ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13868, 30 September 1908, Page 3

ON THE LAND.

FARM POULTRY. „ ',',: Tue question has been , asked (says Farm* , Field, and Fireside): How many fowls' can : ' • bo profitably kept on tlio general farm?- H - is, of course, trite that the smaller .the'flock the greater will bo the percentage profit, becauso a small flock of 50 to 100 may bo, ' . kept on the average farm at very little cost, .■.■■;■-.-■.■;! for food. There is usually enough waste food to support that number of hens, but if the same waste food be divided. among 1000 hens it will be seen that the food cost Y per fowl,will be greater. On a great many v farms just enough hens "are kept to consume ' v the waste products, and every egg is so much . profit, and, besides, there is tho poultry manure, which is worth something. Never-. theless, poultry-keeping may be made a leading feature of a system of mixed husbandry, : and probably under such'a system it will pay larger profits than as a separate-busi- .; : ness. It is the farms that the country-de-pends upon for a large part of the poultry products. The amount produced on special }. , poultry farms is small compared with the immense* quantities produced on the farms under a system of mixed husbandry. "* . : OUP AUSTRALIAN LETTER. ■; ."/ - '. ■ BY FT VIE. ... ■■■■;■■ . ; ■"' ■.'-:■■■•■ • The apprentice system is.now in fulllopft' ' ration at the various State farms in , Queensland, tho wholo of the accommodation having been taken up. The Hermitage Farm, with 10 apprentices;' has the largest number. The proposal originated in* a desire) to'pro* . vide for the sons of parents who were un-' able to pay the -fees': demanded at tluv Catton Agricultural College. The apprentices ■: do not secure the high scientific training given at the college, but they get an- excellent grounding in the'practical work of V: a farm. They arc well looked after, but : get no allowance for /their labour until the second year. The course lasts three years. . ; ,: Good copious rains havo fallen over'the . whole of Victoria during tho last couple of ".; • •;, weeks, and the outlook for the season has greatly improved. The safety of tho- great -... bulk of the crops is how assured, and there- ;•' ~:.-., will be such a spring of. grass that a :rapid ;V; improvement in the condition of live stock*'"'; •' '■:>■■■■ of all descriptions may be expected. The Victorian Department:■ of Lands .has > issued a pamphlofc showing what the Government has done" in ':the'-'.way of establishing '_ small-farms for working men. The, pamph- : let states that the Government has , purchased £56,000 worth pf land for this i pur- ■~ pose, subdivided the areas . into 250 allotments, built a house, and settled a family .', on each, and assisted ■.the. ! people with im- - plements of agriculture. It is now provid- . ing seed and manure, paying tho Bottlers weekly allowances for improving their own' land, supplying live stock, and generally assisting . the settlers. It ' intends to ... con- / tinue its'good work. • ' •' /. The efforts made by Mr. Taverner, Agent* ~, j/. General for Victoria, in London, to intro-, duce Victorian. flax to Yorkshire manufactures seem t--> havo ' met with success. He announces that Mr. W..D. Foster,; man-* - aging director of 'Messrs. Moss, Rimington, and Co., Ltd., of .SelbyV- Yorkshire, inspected some samples of Victorian, flax . ati the London office, and declared that* his firm ■" would willing to take all such flax " thafc Victoria can produce, paying £30 or £40 a ton for it. "From seeing the sample I.submitted," writes Mr. ' Tavener, "Mr. Foster ' is of opinion that you would .bo justified in ; ; securing {the services of a "first-class expert. I have asked him to lot mo have a full report and general advice regarding the in- ■•■.. dustry." '," ■ ■ '.'■;-; A new industry, tho manufacture of glu*. cose, will probably he started in Molbourria ■ at "an early date. ~!< A-company.,has>.feen * su " registered for the ' purpose, \ and "an- expert is to bo sent to Germany to investigate th« . ■' latest process of the trade. The.; company ' will utilize about 150,000 bushels of maize . per annum, arid thus afford a good loeal market for tho growers 'in Gippsland. ' Li : ' , . the event of a shortage of maize, potatoes will be availed of for glucose, which is used, ■ by brewers and in various manufactures and- . arts, and is at present imported, from' ' r America and Germany in large quantities. .' ~ ■ At the annual, conference of Victorian co-operative butter and cheese factories, the advisability of factories setting apart a per- .■' ■• centage of their gross profits to build >up a, ! i,fund to j)lace the co-operative selling of butter on tho London market on a,; proper footing, was brought forward; but. it was decided to allow . the matter to stand over ' ■-:>;' for the present, several speakers expressing -■" : the opinion that the three, '■ cooperative ; '/'■■'■'- sellers now in existence were developing on ■ , ;; . : lines that would eventually bo to the advantage of co-operative factories generally. .At Mount Gambier, South Australia,, a farmer lost' a valuable draught horsej and as the complaint which caused its d«srfjh was _ somewhat obscure, '. a : post-mortem 'examination was held. This showed that there wore v clusters of hots in) the stomach, arid these Iwero no 1 doubt the cause of death. The carcase!--woV'buried' 6ft t deep in a shindy hil-, • *.. i -lock, and some weeks later millions of bota : : are said to have been found on the surface , ;of 'oie. ground. However, -a supply" of wood wasiplaced on top of the ground and burned, - . to disposing of the majority of tho young ones. ■■> ■■_■ - ' A short account of the life history of tho', ' *'" .bot-fly is interesting. The fly lays its ogga on the hair of the horse. Irritation is set up, and the horse licks the place where the . eggs have been laid Thus they get into the ; " stomach, and are hatched into worms, which . are furnished with, a set of hooks,' by which they attach themselves to the inner coating i of the intestines. In the course of time they are voided by the animal, .when'they burrow in the ground, pupate, and emerge as , flies, which repeat the round. • Owing to dumping' by both Melbourne and Launooston millers at Hobart, millers in. that city *■ have' reduced the price of flour from £10 10s to £9 for best, and.to £8 10a for household. Bread is to be reduced from 7d to 6d per 41b loaf. : Although thci Japanese last year did no'fc. take away a great deal of wool ,from Aus- '; tralia, -there 'is no doubt' that the style of dress worn in the country is changing, and j in the near future the country must become .one of the Commonwealth's chief customers. ■ In 1907 Japan imported £3,500,000 worth of wool or woollen goods. They will have to continue to import: for many years to come, as last year there were only 3500 sheep in all Japan. The stock in Japan in 1906, the '"'■-' latest year in which the figures are available, ; were:—Cattle, 1,196,3*3; horses, 1,465,466; sheep. 3501; goats, 74,750; and swine. • 284,708. * ;.;.;

BREVITIES. Q" ■ Shearing has already .started in some parts of Southern Taranaki. . *~*» . The Kaponga Dairy Companv has decided' to consign this season's butter. ■ Huiakama 'Dairy Company is reported to aavejsqld the coming season's butter at UM per lb. -> ; * A South- Taranaki farmer received the ; '<''■ record price of £11 a head for a draff of fa* bullocks the other.day. . ,-, ' _A Shorthorn cow on the farm of Mr. J. T. '" Martin,' on the Pembroke Road, near' Strata ford,' gave birth to a calf weighing 1301b. : It is said that the Awatuna Dairy Com« pany have sold their output of cheese for tho season at a figure in advance of sixpence. v It is expected, if prices keep up, that the cheese factories, of Taranaki will return their suppliers from 13d to 14d per lb of butter* < fat. .... :. ,;,.;.v. ■':>,■■ ■ ;.; The pips, will have bettor digestion and health if a small box of wood ashes or char* coal is 4 placed in their pan whejp thoy can ;' get. at it. * "*' . Tho.first- 500 boxes of the KakaxwMaYtiei* season'! output realised 12£ d, f.ob., Welling* "'"■■.;>■■" ton, and the directors) have, decided to pay, out llfd for September. . n *nw