Farm and Garden.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 237, 25 March 1876, Page 22

Farm and Garden.

We extract from the Sydney Mail the following remarks on the treatment of phrenitis, or inflammation on the brain ;—“ This is rather an uncommon disease in the horse, hut we may have slight congestion of the brain every summer in case of sunstroke from excessive light, heat, and over-exertion. Phrenitis is characterised by dullness and sleepiness. These symptoms soon pass on to excitement and madness, which symptons may be mistaken for stomach staggers. In the case of phrenitis the pulse is strong and firm not slow. and oppressed, as in stomach staggers ; the animal, besides, is feverish, more easily roused, and when roused is very excitable. As the sleepy symptoms, which continue during the stage of congestion, pass off, the eyes become red and staring, the pulse quickens, while the animal unconsciously dashes himself about and endeavors to run down any one that comes in his way ; the creature becomes unable to balance himself and soon falls—blowing, panting, and g-fci*ugfg > ling‘. Bleed. once to the extent of three°or four quarts. The application of ice to the head, tied up in a cloth or hag, will also do much good. Avoid all blistering, &c.„ but have plenty of assistants to prevent the animal from injuring himself. In addition to this treatment a dose of aloes, along with laxative clysters, will materially assist in the recovery.” Shying in a horse, veterinaries say, generally arises from timidity, but sometimes it is united with cunning, and induces the animal to assume fear of some object for the sole purpose of finding an excuse for turning aside. The usual cause of shying is doubtless the presence of some object to which the horse has not been accustomed ; and if he has defective eyes, which render h'.m shortsighted, it will be difficult to convince him of the innocent nature of the novel object. There are endless peculiarities in shying horses, some being dreadfully alarmed by one kind of object which to others is not at all formidable. The best plan of treatment which can be adopted is to take as little notice as possible of the shying, and to be especially careful not to show any its recurrence when the “ alarming object appears in the distance. When the horse begins to show alarm, but not till then, the driver should speak encouragingly to him, and if necessary, with a severe tone, which may even be supported by the use of the whip if his onward progress cannot be otherwise maintained. The principle which should be carried out is to adopt such measures as will get the horse to pass the object at which he shies, somehow or other, and this should be effected with as little violence as possible, always com-

mending in an encouroging tone as soon as th e purpose is gained. Nothing has so great a tendency to keep up the habit as the plan so common among ignorant grooms of chastising the shyer after he has passed the object of his alarm. If he can be persuaded to go quietly up to it, and examine it with his muzzle, as well as with his eyes, great good will be effected, but this can seldom be done with moving vehicles, and heaps of stones or piles of sand are generally only alarming from defective vision, so that each time they assume a new phase to the active imagination of the timid animal. Punishing-bits only make a high-couraged animal worse, and the use of over-cheeks is rarely beneficial. The Americans have fallen on a readyreckoning plan fok- ascertaining the weight of large and small cattle by a system of measurement. Supposing it is wished to ascertain the weight of a hog, all that has to he done, according to the Prairie Farmer, is to “ take the girth of the hog just behind the shoulder-blade, and the length from the bone of the tail to the fore part of the shoulder-blade, getting the dimensions in feet and inches ; multiply these measurements together, which, reduced to feet, give the square superficial feet ; multiply again by the number of pounds allowed to the superficial foot. This depends upon the size of the animal; for animals having a girth of from 3 feet to 5 feet allow 16 lbs. to the superficial foot, and if the girth is less than 3 feet allow 11 lbs. to the superficial foot. Suppose a pig measures 2 feet in girth and 2 feet along the back ; multiplying these together gives 4 square feet, and this multiplied by 11 (pounds to the superficial foot for animals measuring less than 3 feet in girth) gives 441bs. as weight of the pig.” The following mode of preserving dead lambskins, communicated by Mr. . T. C. Peters to the Rural Neiv Yorker, will be of interest to our sheepfarmers :—“ Every flockmaster is lucky if he does not at yeaning time lose more or less lambs. When the lambs are from full blood or high grade Merino sheep, the skin, if taken in its early stage, has a most beautiful coating of wool. All these skins are saved and dressed or tanned in France and Germany as well, and form an important item of trade, being used as linings for gloves, mittens, and other winter wears. It is safe to say that of the present flock of sheep in this country, at least one-half, or say fifteen millions, are breeding ewes, and drop a lamb anuually ; of these at least two and a half million rarely reach a week old. They are an uns : ghtly nuisance about the barns and lot, often thrown upon the shed roof, or on stumps, or in the fence-corner. I venture of the millions of farmers who own sheep in this country, no ©ne has ever yet saved the skin of a dead lamb ; and yet, how labor is used to render a disgusting mass useful and profitable. Take equal parts of alum, salt, Glauber salts, and half a part of saltpetre ; pulverize and mix well; add about an equal part in bulk of the mixture wheat or rye bran. Spread the skin while green and apply the mixture upon the flesh size ; roll it up and place it in a dry cool place where it will be level, so as not to drain. After a week or ten days, If properly handled, it may be washed in soapsuds and slowly dried, rubbed with a blunt instrument on a table while drying. In the last stages a little whiting or chalk may be used. If the skin be dry, moisten it to about the consistence of a green one. After it is dried comb out the wool, and you will have an article useful in a hundred ways, and for which you would pay the furrier a good round profit, judging from what the importer pays.” Road-side Fruit Trees. The roads in some parts of Germany are lined during the entire distance with rows of poplars, or of apple trees, the branches of which latter bend beneath the weight of the fruit. A fine of 3s. is the penalty for plucking the fruit, consequently it is permitted to ripen, and the owners or the community reap the benefit of their foresight in making shade trees at once beautiful and profitable. Orchids. —That the better kinds of Orchids, skilfully managed, continue to fetch high prices was sufficiently proved the other day at Stevens’, where a collection belonging to Mr. Russell, of Mayfield, near Falkirk, and consisting of 639 lots, realised £2,211 14s. One plant of Saecolabium guttatum alone, described in the catalogue as being “ from 2 to 3 feet high and wide,” and as having “twenty-two strong leaves, two strong young plants at bottom, with ten and eleven leaves respectively,” and having “ produced ten spikes of bloom this year,” fetched £65 2s. ! Twenty, thirty, and forty pounds were freely given for other lots, few of which brought less than ten guineas. Cupressus Lawsoniana Fragrans. Of the many beautiful varieties of this very variable cypress this one, described by Mr. Balf, in the Farmers’ Gazette, is the prettiest.. It 3 excellent habit, deep verdure, and fern-like spray combine to give it a foremost place. Anyone visiting Glasnevin, and seeing the handsome specimen of it there, will scarcely hesitate to endorse the favorable opinion now expressed with regard to this variety. Why distinguished with the present name we fail to discover, as there does not appear to be any special or peculiar fragrance about it. THE CROPS IN OTAGO, THEIR CONDITION AND EXTENT. (From the Witness.) In some respects the harvest has been of a most satisfactory kind. The yield has been above the average, and farmers have been but little troubled with blight,, smut, or insect pests. In nearly every district there has been a decrease in the area under wheat, and there will not be a very large surplus of this grain when all local requirements are met. From the northern part of the province, where the wheat this year is of unusually fine quality, several thousand bushels will be exported to Great Britain, but it is unlikely that any other district will be able to send any away. A very large area is under oats, and the crop, as a rule, is a heavy one. How to dispose of the large

surplus which will be left in the hands of farmers and merchants is the problem which is at present engaging their attention. Buyers at eighteenpence per bushel in the country, it is said, are not to be found—the ruling prices being from one shilling to fifteenpence. Unless farmers, therefore, can see their way to obtaining more remunerative rates for this grain, we must expect to see a much smaller area under oats next year. It is true that a market exists in Melbourne, but the freight and other charges, together with the protective duty in "Victoria of sixpence per bushel, bring the price realised to the producer down to something very small. A little more attention has been paid to barley this season, and, fortunately, not only has the crop been a very fair one, but there is a prospect of the price being remunerative. Pasture has been unusually rich, and all paddock-fed stock are therefore in prime condition. Root crops of all kinds are yielding above the average. In some parts, however, potatoes have proved light, although of good quality. A new feature in connection with the present harvest is to be found in the fact that in some of the large farms in the northern districts the grain has been thrashed out in the fields without suffering any damage from rain. Our Oamaru correspondent explains that this has been done partly because of the difficulty there is experienced in getting hands capable of building stacks which will withstand a heavy rainfall. The acreage laid down in artificial grasses has considerably increased, and greater attention is now being bestowed upon the rearing of purebred stock. As the farmers in Otago can generally anticipate fair yields of hay and root crops for purposes of winter feeding, it is likely that more attention will be given to stock-breeding than hitherto, especially while the prospects of the oats market remain as dull as they are at present. The freedom of the crops from grubs and other pests during the season is a source of great satisfaction. No cause for this state of things has been given by our correspondents, but in all probability the rapid spread of the birds imported by our Acclimatisation Society, such as the starling, the pheasant, and the partridge, has led to a material diminution in the quantity of insect life which is to be found in our farming districts. Looking back at the year 1876, the farmer will no doubt hereafter speak of it as having been marked by “ an abundant harvest and a poor market.” ELASTIC HORSESHOES. (From the Field.) Before a large meeting of foremen engineers and draughtsmen, held in last November at Canon-street Hotel, Mr. J. Newton, C.E., in the chair, Mr. Richard Winder, of Farningham, near. Dartford, Kent, explained his patent elastic horseshoe, for which the silver medal was awarded at the Royal Manchester, Liverpool, and North Lancashire Agricultural Society’s Show, held at Preston in August last. Mr. Winder is the author of several papers on “ Agricultural Implements.” In the course of his remarks on Saturday last he said that the invention consisted in rendering the horseshoe elastic by the introduction of indiarubber between two plates of iron that formed the shoe. In that way the elasticity of the whole thickness of the indiarubber was continued so long as the elasticity remained, and the concussion caused by horses trotting on hard roads was obviated. Other advantages claimed for the invention were—facility of roughing horses in frosty weather ; the nails in the hoof were undisturbed until its growth renders removal necessary ; and simplicity and efficiency in mode of fixing the plates. The effect of the elasticity in practice was less liability to hard and callous swellings at the joints, freer action of the horse, and great protection during tenderness of feet. Mr. Winder having explained the several parts of his invention—the plate of iron nailed to the hoof and that which goes to the ground (both of which were cast in a channel form to receive the indiarubber) — observed that as nature had provided the horse’s foot with cushions or protectors against jars or concussions when travelling in a wild state, so he had endeavored by his artificial elastic cushion to help the horse when at work for man upon hard unyielding roads. In maturing his shoe the author said that he had been guided by certain facts relative to the horse’s foot. The average duration of shoes upon horses actively engaged upon road work (especially trotting-horses) was from three weeks to a month, by which time the growth of the foot also necessitated a removal. To remove shoes frequently was destructive to the feet, and his plan was rendered valuable by obviating such frequent removal. In his shoe there were fourteen nail-holes. The use of such a number of holes was that at one fixing of the shoe the nails could be put in alternate holes, at the next remove they could be put in the intermediate ones in a fresh part of the hoof, and at the third shoeing the hoof would have become sufficiently grown so that there would be new horn in which the nails could be driven. The shoes were made of malleable iron, and could be bent cold to the foot. Ordinary care was required in putting on the hind shoes, but far greater skill was necessary to shoe the fore feet. It appeared to him highly important that the rate of natural growth or reproduction of the hoof should be known. The laminations of the sole of the foot should be pretty well left to fall off, whereas the bottom of the crust had to - be cut down by the farrier at each time of shoeing. Rasping the crust or wall of the hoof was to be condemned on account of the injury thus caused to the natural formation. The froocould not be pared, nor the heels cleaned out—the frog being the natural protector or cushion to the foot generally, and to the navicular joint in particular. Thus he thought he was following up nature by the addition of his artificial indiarubber cushion, which made the horse still less sensitive to the hammer upon the hard roads, especially whilst trotting or upon any of the quicker paces. He concluded by informing the meeting that the plan had been tried practically, and so far had succeeded beyond expectations. The principle was now being put to a further heavier test upon omnibus horses in Birmingham. In about a month

it would be in use in twenty-two counties, and negotiations were now pending for its use in nearly every county in England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as abroad. In the discussion which followed Mr. Joseph Newton said that he thought Mr. Winder had so far succeeded in “ padding the hoof” that the horses might be made much easier, and their services to mankind be rendered much more valuable. Notwithstanding the extension of railways all over the country, the services of the horse were more than ever required, and therefore the persons who were able to increase those valuable services certainly deserved the thanks of society. Mr. Winder received a unanimous vote of thanks from the meeting. SHELL AND BONE MANURE. It is much the same with shells as with bones. Oyster shells are often recommended for vine borders, and no doubt they become, a good manure, being something like bones in their action ; but used fresh, and in a whole state, they are not immediately beneficial. Some time ago we had a few vines from a grower who drains his pots with whole oyster and mussel shells. The plants were not remarkable for vigor, and on turning them out of the pot the shells fell out in a heap, not a root amongst them, save one which had travelled round the rim of an oyster shell, when decay had begun, showing that, had the shells been well broken and pounded, and laid up in compost for a year or so before using, they would have been highly serviceable. Chemists have told us long ago that fresh bones, though the most lasting, do not act immediately as a manure ; but their teaching is not always recognised in practice among gardeners. .For pot plants fresh bone 3 are of little service ; dissolved they act at once, and considerably less quantity is required ; laid up to ferment in a compost of soil for a year fits them also for potting purposes. Some of these patent manures now sold are mostly dissolved bones, finely reduced, and when not too much adulterated they are amongst the best of stimulants for plants, and are also clean and do not smell offensively. Some of these. we apply regularly to strawberries and pot vines with very marked results. Fresh bone dust is not nearly so quick in action. We have had this perfectly pure from the cutlery bone handle-makers, fresh from under the saw, and as fine as flour ; but it is not equal to dissolved bones, owing, no doubt, to its being fresh. It is preferable, however, to lump bones for potting. As about many establishments, in connection with dog kennels and other departments, bones accumulate, and are crushed at home, it is well to understand the simple process of dissolving them. Sulphuric acid is usually employed for this purpose, and it is poured upon the bones at the rate of about one-third the weight of the bones. After being reduced in this way bones may be mixed with soil before being applied as a dressing to plants, or they may be applied well saturated in water, as a liquid manure. To pot plants the powder may be sprinkled on the surface of the soil, to be washed in with the waterings. LONG-WOOLLED AND CROSSBRED SHEEP. (From the Argus.) Now that the long-woolled sheep are becoming more numerous, and are consequently falling a little in price, farmers who are desirous of working into a flock of crossbreds may do so at no great cost. In suggesting crossbred sheep we, of course, keep in view the fact that only a few farmers can be breeders of stud sheep ; for if many went into that particular line of business the market for males at least would soon be glutted, and stud-breeding would be rendered unremunerative. We are not forgetting that in this country the cost of rearing stud sheep is not 'nearly so great as in Britain ; but even here a great difference exists in the expense of managing and (if properly managed) of feeding rams and ewes for sale for first-class breeding purposes, and of rearing mutton for the market. It is competent for every farmer to grow good crossbred wool, which, with the mutton it covers, always meets a good market. The raising of a stud flock, on the contrary, is a work of time, and unless the very best animals of both sexes are procured the result is likely to be far from profitable, for second-rate sheep are now hardly saleable for stud purposes. A kind of general allegation has been made of late that, excepting for sale for breeding, pure-breds are less profitable than crosses. In the latter are classed the Oxford Downs—a cross of the Cotswold on the Southdown —and the Hampshire, which is the result of crossing the Southdown upon the breed indigenous to that country. In this country, as we all know, pure-bred Leicesters, Lincolns, and Oostwolds, and Merinos of more than one strain, have been found to pay very well. No one, to our knowledge, has carried out as systematically as Mr. Lawes has done in England experiments in feeding sheep designed to prove whether crossed or pure-bred sheep are the most profitable, but it has to be remembered that Mr. Laws’ experiments, which gave the palm to crossbreds, were conducted under conditions which do not exist in this country. The production of mutton is moreover but one point out of several, and that not the most important ; a sheep can be made mutton only once, but his fleece is taken every year. Mutton, again, is often low in price, whilst wool appears to have permanently attained a much higher value than formerly. Our breeders therefore act wisely in making wool the leading consideration when determining their choice of a breed. Fecundity should be another point with farmers, for though squatters have never been desirous of having more than one lamb to each Merino ewe, farmers need not follow that lead. On their comparatively limited areas of ground the feed supplies are under better control than on the "wide areas of natural pasturage on squattages. The larger freehold properties, through improvements in the way of better provision for watering and sowing down artificial grasses, are gradually changing their character, so that on these there should no

longer be any difficulty or danger in twins or triplets, of which some of the long-woolled breeds are prolific. The Lincoln and Cots wold breeders encourage the production of twins by culling all full-grown sheep which give only one lamb—and also by using none but twin rams. In some of the Cotswold flocks fecundity has been developed to a remarkable degree by careful attention to this point. To that end also prizes are given at the local shows to the shepherds who rear the largest percentage of lambs. The breed being very hardy, the dams are good mothers, and with plenty of feed can rear twins or triplets, and keep themselves in good order besides. In some of the best flocks there are always a few ewes with four lambs, but it is customary to take at least one away and mother it on a ewe with only one. The Southdown breeders have by a similar course of selection, and by controlling the supply of food at certain seasons, also developed the principle of fecundity. Old Southdown ewes often give three and four lambs, rarely less than two. We cannot believe that there would have been any difficulty in effecting a like development in the various breeds of merinos had flockowners found it expedient to try ; but as single lambs are the rule, crossbred sheep between merinos and long-wools are necessarily less prolific than the pure longwools. In Australia, from 80 to 90 per cent, is regarded as a fair to good return for merinos; in the Cotswold and Lincoln districts of England a prize at a show is rarely earned with less than 175 per cent ; it is plain therefore, that although we have referred to fecundity last, it is a consideration of the very first importance ; yet it is one to which colonial breeders are only just beginning to pay attention, and that only in consequence of the results of favorable lambings in some of the bestbred flocks of Lincolns.