FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1915, Page 10

FARM AND DAIRY.

I'.}; SEED SAVING. . Tae NortU Canterbury Board of Education has issued a circular to school committees and bead teachers commending to their notice a seed campaign. The circular '"Here -we have a patriotic _ duty of vital nature at our hands, and , toy garnering the various agricultural . seed we. are freeing the mail on the land ( front the heaviest duties of the farm. j-Teachftrs are asked to give their fullest support to the following proposals: every rural school in North Caa- :> Jefbury. undertake to larvest the seed of some one £arm crop to the extent of «t least I'lb of seed per pupil in the upJ standards, and tharf; the teachers organise this effort in each district; that teachers enlist' the apympathy and support of local bodies afnd persons interested, and also instrv&t the children how to proceed; that care be exercised to

■ prevent the seeds, of several varieties : fceirtg grouped together; that arrangestents be- made'/immediately to transplant really good/ roots to the school gardenser Ijome gardens, or to have a small tne the field reserved w * iere coc^s " * k -'aSv.much of this the have been atfected by ,xhp war that of agricultural ' seal gro*% U to be more and , mom so/iQiiiJvtWe have for ■ many France. He#ium juSft dAO*#«iab+ - for nitll> 0 f uur •agDci/lturttl seqd.--. t< « ■ Tftis season these .. cajglrics will hardly l>o able to supply t'ljw - own -Crd Tn view of the com* 3 W'l! scriou--tlir; ivelfare. of the. Doinsnion. it vould Becm advisable that some combin- ' .onsttrp. a sufficient agricultural seeds at any rate. *M4ny crops require that certain 'of. the (pest phinfs be sa.ved )3br seed (U'otluc.]f'i on - -.fte vvor!e"«f selection and. se«d"Hng could be f[!iUe efficiently carried out ji>y the hoys anil also girls attending jjlie primary iepqilifarj schools." ' O ' •g. ; XOT3ES. . •ii ie reDC ' l are iiuportiujr rattle |ir ,l in.;tUe Ateaboa-.'d for array •ii,e. The so!dw"> have ahrayj been ac- . customed U fr»sh-lailed even io the field, sincl 11> ii l this demand there Jiae heen riro/iyai u | a pra-.tici mii'cli has not pre w led for soinc years. Abattoirs have Veen erected at the rear of the lines, und refrigerated o t eann-.fi is only used when the fresh artielt • is not pnoenrable.

Tne German ciotliing tiade ha 3 put up ■ prices 30 per cent, this year, finding it impossible to get the ncjcessarv quantity ■fit starch for their work. Xorth f!er•.jnan wool at Berlin ii^ s a maximum fixt*d price of Sod, wiwreas in January last gyear it Wis 20y,d. -nnenos Aires' wool ait "Brement.Jias a fixed price of .".OJ. it {{wring'tan 56d, compared with 2i'/.d

Potatoes sheuld never ke given raw to cows. They act injuriously on milk or butter. But when steamei they can fee employed exteasively fer this purpose. 'Age ia no deterrent to hereditary power. The Godoiphin Arabian was 20 when he sired Matchless, who lived to be 32. A well-bred ram will often add two to three pounds in weight of flesh or fleece over a common sire.

A well-known agricultural scientist propounds the theory that sunshine is not so important for the growth of crops as people have supposed. Moisture i 9. he says, the really important factor. There are at present 90,000 carcases of frozen mutton stored at the Mataura freezing works awaiting shipment to England. A public banquet has been given at Alberta, Canada, in honor of the milking record put up by a Jersey cow, which in three years produced 38,0001b of milk and 25001b butter.

Beerbohm's Coin Trade List puts down the world's maize crop at 472,000,000 quarter?, which is the greatest ever grown. It is 20,000,000 greater than any previous record. • A good antiseptic whitewash is made by slaking T'/ilb lime in hot water, mixing to a creamy consistency, then stirring in 15 fluid ounces So per cent, pure carbolic acid, and making up to five gallons. If required for spraying it should be strained first.

"The United States Government crop report is surprisingly favourable,'' says the American lievio*. "With the largest acreage of winter wheat ever known, the crop condition had improved radically during April, and the estimate of flie' yield was 603,000,000 bushels, breaking all records? in our history. This surpassed expectations of the experts by about 20,000,000 bushels.

Some experiments in breeding for fat lamb production have been carried out at the Harper-Adams Agricultural College, England, using ewes of improved Welsh breed. These were divided evenly jnto three flocks,'and mated with Ryefind. Romnev Marsh- and improved Welsh rains. Although .the Romney cross appeared the weakest when drop- : pc;l, they s OOII caught up to the others, 'and finally made the heaviest weights. The Rveland cross, however, took first place for number of.lambs and price per head. The ewes cost %is per head, and sold from 97a 6d to 50s (id; while the lambs ranged from 30s to 10s. The wool realised 3s 8,1 per fleece. Foot and mouth disease is doing much present damage in the United Sfates, and one authority anticipates an expenditure of £-1.000,000 before the con, tagion is stamped out. The number of herds infected to I'ebruarv 0 was 2245, the number of cattle 52.D1-I. sheep 7331, and swine r,\,TM. In addition to the actual losses is the depreciation of the value of the herds f l ue to Ihe spread of the disease. In Germany the depreciation is put at 20s per head, and as there are 38,000.000 cattle in the United States the loss may be immense.

Tf weaning and rearing aiv carried on ■ systematically there should b« ; heifers : coming on to take the place oßiny cows 1 sold or otherwise dropped tfdt 'of the h«4

Most «f the commercial fertilisers act on the so!l rather than en the plant. The cream separator is one of the machines on the farm which pays for itself in increased profits. Be the master of the bull in the herd, but do not let him regard you as his enemy.

The purer hred the stallion, the more impressive ihe will be, and the more likely are his colts to be what you are breeding for. The advantage of reading agricultural journals consists not so much in the gain of knowledge as in the stimulus of mind and purpose. Reading is an antidote for brain rust.

Milk is more easily digested than any other food. It is more nearly allied to the blood, so that it is absorbed into the system with less effort than is essential for ordinary foods.

A little salt is necessary for pigs for promotion of digestion, but it is best suppled in the form of a condiment. Recent experiments have proved the value of the mixture when added to the food daily. In badly-formed feet it is impossible to atop the development of corns. Shoeing should receive the necessary attention. In bad cases removing the shoos and turning the horse on pasture is the best kind of treatment.

Sheep will eat and thrive on many weeds and plants that other animals will reject, and they assist in ridding the fields of such pests'. A small flock of mutton sheep should be on every farm if only to supply the family with oihoicer meat at a fraction of the cost of the butcher's supply. It wilj be rather interesting iwrite:* "W.W.D." in the Christchureh Press) to see how the lambing turns out this season; personally, 1 should t'link that taking it all through the total drop will be slightly below the average. So far as Canterbury is concerned, ihc eivcs started the winter under ve.'y unfavorable circumstances in most localities as -cgards feed. They had been more or less stinted all the summer, and matters did not improve, for root crops and winter feed were used for keeping tiie fat stock going. There is one thing in their favor, and that is the cxtraordin-a-y mildness of the winter. Given a decent spring, with a, good growth, things should not be so bad after all. A Russian artillery horse won a bronzo medal at Plevna. Orders were given for some ammunition waggons to be hurried to a spot that meant crossing the enemy's zone of fire, All the time %ays a London paper) shells were crashing among the horses, bringing them down in heaps and frightening such as escaped. Times without number did the Russian drivers, sparing neither whip nor spur, attempt to urge the horses forward, but they stood cowed and shivering with fright. Some were blindfolded; but the effect was the same, and only one horse showed any willingness to go on. Thereupon the driver jumped down, and, cutting the traces of the other horses, drove the willing one at full gallop through the fire. The waggon passed through without exploding, "and after the ;4var the horse was decorated in the manner described and the driver promoted,

Growing pigs require to draw on the protein of the food for bonc-formins material to suoh an extent that other ingredients in the food are often to a largo extent wasted. Yvhen one tablespoonful of bonc-mea] per pig has been added daily to the feed, it has fount! to save 26 per cent, of the. food required when no bonemeal was fed. There are some farmers wlio believe the kind should be given a complete rest every few years so that it may recover from its exhaustion hi the production of crops. This is a good theory if it does not cover the suggestion that the land should be allowed to become a hotbed of weeds, which sap its qualities quite a.s inuch as cropping would. In fact, weeds do more harm to ground than any other crop. In Victoria the cost of a cow's keep for a year is £2 10s; labor £1 IPs of £2; and in comparing the yield of .T2G!h by one cow and 1221b by another cow in tin; same herd, it is pointed .out that while the cost was .'id per lb of butler from the best cow, (he cost from the bail cow of the herd, which only yielded 1221b, was Sd per lb. flood animals, kept clean, comfortable and free from excitement, will yield the best possible results in milk. On the other hand, where cows are in ill-health, or unduly excited, the milk Is Immediately affected. Kspocially is this noticeable in the case of cows taken long distances to shows, and in such case* the fnt percentage may fall as low as 2 per cent., or even less, whereas at homo it would be normal in quantity. The mealie crops in the States is worth £110,000,W)0, and the bulk of this is derived from the eonvcrsioii of maize into beef, pork and butter. The butter and cheese output is worth £10!).0(>»,m)0. and the milk yield is worth considerably more. The output of the 'cow is dependent on the output of the crops, wltieh are dependent on the manure from the live stock. Hence the saying: "No manure, no crops; no crops, no cattle; n:> cattle, no manure."

Something approaching a meat famine now exists in Tasmania. During the winter months Tasmania usually imports cattle and sheep for the hutchei'ing trade, but with the greatly depleted stocks the practice has been reversed, and, in addition to live cattle and sheep being sent to Victo'ia. frozen and canned meats are also being exported to that State. Victorian buyers attend the Tasmanian stock sales and buy large quantities of stock. Meat has now reached almost famine prices. At late sali« steers realised up to'.CDS 10s, bullocks £3l 2* fid. heifers £l3 ss. wethers "ils, ewes 37s and lambs 25s Cd, while ■pork realised !)%d per lb. These are the highest prices recorded in Tasmania lor many years. Compared with three years ago there are 45.057 fewer cattle, 177,511 fewer sheep, and 14,192 fewer pigs in the State. In previous years Tasmania has imported as many as SO.GOO sheep and IfiflO head of cattle in a season. During the past month over 1000 head of cattle and 10,000 sheep have been exported from the North.West Coast alone to Victoria. Butchers state that it is impossible to import from any of the States or from New Zealand, and the position is daily becoming, more scute.

a 'i-'.shane report states that supplies ■\ vi'e '''i -~ rsi stock sales on July 28 were wry ioi'- ; an( l> with a large atr.en.uiii ••' r louyers, competition ruled excei.t,..r,a ■" I<een. .Values generally were equal to those ruling during the V.m drought. 'Prime bullock beef brought (Ms per 1001b. and the general average was about 555. Prime lambs sold up to 40s Gd, whuh is stated to be a record for the yards. Calves also brought high prices.,

This is the feed for tan cows in Canada: Clover, 1 acre, feed off'from June to July l.i: peas and oats, '/, acre, feed off from July 15 to July 31; mealies, >/ : , acre, feed off from August 15 to August 30; mealies, '/> acre, feed off September. Winter feed: .ill/hay, 301b mealie ensilage, l.Vlb roots, -lib straw, 71b meal. The cost of foodstuffs in Canada was: (Pasture, per month per cow, Js; bran, per lon, .CI; gluten men!, per ton, £5 12s; oats, £5 per ton; c.'over hay, 2Ss per tun: chaff, lGs per ton; roots and ensilage, Ss per toft. Value of butter, 13d per Jh; value of skim milk, Hid per 1001b. "Vou might just as well hope to always have money hi the bank by repeatedly drawing cheques on your account without making deposits, as to hope for annual yields from your orchards without fertilisation," says Professor J. P. •Stewart, lie considers that soil exhaustion is the most potent cause of orchard, deterioration. When the food account in nn orchard has been overdrawn, a very simple experiment will evidence the depleted condition, l'huit a young tree in the place of an old one and it dies or suffers from 'starvation, lie said': "liy a thorough and impartial investigation of fruit-growing districts it has been found to be- the exception where an orchard has been given the care usually apportioned other cultivated plants:' It is too'iisually the custom to care for an orchard « s a whole, instead of the trees individually."

i T»rewers' »rains can be fed to' milch . cows iv-itli very good rosu'/s; liut care ' must be taken while commencing. Large ! quantities ■increase the milk ■ yield, but ! have a,.tendency to reduce (.lie solid eon- .; stitnoiit of tlie milk; this, however; dis- ;■• ajj , |)oaj-rf when the cattle become' a'eeus-,-tomod to the diet. As brewers' grains ; are very liable to fermentation', especially in (lie Runnier months, the fee<l ! is always more or less acid, and rattle i constantly fed on this may luring on digestive troubles. Com meal' and long i cut chail' may be added to help the'oow during rumination, am! thus prevent I digestive troubles. It is inadvisable to Joed young calves upon this class of j,food. Pigs, Oiowever. do well on it. and j require no other food than the separated ' milk; however, a little corn meal could be added with advantage. The best con--1 eonhrated food for pigs is crushed hw- J | ley, of whicii a, pig will lay up Mb in ! every 51b supplied as body weight. It j is a very economical food' for pigs, as ; they fully utilise ami do well on' It. Dried brewers' grains are safer to feed and do not require to be given in larger quantities than 101b, whereas fresh brewera' grains arc fed up to fiOlb dai'lv. An, an-crage fair-sized cow will consume I from 120 to ISOlbs of feed per day. The | excess above concentrated feed supplied is made up in stall-fed cattle by hay I or straw, and wlien at pasture, by umi

The season is very forward throughout Wairarapa. Already there is % splendid growth in the grass. Fanners generally are looking forward to a very .successful year, as there is every indication of prices being high. The good prices in view for oats and wheat have induced farmers, -who. have previously done very little oropping, to cultivate a fairly large acreage. : .'. It is anticipated that many thousands' of-acres of land more will be under crop this season than ever before recorded in YVairarapa. The high prices ruling for sheep have resulted in the sheep-farmer, sowing a niinh larger quantity than usual of hard feed for fattening his stock with. Large areas of rape, turnips and mangels are to he grown, and there should not be a shortage of feed for stock, such as was the ease last summer, when owners had to send their stock to other districts to graze. iSheop and cattle have come through the winter in most parts of the Wairarapa better than was anticipated.

As showing what can be taken out of land liy intense cultivation, the experience during the past year of Mr. Samuel Sparks, of Cashmere, is worth giving (says the Nelson Mail). flis land is, without question, of i( liigli class, having co.-t COO au acre; but in,.this respect it is not markedly distinguished from the whole area in the same,; neighborhood. ,Mr. Sparks is an old settler,, and. 'consequently, knows the capacity.of the land, and works it to the best advantage. Thy -year, from a single aore. ho ..secured 100 tons of mangels, and these he sold for 27s per ton—certainly an excellent return, since, a.s Mr. Sparks states, the cost of production, including interest on the capital ilivested in the land, would not amount'to more than £lO. I'roin an area of 52 acres Mr. Sparks sold 1.00 lons of hay at £4 10s and froou two acres, bo sold SO tons of catin" tubers at £4 5s 3d per ton. ' It is quite apparent (says the Wanganui Chronicle's travelling correspondent) that the large profits accruing to farmers as a result of war conditions are causing many eyes to turn towards'the land. Agents report that difliculty is now being oxperieiued in finding farms, whilst at the monthly meeting of the ttangitikei County Council there was an unprecedented number of transfers passeil through. It is easily the. largest list ever dealt with liy the Council"at one sitting, and it clearly indicated that in the Kaugitikei alone thousands of acres of land have either been purchased ri»ht out or leased with A piirehasinir clause A good deal of the country is lo'be used for cropping, ami „thcr portions for stock-raising, in view of the big development of the freezing industry along the U est Coast.