10 Ai'KiL, 1918. 1 Till' Adrantages of Herd Testing. 



201 



quite common to see farmers every week taking home purchased vege- 

 tables, when a quarter of an acre properly cared for would grow more 

 than sufficient for all requirements. Home-grown vegetables are always 

 cheap ; they are on hand when wanted ; they are there to be used when 

 fresh and ready, and therefore are much superior in quality to those bought, 

 which are probably gathered some time before being sold, and consequently 

 are withered and dry when prepared for cooking. Most vegetable seeds 

 are easily grown, and the odd time taken up in looking after the home 

 supply of farm vegetables is very well paid for. 



Mr. Gooding has also an old-established orchard, which is still highly 

 productive. A small breeding stud of Yorkshire pigs enclosed there 

 turn all windfall fruit to good account. There are at present 40 York- 

 shire pigs of various ages on the farm. One of the breeding sows has 



Mr. Gooding's Ayrshire Sire. 



the record of having given birth to nineteen pigs at one litter, fourteen of 

 which were reared. Mr. Gooding has been very successful in fattening 

 his stock, and on six days this season his pen brought the top price, at the 

 Melbourne market, one lot of twelve averaging £8 14s. per pig. 



When this property was first bought by the present owner it was in 

 its rough state, and, owing to the heavy scrub which covered it, twenty 

 head of cattle per year would have been its full fattening capacity. It 

 is now carrying a milking herd of 70 cows and heifers, 11 forward heifers, 

 7 yearlings, 2 bulls, and 63 calves, as well as the farm horses and pigs. 



The fine crop of maize illustrated on the next page is of the Sibley 

 variety, and when seen in February was cobbing out well. 



Mr. Gooding and his sons have been breeding Ayrshire cattle of a 

 good class for eleven years past, and any one conversant with the breed 



