ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14223, 20 November 1909, Page 10

ON THE LAND.

; SEPARATED MILK FOR BIGS. IN a paper read by Mr. Campbell, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, Ireland, on " Store Cattle, or Butter, Eggs, and Bacon," at the fifteenth meeting of the Council of Agriculture, he directs the attention of all interested in the subject to a series of valuable experiments which have been carried on for the past two years at the Clonakilty Agricultural station. The experiments extended over two years, and were repeated three times on three lots of pigs. Separated milk and potatoes were fed to one lot; separated milk, potatoes, and meal to another; while the third received meal and potatoes, but no milk. Two questions wero submitted by tho Department, of Agriculture to their expert. Mr. Duncan:—(l) What is the value of separated milk when fed to pigs? and (2) to what prico must pork fall to yield less than one penny per gallon? Mr. Duncan's answer to tho first question is that when pork was selling at 48s 3d per cwt., separated milk, fed -as above; yielded 2d per gallon; and in answer to the second question'ho says that so long as pork was selling at 40s 4d per cwt., tho separated milk returned Id. The experiment further showed that pigs cannot bo reared profitably without, mUk. Mr. Duncan is now engaged in estimating by direct experiment the valuo of separated milk when fed to calves. Fed to winterdropped well-bred calves, it may yield as much as when fed to pigs, but whether it yields as much when fed to the ordinary spring calf is very doubtful. THE ONE-PURPOSE COW. There are two theories before the world on this question; the theory :of breeding for specific purpose and type and the theory of breeding for dual purpose and type. J. Be first theory has behind it the clear, specific experience of those who haw established dairy breeds of cattle, such, for instance, as the Jerseys and Guernseys as advanced better breeds, giving milk of great richness in butter-fat, and tho Ayrshires and Holsteins giving milk in larger quantity and of less per 'cent, of fat. These four breeds are called dairy-bred cattle, because in the main their breeders hold to the idea and purpose of making butter in the one case and milk in the other, the main object of their breeding. In other words, these four breeds of cattle are bred to a specific purpose, and, to a certain extent, to a specific type or form—the so-called dairy form. Nature has satisfied the purpose of these breeders by granting them increasing development of dairy capacity in their cattle just as long as they have held steadily to the specific purpose. She has in every case punished them also, sooner or later, with loss of dairy capacity, as well as loss of dairy heredity and prepotency,' whenever they have departed from the line of breeding for these specific purposes. In this way, and only in this way, have we been enabled to establish breeds of cattle of specific dairy prepotency and the power of constant development in dairy productiveness. Nature at her best is full of confusing variation. Breed as closely as we may to a specific purpose, there will still com© to our hand plenty of failures. Too many breeders in the past have poisoned the stream with foolish fads, with ideas of breeding for meat as well as milk and butter; and their ideas have left their detracting effect on tho procreative powers of the cattle we are ..now using. Do the best we can, we will have all the confusing diversity and variation we want, all the loss of dairy capacity we can take care of, without breeding it on purpose Dairy-breeders must never lose sight of the great principle that all future development : lies in the direction of holding steadfastly to two principles—breed . for the single purpose of dairy capacity and strength of constitution.* By the term "development" do not mean 30 much the production of. phenomenal cows as that there shall be less and less failures'; larger, per cent, of certainty that the resulting heifers will prove profitable cows, and the resulting bulls 'the f sires of ■•' profitable cows. If the foregoing premises are sound, it is "plainly evident that no breeder of dairy cattle or dairy farmer can afford to meddle with the confusing heresy of "dual pur- { poso." ••■' -.• _, ■ -■• '■■ -■ -

sour milk. ; We -are told on the highest authority that in Bulgaria and other' nations in south-east Europe sour milk is one of the'chief items of \: food '■ among the peasantry, who live 'longer than any other class of people in the' < world. But the acidity and subsequent * partial coagulation when . the milk becomes jas thick as cream is not owing to the or;dinary bacteria which wo find in the milk on the farm, but to a species which is common to the countries named. Large quantities of sour milk are employed in this and other countries for feeding swine,' but the farmer as a ride strictly avoids giving it to his calves. There is no better form of food f for chickens than curd produced from sour milk, although it is commonly believed that tho curd should be sweet. There is, however, all the difference between souring produced -by uncleanly habits and milk winch curdles from acidity produced by tho action of the lactic acid germ. POULTRY AILMENTS. The ailments to which poultry are liable are very numerous, so also are the enemies that help to thin their ranks, particularly when : the birds are in the chicken stage. Of. all the foes to the youngsters there are nono that are responsible for more deaths than /the insects with which they are so often infested. Not only do hundreds of chickens j die, owing to their life blood being , sucked out by parasites, but many others are rent dered so weak that they ■■ readily contract disease. As the chief cause of insect pests 'is dirty surroundings, the cure can easily be made.. " : • : r

AN ANCIENT MILKING TEST. In 1797. Mr. Coke, of Holkham, and Mr. S. : Bevan, of Riddles worth, made a wager concerning the milking capacities of the former's long-horned Lciccsters and the lattor's polled Suffolks. Two cow? of each breed were chosen, and their milk records were taken from Juno 23 to July 20, inclusive. The Suffolks won, having produced between them 270 gallons 1 pint of milk, from which 84ilb of butter was made. The best day's yield of milk was 10 gallons 4 Dints on June 30, the smallest having been 9 gallons on June 29. One of the two cows had calved in April, the other in June.

f ]: ' ARGENTINE'S : DRAWBACKS.. ■ An Australian pastoralist who has just returned- from Argentina gives the following condensed opinion of that country: —Altogether, I was very favourably impressed -with the prospects, of the alfalfa country, but I noted several drawbacks (1) Winter feed must be provided artificially. The locusts may wipe out your prairie Zt&ss, and the native grass is not sufficient to rely on. (2) .Locusts— plague against which all efforts of Government and science are ineffectual. Of course, they aro not bad every year, but, they are always there to a certain extent, 'and now and again they carry all before them. (3) Diseases, which will never be got; under in a country inhabited by Argentines and governed by Araentino officials. It is no uso trying to explaip to a largo number of estaricieros that jn hot taking measures to keep their stock clean' they aro in tho long run injuring /themselves. They don't want to be improved/ (4) Severe- Frosts—All through the winter the troughs are covered with ice every morning, and frequently they remain so all day long. Readers can imagine what this means to the grasses.'

PHALARIS COMMUTATA. Writing in tho October issue of the' Agricultural Gazette regarding the New South Wales grass, Phalaris commutata, Mr. J. H. Maiden says there is at present a difference of opinion between the two leading authorities on grasses—Professor Hackel, of Austria, and Dr., Stapf, of Kew—concerning its identity. The former inclines to the opinion that the Australian cultivated grass is • a hew species intermediate between ;Phalaris bulbosa, L., a common Mediterranean species, and P. arndinacea,*L., the seed canary grass,of the eastern -United States, and common also in the north of Europe..;

ENCOURAGING THE FREEHOLDER. The Danish fanner is enabled to buy land by tho aid of the great credit associations which are scattered all. over , the .country.. When a man has saved a little money—say, £100— the farm be wants is in the market ; for £1000, he goes to one of the credit associations, which; lends him £600 on first mortgage, at ah average interest of 3£ Der cent, (tho rate varies i a. little at times according to the changes in the money market). Ho then goes to another credit association, which lends him the other £300 he wants on second mortgage, at a slightly higher rate of interest, proportionate, of course, to the greater risk. SMALL FARMS IN DENMARK. A century ago Denmark was a country of largo estates, held by comparatively few people. • To-day 92 per cent, of tho agricultural population are freeholders.. Twothirds of the land of the country is held : by-small-farmers owning from 25 acres up to 200 acres, another sixth is held by owners of 300 to 400 acres, and the remaining sixth is held by agricultural labourers and peasants. BREVITIES. Pigs often lack vigour because the brood sows are kept too fat. A good thrifty condition is much better for the pigs than too much fat. . Tho lice of poultry will live for a time on tho bodies of horses and cause the most intense itching, and, at times, quite alarming symptoms. If the law that like produces like alwaysheld true in every detail, the breeding of livo stock would be a very simple and uninteresting vocation. - A farm telephone saves time and eliminates space, it saves many a trip to town or to the neighbours, both of which may be situate many miles away. ■ When farm work is slack the farm machinery should be carefully looked over, and such repairs ;as are necessary to make secured and properly adjusted. It is the same with wool as with any other commodityno matter what the price may be, there is always a more ready sale for that of the best quality. If a sow does not attain a good growth before bringing her first litter, the chances are against her reaching the desirablo size for proper strength and vigour. ' There is absolutely no reason why every farmer and every farmer's wife should not have recreation of some sort. It need not involve expense. The main thing is change. During the last ten years the sea has washed away about 400 acres of land from the coast of England, but in other places has added nearly 20,000 acres, at present useless land. " The farm boy who has charge of young lambs, calves, and colts, who has a personal interest in seeing them grow and develop, receives a lesson in kindness that is never forgotten. From the first week after farrowing until weaning time the sow will be , little else than a milk-machine, and to be a high-power machine in perfect, operation she must have proper care. Man must have occupation or be miserable. Toil is the price of sleep and appetite, of health and enjoyment. The very necessity- which overcomes our natural sloth is a blessing. There is no known chemical process of ■ orovin"- tlio .ivailablo plant-food present in tho soil. It is a valuable factor, influenced by the kind of crop, typo of soil, and climatic conditions.