AROUND THE FARM

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1510, 7 February 1901, Page 54

AROUND THE FARM

v;.w=.•;.■.•< •• i,. • .y 1.5 -• .If ; the pig’s mouth .be examined at :• 'birth, or shortly after, there will he found - •eight.'tusks, sharp as needles, two upper i -and: two lower, on each side of the mouth. r : . Usually these are black or brown, but they appear white. They lac- , ,erabe> the tongue and the lips of the ycwnagster, ;• rendering them very sore, easing, cracks and scabs to appear, and, ,ti;i£ not /broken off at an early date, uiey

.... scon begin to fight and wound each other cabouf the head and 1 , body*: in fact, if neb - broken off at an early date, the black teeth will cause all the symptoms of cankerous sore mouth. Always break off the black teeth in young pigs at as early ,-,a date as possible, before they attain fthe age of one week, and if this is done rvithey ~ will not be troubled with a sore i;mouth. The operation can be .perform;e4 with a pair of small pincers, breaking iv the teeth as close to the gum as possible, being careful not to leave any jacked ; points, ,

. ; An American conternporar - " draws attention to a side of the question of

breeding for milk which is not often heard of. It is well-known to every breeder, however carefully be may mate his stock, that there are occasions when the offspring is entirely unlike either of his parents. This is explained by what is called 1 atavism, or reversion to some distant and inferior type, a theory not yet properly understood'. There seems no doubt, either, that by excitement of the dam’s imagination during the period of gestation has an influence on the offspring- Anything she sees often, especially animals of her own species, may make an impression on her, and also on the offspring when it is born. In most cases the tendency is internal, and in the cas© of cows may be seen in a lessened milk yield. The feeding of the dam during the period of gestation has, it is asserted', much influence on the offspring, and the poor condition of cows during the few months before calving, being fed on dry foods, explans why in many cases the calves prove inferior milkers to their mothers. The evident moral of this is to feed the cows on good, succulent food, and not adopt the practice that very often maintains of feeding the cows during the time they are off milk on anythin- that will keep them living. The cows should be kept- in good condition, and in warm quarters, though they should not be allowed to get fat. There is always the difficulty, however, with a prolific milker. It is absolutely necessary to decrease the quality of the food to get the cow dry and give her the necessary rest l before calving, or even running the risk of ruining her milking qualities prematurely. * * * * *

Some idea of the magnitude of the Interstate Live Stock Exposition, now open at Chicago, may be had from the fact that the entries number over 10,000, and the premiums to be awarded bulk up to £IB,OOO. There are over 000 classes for cattle, sheep, swine and The great- Dexter Park pavilion at the Union Stock Yards is the central building of the exposition ; but. huge as that structure is (600 feet long- by 200 feet wide, with stall room for about 8000 animals,, it accommodates but a small part of the exhibits, hence the Union Stock Yards Company has erected anotner structure of the same length and 100 feet wide, solely for exposition purposes. In addition to these, the numerous stables used by horse commission firms are being used, to house the horse stock during the show.

A special reporter of the “Leader” da • scribes in a recent issue of that paper a visit he paid to a Goulburn farm, where one of the features of the management is the feeding of irigated lucerne to the stock. One of the most profitable uses of the lucerne is found to be in the fattening of early lambs for tbe market, and the cross found best is well bred Lincoln rams with big framed merino ewes of a good class, carrying a heavy fleece of high grade wool. The fattening capacity of irigated lucerne*; at the height of the warm season is indicated by the fact, vouched for by the proprietor, that he has often had 20 big lambs to the acre topping up for the butcher at one time, and even then not making a very serious impression upon keeping the cron down. * ~ * * -X-

“Taking into account the value of peas, with regard to its merits as one of the best, if not the very best, fertilising rotations in connection with wheat and oats growing.” writes a practical pig breeder and fattener in the GouJburn Valley district, to the “Leader,” it should also be remembered that nothing more profitable than peas can he usvl for pig feeding. What has to be particularly noted, however, is the necessity f;u pea fed pigs having sufficient exercise For want of this pigs are apt to ‘go otf their feet,’ as the saying is. They get so lame in close confinement that they dare scarcely put a foot to the ground. But the food agrees while the animals have a free run afield. The fact is that the pig with liberty takes a good deal besides the peas—stieh as weeds, grass, fruit and such like, which goes so far to make almost any heating food agree. With this proviso the peas are excellent for making up bacon pigs and porkers for the market. W r e allow two parts of second rate wheat or barley and one part peas. The grain was all ground, mixed together and served with separated milk, water or wash as thick at first, as thin gruel, and later on thicker. White, peas are rather preferable to the brown or grey kinds. They are slightly more nutritious, and are not suite so heating. I am in favour of serving a. double hanrlful or so of whole peas or beans daily to go with other kinds of diet for almost all swine, save quite young ones, as they make a nice relish and a change of diet. Peas contain about 574 out of 1000 of nutritious matter; they, however, both sink considerably in nutriment below all cereals. If a farmer has plenty of peas that he desires to serve to his pigs without using any cereal grains more than obliged, he may feed away tolerably freely with the peas by serving plenty of vegetable food, such as grass, roots, vetches, etc., while voting; and the more exercise given the better. Thtis even, porkers may be made off. I don’t care to cook the peas, as some have advised. It would be wiser to cook most kinds of roots.

The annual sheep fair of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company will be held at Palmerston North on Thursday, February 14th.