THE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 47, 24 February 1923, Page 20

THE LAND.

(By AGRICOLA.)

EACON FOR THE BRITISH MARKET.

We can nil agrree that of the domestic animal- of the farms of the Dominion tin , pig is ilv most neglected; it is very difficult to understand why this i- t he case; tlie pig is easy of maintenance, it far from particular in its food. it i- rapid in its increase, and its product.- are not in sufficient supply, .fust now there is a shortage of bacon and iam for even our own requirements; there is also to be remembered the practically unlimited demand in Great Britain lor these products, and further, we cinnot fail to know that the cow and the pi:; provide conditions compatible to the dairy farm of the Dominion —the one is Mipplenientary to the other. The present indications point to the as.-umption that the pig industry will in the immediate future assume the importance that is its due in the livestock enterprises of Xew Zealand: we have established our lamb as the foremost and ai t"no most favoured meat product with our greatest customers, the British people. We are in the position that we may attain as valued a position with bacon nnd ham, we have pigs of the suitable nrceil*. we can increase the pig population with rapidity, we have the foods for breeding, rearing, and fattening; with these, too, we have the climate that permits the pip, as with all live stock, to In , maintained without the costly provision of housing that hampers those industries in other less favoured coun-

I o attain the success that we have already secured with our lamb trade, we liavo to adopt exactly the same methods with our pig business, that is, we have to supply exactly what our market calls for. if we are to take our place, as we well may. among the great bacon producing countries of the world. The market that we are proposing to approach is ons that is decidedly discriminating; we have to export bacon and ham that conform to the already established standard that is accepted on the British market. To do this we must grow the pig that is of a correct type; that pig must be bo fed. and on such foods, as to develop that type to the greatest perfection. If wo but do this, we need not fear the competition of any country.

The type of pig that should be bred to supply the desired side of bacon and the t!ie ham we have already with us in the Berkshire, the Large Black or Devon, the .Middle Yorkshire, and for crossing purposes the Tamworth, but the quality must be maintained; the coarse animal is of all things the one to be avoided. The head. neck, and shoulders should be neat and smooth: as well as this it must be not in undue proportion to the size of the animal; the well-sprung rib vith a i9.iT length of back will providi the flrehy side, and with this there will be the meaty »ir-k hans. The pig to be avoided is the animsl with the heavy head, the coarse shoulder and the flat rib—from that fovm of body comes the ■waste of the head, the thin side, and the shrunken ham.

Weight.—The most acceptable on the London market is what is known as the Wiltshire side; this comes from the wellfinished pig that dresses out at from ifiSlbs. to 200Ibs. Different breeds and crosses will be finished at varying weights, for instance, some Berkshires finish at from 1701bs. to 2001b5., large Blacks somewhat heavier, and the crossbred pigs will vary according to the breeds that have been availed of. The cross-bred pig will often provide the strong, thrifty animal, but the sides and hams will not grade with the uniformity of the pure-bred. The use of the crossbred sow for breeding is to be avoided— it is the danger in cross breeding. The proper feeding of the pig is almost, if not equally, as important as the breeding. In the feeding there are things to avoid. The chief one is that the recently weaned pig should not be overfed; it must be allowed to grow a frame if it is to provide shapely, meaty bacon and ham; the young pig must have exercise, green feed, earth, charcoal, ashes, and feed that will grow bone and muscle. The animal will require four months for the growing; it is early then for the fattening, and after that remember that a pig unduly forced on will not develop the flesh that is wanted for the well-finished bacon and ham for tlio British consumer.

The foods that commend themselves for the fattening pig are wheat, offals, as pollard or shorts, oata, barley—these ar" all suitable components of the rations both for the growing pig and for the finishing. To these may be added maize, but that should be used sparingly at first, and as far as possible there should lie a variety in the grain and meal in tin , dietary.

in tountries where the pig business is largely developed, it is fully accepted th..t milk is the most valuable of all pig fowls; it is very completely proved that wl.erc from four to five pounds of a ration of meal may be required to make a pound of pain without milk, it may be reriucfcd to from three to three and a-half pounds when a liberal supply of skim milk is provided. It is generally agreed •Ilint the pig industry in a large wav is difficult of successful achievement "un-le.-s there is the assurance that milk will be available during at least the earlier stage of the life of the animal; there ie no real substitute for milk. It is for this reason that the association of the pi" with the dairy farm is so strongly ad" vucated.

We have rrnt yet even commenced to exploit the possibilities of the bacon and ham business. The m 2 has no eoual among domestic animals for the conproduct, tw ßh and vp - etabl e food into 1 ouuet* that are easily sought for and Stain 0 *™ 1,,1 high P rices in Great

T FEUDING AFFECTS,

in the j>revi OUB ye( £ ttte same feeding

SELECTION OF THE RAM. While working among the rams, the opportunity will be afforded to decide upon the number that will require to be replaced for the coming breeding seasonTowards the end of this month the ram fairs will commence, and us these fairs are often the most eonvenienl occasions for filling one"? requirements, it is well that this matter should be attended to without delay. T am not in favour of experimenting with many breeds of sheep. For general purposes the Romney will lie found difliuult to surpass. It readily adapts itself to varying conditions and will do well under any treatment that can be called reasonable. If it is intended to breed for fat lamb raising only, then, no matter what the flock may be, the Southdown ram is the most suitable. This cross assures a high percentage of increase: the ewes lamb easily and the number of lambs I that can be sold fat off their dams compares more than favourably with any other breed. Whether the flock is purebred or crossbred there is nothing purer than that one cannot use a ram that is too good. Money spent within reasonable limits on a good ram will be more than repaid by the increased value of the progeny. Before buying rams. T consider it advisable to see the type of ewes from which they have been bred: I would strongly recommend a visit to some of the flocks before attending the ram sales. A prospective buyer will he welcomed by any breeder thijj; is proud of his flock and the buyer will be more than repaid for the journey. When selecting rams make sure of character and constitution first, then look for as symmetrical a body as possible, well covered with wool of even strength and quality to suit the requirements of the flock. A few years back, when wool was realising good pricea. there \ras an inclination among breeders to some extent to overlook character and constitution in favour of quality and length of staple: this policy is responsible for a number of the longlegged, weak-headed rams that are offered nowadays at the sales. Do not fail to handle a ram before purchasing, because the wool can be trimmed in such a way that the inexperienced breeder may be deceived in respect to the animal's true merits. The neck and tail of the rams selected should be such as will give the hand something to grip, the back should be broad, and the ribs well sprung. These points are desirable in all rams, but in the case of rams for siring fat lambs should be counted essential. Good strong bone and sound feet should also be looked for. THE SPRAT GUN. This is an American invention, and nearly all the information we have had is American. Some local experience will, no, doubt, be appreciated, writes a correspondent. The writer's experience is somewhat limited and covers this soason only. The gun has stood up to the test and is considered, an improvement on the spray rod, at any rate for general purposes. It will be found very awkward and difficult to manipulate at first and one is certainly inclined to cast it aside and take to the spray rod again. To make a success of it one must be patient; the knack of using it will soon come. To make a success of it a high pressure must be maintained. This is essential, otherwise effective and economical work cannot be expected. The apertures in the discs supplied with the guns are too large for use in the winter and spring when the trees are bare of foliage. Have a supply of these made with smaller holes of varying eize. A trial run will soon demonstrate which is the best and most economical sized hole to use. For dormant and early spring spraying the writer used two gun's with small nozzles. An International! 1J h.p. engine maintained a pressure of 225 lb. The early sprays are outmost costly sprays. The guns proved more economical than the spray rod and the work was quite as effectively done. As the season advanced the trees acquired more foliage and it was found . the small apertures were too slow and ] if windy it did not have sufficient driving power against the wind. Larger sized discs were used, and it was then found the pressure fell working the two guns. Although able to get over the trees much more quickly the spray was too coarse and wasty owing to the pressure falling. One gun was then used with a longer disc. This did really effective work and is to be recommended to the use of two guns with smaller nozzles. With the one gun the work was done in just a little over the time I taken with the two guns. At the same I time the cover from the one gun was better as it spread over a wider field. Six hundred and fifty gallons of spray have been put out with the one gun in eight hours, against about 700 with the two guns. Further, no more liquid was used per tree with the one gun than with the two. One certainly bad to keep moving quicker with the one gun, otherwise much spray would be wasted. It should be noted that the use of two guns is recommended if the pressure can be maintained at about 225. but if it falls below this one gun should be discontinued. For summer spraying one gun with a large opening is advised to tiie use of two guns, but for dormant spraying it would be wasteful. When using the gun at first, one is inclined to be turning it off and on as the work is proceeded with. The gun itself suggests this is the natural way l of using it. The writer finds it better to avoid this as much as possible. Set the gun to a good workable adjustment I and leave it there. Move from one tree to the next quickly and it will be found there is little or no spray wasted particularly with large trees. The writer endeavours to go right down a row without having to shut off the gun. In conclusion it will be found the gun makes the work much easier than with! the B prav rod, especially when the latter is anything from 8 to 10 feet It Th»°nn eaSy W u rk tO be ÜBin S this a » day.i Ihe gun makes the work much lighter, r