FARM NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2287, 30 December 1897, Page 7

FARM NOTES.

Bacteria and Di- colon atjon of Milk. — The mysterious discoloration of milk in a dairy is a frequent truubleso-ne experience of dairy-farmtrs The milk will look all right when strained, but upon setting will develop a decidid shade of pink or othpr obj-ctionabio hue. How tLe troubla wai discovered and overcome in one ii sfcince i^ tild by a correspondent of the Mink L^ne Express, and the explanation may ?ff>rd help in many other Bim ; la.r cK^es. He writes : " The cowa were all right, there udders were all right, bub something was wrong somewhere. Bach cow's ni'lk was 6aved separately until the faulty cow wa3 found — a nice young heifer — one intended to be sold. There seemed no cause anywhere, E«ch teat was witched carefully, and t^e milk saved by itsslf. Only one v/as ab fault, and then we found the trouble. Tbeie musb have been a very slight h'jiry jusb inside the teat, for a small clob of blood eeetned to form after each milking. Ab the first pressure ib came away unnoticed, to dissolve in the milk aud discolour the whole. Tha mystery was solved, and when a few streams from that teat were discarded there wss an end to the discoloured nvlk difficulty." The real cause of the discoloration is the presence of deleteriou3 bacteria, &ud how readily and extensively a very small infusion of infected milk will contaminate and in certain cases discolour a, large quantity wll be understood from the estimate recognised by bacfcercl igista that in 24 hours the total nnmber originating from one single bacterium exceeds 16,500,000. In one classification by scientists bacteria are divided into four groups, according to the changes they produce in the substancfs in which they grow — pigment b.cfceria producing colour stuffs, fermtnb bacteria setting up fermentation, putrefactive bacteria producing putrefaction, and pathogenic baefceri* producing discasa. Of the pigment bacterfa, one of lha roost remarkable is the causa of the phenomena known as- "blood rain," and which has been kuown from time immemorial. It has even been suggested that this micro*organistn was responsible for one of Ihe plagues of Bjypt, for ib sometimes makes its appearance as a bloodred growih covering the surface of popla in marshy districts. Ib has occurred in an epidemic form in modern times. On one occa,nion tha bread in the milifeary bakehouse iv Paris was rendered quite unfit for food, as it looked as if blood had been sprinkled over ib. On another occasion th : s micro-organism made its appeirance in a similar way in Italy, and wag regarded by the superstitious peasants as sent to tham as a punishment for their sins.

FatEPATtiNG Poultry for Market. — Professor Ruberlssn, writing of the prr jurat'ion of poultry for tl:e English market, says: — "The killiog should be djne by cutting in the rojf tf the mouth, while the fowl is suspended by the legs, making it impossible for any mutilation to be seen on the outride or for tho feathers to be spoiled by blood. This is hold to.be a painless method of killing. It also bleeds the fowl comp'etety if ths cuttings are made lengthwiae aud across, and deep. Iv every case the bird should be fasted for 24 houra or longer before killing. Cases have come to my notice where poultry have arrived in England in a very damaged cendibion, caused by the fermeulatiou of food in the crop and intestines, spoiling the whole of the birds, and making them utifib for human food. The E iglish buyers prefer to receive the poulbiy in the feather?, and nob drawn. Of course, we have to meet their preference, and send the birds in the condition in w'aich they prefer to buy them. Specis.l care should bs taken to ktep the feathers clean. The birds should ba cooled beforo being packed into boxes. If they are"Bfcartcd aright, they can now be carried so as to arrive in pood coi dition. I examined turkeys in ftather in Livcrp ~0l in the winter of 1892, before our existing cild storage sjsb^m was established, and they were selling then, by the ca*e, at 9<l per lb."

Value of a Bag of Bijan — A bag of bran properly prepared, pays Charles Ellis ia the Farmers' Advocate, is one of the cheapest accl bssfc remedies for the ailments of live sbock. It is useless to give it uncooked for this purpose ; it is not neceesary that it bo boiled, but that it be well saturated with bailing water and then kept: covered for several hours before feeding. An addition of salt and a spoonful of sulphur to esic'i pailful is helpful, but; not of positive necessity. Let thia bran niash be fed liberally until the bowels are quite loose. You would then have relieved Nature of a task which it has generally to perform before any good can be obtained from the spring grass. You will gain time in the direstion of improved condition at a seaeoa when every day is wauled to tell ; it meai.s more beef before the flies come, and hastens general improvement of all live stock. And to horses it ia doubly impjetanfc, because it helps to relieve them frcini the> elightly fevered condition which results from fitting them up for spring work. It is wisely said, "It is well i o let very well alone,"' but I always fi el inclined to say when it cannot hi improved upon. A decided improvement in this case may be brought about by giving lib or go of either lin-eed or oil .cake to each animal until the grass comes. I was l«d to nolica this by a remark made by a careful observing man " thai ib matters not how little you give you can always see it in the dung." The oily food furnishes the requisite at the right time — it helps to form a healthy mucus on the covering of the bowals, and tho dry, hard, scaly surfaces are softened. Farmer 3 generally are accustomed to so little profit for what they do that there are few only who c msider what return they are to geb for a small investment. If there is any time when the outlay of one dollar is likely jg> bring five, I think the suggestions here offered, if carefully carried out, will claim a good place. A bag of bran will serve 10 animals, and if it does not leave them 50c a head better my iudgment is cob ia

tr.lly with ni3 r obteivithou. Tbero ere times when the man who picks up litttle fcuiogM that another passes over savss a dollar. There is more importance in the little hillocks of farm work thab in the mountains that nearly everyone seeks to climb.

Gross Bxcehdinu. — The writer of "Scrap*" iv the London Lire Stock Journal has the following pertinent remarks on cross-breeding : "Ths practice of systematic cross-breeding for the production of prcfibable live stock has certainly lisen to the height of an important agricultural art. It is a practice which doss not diminish, but, on the contrary, increase?, the demand for pure breeds. Before ib was no much thought of as in the present day, mongrelism, a very different Ihirg from crossbreeding, was commonly euppoicd to be the only resource of tho ordinary farmer unable to stock his laud with puce-breeds ; hence the number of condessripb horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry found »ll over the country. We stilt have too ruauy mongrel*, but the more advanced r.nd enterprising farmera have (-een new light, and possess improved opportunities for the acquisition of better materials to woik upon. So far a3 the putss permits, mwiy are now attempting whab comparatively few evor had the lea3t notion of doiog. The progress in this direction, no doubt, is the result ot discusfcion and of circulated information. Instead, therefore, of the old-timo aniwers of breeders to ques'ions concerning the principles of tueir business, such as the couuter-question, ' Who can loll?' or the laconic 'Nobody knows,' we often get in conversation with intelligent breeders very clear, theoretical statements) usually supported by facts observed in the course of practice." Words of Advice. — The American Sheepbreeder gives the fo'lowing good advice to its readers : — " Tnke no advice from a fl^ckmaster unless his own cheep prove it good. If the bheep have a fool for a shepherd they will publish it to all the world. • I never cub a lausb's throab,' said the miugy cik. 'No, but you have scattered the eggs of the tapeworm,' replied the^pet ew<\ •Single lambs do besb,' ss the f&x~~ eaid when he waj eff with one of the twins. ' Toe scarcer money i's the more wool a dollar will buy,' s&id the range ram. ' I doa'fc see much use for a dog law,' said tho mongrel cur; 'we are ge'ting along very weil without onf.' 'lam a protectionist,' critd the foolish fl)ckaj»sber.- 'Well, you don't protecb us,' answered the sheep ; • you seem to ba a freetrader in lung worms and scab mites.' ' That ram cost me only three doiLirs,' B»id the simple shepherd. 'He will cost you more thau a recorded prizewinner before you are rid of him,' replied the Canadian ewe. Tbe. dearest ram is the one that sires tbe poorest lambs, and the cheapest tho one that gels the best. ' I'll soon be ready for the shoddy mill,' said the tramp's old coat;, 'and then I'll go into a gentleman's dress suit.' Tha simple shepherd tmesred big sheep's) nose with tar in May to ecire away the gad fly in S-pteraber. 'We outnumber alt other fheep.'said the scrub ram. ' True,' replied the Texas wether, ' ar.d so are the Loi'u flits more numerous than the cobble.' ' Ticks, tapeworm, aud hunger are bad enough, without the drugs of a fool sheep doctor,' said the pet ewe. ' I sheared a fbece of 40ib,' said tha Vermont raao, 'Yes, but it lost 341b in the scouring,' replied the L : ncoln lamb."

CoNCKHNiNfi tiik Horskshob." -Horse-shoe-ing has greatly improved during the last 20 years. In Colo'»do, U.M A , there ia now a law that all horse-3faoer« shall pass an examination aa to qualification. In Eogland a somewhat similar B) stem ia in force, but there only those who go up for registration by the Worshipful Company of Farriera are tx\mined. TliO'e who pasjs the ordeal are entitled to write " R.S S." afrer their name*. Shoeing oompetitiotjs at agricultural showa have also tended to stimulate shoers to increased proficiency in the district'? in which they are held. According to an English technical j.urnal, the shce ought to have a level-b-jariog surface on the outside of the web equal in width to tha thicknees or the ground surface of the wall, and from inside the nail holes the web ought to be bevelled or rendered concave on the cole surface, that pressure may nob be applied to the sole, with the exception of a portion of the web at the heels, which ought to be left fl*t for the^whol-3 width, A modified form of this bevel'cd portion migh l ; be allowed for some feet, but the principle should nob bs departed from Regarding the weigbb cf shoes, many are nob only too heavy but too long and wide at the heels, and render the shoe liable to bo trodden upon by the opposite foot, or the foot of the partner horse when ploughing, aud torn off, A horse weariug a shoe 21b weight, and going ab 60 steps a minute, would raise with each limb a weight of iron 1201b, or 4-80'b for the fou? limbs, and in one hour a weight of iron of 28,000ib. Such a weighb in travelling on a hard roid must surely be exhausbing. What must therefore ba the expenditure of muscular fores and nervous energy required to raise a shoe 3£lb or 41b weight attached to tho foot of a h'/rse when employed eight or ten hour* in ploughing, and wi*h the foob at every step imbedded iv clay or even less tenacious soil? — Exchange.

A 19ft; block of land, with 132"t depth, ia Elizabeth street, Melbourne, recently sold for £10,000 ca3h. Dr D. R. Rothrock, of New Berlin, Pa., doea not hesitate to recommend Chatnberlaiu's medicines. He says : " I have handled them for a year or more in my pharmacy and find them safe and reliable. My customers praise them very fiighly." No one who is troubled with rheumatism can use Chamberlain's Pain Balm without praising it. The quick relief from pain which it affords is alone worth many times its cost. For sale by all le&ding ehemista*