The cows being properly fed at a time of the year when they gener ally get nothing to eat, will also give extra quantities of milk and butter, of which there was no appearance pre viously. If mineral manures are indispens able in intense culture, stable manure is not so the less, as it preserves the lightness and porousness of the soil necessary to keep the moisture and facilitate the circulation of air. There fore, one of the great aims of modern farming is to produce as much stable manure as possible, and to utilize for it the bye-products of the farm, straw, &c. Of course, that can only be done by keeping the cattle under roof at least in the winter months, and pro vide them with good straw litter that will absorb their solid and liquid ex creta. It is advisable that farm cattle should be kept under roof, not only in view of the production of stable manure, but also in view of keeping them in good health and condition. All farmers know what the cows suffer in the open air during the cold nights of the winter. Under the actual sys tem of farming in Australia, with very little recourse to ensilage, the cows are “turned out" when, in consequence of want of food, they cease to give milk and the poor animals have to look out for themselves. They are seen wan dering under the tree§* eating the foli age that hangs within their reach, and devouring anything they can get hold of, to keep themselves alive. Naturally, with such treatment, the cows, and the whole live stock, lose.in weight and get impoverished for the whole year. In the meantime, in some colonies, Vic toria and Tasmania for example, chaff and straw, that is to say the elements of manure and food, are exported, the cattle’s excreta is lost in the paddocks or on the roads, and those beautiful lands, otherwise so favoured by nature, are unabled to supply themselves with the beef required for their handful of inhabitants. If New South Wales produces sufficient slaughtering stock, or nearly so, it is only due to the im mensity of its territory compared with its small population. Such facts simply illustrate the state of agriculture in these colonies.
