FARM NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1898, 19 June 1890, Page 7

FARM NOTES.

Obuelty to Animals. — We have seen an ox turn his large, meek eyes towards the miserable tyrant whose blows were falling fast upon him ; and we thought there was speech, if not prayer, in those looks. We have Been a horse with nerves more nobly strung, and with a freer heart and spirit than his master, quiver with pain and look entreaty ali the while. It is an evil thing n3cdlesely to cause a. human being pain, but it is a fearful thing to inflict if; upon a creature that ot.nnot spuak. — Chicago Uuion Signal.

A Simplk Way of Dishorning. — A correspondeut of a oouttiinpori»<y wined :—"Allow: — "Allow tno to repeat for lh<, information of your readers that if thoy want hornless cattle and would avoid the use of the baw all that is necessary for them to do is to obtain a stick of oiustic potash of the druggist, ' Htraddle ' tho calf's neck (preferably before he in more than two weeks old), wet the horn spot with water, aud rub with the end of the potash stick A little experience will show how long to rub, or when the bajjr begins to loosen, may be taken

as a guide. The peouliar action of the potash will arreßt horn development without the loss of a drop nf blood. One caution only is necessary ; wrap a paper round the potash so as to protect the fingers. For simplicity, cheapness, and efficacy the potash method has advantages over all others."

Farming Experiments.— Last week (writes " Freeholder " in the Australasian) I vißited a farmer who, in applying artificial manures to his crops, left a land undressed to show him at harvest time what had been the result of the treatment. Soon after I read the advice given by an agricultural chemist, and it corresponded with the course taken by the farmer. The importance of carrying out such simple experiments, nefc only in regard to manures but to tost the value of other details of farming work, is so obviou3 that one might expect to find no need for recommending it. How few farmers, however, pursue a oourse wbio'i is ao easy and, at the same time, wloulated to give such valuable information. The experiments carried on at agricultural colleges, good t-.s they may be, would ba less valuable than those which every farmer "could conduct, for himself. Seeing that a whole year is required to tost ft single reßult in agriculture, tw- y ara are lost by missing nn opportunity. Agriculture ia an uncertain eu ugh business at beat, but tho uncertainty ia increased when it is carried on in the dark. Simple experhnouts, such as I have mentioned, if instituted now, will produce a valuable fund of information before the end of the year

The New Butter Extbactob.— Ou this machine, which was fir", brought to publio notice at the RoyJ Aerieulturrtl Society's phow at Windsor, the editor of thn American Dairyman writes as follows :—": — " We have Boon the milk puf in, and drunk st-mo of it to nee that it was of ordinary quality and loaded with cream, tested it with ;» tbornicmeter to determine its temperature ; saw the machine put in motion, and while wf could not count the revolutions, we were sufficieutly familiar with the buzz and bum of tbe separator to know that it ran at about the aame speed as that machine. We saw the skim milk appear, and drank somo of it, and it tasted juat as skimmilk does from the separator. Out of another tube came, in just four minutes — the time necessary to get the machine at full specd — frcm the time the machine started, thG first appearance of butter, which was instantaneous with the turning on of the milk in the extractor, such as is familiar to the man who looks for such a result after grinding at tbe churn for 30 or 40 minuteß, Then the substance thickened, and in a minute or less time after this the granular butter began to appear. The operator touched a lover, and the butter came slower but thicker, and as he moved this lever around a continuous stream of butter in the granular form came slowly out of tbe tube. In about 10 minutes tbe 21gal of milk was all run through, and over 71b of as fine butter as we ever Baw was ready for the work tab)?. As an old expert in judging the best specimens of butter made in this oountry, the writer pronounces it as fine as anything he was ever called upon to paßs judgment on. A very intelligent Swedish lady who has taken a number |of piizes in Sweden as a bettermaker was present, and pronounced this as fine butter as she had ever handled. She worked up a quantity of it with her own hands. Professor Bergstrand's (of Stockholm) analyses show the skim-milk to contain o'l9 per cent, of fat. The caseine in tbe butter made by the extractor was only 186 per cent. The butter as it comes fiom the machine is, of course, perfeotly sweet ; but if it is desired to have Bour butter than a slight washing of the granulated butter in sour milk accomplishes this end. At an estimate made at the above trial it required about 221b of ordinary milk to make lib of butter, which is excellent work. Thiß machine has the same excellent method of removing all the fibrine and filth from the milk that is common to all centrifugal maohines,"

The Haddington Dishobning Oasr, — OommenticgonthiscasetheFieldsays :: — lv The ÜBual Boieutifio evidence against the practice) — very defective scienoe, indwed, it is in many oases - wan, of course, vouchsafed. But, then, several other professionals — at least as many, and atleaßt ac much esteemed — were examined, who, after the manner of experts, Bwore the very opposite of what their rivals had just sworn before. Then Scottish country gentlemen and farmers of good esteem, one after another, wore put into the witness box. Theso all Bwore that they had dishorned— some scores, some hundrodo, Bonue thousands — with no evidence of prolonged suffering to the animals, but, on the contrary, with the best reaulta. We believe that since the trials at the WieconBin University, in United States, America — which showed that c ;ws dehorned did not shrink in their milk — it in estimated that above 10 millionn of cattle havn been successfully dinhorned in America without any proportion of failures. It should be added that the Saotch witnesses (who really are familiar with the motiveß of the class which dishornc) scouted the idea that in dishorning there could be any supposition tf-at the animals might be made lo mislead ignorant buyers as to their boing of a polled breed, or to conceal their age. Theso motives have frequently been alleged by persons who do not know the formation of the lieadu of cafctlo, or the guide to ngo supplied by dentition. But when it was put to tho agent of tho Earl of Dalhoußie— who stated tbat he bought yearly from 300 to 400 bulJocks to winter — whether be considered &uch a motive for dishorning was possible, ho replied, ' I conBidnr that such talk is ali bosh ' "

Weight ok Aybshiues — Ou this eubJHct Mr I) W. Ciichttiit, of A. man, writes as follows mtboNoith British — "My opinion is, thafcal'hous'h there are some cowb to be goi from llcwfc to I2owfc, still from 9owt to lOcwt is ueaier nn avuiage. Being tho owner ot the fat Ayrshire coy which was awaided first prize afc Ayr If.at year, I will give her weight; : — Live weight, 13uwt 2qr ; dead woight, Bowl Oqr 14ib."