"Clean the udder with a mild creolin solution of about a teaspoonful uf the creolin and a bucket of water. Then cut off the warts with common scissors or knife and touch their roots with a pencil of silver nitrate. The only treatment needed after this is that of keeping the udder and teats softened with lard. Sometimes it iB necessary to repeat t're whole performance, but this is very seldom." THE FOOTSTEPS OF A DOG. "For the information of those who are in the habit of Bending a dog for their cows, I wish to report a little experience which I had along this line! T tested the milk from a cow after *he was brought up by a 3table dog, the dog in turn being in charge of a small boy. .She was considerably excited and quite warm. Her milk ' tested 2.3- The next morning her test, waß~ 4.1, aiid a week later, when she was brought in by a man and perfectly cool, her milk tested 6.2. ' Now figure out whether or not it pays to use a dog around the dairy herd. I should sta»e that the pasture and feed were exactly the same in each instance." A SWAMP SOIL. Soma owners of swamp soil are puzzled by their unproductive character when first cultivated. They reason that the soilß have been made out of vegetation and, therefore, should bo able to produce plants luxuriantly. The truth generally is that a raw swamp soil is in an inert condition. The air has been excluded, and acids have formed, and bacteria are not at work When the water has been drawn off, the exposure of <;he soil to the frost after autumn ploughing and a summer of thorough tillage does much to mend matters. A few tons of stable manure per acre introduce the needed bacteria. An. application of lime sweetens the soil. The nitrogen in the swamp begins to gain availability. Usually there is a great deficiency in potash and heavy applications pay. Phosphoric acid alois needed. The first year should be given to some bustling plant like maize that can help itself to raw and. coaree food, and the tillage payea the way for a more profitable trucking crop the next season. A raw swamp soil is a drowned soil. Removal of the water is the first thing so that there may be good exposure to the air. Lime comes next to destroy the acid and break up the organic matter. Then a little manure is wanted to bring in bacteria. Mineral fertilisers are needed because a swamp soil is deficient in them. Thorough tillage for a year or two complete the work of bringing the. land into profitable shape. PROCESSES IN THE SOIL. There are two/ great processes going on continually in the soil, which are known to be due to the activities of bacteria: 1. The conversion of ammonia and other compounds containing nitrogen, derived from decaying organic matter and nitrogenous fertilisers, into nitrates, the only form in which, bo far as we know, plants can utilise nitrogen. 2. The utilisation of free nitrogen of the atmosphere by leguminous plants. Both these processes are greatly facilitated by the presenca in the soil of a sufficiency of lime. The application of lime to the soil is one of the oldest methods of treatment known in agriculture. It was apparently employed by the Romans 2000 years ago. In various European countries it has been practised for many years past. DEEP PLOUGHING FOR OATS. On the Iron Mountain railroad demonstration farm at Hope, Ark., oat land ploughed four inches deep yielded but 23 bushes to the acre, while the same land ploughed ten inches deep and fertilised yielded 77 onshels to tho acre.— This increase results from the fact that deep ploughing afforded a better reservoir for soil water, and dry weather did not delay the growth. In the deeper ploughing a larger amount of moisture eame in contact with more soil particles and dissolved more plant food. There was also more space for root development, and the larger root development waß enabled to secure more moisture and more plant food.

NEW PROCESS FOR' PRESERVING MILK.

To the already known methods of preserving milk another has been added by two Italian physicians. Their method ia to preserve milk by means of an atmosphere of carbonic acid gas, under pressure. The milk remains unaltered for several days, both in its physical and chemical characters, and in the biological constitu ents, the ferments Some of the germs present are killed, while others have their development arrested. By this method uncooked milk can be kept for eight or twelve day« at a temperature of 12deg. to 14deg. C, while boiled milk is preserved indefinitely. The gas is produced with little or no trouble. The inventors claim for this method a solution of the question of infant feeding. Milk preserved in this manner ought certainly to be buperior to milk sterilised by heat owing to the fact that milk can be kept by this process for a considerable period with all pathogenic germs absent, while its biochemical functions remain intact, which is not the case where heat sterilisation is used. Fancy . this from "the Family Doctor!"