NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3467, 24 August 1920, Page 8

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

In the selection of seeds for sowing, the main conditions for the purSeeds and Their chaser to secure are ade« Germination, quate germinating capacity, identity to species, freedpm, from impurities, a satisfactory germination, of any of the cereals, green crops ana clovers, should not be less than 90 pef cent., and of other farm seeds not lesS thon 70 per cent. This germinating per? centage may be determined by some sudji method as the following:—Take a clear} piece of ordinary red rooting tile and plac£ it in a shallow dish; score, say. 100 smal| squares, and place in each "of these an oat seed. Water is poured gently into the dish to rather more than the thickness of the tile. The dish, covered with a board, is put on a shelf in the and the seeds can be looked at from, day to day. The tile being unglazed, the water soon rises to the upper surface, which it n:.o;stens, and from there it soaks into the seed. During the first day or two tha seed will swell, and in due course from the ends rootlets and shoots will be seen to protrude, etc., clear evidence of germination or sprouting of the seed. The most favourable temperature is about 89deg Fahr. for any of the cereals. Or procure three flower-pot s'aucers —two of the same size, one a little smaller; put 100 seeds into the smaller, and set into one of the larger, in which there is a little water; invert the other large saucer over the top; set aside in the same place where all requisites of speedy germination are present—viz., moisture, access to air, and equable temperature.

It must be cheerful to consumers in particular, when paying theip monthly milk account, to recall once more that milk is the most complete as well as the most economical of foods. Its proteins, says R. M'O., of Illinois, are of better quality than the proteins of equal quantity derived from other sources. In addition, it alone contains those elusive, but all-impor-tant, substances known as "fat soluble A" and "water soluble B" (milk sugar and * fats), which have been shown to be absolutely essential to normal growth and healthy body maintenance. These two substances are found, it is true, separately and in comparatively small proportions or comparatively unavailable form, in the grains, the leaves of plants, and the animal tissue. But in whole milk and its derivatives they are found together, in generous proportions, and easily available. By almost any series of comparisons that one may choose to make, the dairy products emerge triumphant. For example, lib of Cheddar cheess is equal, in protein, to 1.571 b of sirloin steak, 1.551 b of round steak, 1.891 b of fowl, 1.791 b of ham, smoked, I.Bllb of fresh ham. In energy-producing value lib. of cheese equals 1.561 b of sirloin steak, 2.611 b of round steak. 2.521 b of fowl, t 1.171 b of smoked ham, I.Bllb of fresh ham.

Milk a Complete Food.

Some stfilhon leaders are inclined tonurry through, their work at the nresenfc time, says a writer in the Live Stock Journal, and consequently thei| horses are at times allowed a considerably less interval between serving . mares than should be the case. There are several interests at stake which make it of the greatest importance that a horse should leave as great a percentage of foals ad possible; but in order to achieve this desired object it is essential that the greatest care should be-taken of the horse, and, unfortunately, such is .not always the case Although no hard-and fast rule can be laid down it is an indiscreet policy not to allow a horse at least an hour s interval between the service of mares. Very recently a stallion leader not only made the remark, but boasted of the fact that the horse lie was in charge of had on one occar -~ sion served four mares withm the space of an hour. To say the least of it, it was very much to the discredit of the' grobmto so lightly legard his horse's powers The expenses connected with" horse-breeding have, like everything else, risen by leaps •and bounds; consquently a mare that faila; to prove m foal means a proportionately greater loss to her owner than was th 6 case a few years ago. It is the duty oI everyone who has charge of a stallion to give the horse as much time as possible between the service of mares, and by so doin? they will, in addition to other interests, be effectively furthering the interests of horse-breeding.

A Word to Stallion Leaders.

In reply to an inquiry as to the'age at which cows of the different breeds reach maximum milk production or maturity, a Bulletin published by the Maine Experiment Station says that this seemingly unanswerable question may be answered in so far as it related to advanced registry data. To quote: Fnesian maximum milk yields occurs at eight years four months 29 days; Guernsey maximum yield occurs at nine years eight months five days; Jersey maximum vield" occurs at eight years one month 13 days. These ages at maximum milk yield show that the Jersey reaches this vield before any of the other breeds. Closely following this breed is the .Fries Jan, while the Guernsey is the last sidering these maximum yield. In consideroing these maximum yields it should be remembered that for some time prior to and after the age at which the maximum yield of milk-occurs the cow is giving nearly this amount of milk. Further than this, milk production is highly variable. All these fluctuations taken into account, the close agreement between these ages of maximum productivity for the breeds is rather surprising. AORICOLA .

Maximum. Cows at Their

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. By Agricola.

J. H., Waikouaiti, writes as follows:—"I have a few bags of last year's oats ovef (1919). They are better oats than the new 1 , and I was wondering if it would be safs to sow them this spring in preference t(> the new oats. One man told me that older Algerians were the better they grewt You could possibly say whether this is the case. My oats are Gartons. A party_ alad told me that some years ago he finished off a paddock with old Gartons seed, and they did not do nearly as well as the new seed." 1 can only answer your query ffi A general way, but you can readily deter*

mine the matter yourself. Read the note above under Rural Topics, "Seeds and their Germination." Brief experience will show that, even in the same sample, the time occupied in germinating will vary con sJderably "amongst individual seeds. This is partly due to the coat or covering being thicker and tougher upon some of the seeds than upon others, and therefore bursting less easily, and is particularly noticeable with clovers. It may be due_ to difference of age, old seed not germinating so readily as young seed, whilst as age advances the contained germ dies, and a dead seed will never germinate. Again, it is something to know the "stock" from which a sample is derived, thus a sample germinating 100 per cent, may be greatly inferior to another germinating only 80 per cent if the former is from a. wild bastard stock of little account. If any doubt arises as to the vitality of seed the proper course is to test it by sprouting a small quantity. Oats may bo daemed satisfactory when 90 per cent, germinates. The period for which oats re-"-tain the* germinating power may be taken as two years.