AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19762, 8 October 1927, Page 19

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

A five per cent, solution of carbolic acid, mixed in water, makes a good disinfectant for mangers, racks, etc. An essential requirement in the keeping of live stock is the airiness, brightness, and cleanliness 6t the houses in Which they are quartered. When the cows and heifers come in season regularly, it indicates trouble in the reproductive organs that requires the attention of an experienced Vet. When rigid culling of the breeding females is consistently practised and the right kind of a bull used, improvement is sure to show with each generation. A pedigree is merely the family history of an animal for several generations, and every breeder should endeavour to secure this information before buying a cow. Artichokes make a most excellent food , for pigs. They are rich in digestible nutriments, 1001b. containing about 161b. of etude protein, carbohydrates, ahd fat. Dairy cows need plenty of good shade in hot weather. They should be able tt> lie down in comfort for hours at a timi when they are ready to chew their Cuds. Dairying is a long-term enterprise. The heifer calves of to-day are the milkers of to-morrow, and when skimped as Calves they are sure to skimp their owners later on. For belt results in rearing useful heifers every new-born calf should get a generous supply of whole milk i'or the first two weeks at least, and for a month if possible. Nothing should be considered quite so important to the man using a scrub sir« as the replacement of such an animal by one capable of improving the quality the herd. With a nervous animal, such as a good dairy cow usually is, it is very-important to use kindness rather than force. Here is a concrete instance of where kindness pays hard cash. A pig that stands well up on its toes is said in England to denote good breeding. White pigs are preferred for bacon purposes by the bacon-curing establishments in England. Green manuring for one thing adds car' bon content to the soil, for when the plant is ploughed in .the elements taken from the land are returned to it with the addition of carbon. There is no more difficulty in growing chou-moellier than there is in growing any other fodder or root crop; just give it reasonably good treatment all through and it will do all right. An American writes:—"Large cows produce more milk and butter-fat per 1001b. feed consumed than do smaller cows, though, as a rule, the smaller cow produces the most milk per 1001b. live weight. The effect of phosphate on the pl&nt is that Counteracting rankness Of growth. Practically all cultivated soils are deficient in phosphoric acid, so that fertilisers containing this ingredient rre always required. The object of shows is to promote among the farming community an interest and desire to produce the best stock possible in the respective classes. The farmers have been educated that the improvement of their cattle and sheep by the purchasing of the best purebred Stud animals is the only method of getting the best possible results from their holdings. The relative value of wool and of mutton and lamb exports from Australia is illustrated by the following figures:— During season 1925-1926 wool to Value of £63,203,415 was exported, representing 42.5 per cent, of total value of all exports from Commonwealth In the same period, the value of mutton and lamb shipped was £2,430,465, or only 1.6 per cent, of the aggregate. The rearing of a bull calf that is ihtended for a stock bull is somewhat different. from the rearing of ordinary Calves, such as are meant for commercial trade. With a bull, one must get growth, strength or constitution, and plenty of fine, strong bone. This all has to be achieved at an early age, and thus, in the most famous bull-breeding herds, the bull calves run with their dams for a long time. The production of heavy crops of cereals makes a correspondingly heavy demand ! upon the natural fertility Of the lend, | so that if farm land is to retain its productivity, it must receive liberal dressings of fertilisers to replace the elements removed by the cereals. It has been found to be decidedly more profitable farming to convert the fertility of the * land into butter-fat, wool, and fat lambs, than into grain. The custom in India is to shear sheep twice a year, though, in some provinces, shearing is carried out three times yearly. ! The three clippings can probably be at [ tributed to the fact that the fbek-owner , is ft poor man, and is anxious to realise , on his own possessions as rapidly as pos sibie. Two shearings with most types of sheep is a necessity under local con ! ditions, but it is hoped to establish new breeds which will call for annual shear- , ings only. 1 An Australian exchange says:—New Zealand overshadows Australia at the j Grocers' Exhibition, at Islington. The . New Zealand Dairy Board has taken one ; 0 f the largest stalls at the exhibition, oc [ which batter and cheese are attractively j displayed The principal object of the Australian publicity exhibits is to induce ! ietail traders to make window displays of t a.'i AuStra'inn goods, the effectiveness of which is shown by a miniature window ' r at the exhibition. Features of the various stalls are dried fruits, wines, and \ butter The Department of Overseas \ Trade and the Empire Marketing Board also exhibit Empire products. ' The champion Frisian cow of th? Melbourne Royal Show this year is Halecote * Opera Girf, owned by Messrs. E. L. Smith I and Sons, of WOodertd, and in this year's ! report ot the Government herd-test she is ~ the second highest producing three-year-old .. of nil breeds With her yield of 6491b. of [ butter-fat in 273 days. This is the highest I vield that any cow of any breed has had , to her credit when she captured the Royal champion ribbon, and she was shown in t. splendid condition notwithstanding her heavy test yield. She is of very attractive appearance, and her conformation received most favourable comment from all who admire a typical dairy cow. „ A poison that is proving highly satisfactory to farmers pestered by mice and ' sparrows is made of wheat coated with strychnine and milk, says the Leader, i About 121b. of wheat (seconds are quite suitable) is first moistened with milk, 1 and any surplus milk then drained off. > One ounce of strychnine is next ground up ? and dusted on to the moistened wheat, , which is mixed up by hand, and finally s spread out on a bag to dry. "his poison is very strong and a mouse has only to * eat one grain to be destroyed. Another > advantage is that this poisoned wheat > may be kept for two years without losing * its effectiveness. As soon as any mice 1 are noticed the poison should be spread t aronnd and the mice will quickly disap^ pear- If the majority of farmers would » adopt these preventive methods, mouse , plagues would be qmte unkown, states Mr W. S- Clayton, senior experimentalist ' i n New South Wales, If all hay stacks were made mouse-proof with galvanised . iron, the breeding grounds would be re- . moved, and this combined with the use of > poisoned wheat would stop a mouse plague at its very inception.