THE FARM.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 908, 26 July 1889, Page 19

THE FARM.

HARVESTING AND THRESHING GRAIN. JOHN J. NEW, INDIANA. Nine twine-bound bundles are enough to put in a shock. Set up four, then break joints with four more and cap with one handle. A shock thus set out will dry out evenly and will not mould. It will stand 2i3 well as a large shock, and have but a small quantity of grain exposed to bleach. Cut no grain when it is wet with dew. Wheat, rye and barley should be ripe when cut. Oats may be cut a little green, but if afterwards left in the rain they had better be riper. All grain should be threshed as soon as possible after it is dry. The flint varieties of wheat may be threshed while damper than the soft varieties. Barley and oats will not mould in bulk as readily as wheat, but no grain should be threshed wet.

Every farrm r wants his threshing done as early as possible ; he wants a quick job and his grain saved. If he would accomplish this he must be ready when the machine is. The requirements are, the best of fuel, plenty of hands, plenty of sacks, plenty of tools, and arrangements must be such as to have the work go on steadily and without interruption, with no rushing, but with a will. When meals are ready the men must go at once, for it 13 important to keep on the right side of the cook. Arrange so that as many may eat together as possible, and fit those eat firifc who are wanted first. Two persons at least could stay with the machine—one of the owners and some one interested in the job of threshing. It is always safest. The handling of the grain is the next consideration. It is best to put only one bushel in a sack. tis more easily handled ; can be loaded and unloaded more rapidly ; is less liable to be wasted ; is much easier on the sacks and saves tying and untying.

Straw may be stacked with a view of forming a shelter for stock. Sheds are by placing posts twelve feet high at proper intervals for strength. On these place a strong ridge pole. The shod should be the full length of the stack ; preferably in the centre, though it may be pub on either side or end. Let good solid polos or timbers extend from the ridge-pole to the ground, four feet apart and leaning at an angle of forty-five degrees. Commence at the top and nail ou lath half way down leaving the bottom open. Then build the stack upon the frame thus made. Buch a shed it selfsupporting and stock cannot waste the straw. If there is more straw than can be stacked on the shed frame, do not allow it to ba thrown to one side and remain in a loose pile. Leave no loose straw around tha stack. Clean all up and haul to the barn for bedding. To owners of machine? I would say : Keep the machines in good order, overhauling every day. Oil is cheaper than machinery, Castor oil and beeswax are the best materials to put ou belts, Keep the cylinder or the exact divide and it will thresh clean out of the head, and avoid cutting. Allow the cylinder little end play. Always set at light angles with the direetion of the wind. This gives a, clean side to measure on, keep 3 straw and ohaff out of the threshed grain and helps the straw hands. Keep the boilers clean. Never run a machine when empty. Never belt bind the machinery. Run it level as nearly as possible. Keep the belts from the dew and wet. Always use the best grades of lubricating oil. PREVENTIVE OF MILDEW. Take three pounds each of flowers of sulphur and quicklime. Slack the lime and boil with the sulphur in six gallons of water until reduced to two gallons. Allow this to settle, then pour off the clear liquid and bottle it for use. An old iron pot will answer to boil it in. A gill of this liquid, mixed with five gallons of water, is an excellent prevention and cure for mildew upon plants—showered upon them as soon as the mildew appears. RESTORE THE PASTURE. Where bushe3 are springing up here and there over the pasture, cut and burn them, and plough out the roots. The next year, or the same if possible, re-plough and harrow well. By continuing this course for two years in succession, and doing the work in a thorough manner, there will be no more bushes to cut, and the land will be in a condition where grass c m grow. The pasture with neither tiees nor bushes growing, if it have a firm sod, requires no ploughing. Such land never gets swarthbound, and it seldom improves by ploughing and re-seeding, Occasionally give it a coating of manure, or a dressing of some good fertilizer. But where the pasture has 'run out,’ or produces only a scant growth of feed, and yet has sufficient depth of soil, plough up one or two acres a year, as opportunity occurs. If this ploughing is done in the spring, plough again in the fall. Put no crop on it, but simply cultivate the land. Do this as often as possible, and after two years of such treatment seed down to grass, and at the same time apply a good coat of manure or of some other fertilizer. This will give the grass a good start, and help to form a more compact sod. Continue this process with all similar portions of pasture land until all has been reclaimed. The sametreatment with run-down mo a ing land will be attended with satisfactory results. But some may ask. Why not grow some crop upon this land, while it is being cultivated. This would require fencing, and if there is no crop, the ploughing and cultivating can be done when other work is not pressing. A crop would also interfere with the frequent ploughing necessary to bring the land into proper condition for seeding down, and more than all would rob the soil of the plant food which the grass so much needs. Hilly land, Which might wash, may be treated with a dressing of manure or ashes. The latter often gives a more compact sod and shows good effects for years, One great benefit to be derived from this treatment of pasture land is, that when weeding down the grass wilt be more nutritious. Cattle, horses or sheep will feed upon newlyseeded land in preference to any other, while for milch cows there is nothing better. But such lands should not be fed too olosely in the fall ; especially when the cattle are taken from them nightly, as is generally the case with cows. Give the grass a chance to get a start, so that the roots will be the better protected against the freezing and thawing of winter. — American Agriculturist. hay-makingTand care of MEADOWS. In making hay, farmers are apt to become too much hurried with drawing in, so that they do not give the hay time enough to cure and sweat; hence it becomes mowburnt, musty and discoloured. It has been my observation that the best way to harvest hay is to cut early, so as to secure a good green colour. Let the hay lie and have plenty of time to dry ; use the tedder, and then rake and cock _ it. Loading from the windrow is a bad practice. The hay may appear dry after the hot ra.vs of the sun have poured upon it for five or six hours, but it is so only on the outside. I*-, should be cocked up and have time to sweat before it is put in larger masses. _ The markets demand hay of good colour, and it pays well to use extra efforts to secure such. Hay that i 3 cut early will bring two dollars per ton more than that cut later and allowed to become yellowish. Though hay-making is important, the care of the meadow is equally, if not more so._ It is best to seed with fall crops, at. the time of sowing or in the ensuing spring. Do not pasture much, and if the meadow is seeded to timothy, don’t pasture at all, or. the meadow will soon ‘ run out.’ Pasturing will cause June grass to start, and there will soon be no timothy. I know of meadows ten to twelve years old that yielded from one-and-a-half to two tons per acre last year. They were never pastured, last spring were harrowed, and where thin, new seed was sown. Every two or three years a quantity of phosphate was sown, at the rate of a few dollars’ worth per ao;e. This enriches the End and gives a good growth of grass. If the fall is wet there will be quite a growth after cutting. . In spring, where this autumn growth dried it is burnt over. This warms the ground and gets rid of the old dead grass, which would otherwise be raked up and spoil the sale of the hay. The ashes act as i a fertilizer.

I have been speaking of timothy meadows. With clover a good crop of seed can often bo secured as a second crop after haying. As to which is the better, clover or timothy, it

depends upon the soil, etc. Timothy brings the best price—the coarser and longer the better—-while clover makes the best pasture. It is better to put Hay in barns or sheds than in stacks, as stacked hay is liable to become dusty. There cannot be too much care taken in raising and harvesting hay. Human beings want their food well prepared, and so also do the dumb beasts.

FEEDING WITH RAW PEAS. The Ontario Agricultural College had in Professor Brown an untiring worker in the progress of agriculture. He has year after year given to the world the results of practical scientific experiments in feeding, breeding, and dairying, that have been of great value. After testing the question with a large number of animals and in a variety of ways, he declares that 1 raw peas are 50 per cent cheaper than cooked peas, and cheaper than Indian corn in any form.’ Of course, the latter point would depend upon the price of the two commodities. As to the best manner of feeding, a farmer, who raises very fat hogs every year, finds that upon the one-meal-a-day- plan he never fails to secure a large frame, extreme fatness finally, and freedom from sickness, all of which lie humorously attributes to * keeping them happy and contented.’ Ills neighbours’ pigs, fed three times a day, are, he says, ‘squealing all the time they are not eating, while his own get up and eat their one good meal, and then lie down and sleep most of the time.’ One season, with three pigs, he made (exclusive of weight of the animals when he put them up) 1,2601 b of pork in ISO days, an average of 71b or 2£lb each a day. The dry meal was turned on the top fresh water (a pailful or two) in the trough. Thus only were they watered and fed. When killed, they were fully up to —in fact, above —the average.

SORE MOUTHS IN LAMBS AND DISEASED UDDERS AMONG EWES. (The Field. In The Field of April 28 last year we referred to the occurrence of a form of disease affecting the udders of the ewes in several parts of the country, and in Lincolnshire especially, c.using in some cases very serious losses, amounting in one case to 50 per cent of a large flock. The malady corresponded to the gangrenous maminitis described by M. Nocard, and further observations which we were enabled to make led to the discovery of the very minute micrococcus to which M. N<-card considered the disease might be ascribed. During the present lambing season cases of sore mouths in lambs, associated in some cases with disease in the udders of the ewes, have been frequent ; but we have not heard oE losses in the breeding flock to the extent which was noted last year, and the cases of disease in the mouths of lambs have been more numerous than those of maminitis in the ewes, so that the general inquiry has been, What remedy is effective for sore mouths ? Last year the questions had reference to the proper treatment of the udders of the ewes. When, as most often is the case, the lambing season is wet—or, still worse, when cold winds prevail, and nights are frosty—sore mouths are common among the newly dropped lambs. When the lambing pen is near a wood or coppice the ground is commonly very damp, and the litter of the most projected part of the pen soon becomes saturated with moisture and contaminated with excreta, so that the mere contact of the skill of the lips is sufficient to cause irritation ; and from the same cause the udders of the ewes may suffer. Some difficulty exists in assigning a proper r6le to the special microbe, supposing it to be present in ordinary cases; but it maybe got over by assuming that the diseased condition induced by exposure to contact with wet and dirty litter renders the tissues susceptible to the action of the minute .organisms which would not grow in perfectly healthy structures. In any case the influence of dirt and moisture in causing the sore mouths of the lambs and diseased udders in ewes is very well known. Generally the disease in the lamb is noticed first, and, unless the ewes suffer seriously or fatally from disease in their udders, they may escape notice altogether, and the sole attention be given to the lambs. This is an obvious error, which should be avoided. As soon as any swelling is detected in the mouths of the lamb 3, even before sores are apparent, the udders of the ewes should be carefully examined, and if any small nodules or sores or scabs are detected, the animals should be placed bj themselves and properly treated. By the early detection of the disease and isolation of the affected subjects its spreading may be checked. Lambs affected with the eruption in the mouth are readily seen. Slight irregular swellings, bearing a distinct resemblance to the papules of sheep pox, are first apparent ; indeed, the disease has been more than once mistaken for sheep pox. Then a discharge occurs, the dirt of the litter or ground sticks about the sore parts, and a spongy condition of the lips is soon established. Sores sometimes appear inside the mouth, and this symptom has led to the affection being taken for foot-and-mouth disease. In its general characters, the eruption on the lips and in the mouth resembles eczema, ' and if a distinctive name is required that seems to be the least objectionable. Should the disease in the mouth of the lambs prove to be unconnected with disease of the udder of ewes, the daily use of a little common white zinc ointment, or a mixture of one part of Goulard's extract with eight parts of milk, will be sufficient to effect a cure. But the diseased animals must be kept in a'clean place to avoid the irritation of dirt and moisture being continued. Malignant, maminitis in ewes, a disease which we described about this time last year, and may refer to now as one which is causing some loss and anxiety, is often, as it is at this time, associated with diseased mouths in the lambs. It is observed that in many of the present cases, perfectly healthy ewes have lambs with sore mouths : but the converse is hardly likely to be the case. Ewes, suffering from malignant —or, as Ml. Nocard’ calls it, gangrenous—mammitis cannot have healthy .lambs, as the fluid which the young animal sucks quickly becomes contaminated with morbid products. Numerous small abscesses form in the structure of the gland, and a considerable quantity of pus is mixed with the milk. The ueder becomes dark purple or violet in colour, cold to the touch, and the ewe dies from exhaustion. In an outbreak which was recently investigated, several ewes had died, but the losses bore no proportion to those which occurred last year in the same district, ai.d the malady at present seems to have assumed a mild form ; but an examination of an udder taken from a ewe which had died of the disease showed that the affection was essentially the same us that which we described in The Field of April 28 last. Symptoms of the disease of the udder of the ewe should be carefully watched, as the only chance of cure depends upon the early application of remedies. At first the ewe is Hull and dejected, rumi-

nation ceases or is carried oil at long intervals ; soon the' animal becomes feeble, and then prostrate. In France, M. Noiard observed that death takes place in virulent Cases iu twenty-four hours from the beginning of the attack, although some sheep live for four or five days. V7e have not met with the virulent and rapidly fatal form in this country. Most of the ewes which died from the affection lived six or seven days, and some of them for a longer period. None of those which we had under observation recovered.

The contagious character of the French disease was tested by M.. Nooard by lating healthy ewes with the milk from a diseased udder, and also with pure cultures of the micro-organism. Both means were successful in causing the disease. Extension of the disease of the ewe in flocks of ewes in France was observed to belong to tha milking flocks in the cheese-making districts ; aud an obvious means of communication exists in the practice of milking, as the milker’s hand will carry the infective matter from diseased to healthy subjects. In this country, however, ewes are not emDloyed for milking, and the rapid spreading of the disease which sometimes occurs must be due to other causes. Lambs becoming infected from the diseased udders of their dams might cause the spreading of the affection by infecting other lambs against which they might rub their noses, and healthy ewes might also contract the disease by lying on the ground on which discharge from diseased udders had fallen. The fact that the disease does spread is enough to show the necessity for' adopting all necessary precautions for the separation of diseased from healthy animals. Liberal use of disinfectants to wash diseased udders and sprinkle over the litter are the most important things to be done in the way of prevention. Treatment of the diseased animals is of little use when the affection has gone on to gangrene, unless the severe remedy of the French shepherds (to which we referred in the former article) be employed. This treatment consists in cutting across the udder quite to the base, and then dressing the exposed surfaces with saturated solution of sulphate of copper. Sloughing or shrivelling of the udder is the result of the treatment which the French shepherds employ, and the only object of it is to get the animal into fit condition for the butcher. Even this radical measure would fail unless it were carried into effect at a comparatively early stage of the disease. Gangrene or mortification of an important organ is something more than a local disease. Morbid products are quickly carried into the blood stream, and the whole system is soon poisoned. Whatever is done, then, must be done before this occurs, or it will fail to effect any good.

MISCELLANEOUS. ' permanent pasture. A correspondent of ‘The Field’ gives the following recipe for permanent pastures : Quantity of seed per acre for an ordinary soil, the germination calculated from the average guaranteed by the principal seed merchants : lb. Foxtail ... ... ... ... 4 Cocksfoot ... ... ... ... ... 3 Catstail ... ... ... ... ... 6 Meadow Fescue ... 2 Tall fescue ... 3 Rough meadow grass ... ... ... A Yarrow ... ... ... ... ... J Tall oat grass ... ... ... ... 2 Perennial red clover ... ... ... 1 Alsike clover ... ... ... ... 1 White clover ... 1 Total ... 23 J Sainfoin ... ... ... ... ... 4 Lucerne ... ... ... ... ... 8 Total per acre ... ... ... 35£ INSECT EMULSION. One of the things that a gardener can get ready during his leisure for the busy summer time is the coal-oil butter, or kerosene emulsion, that is so serviceable against many insects and so easily applied. Professor Trelease recommends milk, and sour milk in preference, as it does not ferment further, but soap is preferred by some. About twice as much oil as milk is used, and they are churned violently together for fifteen or forty-five minutes, or until the liquid suddenly thickens into a g istening bntter quite homogeneous, mixing completely and readily with water, if applied a little at a time while stirring, and keeping any length of time in a closed can, no free oil appearing in it. A pint or less of the emulsion may be used in a pail of water, mixing only as wanted. -A force-pump is best to do the churning, and may be used in applying the dilution. To destroy aphides, which cluster on the ends of young growing shoots, we carry a basin of dilution in one hand and bend the shoots into it with the other, shaking them to secure complete wetting.— Rural New Yorker. ' MEXICAN CURE FOR POISONING. There is a poison weed in the mountains of Texas anu Mexico which kills sheep in five minutes. Iu five minutes after a sheep has esten it he swells as if he had swallowed a young balloon, and jumps high in the air and falls dead. When a shepherd gets his first glimpse of these antics he rushes at the herd howling like a Comanche, waving his blanket, whooping up the dogs, and starting his sheep on a run, which he takes care that they maintain until they are completely exhausted. In this way he can save most of them. That spot is marked with a black cross in his mental diary thereafter. If he is ever obliged to take his sheep past, it, he keeps them on a keen gallop that they may not have time to graze. Being thus avoided the place is rank with rich grasses, powerfully tempting to the stranger who comes by with sheep. That weed ought to be investigated and exterminated. A VALUABLE GRAIN. English farmers find it profitable to season hay or straw that has been wet by sprinkling it as it is put in with powdered fenugreek, which has the property of sweetening the fodder and rendering it palatable. In the far East the same spice is mixed with human food to assist digestion as well as to flavour the dry food. Unlike any other spice seed, fenugreek has valuable feeding properties, and is itself wholesome and nutritious. It is a tonic, and engenders a healthy appetite. On the continent the seed does not cogt much more than cotton seed meal, and is used at the rate of seven to t9n pounds per ton of hay or grain.American Paper. CURE EOR SHEEP SCAB. (R. Watson). While acknowledging tho effectiveness of arsenic as a cure, I much prefer, and can confidently recommend, a dip of tobacco water (lib of tobacco t:> 5 gallons of water) a 3 hot as the hand can comfortably bßar, to which add a composition of soft soap and flour of sulphur in the proportion of about rrlh of sulphur to lib of soap, and well stirred i s. As the sulphur will not dissolve, and in soon carried off, the supply requires to be kept up. A bucket, or small cask open at one ond, containing a

similar combination of sulphur and soap well mixed together should be ready while the sheep are on the draining table, to bo applied with the hand to the throat, brisket, and brucb, and well rubbed into all scabby spots, any hard scab being at the same time cleaned off.- By one such dipping carefully done, and over head and ears, I have effectually cured a flock. The sulphur sticking to the wool, as it does for a considerable time after dipping, proves an effectual preventive to reinfection from foal yards or fences. lam inclined to believe that a hot dip of sulphur and soap wonld effect a cure without tobacco, and I think it worth some one making the experiment, as, if successful, it would save the most expensive ingredient of the dip.