272 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



November, I9l3 



the damage done by the bully of 

 the herd, if such exists, is negli- 

 gible. On one of the large dairy 

 farms along the IMurrav in South 

 Australia a dehorned herd of loo 

 milking cows is kept continuouslv 

 on a paddock of 30 acres, being 

 fed with green lucerne and lucerne 

 hay deposited fronv a waggon over 

 the fence into long lengths of 

 troughs, out of which the fodder is 

 eaten by the cows comfortably 

 ranged up side bv side. 



Lest some dairvmen, who sight 

 the advantage of conserving labour 

 in hand feeding in the way sug- 

 gested above, may be led into 

 trouble, it is necessary to men- 

 tion that dehorning has been de- 

 cided by the Courts of this State 

 to be illegal. Con.sequeutlv, if 

 hornless cattle are wanted, it is 

 necessarv to breed them hornless, 

 and it was -with a \new of giving 

 a lead in this matter . that the 



o 

 o 



Vuelta ' 

 Pennsylvania 

 Average for i 



Vuelta 

 Havana 

 Average for : 



Muria 

 La Suelta , 

 Average for ; 



Department undertook the experi- 

 ment of ' establishmg a herd of 

 polled milkers. The bre»2d has been 

 developed as a milking herd in 

 England for many years, Lord 

 Rothschild's herd at Tring Park 

 being notable as deep milkers. 

 But in Australia thev have hith- 

 erto been mainly known as a beef 

 herd, reputed for their quick con- 

 ditioning, and it was with some 

 misgiving that the experiment was 

 undertaken. So far the indications 

 are that the m.ilking function is 

 inherent in the breed, and the re- 

 cords published during the last 

 two vears, as well as those set 

 out in the tables following, appear 

 to .show that the cross may be in- 

 troduced into ordmarv dairy .stock 

 without any risk of a diminished 

 milk yield. At any rate, results 

 so far afford ample justification for 

 the departure made by the De- 

 paJrtment and for its continuance. 



Food. 



Very many owners (says an 

 Knglish exchange) object to maize 

 •or Indian corn, as they contend 

 that it- fattens horses without 

 strengthening them in proportion 

 to the amount consumed when 

 comi)ared with oats or peas or 

 beans. That there is foundation 

 for this belief is correct enough, 

 and, as the price of maize is now 

 much nigher than it was formerly, 

 tKere is less attraction about it ; 

 but it provides a welcome change 

 for the hors»es, and i' supplied 

 judiciously can do no harm ; in 

 fai9t, if it assists in .pivtting flesh 

 npon a lean Jiorse, its adoption as 

 a food is to be welcomed, ^^^leat 

 is a form of grain that cannot be 

 recommended as a food for horses, 

 audi serious con.sequences have at- 

 tended its consumption .in. consider- 



able quantities ; whilst barley 

 often upsets the bowls and causes 

 the skin to break out, in addition 

 to which it is not easily digested. 

 Tn all cases of a change of food, 

 however, it is most essential that 

 it should be gradually effected, as 

 othcrwi.se abdominal troubles may 

 follow. Pran, if given dry, is a 

 u.seful addition to the mixture of 

 grain and crop, as the hor.ses usu- 

 allv like it, and is innocuous. 

 Of course, if gi 'en wet, or in the 

 form of a mafeh, bran tends to 

 loo.sen thie bowls, and, thenefoiie, it 

 cannot be regarded in the light 

 of a regular food, unless it is given 

 in a dry condition. 



♦ 



Don't be " consistent," but hs 

 simiply true. — Holmes. 



Weeds. 



Some peoj^le, in their eagerness 

 to get cheap seed,, would buy 

 sweepings and refuse* from seed 

 cleaning machines if they could, 

 nor would we greatly blame tb 

 vendor, says an exchange. All 

 seedni'en keep good seed for tho.se 

 who will pay a fair price, but 

 buyers demand cheapness — save the 

 mark — and il they get it, likewise 

 sufficient nastiness to occupy them 

 a very long time in securing its 

 elimination, it is certainly not 

 more than thev deserve. 



All this would not matter so 

 much if it were possible for the 

 sower to keep the results of his 

 errors on his own ground. Can he 

 do so ? No. He rapidly infests 

 his neighbours' proi>erties. The 

 seeds of his folly are born on the 



a! 





> 







s. 



d. 



17 



TO 



10 



8 



4 





II 



I 



9 



26 



5 



9 



II 



15 



4 



16 



4 



7 



15 



15 







6 



14 



3 



II 



16 







wind, by stock, and bv water, far 

 and wide, infesting many miles of 

 country, working who shall say 

 what injury toihis fellows. 



4 



The risk of stock ])oisoning by 

 sorghum owing to the Presence of 

 prussic acid, depends to a large 

 exttent on the growth of the »)lant. 

 It is a somewhat curious fact 

 that prussic acid is present in larg- 

 er quantities in ])lants whicn have 

 from any cause become stunted 

 whereas in a quickly grown crop 

 on rich land very little will be 

 present, and .second prowtbs are 

 said to be more dangerous than 

 the first cutting. Nitrogenous 

 m.anurcis appear to induce the 

 formation of the toxic element in 

 the plant. 





Yields and Returns for 



Best and Worst Cows and 



Average for 



Herd. - 





c 



c 



.s 



01 





M 

 +J 

 (0 



<u 



{-< 



u 



i) 

 +J 



aj . 



B 5 

 s 



cj pa 



2 



... 270 

 ... 270 

 ... 261 



.. 37% 

 • 37 % 



Season 

 ... 556 



461 

 ••• 575 -o 



191 CHI I. 



7-0—7.8 

 4-8—4.4 

 4-4 



Hjs. 



... 40514 

 ... ■189.75 

 ••• 255.77 



lbs. 



... 46if'4 

 ... 216% 

 ... 291% 



13 



... 2S9 

 ... 262 



... 283 



- 37'% 



- 40% 



Season 

 .. 775 

 535 

 ■■■ 635.5 



1911-11. 



5-2—8.2 

 3-8—4,-5 

 4.7 



... 485.1 



... 2x5.3 



... 384-6 



.- 553 

 • 245% 

 - 346X 



23 



... 256 

 ... 241 

 ... 26-2 



•• 36% 

 34% 

 •• . 37'4 



Season 

 .. 578 



266 

 ... 521.8 



1912-13. 



4-5—7-3 

 ... 4-3—8-2 

 .., . • 4-5 



... 314-96 



134-21 

 236.49 



■ -- 359 

 --■ 153 

 ... '269 



