NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1892, 15 May 1890, Page 6

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

In spits of all the theories that have been advanced, and all the experi'l'hick ami meats that haye been tried in Tijia seeding, connection with the question as to what is the right amount of seed to sow, there is still a large element of doubt in many farmers' minds, and a great

diversity of opinion respecting the matter. For example, when passing a promising field of wheat I have heard one farmer say to another, " That is a nice crop, but would be better if it were a little thicker." On a subsequent occasion I heard a paaaenger remark of the same field, that it looked very well but was a little too thick on the ground. There are advocates for both sides of the question, but unfortunately so many go to extremes that the doubtful ones are afraid to follow. It h very important to a farmer to got the greatest return from the least outlay, though he may not wish to spare the seed and spoil the orop. This is one of the questions that can be disoussed at ' meetings of farmers' clubs with advantage, for then it can be dealt with upon a common basis respecting soil and climate. It iB of no use for a farmer of one district to advise one of another district upon the point, for the circumstances may be quite dissimilar. The results of a farmer's practice, too, are so often affected by circumstances over which he has no control that he is often unablo to speak with certainty with reference to his own experience. As this is the season for wheat-sowing I will confine my remarks in this note to the seeding of that orop. Now, a farmer may have a field of really good wheat land, and thinking that the plants will tiller out well, he sows just enough seed to permit of the ground being well covered by the crop, but allowß nothing for contingencies. Well, the autumn growth is very satisfactory, and the plants begin to tiller and give every indication of a strong orop ; but the winter and spring prove to be very cold and wet and a large proportion of the crop is perished by tho severity of the weather, con aequenty the orop is distinctly on the thin side, and though it is well-headed the farmer feels sure he has lost 10 bushels an acre through the land not being fully occupied by the crop. Being determined not to make the same mistake again, next year he sows considerably more seed on similar land. The season, however, turns out to be mild and dry, and the orop pioves to be much too thick for tho land. The farmer is than quite at a loss as to what is the proper quantity to bow to ensure the best results. He is the victim of circumstances which he cannot control, and must c'en do his best according to his light and judgment. We have all heard of the late Mr Mochi and his "peck to the acre" thoory, but though a quarter of a bushel may be ample when each and every seed is carefully dibbled into its respective place and covered with the proper depth of soil, twice or treble that quantity would give but a sorry return when broadcasted on an uneven surface. Mechi contended that every sound seed grows when dibbled, but in ordinary practice there must be a great many seeds that do not germinate, for there are on au rverage about 620,000 seeds in a bushel of grain, and therefore a bushel and a-half per acre only allows six square inches to each seed, and that would mean a very thick crop if every grain were to grow. For early autumn sowing on good land I find, as a general rule, that a bushel and a-quarter of small-berried and a bushel and a-half of long berried wheat will not be far from the happy medium, For spring sowing two bushels of the latter are necessary. The above-mentioned quantities are for drilling ; at least a quarter of a bushel more in each case should be allowed for broadcast sowing.

This recently introduced implement seems to be creating a favourable impreaTUo Digging B j on wherever it has been tried, Plough. and if all is true that i« claimed

for it there is no doubt but that it will in time be largely used. But unfortunately much harm it fiequently done by too zealous reporters and others who overshoot the mark when describing the capabilities of any new machine or farm implement, and thus pause many to doubt the efficiency of the article. For example, a Tasmanian paper in reporting a trial of the digging plough concludes by saying that two horses easily drew the plough when turning or digging two furrows in fallow land, each 15in wide. Now, this is too much to believe, for though the depth is not given, I cannot understand how two horses oould easily pull a plough through 30in of soil. It is a great pity that these reckless statements are made, as they do much harm in many quarters, and I question if the parties interested ever succeed in making anybody believe theja These wonder-working implements that perform such a vast amount of cultivation in one operation must necessarily require a lot of strength, and it is no use for anybody to endeavour to overlook or deny that faot.

I see that there is some talk in the Old

Country of introducing the Keeping Qmiiiiio* "practical test of keeping " into in the butter competitions. It is Butter. averred by a good many that it is impossible to judge fresh butter correctly when newly made. It may be first-class as to colour, taste ,and smell, but its keeping qualities may be very indifferent, A correspondent of a Home paper says that as the " proof of a pudding is in the eating" so the proof of good butter is in the keeping, and he recommends that the better samples be set aside and smelled and tasted once a week for a month ; then once in twe weeks for two months ; then once a month for six months. The same writer contends^ that the keeping properties of butter consist in its solidity and drynesa and in being kept cool. Salt, he says \ is not necessary, for we do not salt lard or beeswax in order to make it keep. He seems, however, to ignore' the fact that lard is well boiled before it is put away, and always paoked in bladders or some air proof receptacle. Lard would go rancid as soon as fresh butter if it were not first boiled and then carefully excluded from the air. The same writer then relates how he got lib of butter from a good old-fashioned dairy woman who has obtained many prizes for fresh butter. He put the butter on a plate covered with a piece of muslin and placed it in his cellar. He says that it kept quite fresh and sweet for five months, but then the dampness of the autumn air began to turn it mouldy, and he threw it away. It had no salt, he said, beyond what it obtained from brining a few minutes in the churn, and its keeping properties were in its solidity and freedom from buttermilk aided by being kept cool. All I can say is that it must have been remarkably good butter and well made to keep during five summer months. It would be a good test of our best factory butter to put it in an airy, cool place and see whether it would stand tho summer months with only a slight modicum of salt.

" How much food w required to make lib of butter ? '' ia a spocimen ol the Food for queries put to a farm journal of a Pound of a recent date. It would be just Nutter. as sensible to ask, " What is

the weight of a lump of chalk ? " for both are varying quantities, The amount of food required to produce lib of butter depends upon many things, the chief of which are : the breed of the cow ; whether it is of a beef or a milking variety ; the time since calying; the kind of food supplied ; and the time of the year. Ab to breeding, compare a Sussex with a Jersey cow— the one a typical beef animal and the other the richest milker. The Sussex will consume a far greater weight of food and yet produce a much less quantity of

butter than the smaller cream-produoing animal. I bolieve it is reokoned, on an average, that 4gal of milk go to make cream enough for lib bufclnr, but this quantity varies according to the time of year, so that of course it would require a gi'eat jv weight of dry winter fodder than of juicy summer grass to make lib of butter. Thea, again, a cow will make more butter in proportion to her food during the first few months after calving than she will later on. At any rate the question, if it could be satisfactorily answered, is of no practioal value, and in one of those whioh are sent for the sake of asking something.

Some cows are very particular and fanoiful ia . „,„.,„ their habits, and have their likea Cw .™*« and dislikes respecting the pernorJHlk. Hon who j g p r j v jl e g 6( j to m j]k . them. Personal dislike of a milker is often the cause of a cow refusing to give down her milk, and this can only be com. bated by her being either milked regularly by one person, or else by acoustoming her ta frequent changes in the milker, and thus training her to take no notice of the person and give her milk without any bother. But moro often a cow withholds her milk through her maternal feelings being outraged by the forciblo abduction of her calf after it has auokedher teats for a time. In such cases the cow's attention mußt be distraoted from her grievance by being tempted by some tasty food, and when once she gives up sulking and commences to feed, milk begins to flow. Some of the oldfashioned plans are sometimes successful with cows that persistently withhold the milk from the pail, One plan is to lay a heavy chain or a bag of sand aoross the loins in order that the pressure will deprive the cow of her control over the voluntary muscles of the udder. Another plan is to wring out a large cloth from a bucket of hot water and lay it across her loins. Rough handling of sore teats often aggravates a cow until she refuses to do her duty when called upon ; in fact, a cow generally has a good reason for withholding her milk, and the best euro is patience and gentleness on the part of the milkor, combined with good management in removing the calf immediately after birth.

The most desirable qualitiea of a good pig are : early maturity, aptitude to Points of n fatten, prolificacy in breeding, Good Breeding and a contented disposition, It rig. is difficult to say which breed excels the moat in these points, for some are claimed for one breed and some for another; but the breed really does not signify so long as the pig iB profitable and suits the farmer's requirements. The preference for large, very fat pigs is rapidly dying out at Home, and moderately lean pork is iv much more request than the fearfully fat blubber that was sought for at one time. A sow should have aptitude to fatten as well as being prolific in breeding, for they require to be fattened off before getting old and coarse. An old Berkshire sow becomes terribly large and unwieldy after a certain age, and is not desirable meat for the farmhouse or for the market. Good quality is more essential in the boar than in the sow, for it is always considered that the boar's attributes largely appear in the young ones, and he is generally more than half the herd. A noted poroine authority says of the boar that he should be strong in the hair, fine in the quality of the flesh, gentle in disposition, of uniform breadth across the shoulders and loins, and as long as possible in proportion to size. Of the sow he says, "We should certainly select a sow with a strong, unbroken pedigree, a temper of the gentlest, a vigorous constitution, an undeniable quality, and of a breed tolerably famous for its prolificnesß." There is nothing like knowing something about the stock from which a herd is started, for although the appearance of a pig may be all that is desired one should not be guided by general symmetry altogether, as "blood will tell," and though the pig may please the eye the progeny may be faulty through not coming of good stock.

Swine are proverbially dirty animals, and yet I think they are not so black as whnt they are painted, for in many tho respects the pig is most fasrig Knts. tidious in its likes and dislikes,

If they are dirty it is often because they cannot help themselves. The farmer considers them dirty animals and treats them accordingly. If they are shut up in filthy pens without a sufficiency of clean bedding the pig cannot' be cleanly nor can it thrive, for dirt begets disease or parasites, or both. Experiments have recently been made in France with a view to ascertaining the relative number of plants eaten by domestio animals, The result is that out of 575 plants the goat eats 449 and refuses 126 ; the sheep out of 528 plants eats 387 and refuses 141 ; out of 49 1 plants the cow ca f ,s 276 and refuses 218 ; out of 474 plants the horse eats 262 and refuses 212 ; and the pig eats only 72 plants out of 243 and refuses 171. Though the pig may be particular in his vegetable diet, it is apt to be disgusting in its carnivorous proclivities when impelled by circumstances. I believe a pig prefers milk and grain to anything else, but it often has to take what it can get, especially when shut up next to a slaughterhouse.

It ia sometimes necessary to use nose-bags for feeding Dorses, but they are a Now very objectionable on account Nose-iia^. of the feed getting hot through the horse breathing upon it all the time. Ventilation cannot well be provided in the nosebag made of half a cornsack, but a patent has lately been taken out for a new style of nosebag. The bottom of the bag consists of perforated zinc, which enables dust to escape. The sides are made of canvas or leather, through which numbers of eyelet holes are made to provide for ventilation, thereby keeping the food nice and cool and enabling the horse to breathe more freely. A strong wooden rim at the bottom holds the zinc in place and enables the bag to stand alone. The bag is an immense improvement upon those now in use, and should be a great convenience to carriers, hawkers, and others who have to feed horses out of doors. Farm teams are better provided for in having open feeders between the shafts of a dray or wooden troughs set on legs when obliged to feed away from the ntfthlo. A

.GBIOOLA.