ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13214, 27 June 1906, Page 1 (Supplement)

ON THE LAND.

ROTATION" OF CROPS.

As long as the Crown saddles its tenant* with antiquated cultivation conditions vd shall hare perennial infliction on tlx* part of intelligent leaseholders, apart from difference of opinion a-; to the cosnparativ* value of the leasehold and freehold systems* The question of cultivation conditions cropped up in Auckland at the time AlaUmata was opened up, as if, crops yp more or less noticeably every time and in every part of the colony where improved lands »i being applied for by experienced fanner-. Those who pointed out the burdensomene-s of the c conditions wore then denounced by the Crown Lands Commissioner as endeavouring to prevent the successful sett lenient of the Mats in at a Estate; but the. director of the Canterbury Agricultural College— an impartial and reliable authoritysubsctenth- informed the Lund Commission that Y-'y the cultivation conditions placed upon Crown leaseholds could not possibly be justified from the point of view of the scientific agriculturist. A movement is now in progress among the farmers' union* of tin* South Island, where agriculture is carried on upon more advanced lines than arc usual in the more recently-developed North, to obtain the complete removal of these restriction* whenever the tenants' improvements are of , sufficient value to safeguard the Crown from loss l.v possible depreciation in the value, of the land. This movement, ought to liavo the hearty support of every farmer who !ms any respect lor his avocation as of every person who does not believe in saddling jtryf industry with unnecessary burdens, TAR At attractions. l'or 'ho good of the .State it is imperative hat. as much as possible of the valuable land now lying idle should be turned to profitable account. For not. only would th» cultivator of the soil benefit directly but th® > increased production would l*> to the advantage of tin* general body of consumers. Therelore. every effort should bo put forth tnat can in any way make more attractive the settlement of the land. One very strong reason why so many young men leave the farm to seek employment among' largerbodies of men is that no effort is made to make home attractive. Young people naturally delight in entertainment, mid (ho lack of this is very often the cause of driving away troni tho land young men who are the making of the best typo of settler. In the city wise parents are ever on the alert to make the homo so pleasing that their children will not bo tempted to leave tho pleasant, fireside in search of pleasure which may not prove conducive to tln*ir moral welfare. And in the country the heads of families giving thought not only to the good 'of their children, but also to tile advantage o- the State, might, well devote some attention to the satisfying of the craving in the youthful mind for enjoyment. •SCIENCE AND FARMING. The tillage and fertilising of the soil, the growth of ctops;, tho brooding of stock, are all based on the principles of science, but the principles have, as it rule, been formulated long after the operations luivo become world-wide. II; has Ix-eu known for thousands of years that leguminous crops' enriched the soil in some way, and to sow a cereal crop after peas, beans, or clover lias been practised for ages. Scientific investigation during remit years has merely* shown why. It has not altered the practice. As a role the operations of a successful farmer will be in close accord with the principles of the. sciences underlying his work. The more he knows of the principles the easier and more certain will his work lie. But to a large extent the farmer's work will always be empirical. - The farmer docs certain things to get certain results,' and as long as ho gets the results he, as a rule, has 110 time or inclination to trouble further. In that lie is not wise. He should try and understand why; but it is not pro-'' fitable for him to fool away bis time trying', to understand the action of bacteria in tho soil when he should bo at the tail-end of a plough or harrows working the land in the way experience proves gives the best results in producing a crop. A farmer is better and,.more wisely employed in. working bis laud than in analysing it. A TEST FOR MILK. A simple test for the purity of milk, which is available for all city dwellers, is advocated by«lhe Dairy. It. consists of boiling tho milk in an enamelled or milk saucepan.. If. the milk will boil without curdling is may be considered fit for consumption by v , even the most dedicate person. If, on tho other hand, it curdles before reaching boil-ing-point it is unfit for direct consumption. The causes of curdling may, be want. of ; cleanliness, the presence of too much acid in the milk, caused by keeping the milk too long, and at too high a temperature "or in a moist atmosphere; or the mischief may ' occur by foreign species of bacteria gaining uceosS to tho milk, or by the milk coming in contact with decomposing matter or badly-trapped drains. Milk from diseased udders will seldom boil, neither will milk from a newly-calved cow, by reason of the excessive amount of acumen present. At the end of four days, colostrum, as the milk of a newly-calved cow is called, may l>o mixed with other milk, and used for the manufacture of butter that is to be sold fresh; but it is not advisable to employ it for cheescmaking, or for keeping-butter. • until from seven to nine days have elapsed since calving. In a series of tests carried out on several Lancashire farms last year it was shown that the milk of newly-calved cows contains less than a.-third the amount; of far, present'in normal cow's milk when the milk was tested at tho end of twelve hours after calving. Later test* showed thai, the milk rapidly increased in fat during the first three days, and that at the end of the third day the milk was usually one or, two per cent, above normal. Continued tests showed that lie percentage of fat in the milk fluctuated considerably after the third day until the milk assumed its no:- . inaL condition. I HOW TO KEEP HORSES HEALTHY. The narrow dimensions of many stalls are * positive cruelty to the horse. They are built too narrow to enable him extend his limbs when convenient. He is compelled, when in a recumbent position, to double up his limbs under him, and his legs are thus kept cramped when they should be com- , pletely at rest. Five feet is narrow enough for single stalls. Box stalls permit the animal to choose bis position and change it at pleasure. Comfort i*3 essential to health, and it is evident that the animal cannot be comfortable when closely tied in a narrow stall.' The stall should l>e kept clean, and. th« floor daily sprinkled with some good absorbent, to absorb the foul odours continually arising. Besides having pure air for the animal to breathe, a stable that is stored full of liar . and grain ought to be kept well ventilated and clean, that th« impurities of the aitmay not penetrate them; all food should be kept as pure as possible. Cleanliness about the stable is just as important to the health of the horse as cleanliness about the house is important to the health of the family. Overcrowding in stable* is another evil. The temperature of the stables is, in consequence, unnecessarily high: and the animal* are thus likely subjects for disease. The conditions are still worse where there is no method of introducing fresh air, and the animals are compelled to breathe the same foul air for some length of time. It 13 only natural that horses taken out of such quarters Into the colder outside air should feel the sudden change of temperature severely • especially horses that, have been worked hard and whoso constitutions are thereby the less able to withstand such conditions. BREVITIES. Selected seed, well cultivated soil, «m» abundant supply of plant foods will largely increase the yields of crops for those whir desire large profits. Mustard and cress should be sown several times during the year; the cress must be sown three or four days before the mustard to obtain thtm ready for cutting at the same time. Both must be cut almost, directly they appear, as it allowed to grow • tail, they become tough. * . A Even the dairy-farmer must realise the public have a right to demand milk fre« * from disease germs, and coming from healthy cows, just as lie rightly demands of the - Government- that they should take all res*. :'V sonable care to protect his herds from im- ; ported disease, which apart, from its injurious eftect on our cattle- might produce a milk famine, and bring untold misery, or at lea:& '■ expense, to th» milk-consuming public.