Farm Notes.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13156, 5 May 1906, Page 6

F arm Notes.

Mmm oi interafl from country reiwi tci for publication in this column wih b« wi»lconied,

(By "Fftrmer.")

When autumn merges into winter, j and everything is wet, with mini lying about all over the place, thej farmer's life is none too pleasant, and he should always remember th|at the, stock feel the inconveniences as much! as he does. It is all very well advocating the housing of dairy cows during winter nights, but we are not ready for it in Taranakd yet, and we must just do tTje best . we can in the meantime. But there is ona thing that farmers must do in the near future, so they might Just as 1 well start right away and get it done, and that is to plant shelter belts of trees and live fences. Charity begins at home, and we see a large number of homesteads with s-lVelter belts of 'trees around them, but to ses trees planted especially for the comfort of cattle is a rare occurrence. Although we do not need shelter so much at the JS'orth end o*f Taranakd as they do at the southern end, it will generally be found that the rent of the ground covered by the trees is more than compensated for in the effect-" on the cattle. The planting of live fences is really more importatnt than shelter copses, because it serves the double purpose of fencing in the land and; affording considerable shelter We profit by experience, or we ought to, aad no one will think. of putting in a gorse fence when other kinds of thorn producers will do as well or better. Box -thorn has, without doubt proved -far and away the : ' most successful in Taranaki, and the writer can strongly recommend it for fencing and shelter. Comparatively young fences will sometimes be as much as six feet high, and as much throujrh, being absolutely impervious to all kinds of stock. In starting a -box thorn fencei it is best to plant the young plants about nine inches apart, laying them flat on the first spit you take out of the ditch, - placing the sods, with the turf sk&uified off, on the top of i them r to hold them in position. Planting can be cai'ried on all through winter right up to the end of September, and when a man gets into the way of working it, he can do two or tliree 'moles every winter. It is much . Jyetfer ,tp plant on this ditch, and bank principle than to. try planting on the lew]' or even sawing, the seed along thb 'frmco line. G&ven a good sharp spade, a man can weed three m\ f or r chains of ditch and bank-w o rk while /he. was doing one on the level. TJio faints themselves 1 seem -tos thrive, better in thf baiik thaoi,: on- . . the ;. fjat. ijiroctly they start to grow they'assunie an upright position and nvake a '■:■< good ienxoe in two or three yeai's' time The ditch and bank,. j>artioularly on the bank side, should be protected by I a tennpoKai'y , fence of two or thi*ce hatbod 'wires, otherwise the.. 'cattle will' anake a point,. o f walking aiong the ditch displacing:, ail the ■ j&ants' and horning down the trench.

Barbary makes a pretty .fence, • ... but as it is believed to ' harbour 'the rust which comes in oats it is> best not to have it. / ' .

Talkdng about ■•shelter; arid so forth, it is high time we took to systematic rugging of the dairy herd during the winter rwonth/s. It is a "bit of an expense, at first, but it will be paid fpr in one season. If a cow •comes to her profit in nice sleek condition, she, will milk t^ceas' well as the cow that .cofni'es in very- poor. When they have no rug-s i n the winter and the cold winds sweep across a paddock, most of 'the food a. pow has eaten goes to keep up the body temperature and not sufficient to build up the tissues which give her a strong constitution to milk well and .kaep it up , for a long time. '■ "'■• •