FARMING AND COMMERCIAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1067, 4 March 1911, Page 8

FARMING AND COMMERCIAL.

BEWB AND NOTES,

SHEEP « FAKERS " AND THEIR ; METHODS. 'A PROTEST AND A SUGGESTION. " . [To. tho Editor.] Sir,—l writo to-givo my ideas to my fellow sheep-farmers on tho deliberate faking of show sheep that is now allowed, in every show in Now Zealand. Wo arorepeatedly told that tho agricultural shows aro held at great expenso and troublo for tho education of tho farmer, that ho attends theso shows, and see 3 io what - perfection sheep and cattle can bo ; brought. A young . sheop-farmer ■reads farming notes and books on sheep, ami. is'.told that the main thing to go for is constitution, tho sWp to bo used as ; a, sire must have a wide, .bold chest, and a short, thick neck; Ho goes to a show wanting.a stud sire; he sees both requirements fulfilled in tho animals exhibited, .but if lie will take tho trouble to measure .the length of the wool on various parts of the body lio will find tho wool on tho neck and chest from a half toan inch longer than on the rest of tho animal. At show held recently there was,. a slieep exhibited that had tho wool on tho ribs four incites long, and ou tho back an inch and a half. Ho is told tho animal must have a straight back, and ■he. will, find a straight back—made-by the .shears—if the-animal lias a liollow. back-naturally, he will find tho wool longer in. the middle, of the back than on the shoulder or rump. -In lilio manner, tho-flanks-aro filled up and the general contour is made "square and blocky." ' I have received, a letter from fliy London broker, in which he says:— t -Thero''was'in almost every lot .•somo very poor bred flecces, quito ■unlike the usual breed-of your wool. The quality was the samo as the : other fleeces, but tliCy had a hairy 'tip to tho staple,- and this-will go 'further down tho staple unless somo fresh, blood,is introduced. From a wool. point •of view;, always avoid '.buying' any sheep when tho staple - '.shows .a hairy tip. ■ It is a sure sign of bad brecdiug. • 'Armed with this information. I go to a!slioy/ .to purchase a sire'for my. stud flocli,-or to.seo what stud breeder'gets. ;tho-prizes, as a gnide; as to whose rams to buy. I look round for hairy, tips/ but they aro conspicuous by their absence, because at a large expenditure of labour and' skill they have been taken off with special sheara. -This is known as .trimming, and is winked at by every agricultural society -.in New. Zealand, becausoimost judgcs.do tho samo thing themselves, . a majority, of; judges being breeders of stud stock. 1 have heard . ... of .breeders paying'as much as £5 for the! shearing, or, rather, shaping, of a • single sheep,' and also of a mau spend- > • iiig 'a "whole day in the trimming and gotting'up of ouo show, sheop: A grocor who sands his sugar and puts farma in his pepper, unless this is notified on tho ( package, has an inspector on his. tracks, and is prosecuted-for deceiving the public.. Why . should riot a stud breeder, who fakes his sheep, be compelled to put a label,on his'exhibits, "These sheep are

falsely shorn,, trimmed, and generally got up to deceive the public." • In my the grocer, when convictcd, is lessflblamcablo than 'the stud breeders, consiflering that the latter regard themse[v£f as.,threading Jig]its of by far and away the largest industry in the Dominion. v ' Then, again, colouring of sheep is allowed, also oiling and rugging. There is a great deal of suspicion that amongst breeders there are somo who are "price faktW'T'tiM' that >, maiiy'i!'df prices quoted in the papers as having been paid, offered,, or received for studs, aro not .genuine. The object is plain. The unsophisticated sheep-farmer, seeing" these prices, is very apt to say, is the man to get rams from: Look at the,price ho pays for studs." Tlio only use of agricultural shows as at/present : conducted., is- to provide amusement for'the crowd by'means of a surfeit of: horse jumping, and to show the farmers the class of stock it is utterly impossible to produce under ordinary farming conditions. t will : conclude by saying that most of,the stud breeders in New Zealand, are sheep "painters, liousefs', ruggers,' oilers, dyers',, trimmers, shapers, and stutfers," and are supposed to be the educators (?) of the'rank and file of the sheep-farmers. Somo of them are all "of these things ; • somo of them aro some of'them; a very few are none of them; the latter generally being conspicuous by the absenco of their names,, in the prize lists. Now, as:.to a remedy for this state of . affairs,.. ; It is (juito simple. Let all •farmers give their donations, subscriptions, or trophies- to agricultural societies on the distinct-understanding that they are not 'to bo used if any of tho aforementioned "fakes" - are allowed;— J am, etc!, , '': v , . 'H. G. WILLIAMS. Mastert-on, March 1. N.Z. FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. ' ;STATE OF THE-MARKET. During tho week-there has been a demand on tho Wellington market for locally-grown pears. Marie Louiso have realised up to 10s. a'caso, Beurie Bosc 95., and "Uansiirs.Bergamots 75.. . Locally-grown apples have met with 1 fair ..sales, especially . cookers, which havo been scarco during tho past.few days.. Consignments of cookers from Nelson brought 4s.'6d. to ss. 6d. a bushel case, Cox's Orango 6s. to 7s Jonathan os. 6d. to Gs. Gd., Kibston Pippm-ss. to 65., and Russets'is. to as. Late plums from Motueka sold at 3s. ■" to 4s. a box. Late peaches, of which only a small 'quantity arc available, brought 3s. to Is. ' Locally-grown grapes went for Bd. to lOd. a;pound. ' Quinces aro now coming in freely and selling at 3s. to 3s. 6d. a case. Gapo gooseberries : bring- sd. per pound. Tomatoes arc still fcomiiig on tho market very heavily; About 000.cases were sold in tho markets yesterday at from Is. 6d. to 2s. 2d. per half case. Cucumbers,' packed; in banana cases, realised 3s. to 4s. Marrows are plentiful at Is. 6d. a sack; pumpkins, ss. to 65.; swedes, Is. 6d. to 25.; carrots, 3s. 6d. to 45,; and potatoes, os. to 6s. a cwt. Onions aro glutting the market and their'prico is 3s. '6d.,acwt. IMPORTED FRUIT. MARKET BARE OF LEMONS. •fiio Sydney steamer landed only a " small consignment of fruit this week for tho market. _ Persimmons sold at Us. -Id. a box; pines at 12s. to 135.; passions, at 7s. to Bs. Gd.; and wafer melons at 6d. to Is, each. New, South Walts grapes in half gin cases went .for 7s. to :9s. The Warrimoo, from Melbourne, only arrived yesterday afternoon. She brought about 300 cases of pears. They will be sold to-day. The market is quite bear of lemons. Yesterday, Messinas in double cases, realised up to £1 10s. Blackberries are . selling for 2}d. a pound on the .Wellington market^

TO PREVENT TUBERCULOSIS. ' PASTEURISATION AT GLEN OROTJA. LIVE STOCK DIRECTOR'S REPORT. Among the most important experiments concerning agriculture in Nqw Zealand are those which aro being conducted at the Glen Oroua dairy factor? by the Agricultural Department. • Tho public has been assured by tho Minister and by the Director of the Live Stock and Meat. Division? of tho Department, Uj various' speeches, that tests had proved that the pasteurisation of tho byproducts of milk was a successful means of arresting the spread of tuberculosis among stock. However, up to the present, few details have been made known, and farmers have been awaiting an official report. "The Journal of tho Department of Agriculture," which .was issued yesterday, contains a long report on the subject by Mr. C.. J. Reakcs, M.Pi.C.V.S. (Director of tho Live Stock and Meat Division;: "The practical demonstration of the pasteurisation-of soparated milk at the Glen Oroua factory is now beginning to yipld practical .results," says Mr. Reakcs. "It . will be remembered that last season tho Department, with tho cordial .co-operation..and '.assistance of the. directors of tho Glen Oroua Company, installed a pasteuriser in the factory, with a view of giving a practical proof of the practicability of the process, arid the good results to bo attained from it .when properly can-led out. It was found, however, that.' tho • boiler-power wa3 insufficient to enable tho pasteuriser to bo effectively worked, and consequently the, demonstration had .to be ,abandoned for that season. During tlie winter the directors installed a large boiler, and from the commencement of the present season all the separated milk at tho factory-has been pasteurised. The pasteuriser used is ono of the ordinary cylindrical form, and in actual working 1250 gallons per hour were.dealt with. At the,beginning some difficulty was experienced as a result of the heated milk frothing when discharged into the skimmilk tank.. This has .been overcome by affixing , to: tho mouth of the. pipe a simple-',.and. inexpensive fitting in the form, of r a,2in. elbow with an adjustable spring-valve attached. , As the skimmilk finds.its way to the tank, the pressure opens the valve just sufficient to spray out the milk to tho width of the .tank, which successfully breaks down the froth." '

, " . ... .' .. A capable and experienced officer of the Live-stock Division (Mr. .((A., Cook, Assistant Inspector of Stock) was stationed at Glen Oroua, and/.pliccd in charge of the work. 'In addition, to attending to the. treatment of ..the, separated milk at-the factory, Mr'.,,Cook also maintains a. supervision over tlio.-suppliers' pigs ; fed. upon 'the [lasteuriscd material, in order that reliable data as to results may be obtained. AH pigs fed partially: or wholly upon the pasteurised:, milk arc.respectively .marked with.a spccial ear-mark, and., through the cordial" co-oneratioii of their owners, we have been notified of sales of these, pigs, thus being enabled to -obtain particulars as. to their condition, ao regards the existence of tubercular disease, when'slaughtered. Up to tho time of writing five batches: of'pigs fed ' wholly l upon the' pasteunsetF-'iiilk' have been slaughtered, "with most satisfactory results, as will be -the'followh'iig figures:;— "'V.'"" t . "No. 1 batch: 10 inspected. None' .affected with tube-eulosis. *J a ! N6 fJ 2-batch: 20 injnepted. One af-, fectad with tuberriulids (slightly affected in one _ submaxillary gland '" only; 3 affected with other diseases than tuberculosis. .

"No. 3 batch: 21 inspected. One affected with tuberculosis".. (.See remarks following.) ' "■No. -i batch:-23.inspected./. None affected with tuberculosis.;,,^ ; • "Nb. 5 --batch: 15 - inspected. - Kono affected'with tuberculosis; ■ : "Tho :ono pig found tubercular on January 28 was a very bad case. In view of tho uniformly good "- results otherwise special' -/inquiries were mado as to the conditions under which,this, animal.had been reared and fed, it. being believed that it:must havo been exposed to infection from somo other .source. Mr. Cook, who made the inquirioc, -reports as follows. It will be seen from .this report that there is an element of doubt r.s to whether this pip; was v,-holly fed upon tlio' pasteurisedmilk. 'I interviewed tho owner of the pig to-day, and ho informed mo that lie had recently purchased . his present farm, and bought the pigs fr.om the previous owner of the place, but understood they had received 11Q noil-pasteur-isedskim milk. Ho said there may hat - e betn a possibility of it receiving some before ho purchased it.. I also examined his breeding sows and other pigs, and to all appearance they, look healthy. The houses for same are in fairly good condition, 1 and are built 2ft; or more above tho'.level of the ground. The only-thing noticeable is a chanco of the,.pigs gaining acccss to tlie drainage from them.' . This brings .the definite net results to two pigs only being found affected out; of eighty-nine, and of these oiie was a doubtful ease. The other animal, it will bo noted,'exhibited only a very slight trace of disease. It must-be admitted ; that the- demonstration so far has proved conclusively that the process of pasteurisation, properly carried, out,' is" effective and reliable as a means of preventing the spread of,.tubercular . disease through contaminated senatated milk. This is emphasised by the fact that all other pigs from tho same immediate neighbourhood which havo been wholly or in part fed upon nou-pastouriscd separated milk havo shown a' very high percentage of tubercular animals. Four hundred and thirty-seven of such pigs havo been slaughtered under inspection, and a careful record kept of tho" results." bananas and oranges from THE ISLANDS. The arrival of two of bananas was the thing of chief interest on tho Wellington market yesterday. There wcro about 2000 cases from Rarotonga by tho Maitai, and from Fiji by tho Naviia. Rarotongan bananas sold at 4s. to 6s. ,Gd. a- case, and tho best Fijian at (j> s - to 7s. 6d. a case. A ifew oases of oranges, mostly., green,. came by tlio . Maitai and 'sold at 9s. 6d. to 10s. a caso. " £170,000 SHORT.'' lIAWKE'S BAY WOOL CLIP. Tho Fields Supervisor for Hawke's Bay district Mias reported to the Agricultural Department as follows:—"1 find that there will be a considerable shortage of wool in Hawke's Bay. The winter and spring seasons were bad. Tho wool is light and short in staple. Tho Maiigawharo clip is thirty bales under last year's total, and every station is affected. It is estimated that tho total shortage in llinvke's Bay will equal 15,000 bales, equalling in j monetary value, say, about £170,000. Good rains have fallen everywhere, and tho inland pastures are looking well." ! Mushrooms realised 7s. to 10s. netbanana case on the Wellington market i yesterday. . ...