FARM NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 7

FARM NOTES.

Pure Breeds. — Ib is often asked ir pure- j bred sows are prolific. Some answer iv the j negative. The cause of this is not far to seek. It has in the past been very common for breeders of pedigree pigs, as of many other breeds of stock, to study mainly the show points of their animal?, with a view to gain honour and notoriety by winning prizes ab live stock exhibitions. The original cost of this excitement and mild gambling was seldom considered, as iv the olden tiinps, before stockbreeders were as well educated and enlightened by the reading of the stock and agricultural papers, farmers would give an extravagant price | as compared bo the real value of the animals for a male or female from the stock of a successful exhibitor, in the mistaken belief that this owner's stock musb be superior in every rc-peei", when, as in far too many instances, the utility points of the succesfful exhibitors had been entirely overlooked. So it wig with the pigs iv many of the show hards — wide, fat backs, a thin skin, either without hair or covered with a profusion ol' curly hair, a tail sfceut and long, but not coarse, tvith " tassel ot fine hair," or a kind of fool's bauble, 11-1 1 - : 11y;1 1 y; • '■oeci'vl point, whilst the infinitely mure ,^!uable i qualities of hardihood, early c-o-^lb, aa v;ol' i as the production of fab, pioliilca.^, ; ad Milk- j I iug properties of the b\>\,f, v/crf- entirely j ignored.— -farmer and StookbregdePe

iShkep as Bkasts op BtniDEN. — Probably thi lasr, animal the atock-breeder would select as a b'anspori; animal (says " Bruni," iv the Australasian) is the shesp. II is less active, aud for its weight less strpng than the goat, while ib is burdened with its weight of fleece. In the Canadian journal Farming it is stated that an enterprising sheepowner of Oregon has conceived - the project of taking a fljck of efcrong "/ethers to the Klondyke goldSelds, making u*e of them as transport animals for the latter parb of the journey. His idea ia bo have pack saddles made to fiS the she^p, and load theoi wibh 301b of freight. One half of the load will consist of oats for the sheep to eat on the way, the renaaiader to b-$ formed of such I >ghb merchandise 83 m\y be offered for trans"»nrb, The sbtei>?armer calculates that he *■« ill get 9000.i0i freight money, and that the flock of 2000 wobbe s will realise £2 per b?ad ou reaching Dawsou City. Tbe idea of utilising sheep as transport animals was suggested more than ball a century ag-> in Australia. Mr F. Sutfior, of Bitburst, I have been told, suggested a plan of exploring the centre of Australia by tha help of sheep, each of which was t) curry a small liad of neces-f-ariei for the u«e of tht) explorers. But tha plan of using sheep as cpasfcs of b trclen has been nta^tised for uaacy years in tbe mountain ranges of Central Asia. They offceu carry loads weighing 301b each, and travel from sevftn r,o eight miles a day. It in narrated in " The Roof nf the World" that Captain Biddulph put 201bon f-*eb. sheep, aud they madd a journey of over 300 miles "through a country in which foisga is aUvavs very scanty, a»d at an inctem&ni; see- j hoii of the yea:-. Daring this jjurney, for a j psriod of fire Jaya the f=ht*ep had ro loud 3t • si 1 . They had ti cross ■•t"t».ms often three aad \ iour vimes a day, and their progress wa3 impeded by their fi^ooes b-ing s?.tr*rabed with water, which often froz\ Notwltbsfandirg the j hardships they euaurec, only one sheep broke <ir>wn. Truly there is nothing iicw under the faun. Cage of Fat?m Machinery. — So mnch work is now done by ru&riiioery that; the equipment of a modern farm i a . & costly business (says " Bruni ":u the AuslralaMan). Many farmers say tUat the out'ay each year for new implerv.erUs and nii^elnaety e j .U up all f/ae profis that they can make oab «£ the laad. This is true to a cerbain extenfc s btrl generally spe&kibg ib is nob the uae in fc'ie fiala daring cue working season that wears out; a machine — it is the idle tini-, when rust and dust are permitted to do tLeir evil work. Steel is corroded and worn away bj the action of damp air, bearings ar<3 expooed to dust and air, and the smooth surfaces are lusted and worn into grinding furrows, which cub each othe..' and slill further wear out the machine*, Leshlis adding considerably io ths labour* of drawing :k rl winking tktin, thus Increasing the esertioa of the fmisie, and causing w:vste of t : me in the work. If farmers would keep their implements and machinery under cover, pay close attention to repairs, uss oil wbea necessary, aud give an occasional coat of paint, io would surprise many the difference they would find in the working ot the machinery, as well as ia fcha time their implements would wear. Tee cuttiog parts of machinery should be cleaned, whetted, and then wrapped, aa far es may be, in paper dipped ia oil. A newspaper, cut into scrips 6iu wide and then oiled, will answer for this purpose, the paper to be spirally wrapped eround the bHdes. * AD the bearings should be cleaned with lreros?iie and then smeared with a mixture •)? clean ta'low, kerosene, and blackJead. The oiling hoi's siiouM be filled wi'.h plugs of wood to keep the d'lst out of the bearings ; the painted work should be cleanly wiped | over with a we& rag ; a«d, finally, bhe machines i should be covered carefully. Reapers and ' binders, o- roachiuery of that sort, should nob j be used as fowl rojsts or substitutes for gates, j neither should they ba lefb in the field ab the clcss of cue seascn'd work S3 that the farmer may have an early start, the following season. Manurial Experiments in Staffordshire. Interesting experiments have for some years been carried out under bhe ampices of the Staffordshire County Council wibh the primary object of demonstrating the effects produced on the qaaubity and quality of meadow hay by the application, singly and Jin conjunction, of various artificial manures, and especially to compare these results with those ob'ained from the use oi' farmyard manure. The official account of the past season's results has jusb come to hand, and the exacb figure?, as well as the observations offered in regard to them, may be studied with considerable advantage. Summing up the lessons of tha trials briefly, it is shown tbai on sandy soil the besi results were obi lined fro?n the mixlure of superphosphate 4c;v{:, nibrabs of soda lewb, and kainib 2cwt per acre, although the return was almost equally profitable when the kainib was omitted. Oa heavy clay land the benefii of the potass'c dressing was clearly revealed, the 4 cwt superphosphate and 2cwb kainit producing the be3b result. Wibh lcwl, nitrabe of soda in place of tha (superphosphate the return was very nearly as good, while the complete mixtu c followed tbird, with the plob where kainib was left out fourth. On gravelly loam the kainit was of little avail, the superphosphate and nitrate of coda alone giving the most prcfiiabla return. A medium loam soil emphasised the beneficial influence of superphosphate and lime. Farmyard manure produced heavy yields, bub its tendency seemed to be to encourage unduly the strong, coarser grasses. Nitrate of soda had a similar inclination, while kainib, on the other hand, considerably improved the quality of the herbage.