Eive Stock, 



58 



[January, 1909. 



sive operation, but it can be done with 

 economy by the use of a simple imple- 

 ment called the " forest devil" or better 

 still by a traction engine (as an engine 

 would ultimately be necessary this will 

 not be an additional expense) the first 

 portion to be cleared of stumps being 

 a 10 ft. roadway round the boundary. 

 Now we want a small circular saw for 

 the economic handling of our fencing 

 posts. Once the posts are ready and 

 they have been dropped along the fenc- 

 ing line by means of the engine and 

 a simply constructed waggon, stump 

 extracting and fencing can go on 

 together. The wire for the fences 

 should be ordinary iron wire which 

 should be passed through holes in the 

 posts and can be stretched with a 

 simplehome-made contrivance to any 

 strain. I say plain wire as cattle are 

 liable to injure themselves with barb 

 wire, one barb wire being nailed right 

 on the top of the posts to prevent any 

 jumping. The buildings necessary are 

 not many or expensive— a decent wattle 

 and daub bungalow for a manager, a 

 smaller bungalow for the conductor, 

 lines sufficient to hold 10 coolies, an im- 

 plement shed, a few open cattle sheds 

 for rainy weather, three bricked ensilage 

 pits with a roof over it with an engiue 

 shed close by (more than likely the 

 bricks can be made on the spot.) Once 

 the grabbing of stumps is in progress 

 a plan must be conceived for the suit- 

 able laying out of the land in pad- 

 docks, some for permanent pasture and 

 others for green fodder and silage. As 

 soon as about 40 acres are ready, other 

 conditions being suitable, ploughing and 

 the preparation of land for sowing the 

 first silage crop must be started. 

 When this is ready, a crop of maize can 

 be drilled in three feet apart, and be 

 kept tree from weeds, and the land in 

 a thorough terated state, by means of 

 the "Planet Junior" single cultivator 

 mentioned in the list of implements. 

 While this crop is growing the silos 

 must be got ready to receive it. 1 

 may state here, as there seems to be 

 considerable doubt as to how ensilage 

 can be made successfully, that silage 

 making has gone far beyond the stages 

 of experimenting. The ancients stored 

 their grain in pits or silos, and during 

 at least the last 100 years the possibi- 

 lity of making " sour tray " or "cattle 

 salad" from green herbage by burying 

 in trenches in the ground has been 

 known and more or less practised in 

 Australia and elsewhere. Colonel Bur- 

 natey, in his "Ride to Khiva," noted 

 the people between Kasala and Khiva 

 uncovering silage from such trenches. 

 It was not till about 1875 that the 

 practice began to be adopted by pro- 



gressive agriculturists in France, Eng- 

 land, and later in Australia, and now 

 in most countries it is a recognised 

 rural economy. 



As the stump extracting progresses, 

 subdivision fencing and plouging can 

 proceed. Another all-important ques- 

 tion — a plentiful supply of good drinking 

 water must now be settled beyond doubt 

 in the paddocks for permanent pasture ; 

 either in the form of catchment-dams, 

 or if that is not possible it will have to 

 be pumped from wells into overhead 

 tanks by means of a wind mill, thence 

 to flow as required into self-regulating 

 troughs. 



Once there is sufficient fodder, then 

 must be introduced the cattle which are 

 to form the nucleus for improving the 

 cattle in Ceylon. Too much stress can- 

 not be laid on the most careful selection 

 of the cattle, but I cannot go into that 

 matter deeply in this article, but suffice 

 it to say that cattle of three different 

 types must be providedfor— dairy cattle, 

 cattle for killing and draft pur- 

 poses, and travelling cart for trotting 

 cattle. 



For dairy purposes a cow is wanted 

 that will not make fat but milk, not a 

 cow with a large carcase that requires a 

 large quantity of food to support it, but 

 a cow that pays its way. For instance, 

 a cow that will not give one and half 

 to two gallons of milk is not worth its 

 keep, especially in town dairies where 

 they have to be hand-fed. Cattle for 

 killing and draft purposes must have a 

 big carcase and so are naturally big 

 boned, the size of carcase being specially 

 necessary for the former, and for the 

 latter a combination of both for the 

 drawing of heavy loads. Travelling 

 cart or trotting cattle must be finer 

 boned and less in weight, but with 

 retentive power for a long journey. 

 No doubt some readers will say : — How 

 are all these essential points to be got ? 

 First of all by the careful selection of 

 the best breeds having these necessary 

 traits, and then by skilful crossing to 

 produce what is required. I may state 

 that cattle can be "made to order "by 

 careful crossing. I would suggest the 

 procuring for a start of 25 head of cattle 

 comprised of the following breeds : — 

 Ayrshire or Jersey 'milk types), short- 

 horned or Hereford (beef and draft 

 types) and some of the best Indian cattle 

 pertaining to these two types. 



Now, a good portion of the farm is 

 fenced and cultivated with permanent 

 pasture, and green fodder crops, the 

 silos are full, a good supply of water is 

 provided, a typical lot of cattle have 



