AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19889, 7 March 1928, Page 17

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

Milk in its warm condition is more susceptible to contamination than perhaps any other food production.

Lucerne seed production last year in the United States totalled approximately 42,000,0001b., compared with 57.000,0001b. in 1926.

The effects of an insufficiency of lime are apparent not only in diminished fertility but also in diminished feeding value of the crops grown.

Clipping the udder not only keeps it cleaner, but there is less danger of irritating the cow by accidentally pulling the hairs on the udder when milking.

A good milker finds less trouble in handling young and refractory cows than does the careless or incompetent one. Cows should be treated gently at all times, but more especially when being milked.

Potash, being a highly soluble plant food, should not be applied until the pasture is in a condition to make use of it, therefore iusi before the spring growth starts is tne best time to put the potash on.

If sows are fcfc at farrowing time, they will do their pigs well for several weeks before shrinking much, and by that time there are easements for her in the pigs being able to eat some food on their own account.

The hide with its covering is always a register of condition and vitality. An unduly thin hide lacking pliability, or a very harsh, tight hide, is invariably associated with other evidences of weakness in some form.

Kesults of financial and educational value to dairymen are soon realised when they identify themselves with district cowtesting associations, and, on the basis of the facts thus ascertained, eliminate unprofitable cows from their herds.

Exhibiting is a splendid means of advertising, but the entry must be conditioned and trained for keen competition. Many good animals are left far down the lino because the owners did not give them a chance to make good.

Italy is aiming at being self-contained so far as wheat supplies are concerned. With this object in view she has a very large number of experimental and other stations equipped with scientific appliances and supplies of selected seed.

Sows selected from spring litters develop more quickly than those from autumn litters, and can be mated when about eight months old; their first litters will, accordingly, be produced when they are about twelve months old.

In general it may be said that ensilagemaking consists in conserving green fodder crops without first driving off the moisture. Fermentation is checked at the desired point by compression, which serves to exclude the air necessary for the further action of the fermentation bacteria.

Rye is liked by cows, and milk of a very good quality is given. Fed alone it should be cut at an early stage of growth. When, however, it is mixed with vetches or rape, even when more mature, or when fed with roots or cabbage, stock are very fond of it.

Young gilts need more nourishing food than old sows since they are still growing and developing. A dry, roomy, wellventilated shea should be available for the sows to lie in as desired; so long as the floor is dry and there are no draughts all the requirements are satisfied.

The British Dairy Shorthorn Association has decided to submit the following suggestion to the Royal Agricultural Society For consideration:—That for the convenience of ringside spectators, duplicate numbers be provided for herdsmen to wear in the coat lapel or as armlets, to enable animals to be identified from behind.

Comparing honey and sugar, we find that a cup of honey weighs 120z., onefifth, or 2.40z., of which is water, while a cup of granulated sugar weighs Boz. From this it will be seen that a cup of honey contains slightly the more sugar. In substituting honey for sugar in a recipe, reduce the liquid constituents by one-fifth for each cup of honey used (says an English writer).

The cows may be given silage twice a day. They will readily consume up to 501b., but a daily ration of 401b. each is generally found to be sufficient. If each cow in the herd is allowed a ration of 201b. of silage twice a day, a herd of 50 cows will consume one ton of silage per day.

There aro different systems of crossing, each of which, when strictly carried out, gives good results. When carelessness or indifference is allowed to enter into the business, however, instead of producing the desired type (whether for wool or meat or a dual purpose sheep), the outcome is unsatisfactory in every respect.

There is a great difference in milkers. Cows will do much better when handled by some men than they will with others. A person should milk fast. We have found that with a slow milker the cows get into the habit of giving down their milk slowly, and do not give as much as when milked quickly. A milker should also be careful to get the last drop out of the udde>\

Prior to weaning, young pigs Bhould be gradually acoustomed to foods which will replace the mother's milk. From about five weeks until weaning time, which is usually seven to eight weeks, they should receive, in increasing quantity, a mixture of foods such as pollard, bran, barley meal or maize, potatoes or separated milk where available.

Our newer knowledge of nutrition speaks in no uncertain terms regarding the value of lime and what are termed generally minerals in the breeding and nutrition of all animals. Right from start to finish lime is of prime importance. It renders the soil more productive and easier to •work, it limits or eliminates certain very troublesome weeds and plant diseases, and finally it enables greater numbers of more prolific, healthy and flourishing stock to be kept.

The brood sow is a means of providing quick returns and large dividends, and has been rightfully called the " mortgage lifter." The natural increase is early and manifold. She provides a medium in herself and her offspring by which coarse and non-marketable grains may be marketed at an enhanced value, dairy by-products may be utilised to the greatest advantage, kitchen and garden wastes are turned into cash, and withal the fertility of the soil maintained to a greater extent tJian it would be were the grain and other feed sold off the farm.

How far lints may be considered to benefit the soil is a question which still awaits final solution, recently remarked a writer in the Journal of the English Ministry of Agriculture. It is possible that some gratitude is owed to them for more than their proverbial example of industry. It is conceivable that they may serve a good purpose in promoting the aeration and drainage of the soil by their subterranean activities, and in bringing up the lower soil for distribution as a top-dressing. In a chalk country, the surface soil denuded of lime may be benefited by the addition of the lime thrown up from their workings. At any rate, there is no doubt that the soil from anthills is sought after by gardeners for potting and for spreading round transplanted trees and shrubs.