FARM & FIELD

Lake County Press, Issue 2636, 15 June 1916, Page 7

FARM & FIELD

ORIGINAL. ARTICLES.

(By F.C.8.)

WHEATEN CHAFF FOR WORKING HORSES. From experience I have found wheaten chaff excellent feed for working horses, especially when mixed with oat sheaf chaff. The wheat straw is not so palatable as oat straw chaff, unless when cut fairly green, for if allowed to become fully ripened the large per cent, of fibrous matter containod in the fully ripened wheat straw renders it hard and devoid of moisture, and consequently more indigestible than if cut green. The rule then is to cut the crop when only the top heads commence to turn colour; by doing so, while there may be less weight of stuff per acre, the greater amount of sap contained in tho straw makes it more palatable to stock, and will more than compensate for the deficiency in weight, and it is safer feeding. COMMENCE FEEDING GRADUALLY. In commencing to feed wheaten chaff if there should be a largo per cent, of fully matured grains it is well to commence the feeding as gradually as possible so as to accustom the animals to the new feed. This is essential to success, as if they get a gorge of this now feed when unaccustomed to it it may set up a slight paralysis of the stomach, which may in turn cause trouble. On the other hand, if judiciously fed, horses will do exceedingly well on this feed. They will keep in good condition and wear a sleek, shiny coat. In this respect it is quite equal to, if not better than, if fed entirely upon oaten chaff. On the other hand, however, though the horses will keep up their condition when fed upon this feed, and to all appearances be quite as fit as when fed on oaten chaff, they will nevertheless be inclined to lack spirit. This is due to the fact that wheat is more efficient for the production of fat or body substance than of muscular energy, and is therefore very suitable for fattening animals, so is less suited to horses doing fast work, such as light horses; while for draught horses, whose work is usually of a slow, heavy nature, wheaten chaff makes excellent feed; and if, as mentioned above, the feeding is commenced gradually and afterwards judiciously fed no ill effects will follow, but on the contrary will prove most nourishing, useful feed. SOIL FERTILITY. The law of minimum was propounded by tho celebrated Loibig, and is accepted as an axiom of soil fertility. Every soil contains a maximum of one or more and a minimum of one or more of the ingredients necessary for plant growth. Now the growth or produce of a plant is governed, not by the total combined quality of all tho ingredients present in tho* soil, but by the producing power of the essential ingredient present in the smallest proportion, no matter how small a part tins deficient ingredient may play in tho economy of the crop. This is easily understood on the principle that the strength of a chain is governed by its weakest link. Thus the object of applying fertilisers is to provide against any such deficiency, and to furnish the crop with a full supply of readily available wellbalanced plant food. It is well to keep the principle "law of minimum" in mind at tho present time, because a fanner may bo tempted by the desire to increase the yield of his crops to an abnormal extent by the excessive use of fertilisers, and should he think this can be attained, he may find to his cost that the result is on the wrong side. MAIZE MEAL FOR PICS. A trial was made at several experimental stations in Australia, with the object of testing tho relative value of different meals, especially maize meal, barley meal, oatmeal, and buckwheat meal'for the fattening of pigs. The trial was made with 48 young pigs, all of tho same age and weight, divided into four lots. • The animals oi each lot received respectively as much as they would eat of the different meals,'and in addition they all had daily a supplv of skim-milk and some potatoes. After they were killed, an examination of the carcases showed that the ilcsh of the pigs fattened on maize was not so firm or salable as that of the pigs fed on the other meals. This result is the same as has been reported from trials in ether parts, and is worth noting. Maize is a good food ; for growing pigs, but other meals should be substituted, either in part or altogether, (luring the last month 01 two of the fattening process. , I I POULTRY KEEPING PAYS. j One alwavs hears of failures sooner than one hears of successes. This is so i in everv walk of life, and poultry keepj ing is 'no exception to the rule. "We have all been told over and over again —so often, in fact, that one wearies oi the repetition -that poultry keeping does not pay. and it would be as well to throw one's money into the gutter as to invest it in a poultry farm. I do not deny that failures in this business have been numerous, but there is always some good reason to account for the non-success of the enterprise. It is sometimes asserted, too. thai while one is continually hearing of failures, one rarely or never hears about the successful men and women, and it is asked why do not some of the latter, if such there -be, publish their balance-

sheets, and so prove to the world they are making a profit? Surely a more ridiculous request was never made. Why should the successful poultrykeepers do this, when I venture to say no one in any other business would dream of complying with such a request? f know of several poultry farms scattered all over the country that are being run at a substantial profit, and are yielding sufficiently well to maintain the proprietor, perhaps not in luxury, hut, at any r„te. in comfort. Of one thing I am quite certain, namely, that no other branch of agriculture yields a better return in proportion to the amount of capital invested, provided always that it is conducted on business lines, and worked as economically as possible.