THE "SLACK" SEASON.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 127, 1 June 1927, Page 23

THE "SLACK" SEASON.

ODD JOBS ON THE FARM.

The month of June brings with it a suggestion of winter. The days arc short, and often wet; work on the land ia often impossible, at least, with horses, but on a farm there are always plenty of odd jobs awaiting execution. When fair overhead, attention may be given to the draining of wet patches in the various paddocks. New fences may be erected, and old ones repaired. Broken barbed wire is an everlasting danger to stock, both cattle and horses, and is undoubtedly the cause of much serious loss. The writer has been on some farms where broken-down fences were the rule, and it seemed a miracle that bad accidents to stock were not a daily occurrence. Barbed wire is very useful on a farm, if well looked after, but, under careless management, it may prove a bitter and costly enemy. Wire fences will occasionally do injury to stock under the beet bat

that is no excuse for carelessness, and every farmer should train himself to the habit Of attending to repairs at once.

When draining tho wet spots, tiles should be laid in preference to leaving the drains open. The open drain is a death trap for cattle and sheep, and the saving in this direction alone will more than compensate for the outlay in pipes. Open drains are a nuisance in a cultivated paddock. They waste time in cultivation work, and the space they occupy produces no crop.

Internal stock parasites on many farms may bo traced to undrained paddocks, or swampy hollows, and, as long as those exist, the internal parasites will never be completely controlled.

Leaky roofs, broken doors, carte, etc., will require some repair. Where gates are all of a standard pattern, as they ought to be, it is a good plan to have one or two epare ones, which can be hung at once in place of a broken one, which may be repaired at a fitting opportunity. -Stacks of all kinds should be carefully examined, with the .object of protecting all epots that are likely to admit rain. Live hedges, not yet trimmed, should be gone over as soon as possible. During wet weather there are numbers of jobs to choose from, such as the repairing of harness, implements, tools, horse and cow covers, and there is generally some whitewashing to do—it cannot be done too often. Young horses may be haltered and handled and cattle intended for showing should be taught to lead. Concrete floors may be laid to take the place of clay. In fact, the odd jobs of a farm are endless.