THE WEEK

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25240, 19 July 1947, Page 5

THE WEEK

FOOTROT IN SHEEP

Mr J. W. McLean, of Lincoln College, in a reply to Mr C. Hilgendori’s letter, printed last Saturday, says. “The methods I advocated are not my methods, and they are sound —no ‘presumably’ about it—as sound as thorough scientific investigation can make them. They have been used successfully to control and eliminate footrot. Their application may be difficult—this has already been admitted —but they can be used successfully even with the peculiar organisation of the sheep industry in Canterbury. “The disease has been accurately described, the nature of the causative organism and the methods of spread are known, and efficient though sometimes laborious, methods of treatment and control established. This is a great deal more than is known about other diseases of sheep. As a typically infectious disease, only one other method of control is possible, and that is vaccination, which thus far has not proved satisfactory. “Undoubtedly the control of footrot is ‘one of the most pressing problems facing the New Zealand tarmer.’ No doubt more effective means of treatment may be found in the future, but it behoves the farmer to study the facts of the disease as they are now known, and to apply them to the special conditions of his own farm.” Support for the use of bluestone comes from another correspondent, Mr J. H. Muirhead, Lagmhor, who writes: “Many farmers own sheep that have foot-rot, a disease that pertains to sheep and is hard to cure. My best advice is to use refined bluestone. Heat water up to boiling point, pour same on the bluestone for melting, add cold water as is thinkable. Pour into a trough or troughs about 25 feet long; when the sheep’s feet have been treated, stand them on concrete or grating, grating preferably, for 12 hours; repeat if advisable. In a few days, two or three, again give attention to the sheep’s feet. The feet must be clean and dry. Keep footrot sheep in special paddocks. I have tried different foot-rot cures, but haye found the above much the best. Again I state, use bluestone. Don’t go past it. It is curable.’’

PLOUGHING MATCHES

In these days when all sorts of novel methods of stirring the soil to prepare a seed-bed are being pushed before farmers, the enthusiasm with which the young men of this province have resumed match ploughing is rather surprising. At two matches this week, Lincoln and Greendale, most of the competitors were young. Few of them could have had much experience of match ploughing, and many, no doubt, did little ploughing of any sort for five years or so during the war. Nevertheless, the standard of the work of almost all of them was exceptionally high. An old hand at one of the matches this week, while admitting that some of the youngsters were as good as any in his day, claimed that the tractor had made ploughing so much easier. In the old days, the ploughman had to be master of his team as well as master of the plough, but the young man to-day could put two wheels of his tractor into the furrow and leave it to look after itself, while he gave all his attention to the plough. Certainly the tractor makes a neat job, and covers more ground in a given time, but few farmers, and not many townsmen either, can resist the sight of a good team on the job. At Lincoln, no fewer than 11 teams were entered. Some of them were superlatively well turned out, with all the flourish of earlier days, and some were superlatively handled. Heredity seems to enter quite a lot into match ploughing. A. A. Hulston, of West Melton, a youngster who won high praise from the judges both at Lincoln and Greendale, and took a good ’share of the prizes, is the son of a champion, and a grandson on his mother’s side of the famous Jonn Calder, of Halkett, who. though he had lost one arm. was a champion in his day. Whether agriculture benefits directly from ploughing matches is no doubt open to argument; but there can be no argument about their popularity with farming people. Several hundreds of spectators turned up to both events this week.

GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION

The New Zealand Grassland Association, which most successfully before the war brought together all the various interests concerned with grassland farming in the Dominion, will resume its annual conferences this year. The last meeting was held at Lincoln Col-, lege in 1939. This year’s meeting, which will last from October 21 to October 24, will be held at Massey College, Palmerston North. It will be seen that the conference will be rather longer than formerly. The additional time is to allow for field inspections and demonstrations.