FARMING NOTES.

Franklin Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 108, 14 September 1938, Page 3

FARMING NOTES.

FARMING PROSPECTS AUSTRALIAN BACK COUNTRY GREAT PROGRESS ENVISAGED Great progress in the opening up of back country in Australia is envisaged by Mr W. G. Thompson, of Middlemarch, leader of a party of New Zealand farmers who returned from a tour of Australia earlier in the month. In conversation with an Otago Daily Times reporter, Mr Thompson said that his party had been shown land, typical of that which it was proposed to settle, about 50 miles back from Adelaide. This land could be purchased from tiie Grown at 5s an acre and could lie cleared of scrub at a cost of 30s an acre. In its natural state the land could carry one sheep to' every 15 acres, but the party had been shown country which bad been improved by top-dressnig and the sowing of suitable grasses, and which now carried from two and a-half to three sheep an acre. Water in abundance was to be found at from live to nine feet beneath the surface and the annual rainfall averaged 27in. per annum. “So attracted were members of the party with this land,” said Air Thompson, “that several ■of the younger men expressed their intention of returning to start farming there, and one has already placed Ids farm on the market in New Zealand hoping to make a quick sale to enable him to return Lo Australia as quickly as possible.”

The Capital Necessary Up lo the present the authorities considered that they had lost many good farmers whose resources had given out before their holdings had commenced to bring in any returns — a matter of about three years. Mr Thompson considered, however, that a capital of £2OOO had wonderfully bright prospects. He knew of a man

whose land had cost him £i an acre. At first it liad carried only one sheep to every eight or ten acres, tail now that it had been improved it was carrying three sheep to tlie acre. "The Governments of some of the Stales,” Mr Thompson continued, "intend to take the clearing of scrub in hand as they consider that it can thus be done in a more economic way. The cost will be a charge on the land, and the farmer, who will lie allowed up to Bmm acres, will take over after a part of the cleared ground has been sown in crop and is in a fair way to bring in a return. In this way it is hoped to keep the men on the land." Mr Thompson concluded by saying that there were wonderful opportunities for immigrants provided. of course, that they were of a desirable character. The cry was for a “White Australia," and Asiatics, especially Japanese, would not lie welcomed. CHECKING HYDATIDS EASY METHOD OF PREVENTING SPREAD Mr J. R. Telford writes as follows to a Christchurch contemporary upon a subject that has caused a good deal of concern, and in some cases alarm, among people on farms where dogs are kept:— Most farmers are aware of the danger of allowing their -logs access to raw offal from the slaughterhouse. L'nfortunately many well meant attempts at disposing of the internal organs are more or less nullified by the dogs, either from hunger or curiosity, unearthing and consuming Hie remains and thereby connecting the link in the vicious circle. *•

To get over this difficulty, a very simple yet effective means of carrying out this important task is to sink a hole about four feet deep with a diameter about the size of of 40 gallon oil drum. Then place an oil drum with both top and bottom removed, over the hole. The excavated earth can then be shovelled half-way up round the drum to prevent dogs or other livestock from dislodging it. When the offal is cast in, add a few inches of soil, and if flies are troublesome, sprinkle half a pepper tin of sheep dip powder on the contents. If thought necessary, a lid could be attached to the top of the drum. This method allows quite a time to elapse in the ordinary course of killing a sheep once a week, before fresh excavations need be made. By adopting some such measure as this, a man feels he has done something towards checking the dreaded hydatids, providing too that infected dogs are dosed every seven weeks with arecoline hydrobromide.

Any other suggestions which could be carried out under ordinary farm practice would greatly benefit public health.

HANDLING LAMBS The attention of farmers is directed to the need for the careful handling and treatment of lambs on the farm and during transit to the markets or abattoirs. Far too many lambs, on being dressed, show unsightly bruises and injuries. The effect of such blemishes is to reduce the value of the carcasses considerably, particularly those intended for export. Slightly bruised carcasses suffer in grading and a lower price per lb. must be accepted, while those more seriously bruised are rejected and must be sold locally. in the latter case a reduction in value up to Gs or even more a carcase may result. it is therefore to the advantage of the lamb producer to eliminate the causes of this bruising as far as possible. The most common are, catching or picking up the lambs by the wool; hitting or prodding them with a stick or other hard object; when drafting or loading, allowing them to become overcrowded in a confined space as when passing through a race in the yards or into a truck; the use of a dog without a muzzle (a slight nip will leave a tell-tale bruise). It is obvious that, by taking reasonable care, bruising can be largely eliminated. The following rules should be observed: Don’t pick up lambs by the wool: don’t prod or strike with a stick or other hard object; don’t overcrowd: don't let bite.