NEW ZEALAND FIRST USED LIMONITE.

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 75, 30 March 1932, Page 14

NEW ZEALAND FIRST USED LIMONITE.

Oxide v (limonite) k obtainable from ©riekaka as well as from Whangarei. Some, tons of :Ouekaka oxide were specially "ground in 1924, and subsequently, fbr ;use- at the Mamaku demonstration fatta;'Njßut when: tried as a sheep-lick, it ''lyasfbund to be too coarsely ground, the sheep.refusing to take it when mixed with Bait.;. .v.The New Zealand Department is entitled .to the credit of being the first to> use Ithe limonite as a lick for supplying -food-iron to stock. The Whangarei material:is the softest of the three crude ■ iron ores mentioned. It is already mar--keted •in considerable quantities 'by the V owners ■of the two. deposits at Whauga- •; r'ei for the purpose of purifying coaljgas, some JO tons a year being handled. ;.With very little extra trouble the material tss-'beingacreened or otherwise reduced to j .aUpowder .finer than that used in gas- . wiorks, and the deposits are close to rail , and; harbour for transport to every iron- ; Hungry animal -in the North Island." '• "-It- should- be borne in mind that not '■only, ''bush-sickness" in New Zealand, but f "■'coast disease" in Tasmania, "nakuruitis" |in Kenya, "salt sick" in Florida, and , ■"piding" in Scotland, are now recognised ; to; be due; to iron-starvation. It is now • also; recognised that the '"correct treatment".for all these is "the administration 'of iron* preferably to the animal automatically! as asalt lick." Therefore, "the prac- '. tical treatment of *bush eicknesfs' in the iiel4 is inarrowed down to the selection of the j most: efficacious form of iron obtainable;."'-',, No need, then, to further emphasise, the importance. of the above quotations. from Mr. Aston's paper, and his iurther- deductions in connection with the LAtianiuri sheep experiment. RESCUED FOR FIVEPENCE A HEAD. -Summed up, the experiment, which covered nine months, shows that between sth t May of last year and Bth February of -this year the oxide group of ewes in«reised their average live weight from 220i]> to 1281b, while'that of the iron ammonium, citrate group fell from 1121b to 921b, and that, of the no-treatment group Sell; from, 1141b to 721b. The lambing percentages are:. Oxide 10 (when marked 90), titrate 62.(16), no-treatmeut 76 (50). Each groiipof ewes at the s-tart numbered 50, tout;- on 20th -February there survived 45 oxide. (B'/sib fleece), 24 citrate (about 71b fle^;e),-andi6 no-treatment (6%1b fleece). average live weight o£ the oxide .'(lirnonite) lambs works out at 7Slbj and .'•/ the carcass■ weight at approximately 391b o|i i the hooks, "which can only be regarded as a, very fine performance viewed in ihe-light of past experience on this property. The lambs of all the other groups are! now dead, so that comparable figures cannot be given for this period. The results, however, provide ample evidence «f ; the efficacy of limonite as a moans of ikeaping sheep, and later lambs, in a jbealtby-condition on pumice country. 'From' his pioneer position in this inTestigation, dating back a quarter of a :i;entury, Mr. Aston has some title to sum ■np-ithe' experiment, which, he says, shows that, pnder the, oxide treatment, "healthy sheep" can be reared from the Atiamuri type of country.". The oxide treatment is .estimated to cost slightly over s'^d per head, (the citrate cost is slightly over 3d per head),* but that "will still 'leave the farmer with a satisfactory margin of pro-! Si." "..'.-■■■■ NO OBJECTIONABLE FLAVOUR. The" problem, of course, isl not only to put\ the required, substance in the lick, but to make it' acceptable to the animal. Herein, perhaps lies the citrate failure. Mr. 3 Aston'writes: "No difficulty was experienced in getting the ewes to take the irtm oxide' lick, but difficulty was experienced ..in, getting, them to take the iron :new low rate for gas water , • HEATING. The efficient new Mercer Gas Storage Wafer Heater •will enable gas consumers to enjoy the convenience of a modern hot water supply and join in the savings offered by the Gas Company's very lovr irate tor water heating. Write or call for full particulars of the Mercer Gas. Storage Water Heater, Wellington'Gas'Co.—Advt. W-oodfc'. Gir>at "Peppermint Cure. Por t< eiuldren"s hacking cough.—Adyt.

ammonium citrate lick, which was only sparingly consumed. .. . . Owing to the flavour of the iron ammonium citrate the sheep _ would not voluntarily take it, when incorporated in a salt lick, in anything like the quantity necessary to keep them m health; hence the results obtained. With the limonite, which has no objectionable flavour whatsoever, no trouble was experienced from start to finish of the experiments, the sheep at all times 'taking it readily when and as required. For this reason it i3 to be recommended as an efficacious and practical treatment for cattle and sheep in those districts where past experience,has demonstrated that drenching, etc., with iron ammonium citrate has given the desired results." ■ ■ ■ i