FARMING NOTES.

Patea Mail, Volume XXIX, 21 June 1907, Page 2

FARMING NOTES.

For a 15 months old boar of the largo white Yorkshire breed, the bidding reached 100 guineas at Peterborough recently, A sow belonging to Mr Albert Watson, of the Grange Farm, Clavering, has given birth to a litter of ten, all of which are boar pigs, and this is believed to be an unprecedented occurrence. The following, says the Manawatu Times, is the unique record of tests obtained from Mr A. Buchanan's pedi: gree herd of Jersey cows from samples taken during the last three days. The last two cows have calved since the beginning of this month. Mr Buchanan's herd are grass fed with a little hay added occasionally : Tipsy IV. 9-2, May Beauty 8 6, Princess Gazelle 6-6, Honey Dew 7'5, La Perle 7-6, Birdie 6-6, Kelpie 8-6, Magnets Glean 7*4, Cream Magnet 7'B, Japonica 4-6, Monopola 6*9, Enid 6*B, Turquoise 6'6, Woodruffe 5% Jersey VIE. 5-0. Amidst the millions of sheep that pass through the Homebush (Sydney) fat stock sale yards in the course of a few years, there is an occasional freak, and the most remarkable of its kind was seen last week, when a merino with four horns was penned, The animal presented a most peculiar appearance, and was more suitable for a zoo or garden of varieties than a fat stock market (says the Sydney Morning Herald). And, judging by the price realised, it may find its way to some show place before it reaches the slaughter yard. Two horns sprang upwards from the head, not unlike the horns of an Ayrshire, while the other two twisted down, somewhat after the fashion of a boar's tusks. Spirited competition took the price up to £3, at which it was knocked down to a suburban butcher ; in the ordinary course of things its price would have been about 16s. As the season advances the supply of milk becomes conspicuously less (says the Oamaru Mail), and the number of supplies may be safely set down at 40 per cenc. below that of a normal year. This being the case, there can be little doubt that consumers will shortly have to face a general rise in the price of the necessary household commodity, which is now selling in isolated instances at the unusually high price of 5d per quart. Suppliers complain that, considering they are compelled to buy feed (including turnips, hay, and straw), there is little or no profit, even at an advanced price. At the several creameries around the district the shortage is most marked, and unless something altogether unexpected in the way of more favorable climatic conditions intervene, many of j them will be forced to close down. The recent rain experienced in the Oamaru district (says the Mail) has given an impetus to the sowing of winter cereals, both oats and wheat, and merchants report a very active demand for seed. A considerable area of land has been prepared, but farmers have hitherto been chary of sowing owing to the absence of moisture in the soil to cause germination. Now that the land has received some mois* ture there is an eager desire to get the seed in, and if more rain were experi* enced, J sufficient to moisten the lea land to a fair depth, there would be activity in ploughing, the prospective high values of wheat lead* ing to a larger area of land being sown than for several years.

STUDY THE COW.

A warning is given to American dairymen from a successful breeder not to neglect tha appearance of a cow solely for the Babcock tester; In Australia, up to the present, there is . very little likelihood, of the tester receiving too much attention, and the shape and appearance of the cow too little. Too much reliance is placed upon outward indications for milk. Most dairymen have an eye for a good cow. They can pick out a likelylooking animal at a glance, and the longer a man is in the business the more his hfrd improves in appearance. But very often, while the proportion of shapely animals is increasing, there is not a corresponding increase in the butter-fat per centage of the milk. If appearance alone were an infallible test then the average of the different herde recorded at the factories should be much higher. On the other hand, the Babcock should not solely guide the dairyman in his selection of a cow. A cow is not always at her best. She may respond liberally to certain feed and treatment, and remain passive under other systems. Certainly no hard and fast nile can be laid down which, if followed without variation, will evor solve the breeding problem. In most cases it happens that a heavy j mi'king cow passes on her characteristics to her progeny, and that her daughters perpetuate her good quali* ties; but also it is equally true that such an animal may get stock, perfect in form, but very bad performers in. the bail. As the result of one season's trial, it might be unwise to 'discard a beast possessing a dairy form, and coming from dairy ancestry. Such an animal might improve later on, when coming into milk a second time, and continue that improvement for a year or two. More encouragement should be given to the formation of cow-testing associations, and, failing this, individual dairymen should ascertain for themselves the weight and measure of each cow's milk, and then each dairyman, by Btudying not only the cow's appearance, but closely watching and studying the peculiarities of each,, would soon learn definitely what each, was worth to him.