CURRENT TOPICS.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20316, 15 August 1931, Page 9

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE DOLE IN ENGLAND. S The following is some scathing cism of the dole and its effects in England, taken from the British Live Stock Journal;—• Notwithstanding that thero arc some two and a half million unemployed in this country, the farmers in many districts are complaining that they are unabh to obtain casual labour for the harvest. There is no doubt that the effect of the "dole" has been to dry up the source of rural workers, for, unlike their fathers before them, these men take little pride in their independence. Our ancestors, though individualists, worked for the common good; but this generation seems to be working mainly for its own good. He who lives upon the dole perforce surrenders his pride. How shall a man take pleasure in his home if he knows that three* fourths of its upkeep is extorted from the taxpayer? And such is our present ideal that almost everybody is ready to take whatever is thrown to him, 11 nd to boast t':'it it is by right. Thus we arc losing the habit of worlc, and our ancient independence sapped. When the Roman Empire had Btarted on the road to ruin it found it impossible to slacken the pace. "The uncertain condition of their property," says Gibbon, "discouraged the subjects of Theodosius from engaging in those useful and laborious undertakings whieh require an immediate expense and promise a slow and distant advantage. " And as tlie Romans ceased to work they had to be sustained by public gifts of bread, bacon, oil, and wine. Thus was their downfall assured. A GLIMPSE AT FRENCH SHEEP. To sheep the French have paid considerable attention from the time of Colbert. Birkbeck considers the practice of housing as the cause why the foot-rot is so common a disease among sheep in France. Where flocks remain out all night, the shepherd sloops in a small thatched lint or portbalo watch- < douse, placed on wheels. ' He guides the llocl: by walking before them, and I his dog guards them from attack. In very hot areas the 6heep are fed in | the night, and housed in the heat of I the day. Ilay is the general winter food; and. in somo parts of tho Picardy climate, turnips. In ISJI, Bonaparta monopolised the breeding of merinos, and from that time to the passing of an Act for the exportation of wool and rams in 1814 they declined. | i SHORT STORY OF THE TAM-1 WORTH. j If there is any breed of pigs which hat) j been kept pure for well over a century it is the red-eoated variety, which was founded :it Tamworth round about the | year ISI4. The foundation sire was j stated by the late Mr Egbert de Hamel, of lliddletoii Hall, Tamworth, to' have j boon a red-skinned (jungle) boar, sent over from India to Sir Francis Lawley (who was then residing at Middleton Hall), four miles from Tamworth, and this boar was given to a retainer, who set up farming at Glascotc, Tamworth, The boar was much used by the pig breeders of the district, and his offspring possessed the golden colour. From them the Tamworth breed was founded and named. LIGHTNING AND TREES. Fatalities from lightning to human beings are few and far between, and the same may be said in regard to farm animftls, which are often exposed to groater riskß. Both persons and animals have, howover, been injured or killed by lightning on a good many occasions when sheltering under trees, and it is at Joast interesting to note those whieh are most dangerous in this respect. i Oaks, poplars, elms, and pines of various sorts seefii to be the trees most attractive to lightning, and it is thorc- } fore dangerous to shelter under any of 1 them, and if cattle can be kept away from trees of these species it is always wiser to do so. Tall elms, especially when they stand alone in a prominent position, are particularly liable to be struck, and so ia the Lombardy poplar. One elm was struck three times in the space of five years, and a poplar was struck twice in ten years. There are also certain areas in whieh trees appear especially attractive to lightning. In a small spinney in Surrey, England, which contains some twenty oak trees, moro than half of these have been damaged by lightning at one time or another. This little wood lies lower than most of the surrounding country, and, according to common belief, might be one of the last places that the lightning would select. But other trees of the same kind standing on higher ground in the same district have bo far gone unscathed. It would seem that the beech is tha safost of all trees so far as lightning ie concerned, for it would be difficult, and perhaps impossible, to find one that has been injured in a thunderstorm. It has been suggested before now that the smoothness of the bark may have something to do with tho beech 'a immunity, but that suggestion does not sopm to be quite convincing. Has the scientist ever gone so far as to determine satisfactorily why the beech, above all other timber trees, appears to have no interest to lightning! ONE UP ON AMERICA! All have heard of tho wonderful ani "lightning" procedure m the Chleago slaughtering establishment where one could see the bullock killed and follow its progress right along until .the sausages were produced ready £0r_ th cooking dish. More * eC * nt ( h 6 world's Fnion Mills, Milnsbridge, Bttddoranexa, Their oporstivea wweeded in inz wool shorn from 1- kent , 'Si: sheep into . Grid's l;,7<ab.ie »» ins up of the suit, the cnt re c i ti-i'iif!nrr bcin" approximately the making , H :» one up methods.

FRESH CHAPTER FOR SHORT- i HOJtNS? I Oommenting on the division of the I Shorthorn breed into tho sections j "dairy" and "beef" an English cor- ; respondent writes: — j Tho name of the Shorthorn should i never havo been changed. The prefix i "dairy" or "beef" was unnecessary in tho days when a Shorthorn was a Short- ( horn, and when it was the world's most popular breed. There is not the least doubt that the breed has lost much of '■ its one-time world-wide popularity through this unfortunate division into distinct sections, becauso neither of these sections can rightfully claim any definite superiority over rival breeds in either milk or beef production, but in the combination of the two, the Shorthorn can bfe, and in fact is, supreme where it has been bred on strictly dual purpose lines. There is new a great opportunity for constructive breeders to put their shoulders to tho wheel and perfect tho dual-purpose Shorthorn. There is plenty of material at hand and prices are low, and it will give every true lover ol ! Mie Shorthorn the greatest pleasure to see .once again the breed united and a frosh chapter begun in the history of the world's most famous cattle. THE FIVE-YEAR PLAN. At the "Hands off our Empire" rally held in the Albert Hall, London, in July, Lord Middleton said the Soviet five-year plan had just about torpedoed British agriculture. Britain's very existence depended upon arable farming, but it was impossible fcr our farmers to compete with the slave-grown products of agricultural Russia. The Labour Government, who posed as protectors oi" the working-man, condoned this slavery, and not only condoned it, but countenanced the bankruptcy of our farmers and tho increasing unemployment of tho men in the fields. So long as tho Government backed the five-year plan it was fair to say that their attitude to the Dominions was definitely hostile. ITALIAN CATTLE BREEDS. Chief among the Italian breeds of cattlo is the Komaguolo, animals of great size, bred for work purposes and for meat, great massive brutes with long horns sticking out or straight up from the crown of the head; something of their appearance is to bo gathered from the fact that in somo cases the whole name and address of the owner were clipped out over the rumps of the animals. The Modenese, another white Italian breed, is somewhat smaller, being a bit shorter on the leg but of that grossness of bone which we in this country have long dono our utmost to shun. Tho Bruno Alpini or Brown cattle of the Alps are a attractive breed. This originally Swiss raco arc kept for milk mainly, and as a rule carry more flesh than most of our smaller dairy breeds. The Piedmontese are also favourably regarded as a dairy breed. The Montafoner arc regarded as a rich butter-fat breed. The Simmental cattle are yellow and white and of great, scale. They are. cultivated as a dual-purpose breed, for dairy and meat. FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE. The upset of the country by foot-and-mouth disease is still the topic, above all other, ocupying the minds of stock I farmers at the moment. And so well it 1 might be, comments the "North British Agricultural and Farming News," of July 9th. There is not only tho serious complication of live stock marketing as the result of necessary restrictions affecting a wider area than has been experienced before for a very long time, but there is the worrying uncer- j tainty as to .what may happen next. I Meantime many important agricultural j shows have been abandoned for tho year, j These include the Angus, Perth, and Fife County,- the Western District of Fife and the Doune Shows, which were always regarded as important annual events. The effect upon agricultural societies, however, is not tho most serious aspect of the situation; it is the loss to the country in the premature slaughter of live stock and involving tho payment of compensation therefor, the trading loss being sustained by those engaged in tho live stock trade, and the potential loss to cattle breeders whose export activities have been so seriously menaced just at the time when there was the prospect of considerable business being done. BRITISH SHEEP IN COLONIES. Before the National Sheep Breeders' Association at Warwick, England, in July Mr J. E. Nichols read a paper upon Britian breeds of sheep in Empire countries. He related that in most of the overseas Empire countries in which the sheepbreeding industry is highly de . eloped the wool-producing merino is really the basic breed. An apparent exception to this, however, is found in New Zealand, he said. Probably because the first sheep in NewZealand were of merino type there exists a very strong tradition in favour of good wool—whatever that may be—and therefore, speaking generally, much greater attention is paid to tho fioece characteristics from the point of view of their attractiveness to the trade than is done in this country. Of course, the local nutritional conditions play an important part in the establishment of the desirable type, but quite apart from these the influence of conscious selection by the breeder ca- be noticed. I Thns in the Lincoln, the Border Leicester, and the English Leicester, whose chief function is to produce rams tor crossing with the merino or types derived from it, fleece characters of denBity softness, and bold character aro stressed, while the fibre itself is finer. The breeders appear also to select towards .a lower set, nlore compact sheep than is found in the British flocks. It ia noticeable, however, that in many Oases, perhaps more particularly m the f>6wn types, the animals tend to be-| come leggy. THE RYELAND IS POPULAR. The ipularity of the Ryeland has creased, and will probably increase Btill more. In the event of a brooder bain;., unable to get rid of the whole of his crossbred lamb erop, the presence of dark fibres in the fleece is regarded with concern in the stock retained for breeding, and therefore the Ryeland has been encouraged by many breeders. It soems to be that within a comparatively short time the Ryeland breeders ot New Zealand have succeeded in selecting tor a more attractive and stylish woo than i a -found in this country. In all these, of course, the presence of kemp is '• reticular!)' abhorred, especial lj by the stud breeder. .4 mongst the longwoc,lb fleece characters whnM nick with those of the merino to produce a desir2S, attractive halfbrcd wool are de--1 mfsded.