384 Joiirniil of Af/ricuJi iirc, Victoria. [10 June, 1916. 



REMINDERS FOR JULY. 



Live Stock. 



Horses. — Those stabled and worked regularly should be fed liberally. Those 

 doing fast or heavy work should be clipped ; if not wholly, then trace high. Those 

 not rugged on coming into the stable at night should be wiped down and in half- 

 an-hour's time rugged or covered with bags until the coat is dry. Old horses 

 and weaned foals should be given crushed oats. Grass-fed working horses should 

 be given hay or straw, if there is no old grass, to counteract the purging effects of 

 the young growth. Old and badly-conditioned horses should be given some 

 boiled barley or linseed. Mares due to foal early if in poor condition should be 

 fed liberally. Commence preparing stallion for season, especially if worked. 



Cattle, — Cows, if not housed, should be rugged. Rugs should be removed 

 and aired in the daytime when the shade temperature reaches 60 degrees. Give 

 a ration of hay or straw, whole or chaffed, to counteract the purging effects of 

 the young grass. Cows about to calve, if over fat, should be put into a paddock 

 in which the feed is not too abundant. Newly-calved cows should be fed liberally 

 to stimulate milk flow. Calves should be kept in warm, dry shed. 



Pigs. — Supply plenty of bedding in warm, well-ventilated styes. Keep styes 

 clean and dry. Store pigs should be placed in fnttening styes. Sows in fine 

 weather should be given a grass run. Young pigs over two months old should be 

 removed from lucerne run. 



Sheep. — Go carefully through all breeding flocks on conclusion of lambing. 

 Reserve all best-framed and profitable-fleeced ewes. Ear mark all found unde- 

 sirable to breed from, and dispose of any that may be fat before prices recede 

 in the spring. Use a neat mark for ear-marking, not the " slash," " top off," 

 and " quarter," the usual rough ear marks made by the knife. Discard all 

 undersized, narrow-framed ew^es, any with short yellow fleeces, those with thin 

 locky staple, any with very fine, light, and wasty fleeces, ewes with " bottle " 

 udders, single teats, undershot, overshot, or otherwise deformed mouths, ewes 

 six years old and over. Draw teeth of aged ewes altogether, if showing open 

 and signs of feed slipping through. Consider well before selling any early 

 born, good-fleeced ewe lambs this coming season. Select best rams for future 

 service; remember, wide, thick sheep are best thrivers, but they must carry 

 good fleeces as well. Keep all ewes well crutched and the udders and eyes 

 well cleared of w^ool previous to lambing. Give lambing flocks good attention. 

 The early lambing over an extensive area has been again a partial failure, 

 therefore every lamb saved will be well worth the trouble. 



Poultry. — Mating of birds intended for breeding purposes should receive im- 

 mediate attention. Ten second-season Leghorns or Minorcas, or six of the heavier 

 birds, such as Orpingtons, Plymouth Rocks, and Wyandottes (preferably in their 

 second year), with a vigorous unrelated cockerel will be found satisfactory. Table 

 birds bred in March or April will pay handsomely prior to the Cup Carnival. 

 A tonic in drinking water as a preventive against chicken pox and other ailments 

 is advantageous. 



Cultivation. 

 Farm. — Finish sowing barley, peas and beans, and late white oats in backward 

 districts. Trim hedges. Fallow for potatoes, maize, and other summer crops; 

 in early districts, plant potatoes. Graze off early crops where possible. 



Orchard.— Continue to plant deciduous fruit trees, bush fruits, and straw- 

 berries. Continue cultivating and pruning. Spray for mites, aphides, and scales. 

 Flower Garden. — Plant shrubs, climbers, and permanent plants, including 

 roses ; also annuals and herbaceous perennials, early Gladioli, Liliums, Iris, and 

 similar plants. Continue digging, manuring, trenching, and liming. 



Vegetable Garden. — Plant out seedlings. Sow seeds of carrots, parsnips, 

 cauliflowers, onions, peas, broad beans, and tomatoes. Dig all vacant plots. 



Vineyard. — Proceed with pruning, burning off, and ploughing. Complete, as 

 early as possible, the application of manures if not already done. Mark out la,nd 

 for new plantations. If ground is in good order and not too wet, proceed With 

 plantation of young vines (unpruned). Remove cuttings or scions from vines 

 previously marked, and keep fresh by burying horizontally in almost dry sand in 

 cool, sheltered place. Permanently stake or trellis last year's plantations. 



Cellars. — Rack all young wines, whether previously racked or not. Rack older 

 wines also. For this work choose, as much as possible, fine weather and high 

 barometer. Fill up regularly all unfortified wines. This is a good time for 

 bottling wine. 



