AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19727, 29 August 1927, Page 15

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

Let calves have all the fresh water they will drink It is surprising the quantity even calver a few weeks old will take. Inheritance of dairy qualities, as shown by milk records, does not appear to be nearly so strong as the inheritance of beef characteristics Whe- ft man is seen struggling with a plough, it is generally because it is not .et properly, and if not, the plough should not have beer purchased. The farme wh< is so short-sighted that he cannot plan his operations months and years in advance, is not apt to make even a moderate success of the purebred live j stock business. I j The length of time a calf should be fed j skim-milk will depend somewhat on the : amount available, but wherever possible it is wist tc feeo sorri' skim-milk until the calf is six months old. | It is probable that a cow requires bej tween three an four gallons of water for every gallon of milk provided. It depends upon the quantity and quality of the succulents provided. Such manur s as blood and bone mixture, bone meal, farmyard or other organic manures, are best applied during the winter months, if the full benefit is to be obtained the following season. It is best tc plough the land as soon as one crop has been utilised, giving as long a perioo as possible before sowing the next. If necessary, a second ploughing will then be able to be given. By scientific feeding the quantity of milk produced by an individual cow can be increased and in the majority of cases the cows can be fed much cheaper than when the rationing is done by guesswork. There are 140 million head of cattle in India. The United States has the second greatest quantity with 65 million, and the Argentine comes next with a total of 40 million. The nse of purebred sires and the selection of brood sows that will produce and raise large litters and the building up of the herd by proper selection increase producing The eyes of cattle are an infallible barometer of health, a study of which is often amply rewarded. Watery or dull eyes of calves and cattle in general are always a sign that the beast is " off colour," and usually in danger of a chill, if nothing worse. Ophthalmia, or inflammation of the eyes, is easily detected by a copious flow of tears. Also the membranes become red and inflamed, and eventually a film forms over the eye This condition usually points to the presence of foreign bodies, such as hay seeds or oat chaff Yellow membranes of the eyes probably indicate an attack of laundice, tnd eyes which discharge a lot of thick niatter may condemn their owner as a tubercular suspect To the sympathetic, intuitive mind, says a writer in the Farm and Ranch Review, the twitching nerves in a beast's eye are significant that the animal is suffering. The eyes of a cow suffering from milk fever roll about a good deal at first, later to become fixed or staring, without focus, and in a bad case finally insensible to touch. One of the most remarkable figures in present-day Shorthorn activities is Mr. Jas Peter. Berkeley. England, who. at the venerable age of 84, was the judge of Shorthorns at the Bath and West Show recent I v The agricultural correspondent of the Times, commenting on the fact, says:-" He set about his heavy and responsible work with the activity and keenness of a man half his age Not a minute was lost until he had com pleted h-s duties, and no one watching h, m could detect any trace of age in hampering either his Heetness of foot or quickness of eye It was difficult to realise -that the active and alert judge at Bath m 1927 is the same authority who advised the purchase by Lord Fitahardinge of the great Shorthorn bull. Duke of Connaught, for 4500 guineas, at the Dunmore saie in 1875: and that at an earlier period in his remarkable career —in 1857, the year in which Erica herself was born—he was intimately associated with the founding in Lord Southesk's herd at Kinnaird Caste of the pre-eminent Erica family of the Aberdeen-Angus breed."