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NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

The initial steps having been taken to

Otago Quesn Carnival.

place the Country Queen to the fore in tire moneyraising scheme known as the Otago Queen Carnival,

it now remains for each country district to organise, and appoint enthusiastic members of committee, who should meet frequently and keep in close touch with the Dunedin section. Mr Hugh Mitchell will conduct the secretarial work, and will promptly reply to correspondents desiring information on any aspect that may arise in connection with the movement, Sympathisers—which practically means all country folk —can commence right away. Farm products, alive or, dead, will be disposed of to the best advantage. The former can be-sent to any saleyard, and the proceeds realised will bo credited to the Country Queen; and goods may bo consigned to “Country Queen, Dunedin,” and will bo taken charge and disposed of at the stall which, it is trusted, wili he kept running during the carnival. The funds of the Otago Queen Carnival arc being provided in order to benefit our wounded soldiers and their dependents, and to supplement pensions, and the flag of the Country Queen, it is confidently antid’xiated, will, when the country folk fully understand the necessities dire war, take its position at the top of the staff as “ second to none.”

“Full and Plenty” is the feeding motto of a practical Australian. Give

Full and Plenty.

a horse a fair chance, and he will always retain his

health. Swedes were not always looked upon with favour by the horse-owner, but nowadays they arc very welcome. An underfed horse in a team cannot be expected to do the strenuous work required- of him, and tire methods adopted by the owner - above referred to are worthy of imitation. A bag cf chaff,, a small bucketful of bran, and a bag of sliced swedes are put into the feeding-box. _ The whole is well mixed together by stirring. If one man is working a four-horse team he prepares double this ration, placing half in the feed-boxes in each yard. For the sake of convenience, and to save time, the midday meal is given in the paddock in which the teams are engaged. When the men start off in the morning they take whatever quantity of unmixed feed is required with them in a cart. Portable feeders are provided, and placed close handy to water. The horses are unharnessed at half-past 11, and allowed an hour and a-half spell before resuming work. The food is freshly mixed and appetising. There is no occasion for the animals to bolt their food. The time allowed enables them to thoroughly masticate and' properly digest it. Horses soon get to know this, and will eat leisurely on all occasions. Working horses fed on swedes arc never sick or sorry. They will keep in, good condition throughout the winter when swedes are liberally used in the dietary.

Each cow has her maximum yield of milk, and no amount of feeding will increase this maximum. It is, however, common enough for a cow to be yielding less than her maximum through insufficient feeding, and it is in such a case that response is made to increased It :s granted that so much feed is necessary to supply the animal with heat and energy and for the formation of new tissue. After these needs are supplied the formation of milk can be considered. A bare maintenance ration then, is not fair to the daily cow, and, if persisted in, the result is lo*' of condition, constitution weakened, her offspring suffer, and her milking powers deteriorate. The Question of feed is as important as the breed. It is not by the importation of milking stock alone that the milk production per cow in this country Will be increased, but by proper feeding and treatment. It costs as much, moreover, to feed a poor cow as a good one, and the returns are vastly different. Within limits, it is impossible to improve the milkproducing powers of a poor cow T , while by bad and insufficient feeding it is possible to irretrievably the . powers of a ■well-bred animal. It is stated that a cow of ICOOIb live weight, in full milk, requires about 241 b to 251 b of dry matter per day, these 241 b containing about 16!b of diges tible matter. This" digestible matter is nfa.de up of, say: 2ilb of albuminoids (fleshformers)-, 13ilb carbohydrates (heat-formers). |(b fit (two and a-half times the value of carbohydrates as a heat-former).

Feeding the

Dairy Cow.

In considering whether seed is |?ood or not it is not sufficient merely

Good Seed.

to determine the amount of pure seed present or the germination of the sample

offered for sale. These are important factors certainly; but a farmer wishes to know something more than the mere germination if he is desirous of knowing the cultural value of seed. It is important to note the nature or quality of the germination, which is, in fact, the real measure of value of the seed. For example, a sample of perennial ryegrass which germinates up to 90 per cent, in the course of 16 days is not nearly so good as a sample which gives a germination of 90 per cent, in six clays, other things being equal. It is on account of the doubt as to the vigour of the germination of seeds that the practical man shies off old seed, which frequently is dear if costing nothing, as all the work put into the lano, and the season, is wasted if by the use of rubbishy seed the crop is a failure. s AGRICOLA. ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. By Agrxcola. “ Farmer ” wishes to grow wheat, oats, or barley on land which grew these crops successfully last the -climate being dry and very windy in the spring; also the quantity and kind' of artificial fertiliser to use. It would bo hotter if the crop bad boon through before the winter, and the ground well covered by early springtime. It is inadvisable to prescribe definite quantities of artificial manures for crops on account of

- ; ; ; —■ peculiarities of soil, climate, cultivation, etc., and only by actual experiments can a farmer decide upon the best system of manuring bis land. In New Zealand, however, soils are usually benefited by an application of some phosphatic manure. Presuming that the stubble land in question has been well ploughed, and an inch of new soil turned up to the weather, perhaps you cannot do better than drill the seed when sowing with lewt to 2cwt of superphosphate pier acre. The price varies, but the local product can bo landed at Clyde at £5 7s 6d per ton, as also is a specific grain manure containing nitrogen in addition to the phosphoric acid of the super.

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW19150623.2.33.2

Bibliographic details

Otago Witness, Issue 3197, 23 June 1915, Page 10

Word Count
1,133

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS. Otago Witness, Issue 3197, 23 June 1915, Page 10

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS. Otago Witness, Issue 3197, 23 June 1915, Page 10

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