The Man on the Land.

Northland Age, Volume 2, Issue 49, 10 July 1906, Page 6

The Man on the Land.

FEED FOE HORSES. Pumpkins are not usually regarded as adapted for horsefeeding purposes, but, according to the statement of the stud groom in charge ofWirth Bros’, circus horses they are excellent for the purpose, and horses get very fond of them. Pumpkins, according to the same authority, are healthy as well as strengthening, and they do not possess the drawback of giving a horse worms, as sugar-beet and sugarcane do. The opinions generally of this expert on the subject of feeding for condition are worth relating. He says the main thing is to feed regularly and groom thoroughly, cleaning underneath as well as on the visible surfaces of the animal. Small feeds, given four times a day, produce the best results, as this arrangement ensures the thorough cleaning out of the box. He makes a practice of giving nitre once a month all the year round; he also gives at intervals, when the weather is warm, one tablespoonful of cream of tartar and one teaspoonful of sulphur in damp bran or a hot bran mash. Chaff, bran, and oats are the best basic food, but this should be alternated with freshly-cut lucerne, carrots, and pumpkin. Lucerne hay, if old or musty, is bad. Molasses mixed with the feed puts on condition and helps the health, and peas produce hard condition. Maize, he says, is undesirable, as it is too heating. The fact that Wirth Bros.’ circus horses are noted for their excellent condition and their prime health gives additional interest to the above statement. BOTB IN HORSES. p Mr. Weir, Chief Inspector of Stock of West Australia, says : “ There is no effective cure Jfor bots when once they become adhered to the walk of an animal’s stomach, and it is impossible to prescribe a remedy which will cause them to relax their hold without impairing the health of the animal itself. The following powder may be given with safety, and, at the same time, will probably assist in

destroying the parasites :—Sulphate of iron, loz.; sulphate of copper, loz.; tartic emetic l , l-§oz.; arsenic, 1 drachm. This compound should ,be divided into 12 powders, and one given in a mash of bran and chaff | twice daily. On the fourteenth I day, after the animal has been | prepared with mashes, an aloetic \ physic ball of seven drachms for a draught horse will require to be administered. Nourishing food should be given after the physic has acted, and the animal’s condition improved as much as possible: “ During autumn, or the latter part of summer, when the hot fly lays its eggs on the chest, jaws and knees of horses, a careful examination of all homes should be made, and if any of the white eggs are found adhering to the animal they should be clipped off, or removed by means of a solution of kerosene, hot water and soap, or an ointment of kerosene and lard rubbed on to the parts. The usual life of the hot in its parasitical stage, which is passed within the alimentary canal, is about six months, when it then passes out, and in due course develops into the fly.” TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY. The law of rotation, or the class of crop, is determined largely by climatic conditions and soils. Cowpea is a good crop, to be followed by maize, and this followed by a root crop. Wheat sown after turnips or potatoes is always likely to yield more heavily. The object throughout is never to allow two crops following each other which require the same ingredients or fertilisem. Follow a deep-rooted with a surface - feeding plant. Alternating the crops on such lines end in augmented fertility. A Dutch farmer’s wealth is estimated by the number of windmills he owns, but the wealth of a German farmer is assessed by the size of his manure heap. Farmyard manure is the basis of all effective "fertility. It is lasting in character, provides nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and organic matter, retains moisture, and conveys innumerable bacteria to the soil. There is uothing on the farm with a more varied value, which is often determined by the class of animal housed, the feed, the litter used, and the methods adopted in collecting and conserving the manure. In every instance chemical analysis has shown that the * liquid manures are more than double the value of the solids from a manurial point of view; they are more rapid in action, and contain more soluble ]*l lint food. Since better knowledge of the fermentative processes has been acquired it is now known that the best practice is to combine the liquids with the solids. All manures should be placed in a covered shed with a solid floor, stiff clay or cement, the solids to be intimately associated with the liquids. All refuse or manures from stables, cow-bails, and pig-styes to be collected as rapidly as possible, especially horse manure. If there be no suitable means of protecting it from the weather until the fermentative changes have been secured, then the sooner it is put on the land the better. One ton of farmyard manure contains approximately: 31bs nitrogen, Gibs potash, 61bs phosphoric acid. A ton of ordinary farmyard manure will contain fertilising elements equal to from 12/- to 15/- worth of artificial fertilisers. The old Scotch system of conserving farmyard manure would do well in cold countries where the cattle are housed. Here, however, with our warm climate and need for sanitary conditions, the manure is best conserved in a sheltered place or placed quickly on the laud. The nitrogen in farmyard manure docs notsupply all that is needed, .and this may be balanced or supplied in artificial form.