LAND, STOCK & CROPS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVII, Issue 10807, 30 December 1926, Page 6

LAND, STOCK & CROPS

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By “The Tramp.”)

Cereal crops throughout the County are behm adversely affected by the wet conditions of the past week, and 1 ust and mildew are making their appliance in many of the crops. A num > of crops are down and unless a spell of warm, dry weather is experienced soon there will be severe losses. in the districts nearer the sea the wheat crops are reported to be looking very well, but drv weather is needed to fall them out. One* or two farmers are harvesting oats, but Tuesday nigh s heavy rain proved a serious set-back.

Shearing operations in all narts of the district have been at a standstill for some time, and there is little prospect of their resumption m tlie near future. Had the weather proved more propitious the shearing would have been completed before the New .Year.

For some years now there lias been a tendency in some districts to neglect quality of wool and to concentrate upon "the production of early maturing lamb and mutton in the dual purpose of sheep. Considering the prices per lb which have been obtainable for wool, it is. not altogether surprising that gome flockmasters have come to look upon the clip as of seco-iidary importance. It would pay to take just a little more pains to' improve the quality of the wool, in shearing the sheep, and in handling the clip when shorn. Improvement in the fleece can only come Through the ram. It is the sire that has the supreme influence in making or marring a flock. All depends on judicious mating and cn choosing the .right type of ram to mate with the right type of ewe.

The damage done to the prospective wool clip by unnecessary exposure of the fleck to dust is the subject of reminder in a publication of the WesTern Australian Department of Agriculture. Too little attention is given to the sheep immediately after they, are •shorn, in preventing the mob from Taising dust, which" penetrates to the skin, and remains to form the tip of the staple. Not only does this dust spoil the appearance of the wool, but it absorbs the natural grease,. which show flow to the tip of each fibre, keeping it healthy arid sound. For the want of nourishment this tip becomes dry and fuzzy, greatly increasing the proportion of “noils” after the process of scouring and. combing. Every effort should he made when driving or mustering sheep to allow them as much spread &3° possible, for in tlioir congregation bv the -rounding up with dogs clouds of dust are raised, and this earthly tip is worked deeper into, the staple. Tne tip of the wool readily absorbs the slightest dust or foreign matter, and is seriously affected, by driving along a ■dusty road for even a mile or two.

A further good increase is recorded in The flocks of Great Britain by the last census, the total number of sheep and lambs being 16,859,000, or 884,000 more than on June 4, 1925. The.rate of increase was rather slower than m the- previous two years, but the flocks Rave been,increased by 3,421,000, or over 25 per cent., in four years, and are now only 400,000, or less than 2 3 per cent., smaller than in 1914. Increases are general throughout the country, very few counties showing reductions. 1 The number of breeding ewes was returned at 6,752,000, an increase of 355.000 on the y(ear| while the increase in lambs was relatively greater, there being 7,202,000 lambs, or an increase of about 497,000.

In spite of all that lias been advanced against it, many pigbreeders ■continue to mate their sows, at a veiy earlv age. Tlie temptation to do this is often great, chiefly for the reason that thev do mot like to miss the opportunity of getting either spring, or summer litters, which are preferable to those hetrn in autumn or winter. Iheie is no doubt that when sows are bred from toot early an age their growth receives a check, and while some acquit themselves very creditably m such circumstances, and produce good pigs, others will not.

‘ Eulogies of the cow are numerous as It is well realised that the cow and her Tdnd have contributed more to man s welfare than any other domestic amma . The publication Farm and Home emphasises this point and enthuses as follows -—“She gives us milk, our most Important fool, to drink; sire provides -us with both butter and cheese, both wholesome and rich in food nutriments r,d *Bi. K ; l.er flesh enters largely into our dietaries; the leathei made her hide covers our feet and premd ns with necessities and . luxuries m •other directions; and, finally, . he jjones blood, and otfal fertilise oui gardens and fields. But the cow,has done still more. In addition to food and protection, her labour lias n }‘ f , earth to yield forth general hairests. ... The first crooked stick used, to a, plouh was fastened to the horn of a bull, and •not to the leather thong attached to the shoulder of a horse. Horses, when first domesticated were used to_: ride, ' not to work. The cow laboured in the field to raise vegetable products foi human food, yielded up her pulk at night-time to give drink, and u hen needed submitted her carcase as _• Tor human sustenance. Truly the cow has been, and ful domesticated animal. Me shouici he kind to her and treat her with good will and respect.”

Figures published in Taranaki '“News”- show that the output fron 23 dairy factories in North Taranakp reDresenting the greater part o Industry in the district, 0481 b sent season amounted to 2,386.0481 b. In increase of 175,1321 b compared wnh th e output for the corresponding period of last season, while the pay-, out from these factories fw the preaenj season amounted to £132,367, a he SeS"of £30,181. The ...crease m the output; amounts approximately to « per cent., and the increase m pay-out to a little over 18 per cent. Such aie The fortunes of the dairy farmer.

Mr J. McAnulty. of Ashburton, sold privately his Royal Champion Friesian hull, Champion Pieterie Lad at the conclusion of the Auckland Show, _ price reaching three figures. lhe buyer was a. Holnanga (North Auckland) breeder. The slump m dairy produce is having a depressing effect on the market for purebred stock, and very few of the entries changed hands <at the stock auction held during the

show, and then only at very disappointing prices. Mr McAnulty has several of the champion’s breeding in his herd, so that there is no risk of the strain not being perpetuated in the South Island.

All interesting return published by the New Zealand Friesian Association shows comparative figures for American and New Zealand Friesians. Certificates of record issued to March 31, 1926, in America number 25,431, average days in milk 331, average milk 15,720.41 b, average fat 532..751b. New Zealand figures to December 31, 1926, were: Total certificates 1379., average days in milk 343, average milk 13.375 lb, average fat 470.991 b. The New Zealand cow is milked some days longer in her lactation, but still does not" come up to the American cow s standard of production. . ,

A South Canterbury farmer told a “Timaru Herald” representative the other day that on liis farm, which comprised very rich land, he could not get rid of fat hen, no matter how much he tried. In the course of conversation the farmer stated that few people knew that fat lien, when about three of four inches high, made a very good dfsh for the table, its flavour very much resembling that of spinach. The weed, when cooked, takes the form of a health-giving vegetable, which, possessing as it does, a fair proportion of iron, is very beneficial to the system. A reference to a disease that is attacking pinus insignis tre.es on his property was mad© by Mr F. 0. Hammend at a meeting of the Marlborough Provincial Executive of the Farmers’ Union. Mr Hammond said he had been cutting up some affected trees and had discovered numbers of large grubs in the wood. These grubs were all facing toward tile outside and were boring their way out from the centre of *the wood, although there was nothing to show how they got inside. He had noted that when they reached the bark the grubs lay dormant until they developed into large black moths. The meeting suggested that Mr Hammond should send soecimens to the Cawthron Institute for examination.