FACTS FOR FARMERS.

Waikato Times, Volume II, Issue 100, 19 December 1872, Page 2

FACTS FOR FARMERS.

THE STEAM PktitJGH. Lord Dunmor* in a letter to a Prussian engineer informs him what might be done if Prussian formers were awato j No sooner does a farmer see with his- own eyes the excellent of the work, the speed with which it is effected, than ho immediately wanks the steam plough on his own . The question is,'how ishetoget it? Tory few farmers hare the capital to invest in a set of tackle, therefore the only way that steam cultivation can be placed within, their reach is that private companies being got up by the landlords and influential farmers in the different distnoto-of the Unite* Kingdom, and letting out steam, cultivating implements for hire to all farmers largo or small. la your country I hear that there is an increasing demandl for steam cultivation, as the little that has already been done in that direction has plainly shown the men of your country that a revolution Lv be made in its agriculture. The good results that™ sure to follow the introduction of steam cultivation in OerSSjwM toon make themselves known. Comparison arc said to be Odious, but in some eases *> drawn and thero is no reason why the soil in Germanj Ed not be made to yield asmuch produce per acre as the soU in this country, but yet it doe* not at uwsent, for m. acre of land in this country undw wheat averages thirty bushels, against seventeen bushels in Prussia. This is a very bwaverag'e indeed, although three bushels per'Mjbgjr than the average yield of wheat nv Austria. In the latter ountry steam cultivation is now fast coming mtc, use and we shall undoubtedly see in »y^» r £ n XK steam will have upon the returns. I believe fllso that in. 1870, 76,000,000 bushels of barley were grown in Pruss a, but only an average yield of twenty-flve bushels, per acre. This would represent 3,000,000 acres of laud under barley, and considering that an immense amount of barley is grown en" lely for exportation, I need ha«% point out what a gain it would bo to the country if the land were put into such a .tote of fertility as to admit of a yiel* of forty bushels per acre! which is a'eommoa yield in England. As I have mentioned before, steam cultivation influences the root more thanthe cereal' crop; it would therefore be more desirableto introduce it into the great potato-growing districts, of your country, where the potato is largely used for the purpose of distillation, as much as 4«,50O;0OO tons-being annually produced. Therefore, in such a country as yours, peopled with tuch an intelligent and industrious-race, with thousands and thousands of acres of.rcclaimablc land, steam cultivation should bo encouraged as much as possible, ana every encouragement given to the forming of district associations or limited liability companies,, who would invest their capital in steam cultivating machinery for the purpose ot letting it out to the farmers in the district, who would of coursopay so much per acre for-the work done by mutual agreement. We find in our country, Scotland,, that it answers very well indeed; we formed a company lately, and our operations are extending all over Scotland. Since lastharvest we have sent ten ■ sets of Fowler's double-engine tackle into different parts of the country, and so great is the demand that we can hardly '.overtake the work. You ask whether there is no, cheaper method than Fowlers? It would take up too much space were I to attempt to describe to you; all the different systems now in operation: they are all good, and they arc all the results of experiments conducted by men who. have given their whole time and thought to the subject, and to whom too much praise cannot be given. Amon-st the most noted of these agricultural engineers aro the 1-loward and Bedford ; Amies, Barford and C0,.0f, Peterborough ; and Barrow and Stewart, of Banbury, who-wort Mr William Smith's (of Woolston) patent ; this latter-gen-tleman was one of the earliest pioneers ofi steam, cu turc,. and to. his untiring energy the agriculturists of Englanclowo a debt of gratitudo. There is also the Ravensthorpe Engineerintr Company in. Yorkshire* who work lisken.s patent. There are of these some who claim to.be cheaper than, 1 owler, but I very much doubt if they, are so, really, in. tho long run. .

POINTS INDICATIVE OF A GOOD MILOH COW. Among practical dairymen there has! long oxisteda number of rules by which the milking properties of a cow >ire judged of: and as these rules are the results of long experience, transmitted from one generation to another, they, contain,, when collectcd' togethor, the sum of all that information,, which is known by the namo of practical knowledge- In© points to be attended to in judging of a good milk cow are,, bv universal consent, considered to be shape and size ot the animal both as a whole and in detail; texture of the sknv. and hair, development of the lactiferous parts; temperament or habit of body and disposition; and, finally,, strength or endurance of constitution. A maximum development of these points marks out a first-class cow of the breed to which she belongs ; but the. milking properties differ in endless variety, not moroly as these points are prominent, or the reverse, but also in proportion to the circumstanccs of climate, soil, and treatment. The escutcheon test of M. Ghicnon is a new elcmont in the question ; and: when: fully established and better understood will probably occupy the first rank among the external signs which indicate the natural milking properties of the cow ; but as yet it is rarely recognised in Britain; and there are few farmers, even m-. the best dairy countics, that have even heard of such a. test. , ... Shape.—Whatever may be the breed to which a; cow belongs, there are certain points of configuration; which ai oconsidered essential, as regards hoc milking- properties. There may bo and are frequently great discrepancies, between the one and the other ; but still, generally speaking, the rule holds good that, all things being alike, the- y cow which approaches to a certain standard, will bethe best milker. The head must be rather lengthy,, especially from the eye to the point of the nose; the- nose and. muzzle should be cleanly out. and free from thick skm orflcsh lumps; the cheek bones thin, and, in like manner, devoid of thick skin or flesh, not like chapped ; eye prominent, of a placid and benignant expression, with little of, the white exposed to view. If horned, the horns should taper gradually to a point, and have a clean surface) freefrom ruggesities; the breed will determine the shape and set of the horns. The neck should be long, thin, and free from looee skin. A good milk cow may be deer or ewe-necked, but not bull-necked. The chest and breast should bodeep rather than broad, and the brisket should project forwards and downwards; and whether large or otherwise,, should be round, well shaped, and without loose folds ot skin depending from it. Tho girth, behind the moderate, and arising more from depth ond breadth of chest; shoulders rather narrow at top ; back bone on a line* with the shoulder top ;. ribs arched, and well home to the haunch bones, which should be wide apart, and form a straight Imc across, neither depressed in the centre, at Iliolumbar vertebrte, nor drooping at tho extremities; hind quarters lengthy, and the rump, or tailrtop, nearly m a line- f with the back-bone ;• thighs rather thin, but broad, well spread, and giving plenty of room for the udder ; belly pro* jecting outwards rather than downwards, with plenty of room for food ; the udd'er should be large in* a lineal direction, that is, well backward' as well as upward, between the hind legs and forward of the belly; also, broad in front, filling up the space between the lower flanks, but rather short vertically, a deep hanging udder, from its swinging motion, being always the cause of great fatigue to theanimal when walking ; the teats should be moderately long, straight, and equal in thickness from the udder to the point,, and also at considerable and equal dßtances from each other; the two front teats especially should be well apart and the direction of all four should be downward. When full of milk the udder should be greatly enlarged in size, and when nearly empty shrink in a corresponding degree, and the skin gather into soft creases. To judge accurately of a good milker the udder should be scan both before and after milking. The mammary glands, running on each side of the belly, large throughout their whole coursc, and swelling into puff's at or near their junction with the udder ; thigh veins also large and easily felfc by the-hand. Of all these shapes the most important arethe long finely formed head long thin neck-; rump nearly on a line with the back-bone ; broad quarters, long udder > from back to front, and' large veins underaeath. the and downwards from the loins and) thigh to the uaaer. When seen in front the body of a g©o<* milk cow should present the appearance of & blunted wedge, the apex o which is the breast awl shoufefer. Seen from behind should present a square well-bred shape. Seen sideways sheshould be lengthy, but not lanky.—Meohi.