FARM NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2355, 13 April 1899, Page 7

FARM NOTES.

HORSEBREEDING IN THE UNITED STATES.

There has evidently been a great improvement in the horse trade of the United States during the last few years. The advent of the bicycle alarmed horse-breeders, and it was confidently prophesied that the day oi the' horse had departed. Now another competitor of the horse — the motor car — has appeared, and yet the horee trade was never more flourishing. The tendency appears to hi in the direction of raising horses suitable not only for home "use, but for the export trade. In the latter direction there has been a great development. In 189 C only ,3500 horses were exported from the United States, and in 1893 the number was reduced to 3000, with an increase to 5000 next year. Then the number of exported horees increased with surprising rapidity. In r 1896 there were 25,000 horses sent out of the country, and in •1898 the number had risen to 51,150, which -were valued at 6,000,000d01. Of these Great •Britain ~took 20,000. These horFes are bred from the stock of the country, for comparatively few horses are imported into the States for breeding purposes. On stud horses no duty is charged, so that the numbers can foe told. In 1897 there were 699 hordes {brought in as studs, but as 594 of these came from Canada, and were valued a) only lOOdol each, it may be surmised that they were not any great addition to the breeding stock of the country. The number of horses and mules in the United States show a remarkable increase. In 1870, according to the federal census, there were 7,145,488 horses and 1,125,415 mules in the United States. In •1890 those figures were doubled. Great attention is being Daid to breeding horses, and

the standard of excellence is much higher than it was. The difficulty experienced in dispos ing' of inferior horses has led to a better style of animal being produced, and careful breeding has been fostered by tho good prices that are realised by good stock.

A COLT'S FIRSI YEAR.

A good growth of the first year of a colt's life costs less than any other age, and is twice as valuable to the breeder. It is a great deal easier and cheaper to put two years' growth on a colt in the first year of its age than it is to make up for a year's loss of growth in 'two or three years. Many farmers complain that they cannot breed the large-pized horses desired, while they make the mistake of not feeding and caring for the colt properly from the start. Young colt 3 should be encouraged to eat, and should be given plenty of milk and ground food to cause rapid growth, as the English and French farmers do. " Spare the feed and spoil the colt " is true in every case. — Montreal Weekly Witness.

A PLEA FOR OLD SOWS,

Do not be in a hurry to dispose of old sows. Old sows, if wel" cared for, will give satisfaction until they are from six to eight years old, and even more. Old sows, when well fed, I have always found to be gooo" suckers and careful with their litters, 'lie idea of a sow becoming heavy and clumsy on account of age is imaginary to a consider able degree. If a sow gets too fat, the fault lies with the owner. My experience has been that it is a loeing game to start with all . young sows. " Some will fail. Considering this fact, when we- have one© secured a lot of good ones, we hang on to them aa long as they prove to be valuable. The evidences of failure will come gradually, and the experienced farmer will know when it is time to let the old sow go. For strong, healthy pigs -give me the middle-aged sow that is a good eater, a good milker, and kind to her young. — " Cockatoo," in the Melbourne Weekly Times. VALUE OF THE DEVON FOR CROSSING. The Devon breed of cattle is, writes " Bruni," m the Australasian, evidently coming into favoui with the Queensland graziere, and justly so, for these cattle are not only good in themselves, but they make s splendid cross with the shorthorn. The Queenslander estimates that the steers by Devon bulls from ordinary-sized shorthorn cattle would weigh 7501b. This, I think, is considerably underestimating the weight of the crosfbreds, that is, supposing them to bo in prime condition, and rising four years old. I have on several occasions seen purebred Devon eteers from Tabletop sold in the Melbourne yards that have weighed over 8001b, and they were not four years old. The cross from shorthorn cows would certainly ecale over that weight. The blended cattle raised by Mr W H. Walker, near Tenterfield, the owner says, owe their origin to the chance introduction of a Devon bull into the herd many years ago. The Tenterfield blend consists of a mingling of the shorthorn, Hereford, and Devon breeds. In the cold country, and on the not very rich pastures of the Tenterfield region, any stock farmer could readily understand that the shorthorn would not give good results, and that a cross of the hardier

" white-faces " and "' all-reds " would produce stock adapted to the conditions of life in the neighbourhood. But Mr Walker -was by no means the first to discover that pure shorthorns are not adapted to a hard life. The late Mr J. D. M'Ansh, of Canning Downs, Queensland, found it many years ago to cross his ehorthorn herd in the back country with Devon bulls. The result waa so satisfactory that he' formed a, stud of Devons at Canning Downs to raise high-class bulls for his cattle station. When I visited Canning Downs about eight years ago I saw the Devon stud, which then consisted of several hundred head. On the same property there was a stud of shorthorn of great excellence, and on putting the question to Mr M'AnHh, which herd he would keep if he weie restricted to only one, without a moment's hesitation he said he would keep the Devons. It is urged against the Devon cattle that they are very wild, but these cattle, running in a Wooded country, were as quiet as anyone could wish. So far as my experience goes, and I was brought up on a cattle station, wild cattle are a sure indication of bad man--agement. The Deyons are eaid to be small, but cattle that will give close up to 8001b of prime beef under four years old are quite large enough for modern requirements. In speaking of the weight of cattle, it is a common error to take that breed of cattle which will give the heaviest weight of beef per head at a certain age as the most profitable, no account being taken of the area of country it required to produce that beef. Acre for acre of good pasture, I would back tho, Devon tt give a return of the very highest quality ot beef as good as, if not better than, any other breed. On second-class pasture it would be far before any other. ADULTERATIONS OF INTEREST TO

FARMERS.

The art of adulteration has become, during these latter years, a scientific industry ; and while the < small re tailer is fined for borrowing milk from " the cow with the iron tail," the cleverer, because better educated, purveyor of sophisticated wares too often gets off ecotfree. A case in point has recently been brought under the notice of the Royal Agricultural Society, which shows to what impudent lengths an adulterator will go, and how difficult it is to bring him to book. Farmer* are in the habit of steeping their seed wheat in a solution of sulphate of copper, otherwise known as blue vitriol, or blue-stone, the coEt of which is about 20s per cwt. A compound called "Finely ground vitriol, specially prepared as a dressing for wheat," harf been placed on the market at the price of 28s per cwt. On examination this was found to consist of sulphate of iron coloured with Prussian blue. Now, sulphate of iron is worth only four shillings per cwt ; but as it is commonly known as green vitriol, it cannot be said that the fancy compound of this salt and Prussian blue is Fold under a wrong trade description. Luckily farmers have a simple ami conclusive test ready to hand, for a solution of the genuine blueatone will quickly cover a knifeblade held in it with a coating of metallic copper

WHAT IS DAHtY FORM?

To describe the general outline and points of a distinctive dairy animal, so as to bring them before the eye of the reader, is not, by any means, an easy task. It is owing to the fact that these points cannot be described according to exact lineal measurement, but must b« described with reference to the general outline and conformation of the body. Following is an attempt to put before the reader the more distinctive points of a typical dairy animal and to call attention to such points as may be considered distinctly of the dairy type. In examining the outline of a dairy cow the first thing to attract notice is that there are many points in which there ia a decuted deviation from the

even and rounded oatliue of the beef animal. Tho central points of the dairy animal are their reproductive and milk-generaling organs, for it is from these that profit conies, and to these all other parts should pay tribute, that they may 1)8 strong and well nourished. For this purpose the typical dairy cow should have a strong jaw and large nostrils, for she must be a goo? feeder and deep breather; a full, prominent eye, indicating large nervous force ; the backbone large and strong, holding a large spinal chord — the conduit, if not the seat of vital force ; a large and deep barrel, with ribs well sprung out, to give room for 1 storing and digesting large quantities of cheap I and bulky feed ; a strong abdominal wall, to ' support the large and heavy digestive organs ! and their contents, indicated to some extent ! by its firmness, but more plainly by the depth I and size of the navel, showing whether the I foetus nourished through a strong, large i umbilical cord, and thu3 born with 0 well- ! developed, robuat constitution. Having these I accessories, the special purpose of the dairy cow is more strongly expressed in the rear third of the body. Here she need 3to have the '■' large symmetrical udder, rising high behind, and extending well forward, with large milk veins, tortuous in shape, and elastic to the touch. That the udder may have room, and not be cramped either in growth or activity, the flank should be arched in the sides and the thigh decidedly thin and incurving fvom the rear. If to thiß enumeration there be added a roomy pelvis, wido over the hips, and the backbone rising into an arch between them and towards the tail, the moro distinctive points of a good cow will be scheduled. — North British Agriculturist. MARKS OF EXPORTED BEEF. In the Atlantic cattle trade, the large animals shipped alive to England are all marked"" with a queer label required by the authorities. This consists of a little brass plate htnmpad with a number, and made fast with a wire to the ear of the bullock by means of a hole bored for the purpose. If a cattle beast arrives at the English lairages with any signs of disease, its number can be traced by the American authorities, first to the shipper, and then to the dealer, and last to the farmer who originally sold the animal for beef. Then the farmer has to answer for his misdeed with pains and penalties which will make him think twice before he sells any more diseased beef for shipment across the ocean to England. THE INFLUENCE OF FOOD. It is a well established fact that the flavour of the flesh of animals is largely influenced by the foods which they consume. Wild birds that feed on fish are well known to yield flesh witli a distinctly fishy flavour, and the flavour of the.egga laid by ordinary fowl is largely determined by the nature of the foods upon which the birds are fed. In the same way, pigs that are fed on beech mast yield pork which possessee a particularly fine flavour, which is largely attributed to the nuts consumed by tho animals. WHY BUTTER SHOULD BE CLEAN WASHED. Oormflaints are often heard about the chees/ taste in butter. The usual cause of this is defective washing and working, through which a certain quantity of buttermilk is loft in the butter. The presence of this buttermilk not ■alone imparts the odour objected to, but causes the butter to turn rancid much more rapidly than it otherwise would. THE MIXING OF MANURES. Nitrate of soda and auperphosphate should not be mixed for any length of* time before their application. Many go so far as not to allow of their coming into contact at all ; but in practice it is found that if they are only mixed on the day of application no material loss occurs. If mixed and allowed to stand for some time they have a tendency to " run " into lumps, the formation of which is attended by the liberation of valuable fertilising constituents. One of the shortcomings urged against basic slag as a fertiliser is that ip its application it does not lend itself to admixture with other artificials. Its composition is tmch that when added to oxher manures, euch as superphosphate, sulphate of ammonia, or nitiute of soda, it gives rice to chemical reactions which rebulfc in the liberation of certain of their most important elements. — Farmers' Gazette.