126 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER, 



Resolved — " That the ehort-horn breed of cattle 

 is the most approved lor grazing purposes, 

 Iroin the circuiiifiiances of their making more 

 growth, and also possei?sing greater laitening 

 properties than the other kinds ; and although 

 Ibund to consume more lood, tiiis lias gene- 

 rally been compensated lor by tlieir lattening 

 in a shorter [leriod." 

 The Ibllovvmg meeting was engaged in a discus- 

 sion on " The hreed ol sheep best adapted to this 

 disiric!, combining weight and quality ol" tieece 

 with aptiiude to lailen." The member bringing 

 this subject belbre the club contended that, Ibr all 

 purposes, the pure Southdown breed was in every 

 respect to be prelerred. As regards a cross, that 

 between the Down and Leicester was undoubtedly 

 the best, but not equal to the pure breed of ihe 

 former. The quality ol the tnuiion ol Down sheep 

 was superior to that ol any other breed (the Nor- 

 Iblk excepted), and generally obtained the highest 

 price in Smithfield market ; he believed they would 

 make a better return to the grazier, and instanced 

 a case ol' Downs and hall-bred Leicesters having 

 been bought from the same flock and kept toge- 

 ther ; the Downs beating the Leicester considera- 

 bly. He thought there had not been that atten- 

 tion paid to the improvement of the breed ol 

 Souihdowns which there had been to that ol' the 

 improved Leicesters. Crosses between the Nor- 

 folk and Southdown, and between the Norlblk and 

 Leicester, were also noticed, but not considered 

 equal to the pure Southdown, requiring longer 

 time to fatten, and when lat not so saleable as the 

 latter. The Down wool was equal in quality to 

 any other, and if kept well, will clip nearly as 

 much as a cross-bred sheep. 



On the other hand, it was contended that there 

 was no breed olshet p, Ibr grazing purposes, better 

 suited to this district, particularly where early ma- 

 turity is an object, than the first cross between the 

 Southdown ewe and the Leicester tup, and as both 

 breeds possessed great ai)tiiudeto fatten, (the Lei- 

 cester in the greater detrree), the stock obtained 

 from such a cross could not be inleriorto either pa- 

 rents. There were some sheep called hall-bred 

 Leicesters, but partaking of several crosses, whose 

 fattening properties were greatly inlisrior to those 

 of the first cross, neither is the mutton so good in 

 quality. It was also argued that Downs rpf]uire 

 more time, and although it was allowed they pos- 

 sessed more harddiood than hall-bred sheep, and 

 can be kept to more advantage in greater quanti- 

 ties, still they would never produce so much 

 weight of wool ; and as sheep in this neighbor- 

 hood are generally returned at from twelve to fif- 

 teen momhsold, and many are often sold in the 

 wool, there were none so suited for these purposes 

 as the latter breed. An animated discussion took 

 place on this subject, occupying this and part of a 

 subsequent evening, which ended in the adoption 

 of the following resolution : — 



Resolved — " That for the purposes ofa breeding 

 flock, the pure Southdown is the best ; and 

 that for grazing and where early maturity is 

 an object, the first cross between the pure 

 Southdown and pure Leicester is the most 

 desirable, as possessing more aptitude to 

 fatten, and producing greater weight of 

 fleece; but where a large quantity are kept 

 and a longer lime allowed for fattening, there 



is no better descripiion of sheep than the 



pure Southdown." # # # 



[From Isle of TTianet Farmers^ Club.} 



A discussion took place respecting turnips, 

 when the general opinion expressed was, " That 

 matiurmg immediately be ore the seed is sown, 

 will produce a belter crop than dunging the land 

 m the winter ; and tliat drilling Swede turnip 

 seed at len lurroivs to the rod, and other turnips 

 at twelve or thirteen I'urrows, is the preferable 

 meihod." 



The subject for discussion on theSih of January 

 was, " The best time Ibr cropping the land." 

 There were only teven members present, one of 

 whom slated, " That to his knowledge some 

 barley sown in January, was better when har- 

 vested than that sown in March, the same year." 

 Another staled, " That he knew barley sown in 

 February, belter than that sown in April." The 

 Ibllowing resolution was unanimously agreed 

 to :— 



" That all spring corn shall be sown as early 

 as possible, provided that the ground is in a proper 

 state 10 receive it." * * * 



At (he meeting on the 9ih of March, on the 

 subject of '' making manure," it was contended 

 by some members, " That it is best to allow the 

 animals that are fatting to go loose in the farm- 

 yard." It was also contended, "That it is a good 

 plan to keep a sufficient number of bullocks tied 

 up fatting, and have others loose in the yard, 

 ready to take the place ol' the fat on«s as they go 

 off." The Ibllowing resolution was agreed to : — 



" That it is the opinion of this Club, that to 

 make the most and best manure in the yard, is to 

 I'eed beasts vviih Swede turnips and oil cake, with 

 cut hay and straw, about a quarter part of the 

 latter, to exclude as much superfluous water as 

 possible, allowing the animals to run loose." 



FACTS ON FOOD AND MANURE. 



From Sqiiarey's Treatise on Agricultural Chemistry. 



" It lias been before staled that every part of a 

 plant contains nitrogen as vvell as carbon ; but, 

 as an invariable rule, the seed of all plants con- 

 tains a tuuch larger quantity of nitrogen than the 

 leaves and sialks, and a leaser quantity of carbon, 

 and inversely, the leaves and stalks contain a much 

 greater quantity of carbon, and a lesser quantity 

 of niirogen. Now when a horse is fed on grass, 

 his food consists almost entirely of carbon ; and 

 the result is, that wi.en he has a sufficient supply 

 he gets fat — that is, that panicles of oily, fatty 

 matter are deposited on the muscles under the 

 skin ; but, as it is well known, a horse in this 

 condition is quite unequal to any work, and the 

 least exertion reduces his bulk. But when the 

 same horse, under other circumstances, is fed on 

 corn, his Ibod consists principally of niirogen ; 

 and athough ho may, never, under this keep, get 

 as fat as under the other, still the increase he does 

 acquire will be pure muscle, or, as it is technically 

 called, sound flesh ; and on this keep he can per- 

 form infinitely more work with less fatigue than 

 on (ood containing no nitrogen. 



" A more complete instance could not be ad- 



