FARM NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 8541, 23 March 1908, Page 7

FARM NOTES.

(By Rusticus.)

THE LESSON OF THE DROUGHT. If the recent drought has , brought home any lesson to us more than another, it. is the s > absolute necessity on the part of farmers to make adequate preparation for just such a season by laying in such a store of hay or other fodder as he thinks will bo sufficient for the requirements of his stock. The fact is that we in New Zealand have so many natural advantages of climate and soil that wo are apt to depend too much on Dame Nature and fail to make preparation for a bad season. Than Dame Nature there is- none better, but we are too prone to think that because she favours us with an abundance of grass and crops one season, she will continue to do so with little or no variation. The man who seizes upon every advantage is the man who succeeds nowadays, and it would be well to bear this in mind and grow such crops during the good season as would be sufficient to tide over an extended bad one. MOLASSES AS A FODDER. Hay and other fodders can be eked out with advantage by the use of molasses. The value of this product as a food for stock is not sufficiently recognised, and to those who have not tried it "Rusticus" would recommend it to their attention. The first suggestion of the use of molasses 'as a stock food was made by Hermstadt in 1811. The first recorded ration was used in 1830, . and consisted of chopped straw and 2201b of molasses per day for 2000 sheep. 80 head of cattle and 20 horses. In 1850, rations mentioned by Stockhardt, Henneburg and straw and hay. They limited the amount of molasses to 81b per 10001b live weight of the animal fed. By 1860 the use of molasses became quite general in German}', France, and Russia and by 1870 its use had spread to England. Owing to the cost of molasses and the variability of the product the

demand for it did not increase rapidly until about 1890, when the increased production caused a marked decrease in price. It is estimated that now about one-third of the molasses produced in Europe is used as food for stock. It is often fed directly to cattle but usually diluted and absorbed on cut straw, hay and cereal, waste, or peat. In Louisiana and Texas when feeding molasses about five pounds per day is used for cattle, and about 121b for mules. This is mixed with hay and grain or sprinkled on cane tops. The amount of the other feeds required is considerably diminished by the use of molasses. - FOOD FOR CALVES.

In many instances calves do not thrive as they should, very often for the lack of nourishing food. The following is 'worthy of recommendation: —A jelly made from about a pint of unground linseed, boiled slowly for two or three hours in a gallon of water, is a very good substitute for cream and should be used in skim milk. If mixed with water, and not milk, it is well to add a mixture of oatmeal, peameal, and wheaten flower, carefully dried, or made into a gruel, and afso a little condirncntal food.

{ A GOOD FLOOR. 1 A substantial and lasting floor for I cattle pens, and where rapid cleaning is an essential feature, is made of coal ashes, tar. gravel, etc., in the following manner: —Take two parts of very dry lime rubbish and one part coal ashes, also very dry, and both sifted fine. In a dry place, on a dry day, mix them, and leave a holo in the middle of the heap- as bricklayers do when making mortar. Into this pour boiling hot coal tar. mix. and when as stiff as mortar put in three inches thick where the floor is to be; the ground should be dry and beaten smooth; sprinkle over coarse sand. When cold pass a light roller over it, and in a few days the walk will be solid and waterproof. THE SELECTION OF SEED CORN. The object of selecting and caring for the seed is to select that which* natUre has given the most vitality, and care for it so that the vitality will be unimpaired and in .the best condition at time of planting to produce best results. In the selection of my seed corn, says W. H. Underwood in the American Agriculturist, I select the variety that does best on my farm as soon as it is matured enough, so that it will not shrink from its natural size when dried. I take a sack and put it around my shoulder and go through the corn field. When I see an car that I think will suit me, I examine the stalk. If it is strong and vigorous, with heavy foliage, stands up straight and is free from defects, I strip the husk on one side of the ear. If the ear is a good type- of its- variety, rather rough, with straight rows of deep, wedge-shaped kernels. I take it. I continue in this ■ way until I have procured the desired amount. Then' I take it to the barn, remove about two-thirds of the husk from each ear, tie two cars together and hang them on slats, nailed on under sides of joists of haymow, away from rats and mice. I leave the windows of the barn open, so the wind can blow through and thoroughly dry the corn. When the corn is- dry and solid and has all the vitality nature gave it unimpaired, it will all germinate and make a vigorous growth, and will produce more corn that is well adapted to his locality, and would judiciously select and preserve his seed, I am confident the average yield would be materially increased

WARMTH IN THE SOIL. The power of,a soil to absorb warmth is dependent in a great measure on the amount of moisture in the soil and its colour. The darker in colour a soil is the quicker can it absorb warmth, and the* lighter in colour so much the longer will it bo in attaining a warm temperature Soils containing much moisture are always colder than dry soils, hence the great advantage of draining wet lands. Soils rich in humus absorb warmth quickly, but also give off warmth rapidly. With damp clay soil the action is just the reverse. They take a long time in acquiring a higher temperature, but on the other hand retain their warmth better. By the application of farmyard manure, composts, cultivation, and draining .the farmer is in a position, to improve the condition of his soil. If wheat is sown in two soils, one dark, the other light, but treated in all other respects in exactly the same way, the crop in the darker soil will mature more quickly and better than the crop in the light soil. It is one of the advantages of farmyard manure that in addition to supplying nourishment, it produces in a soil a darker colour, and thus by aiding its capacity for absorbing warmth, increases materaily its fertility.