FARM NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1856, 8 July 1887, Page 7

FARM NOTES.

Quality v. Quantity.— ln a letter on "Problems in Feeding," in the Breeders' Gazette, in which the writer reasons out th.c fact, as shown by the tests at Chicago for some years past, that the form of a live bullock, however perfect, is no evidence that it will cut up well on the block. Mr A. B. Allen says that the great annual waste of food throughout the country arises from four causes. First, not feeding the right sort required to obtain the desired object; second, feeding more than the animal can properly digest ; third, at irregular hours ; and lastly, not properly watering. In connection with this neglect of feeding the right sort of food to obtain the desired result, he points out that the fault lies in the use of too great a proportion of corn, which accumulates an excess of fat, laying it up pure by itself, without leaving any chance for the formation of well-marked lean meat. To remedy this he recommends using a ration composed of equal parts of corn, oats, and barley, or pease, together with a little fjaxseed, which, he says, are peculiarly adapted for the formation of superior tender muscle. -

Chemical Action in the Son.— The chemical action which plant food undesgoes in the soil to prepare it for assimilation by the plant is given by a correspondent of the Germantown Telegraph substantially as follows: — "The active cause of the chemical action of the acids and alkalies in the soil seems to be totally misunderstood or entirely unknown by most writers upon the subject. Water in moderate quantity, or more properly moisture, is the prime requisite. Heat, or more properly warmth, is perhaps equally important. Neither of these alone will cause the needed reaction, or, if any does take place, it will be too feeble to be of any value to plant grpwth. When, however, the two are present in suitable proportions, every invigorative quality in the soil becomes at ,once active — 'destructive fermentation commences, the general fertilising properties are broken down, mixed together ans ye« duced to that condition in whjch. only they can becQm§ really plant food. Plants ca^- - absorb dry subatahcesj neither can th"* wet substances if too wet. "\^ - oy o fu WS25* * erf6Ct P-Por^t^be abieto^pew r/ellt if their food is too dry ™« *° die outright ; if it is too wet they must gorge themselves to obtain enough real nourishment. In the first place they dry up ; in the last one the circulation is all water, which is no food, then they die. The talk about gases in the soil is all bosh. Plant food is neither wind nor water ; it is a pabulum or pap, consisting of the especial article — humus — slightly diluted with water,' merely as a lubricator to enable it to flow through the plant's circulating passages, and become eliminated on its passage. Put a han^f ul of djy meal into one's mouth. What

it the first call? Water, of course; not a flood, but just enough to moisten it.

Fast Walking Draught Horses.— The importance of securing smart, active walkers in the rearing of draught horses does not often receive from the breeders the consideration it deserves.. In the plodding work of the fields, as well as on the more active on'the roads, the difference between a prompt, fast walker and the horse that moves along in a careless, sluggish manner means a great loss of time in the twelvemonth. And not alone is there a waste of the horse's own time, but there is a corresponding waste of the time of the man who works the animal. When horses are reared for the purpose of selling them in large cities or towns, the importance of having such as are fast walkers is quite apparent, as they bring much higher prices than the slow, easy-going style of animals before referred to. Training will often do much in the development of this quality in a horse, but care in the selection of breeding animals will do much more. ■

The Shorthorn Trade of J.BB6.— The fall in the price of pedigree shorthorns, which has been going on ever since 1883, has been as great this year as it was last, when, according to the Almanac of the Live Stock Journal, the 35 auction sales of shorthorns realised a total of £65,703, this being equivalent to an average of about £37 10s, as against an average of about £43 10s for the year 1884. There has been a still further drop in the average this season, as although the number of sales has increased considerably prices have fallen very low, the net result being that though 1953 head of pedigree shorthorns have been sold they have fetched only £60,590 15s 6d, or less by over £5000 than the 1750 sold last year. The average, in short, has fallen from £37 10s to £31 0s 6d, and this is almost as low as that at which it stood five or six years ago. The number of sales was 44, as compared to 35 a twelvemonth ago, the most important being that of the well-known Willerby herd, which was broken up owing to the death of Mr Booth. The demand for the Booth blood is always very strong, and it is not surprising therefore to find that the 57 lots in this sale realised £5547, or over £97 each, the highest price being 330gs for a heifer of the Hecuba family. This was not the highest individual price of the year, as at a sale held in Cumberland a month before Mr S. P. Foster, who disposed of only a portion of his herd, obtained 505gs for a heifer of the Bates blood, this heifer being purchased for the Duke of Devonshire's famous herd at Holkor. The portion of Mr Foster's herd which changed hands made the very satisfactory average of £85 0s 6d, whereas the portion of Sir Wilfred Lawson's neighbouring herd at Brayton, sold on the following day, averaged little more than a fourth of that sum. The third best sale of the year was that of Mr St. John Acker's herd, the 40 animals in which averaged nearly £68 eaoh ; and of three other sales, at which the average exceeded £50, the most interesting was that of the Prince of Wales' stock, held at Sandringham during the week of the Royal Agricultural Show at Norwich. Only a portion of the Prince's herd was disposed of, but the gathering was a very memorable one, including agricultural visitors from nearly all the British colonies and from most European countries, and the desire to obtain possession of something bred at Sandringham doubtless helped to raise the average. Still, an average of £50 12s 3d for nearly 70 lots spoke volumes for the excellence of the herd, and it may be added that the Prince of Wales' Southdown sheep sold at the same time also fetched good prices. The lowest averages were those of £16 for Mr Singleton's herd at York and for Mr Whitford's herd in Cornwall, but in nine other oases the average did not reach £20, so that the general aspect of the year's sales is decidedly unfavourable.

Disfiguring Horses.— Prof essor Gleason, a horse-tamer, in one of his exhibitions recently in New York, said in substance that " the person who causes a horse/s. tail to be cut off for fashion's sake ought to be sent to the State prison for 10 years." On this a writer for "Wallace's Monthly" comments thus: "No person having in their make-up the first grain of humanity, and no man having the slightest tinge of true horsemanship about him would permit his animals to be thus mutilated and disfigured; for no matter how handsome an a.nimal may be, put him through th,e ' fitting ' of a fo.oMios.tler of the English type and ftp. becomes aa thoroughly ugly as a dop/aAfed taste and a. bob-tail oan make him."

Qarrqts for Horses.— The best of roots for the horse in winter ia the carrot. Enough should he provided to give two or three messes a week, though where they are plenty a sfcill better plan is to feed some .every day with oats or other grain, the ration of which may be proportionately diminished. To buy them they are generally as dear as oats, but may be grown for much less cost, a good crop of carrots yielding JJOO to GQO or 800 bushels per acre, according as the small or large varieties are grown. — American Exchange.

Prevention op Turnip Taint..— lt is stated that Mr Simpson, of Wray Park, whose herd of Jerseys is quite famous* finds that if in giving turnipa to, cattle you cut ♦' J> across, so th.at the part which h" " nem ahoye ground is kept out of t* aS & r< ? wn svnd confined to feeding d" " s*™* ratlon 1 fear no taste of twain- 6 .' */. stoc .?' y° u need ,6 m the milk

potatoes ar- : at .oes juom Kotting.-H f ci- .o wet when dug, as they are apt p , late in- the season, a little fresh lime over the heap as they are put into the barn or storehouse will. dry them. Do not put in deep bins or even barrels at first, as' this will confine moisture where there is no circulation of air to dry it out. A slide made with slates one inch apart, with boards set edgewise, will clear off most of the dirt adhering to the potatoes when dumped on the floor. The best way to stow them is in bushel boxes,' which may be filled and pHed one on another to the top of the barn, if necessary. This allows some circulation of air, and makes the potatoes less liable to rot.

Australia's Destiny. — It is now certain that contrary to ' the popular belief,, the interior of Australia" is capable of sustaining a very large population. The want of water, which is supposed to be the chief obstacle

to settlement, is not so great as has been alleged. TJie fault is one which settlement itself abates, and nothing is more true in the history of Australia than, that as man advances the desert recedes. .Settlement makes fertility by a better use and economy of the forces of nature. The total rainfall over all Australia is estimated to be on the average equal to that over the British Islands. The water has only to be stored to make the rivers run, which now chiefly lose themselves in the thirsty soil before reaching the sea. Much has been done already by damming, draining, and the sinking of wells to increase and economise the, water, supply, with- the most beneficial results' on the climate and on the vegetation." In a generation or two more the whole face of the country will be changed, as the measures now in process of adoption by the Government of the various colonies for irrigation and afforestation are completed, and there is every reason to hope that the area of land available for population in the future will increase as the population of Australia itself increases. — Saturday Review.

Black-faced Sheep.— Perhaps in no other domestic animal has improvement been so rapid and marked, of late years, as in the black-faced sheep of the Scottish Highlands. This breed has, for ages, been celebrated for the flavour of its mutton.; but in shapes it has ranked lowest amongst the British improved breeds. Much attention has, however, been bestowed upon the breed of late years, and those who have seen the portrait of Seventy-two, the Highland Society's prize black-faced ram of 1885, will agree that it would hard to fine a handsomer animal. Although very coarse, their wool is readily purchased, and being exceedingly strong in the fibre is worked up into valuable fabrics. The black-faced is essentially a mountain sheep. Having for so many generations existed on the roughest of pasture, it is literally true that it will grow and thrive where other breeds cannot subsist. ' There are large tracts of broken country on our main coast range, at present almost valueless which might be made to carry heavy flocks of black-faced sheep.

A Curious Breed of Sheep. — Mr Frederick A. Milbank describes in Land and Water a curious breed of sheep of which he has a small flock running in his park near Bedale, in Yorkshire. These sheep are about the size and weight of the ordinary black-faced Scotch sheep, but have fouv horns, one pair growing upwards and curving slightly outwards, the other pair curving downwards and almost surrounding the face. Such, at least, are the characteristics of a five-year-old ram whose head was photographed. .Mr Milbank originally purchased a few of the breed in the island of North Uisk, one' of the Hebrides. They are nob found in the adjacent islands, nor (as far as we are aware) in any other part of the United Kingdom. The skulls of sheep having four (and sometimes more) horns, have been found in different parts of Ireland by antiquarians.