ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15061, 2 August 1912, Page 10

ON THE LAND.

TYPE IN SHIRES;

It is necessary to fix a. typo to work to, and the Shire may roughly bo divided into two kinds, the strong and tho quality. Tho strong or slightly rough horse has his uses as a corrective on mares of superfine quality. Breeders argue with considerable force that .there are so many high-class mares of splendid quality that it is rather an advantage than otherwise to have a strong horse to use as tho occasion demands. Tho Clydesdale must bo judged by itself. It seems at times to bo a little short of rib and to lack bono and muscle a3 well as squareness at the knees, but has undoubtedly excellent action, and tho commercial animal is a very Tollable type.

HOW LIME IS LOST. At a lecture delivered at an agricultural college in England on "Lime and its Uses" a farmer at the close of tho lecture ashed how tho lime contents of a soil to which 16 to 25 cwt of lime was applied some six years ago got run out, and the reply of the lecturer seems to state tho case very clearly. It is lost in many ways: 1. It is soluble to some extent, and hence some is washed out and appears in the drainage water. 2. In destroying the acids, and in putting injurious salts out of solution, it disappears from the soil, as lime, in considerable quantities. 3. It is used' up when it causes soluble phosphates to revert and saves them from being washed out, as when it precipitates phosphoric acid as a calcium phosphate. It disappears again when, in enriching the soil bv releasing potash, it takes the place of the latter. 4. Every time sulphate of ammonia is applied as a fertiliser the acid portion of the ammonium salt takes up lime, and this is another cause of tho disappearance of lime. He said that the lime waste s from the several demonstration plots under experiment- at Rothamstead proved this. Even "from the unmanured plot as much as 250.1b per statute acre came off in soil water. The question of liming was therefore one of considerable importance, and the lime content of a soil has a great deal to do with its fertility.

THE DEPTH TO PLOUGH. In regard to the right depth to plough a good deal has been written. Many farmers hold that it is wise to plough shallow, i.e., about 3J to 4in deep, the object being to keep the humus and manure as near tho surface as possible. This practice, however, has the effect of making the subsoil very hard, so that some farmers vary it by ploughing deeply once in every four years. As a rule, it is generally advisable to plough deeply before a- root crop, as they are "deep feeders, and should bo encouraged to feed.from the lower strata of tho soiL Shallow ploughing is more advisable for a grain crop,- -which, does not feed so deeply, and-needs the available plant fowl near "the surface, and does not need the toil loosened below to the same depth as loots. Shallow ploughing is also advisable when turning over stubble immediately after harvest, the : main object of which is' to kill noxious weeds atl weed seeds. If you ploughed deeply the seeds are covered deeply, the air is excluded, and as a- result they do not. germinate. Again, the 1 seeds are covered eo well that they are enabled to withstand the shock, provided surface cultivation, is not practised to any great extent.. Whereas, if ploughed quite shallow, the roots of th« plants would be exposed to the sun and be killed. -,'. ■. „<

■ RIPENING" CREAM. The best butter is made from, ripened cream.' There is no doubt about that, although* it must be admitted that there does exist a, demand for mild creamy butter made from sweet cream. It is without doubt the ■ buttormaker who knows exactly the proper degree of acidity or sourness, and how to secure it in his cream, who produces the best butter. : , The delicate and piquant flavour of .high-class butter is unobtainable by any other means, but it is. very easy to make mistakes in tho ripening process. Keeping the cream too long, so that it becomes too sour or almost ''rotten," 58 a common mistake, as also is the practice of keeping the -cream in too high a temperature during the summer and too low in . winter. The • cream ripens best at from 60deg. to - 65deg. F., and the butter from such cream lias the best flavour and texture; it is firm and solid, and retains its fine granular texture throughout. In summer it is advisable to churn at least three times a week and twice in winter, then there will be little fear of under or over-rip sned cream. It is not, of course, essential that a modern buttermaker should posses, and know how to manipulate, an, acidimeter, in order to test the exact acidity of his cream before churning. But at tho same time . students are specially advised to adopt this scientific means rather than" trust to their taste and smell. Older and more experienced buttermakers can, as a rule, rely on their senses of tasting -and smelling the cream with tolerable safety, but oven they make mistakes sometimes.'...; ' , , - :':!/;':.'-

4. point of very; great importance, and one often ignored, is the thorough aeration of the cream before churning. Many a, sample 6J butter has been tainted with a nasty flavour solely because the cream "was loft unstirred. _ Nob only does it admit sweet, purifying air to tho cream, but it also ensures an evenness of ripening in the. bulk;; and brings down the loss of fat in tho buttermilk to the lowest possible point. Pasteurising of tho cream is usually practised when a pure culture starter is employed, and, in any case, where tho ; temperature is rather low, it is always wise to scald the cream before churning, '.so. as to avoid the bitter acid flavours that are bo common during cold weather. : Perfect cleanliness in all tho different processes of buttermaking is of vital importance, but it is more than over essential in the ripening and storing of the cream before churning. Glazed earthenware cream crocks axe the best to use, but some makers prefer enamelled iron pails. Nowadays the churning process is entirely different to what it used to be, and the result of this is that tho butter possesses much better keeping properties.

- RETENTION OF AFTERBIRTH. The retention of th& afterbirth or placenta, or failure to clean, should bo considered as an unnatural condition requiring immediate attention. A cow should expel the afterbirth within from ono to throe hours after tho fcetus is droppod or the calf is born. Thin frequency of retained afterbirth in tho ruminant animals is doubtless duo to its peculiar conformation or button-like fastenings. While a cow may appear to be but little inconvenienced- by retention of the afterbirth, at tho same time she is, if neglected, being ruined as a profit-producer. Her milk will bo short in quantity and poor in quality, and absolutely unfit for family urn She may also be, acting as a hotbed for the proportion of tho germs of infectious abortion and tuberculosis. Those may bo brought on by decomposition of the retained afterbirth. As this continues tho animal absorbs the poisonous formations of matter, which causes her to grow -weak and lose fleeh rapidly, thus putting her in a condition bo that when she is bred to tho herd bud for _ tho propagation of tho germs of infectious abortion. He is then in a con. tiition to spread tho disease. In this manner tho disease of infectious abortion may bo introduced into a herd and great loss caused. This camo cow in her rundown condition may also contract tuberculosis arid then expose tho entire herd. Tho afterbirth should never ho removed excepting by medicines riven internally. These have a tendency to ripen and release tho retained afterbirth, ■ .•jvlueh, when, released, will come away of ~ its own- accord.. / *■ »

CHURNING TEMPERATURE.. Tho temperature of the •cream for churning is decided by (1) the ripeness and consistency of tho cream; (2) tho treatment it has undergono during ripening; and (3) tho temperature of tho surrounding air. Over and under ripened cream takes a slightly higher temperature than perfectly ripened cream, pasteurised cream a slightly lower temperaturo than non-pasteurised cream, and separated cream a slightly lower temperaturo than hand-skimmed cream. Perfectly ripened cream should churn in 20 to 40 minutes at a temperature ranging from 54 to 57 clegs. F. in summer, end from 58 to 62 dogs. P. in winter. The ■warmer the dairy, tho colder the cream, and vice-versa.

DRIED BLOOD. Dried blood as a fertiliser should bo used chiefly on soils of a sandy character poor in humus, which it enriches with organic nitrogen. In districts whore only small quantities of blood are to be had the best way to prepare it is to mix it with a small quantity, about three per cent., of powdered quicklime, and stir together. It then dries up rapidly, and can bo easily pulverised, but this must bo done before the blood begins to decompose. The treatment on a large scale is different. Instead of mixing with drying materials tho water, which forms 80 per cent, of it, is gradually dried off, so as to get " dried blood." This contains about 11 to 12 per cent, of nitrogen, one to two per cent, phosphoric acid, and one-half to one per cent, potash. Blood, absolutely dry, contains up to 13 per cent, of nitrogen, but it quickly absorbs moisture when in a powdered form, and for this reason should always be stored in. a place free from moisture.

WATERPROOFING CALICO AND ! . CANVAS. ; . To render calico waterproof, a coating of boiled linseed oil containing a little turpentine is' a good plan. Another is tho alumina soap method. This consists in passing the calico iirst through a warm soap bath (lib to the gallon), then through an alum bath of tho same strength, followed by passing tho stuff through tho mangle. There will be no appearance of any coating, as the alumina soap is in tho fibre itself. This metallic soap is excellent for the purpose. To waterproof canvas tho following is recommended: Into ono gallon of rain water stir 2oz of sugar of lead and loz of powdered alum until they are quite dissolved. Let tho solution stand till tho sediment falls. Then pom - off the water and lay the sheet in it for 24 hours. This liquid will also render ordinary cloth rainproof. If an oil sheet is no longer rainproof, give it a good coating of dubbing, made by melting ono part of mutton suet and two parts of beeswax. When these are thoroughly mixed apply with a piece of rag. Black waterproof dressing for waggon or stack covers: Take lewt of best black paint (in paste), 31b of powdered litharge, half a gallon of thick boiled oil, quarter of a gallon of hard oak varnish, and lib of sugar of lead. Thoroughly mix, and thin down to proper consistency with boiled linseed oil. The above dries "quickly with a bright surface, and does not crack or blister when exposed to the weather.

BREVITIES. The Suffolk is an unique type of draught horse. It approximates more to the Flemish typo than any other, being cleanlegged and of a chestnut colour. Chestnut, of course, is the prevailing hue, but there are, many subsidiary hues, from a darkish liver-colour up to a bright chestnut, all of which qualify. It is regarded by many as probably, tho best horse on the farm," but does not equal the best Shires in heavy dray work. _ Still, there is an abundant demand, which exceeds the supply.

The total population of the British Empire, as given by tho statistical abstract published by the British Government, according to the 1911 census is approximately 416,318,000, against 385,398,000 at the 1901 census 345,455,000 at the 1891 census, and 303,694,000 at the 1881 census. Great progress is also shown in the total trade of the British Empire during -a period of 14 years, -from 1896 to 1910. The total foreign and inter-Imperial trade in 1896 was £985,078,000, and in 1910 it was £1,776,888,000, an increase of 80 per cent. " : '• ,' ' .

The area under linseed in Argentina in 1895 was less than 1,000,000 acres, but was more than doubled in 1906, and at present represents an acreage of nearly 4,000,000. The yield per acre of the crop is very uncertain, fluctuating according to the season. In 1903-4 the yield was 947,000 tons, whereas in the following year from a greater acreage only 592,001) tons were produced. In 1907 the production was more than 1,000,000 tons, but in consequence of unfavourable seasons the crop decreased to 716,000 in 1909-10 and to 685,000 in 1910-11. The estimated yield for 1911-12 is 1,500,000 tons.

Experiments in regard to a rust-resis-tant' oat are being conducted at the Government Experimental Farm, Ruakura. The variety in question has been bred from a single selected head of an Argentine oat that stood out for its robust character. For two seasons the new oat has withstood rust under most adverse conditions. On either side of it an oat very susceptible to rust {Tartar King) was grown, and though this was badly affected and the wind carried the rust-spores so that they covered the plants of the now oat, yet throughout this severe test it remained quite unaffected..

On examining the chemical analyses of different varieties of oats, marked variations in the quality of the grain are observed, and these variations are largely due to the. percentage of hull in tho oats. Therefore, to gauge the quality of oats it is not necessary to make a chemical analysis, . but simply to make a determination of the amount of hull, which can be done by weighing a certain number of kernels, and then weighing the hulls after they have been removed from the grains. A casual observation and simple examination of the kernels will often enable one to ascertain fairly well the relative amounts of hull contained in different samples.

Nowadays one sees fewer liquid manure tanks than used to bo the case. Tho system of applying liquid manure to growing crops has only very limited approval in this country. It is found that tho better plan very often is to pour the liquid manure over the heap to keep it moist, or to put a protective cover over the heip rather than drain the liquid portion into a tank. The principle of the covered yard will virtually do away with the manure tank, but where crops of whici two or three cuttings . are required in the year are grown, such forcing material as liquid manure is eminently valuable.

In tho province of Hanover, Germany, a thrifty plan of planting fruit trees along the roadside is adopted, apparently with great success. The product of these trees is sold at auction for tho benefit of the local government, the revenue thus obtained going a long way towards tho upkeep of the roads. Hanover has somo 7000 miles of country highways thus bordered. This year, somo of the roads yielded a revenue, from this source, at the rate of £130 a mile. The fruit is protected by law, and during the season of ripening the roads are patrolled by sharp-eyed watchmen on bicycles, so that little if any of the fruit is diverted from its proper destination.

The Suffolk has very good joints and excellent limbs, although with a horse with such extraordinary spread of body there is occasionally a tendency to go wide behind. Tho straight hind log is gradually being bred out, and every effort is being made to maintain weight at a consideration of equal value to quality. The head should not be too email, and anything suggesting the pony outlook is condemned by breeders. Tho stallions are usually strongly crested and the mares very long in the body with a good outlook. They have no points in comparison with other draught breeds in this country, but the Suffolk has a distinct mission to fulfil not only on tho farm but for the lighter type of dray work, and as a means of crossing in other countries to raise a good type of horse which is capable of doinff heavy military work* "i