Agricultural Notes.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume 3536, Issue 3536, 1 May 1923, Page 4

Agricultural Notes.

(By “Cornet ” in -the ‘ Southland News Uo cows get drunk ? Tlie answer is furnished by Mr B. C. Aston, chemist to the Department of Agriculture. They do. He lias collected evidence not only of drunken cows, but horses who became intoxicated and sometimes died from eating the rangiora when in flower. The aninnls not only get drunk, but when they sober up, they are “groggy on their pins,” as a Wanganui farmer put it to Mr Aston. The animals when in their cups do not appear to become musical or argumentative, but they certainly lose muscular control and in a legal sense become incapable if not disorderly. Many of the native plants of New Zealand are beneficial to man and beast, and Mr Aston has described in plain and easy terms in the journal of his Department some of their qualities and how they may be used. In a letter to Mr R. Wanden (secretary of the Marlborough A. and P. Association), Mr W. D. Pike, who is visiting Australia, tells of his visit to the Royal Agricultural Show of New South Wales, at Sydney. Speaking of the horse class, Mr Pike said, “The best of them have been imported from our country, and are of Buchlyvie’s Favourite and Baron Bold strains. The judging, from the spectator’s point of view, was very unsatisfactory, the ring being very wide, with a wide trotting track around it and the judging took place in the centre. . . I must confess 1 was somewhat surprised at the size of the grounds and of the amount of buildings on them, and also the character of the buildings. We could put the whole of Blenheim on the grounds, as far as the business part is concerned. When 1 tell you 1 had to ask three or four persons where the judging ring was situated before I could find it, you will have some idea of my surprise, at the extent of the streets and buildings within the grounds.” HINTS TO GRAIN GROWERS. As some millers store all their grain in silos, the following hints to growers, if given effect to, would be of great value ami ensure better inspection of grain as it comes to hand by rail. 1. In loading trucks use just sufficient straw on bottom of truck to ensure bags reaching destination in a clean condition. 2. Always stand bottom row of sacks on end with mouth up, making sufficient ridge with those lying on top to run rainwater off tarpaulins. 5. In the event of different grades of wheat being put in same truck, make some marked distinction, either by attaching a tag, or marking with raddle. Many farmers already comply with these measures, but many throw too much straw into the trucks, and also stack their sacks nat in the bottom of the truck, or stand them wrong end up. Others fail to make sufficient ridge on trucks to run off rain water, with the result that many trucks arrive with big weight of water on the tarpaulins, and leaks cause damages to the grain. * CONTAGIOUS ABORTION. Some new, not to say startling, views on the above subject were enunciated in the course of an address recently delivered before the United States Live Stock Sanitary Association by Dr E. C. Schroeder, of the Bureau of Animal Industry. His observations indicate that “contaminated feed seems to be the natural mode of entrance for the abortion bacillus into the bodies of its victims, and other conceivable natural modes of entrance plainly lack experimental evidence that proves their existence.” Another studied opinion as the result of the bureau’s investigations is that the calves of abortion-infected cows, irrespective of whether they did or did not react with abortion tests during the first weeks of'their lives, and irrespective of whether they were suckled by cows with clean or. with infected udders if they are protected against infection after they are weaned, are neither more nor less susceptible to abortion disease when they reach maturity than the calves of normal cows. Another claim by the bureau is that they have established the fact that the hull is not a spreader of the disease. They maintain that, though the bull may be infected with the disease himself, he does not introduce the germs of abortion inty the reproductive organs of the cow. FINANCING CANADIAN FARMERS. In the development in Canada of agriculture. which is the first and most important industry of the country, the pursuit has rapidly manifested itself as a business involving the application of business practices, and it has been found necessary to provide for those engaged in it such facilities for borrowing as will enable them to have their credit requirements satisfied according to their needs. Admirable as is the Canadian banking system conceded, to be, farmers complained that it was not framed to meet their special and peculiar noeds, and to meet these nearly all the provincial Governments have devised systems and put into operation institutions for meeting requirements for rural credits. If we are' to judge by the manner these various systems have been taken advantage of and the promotion they have effected in Dominion agriculture, rural credits systems in Canada have been a success (says the “Lyttelton Timas”). The Rural Credits Act of 1917 makes provision for the organisation by farmers of rural credit societies through which they may obtain short-term loans for productive purposes. Before commencing business the society must receive subscriptions to its capita] stock from at least 35 persons actually engaged in farming. Any member desiring a loan makes application to the secretary, stating the purpose of a, loan and submitting a statement of hjs assets and liabilities. If his application is approved, he is granted a line of credit for a year, and all the personal property he acquires through the proceeds of the loan is subject to a lien in favour’ of the society. The rate of interest payable by The borrower must not exceed 7 per cent, per annum. Until March, 1929, the banks furnished the loans at 6 per cent, but when they decided to raise the interest r legislation was passed establishing the Provincial Savings Bank, which accepts deposits from all sources and pays four per cent, interest. Lung term or mortgage credit is provided in Manitoba through an Act passed in the same your, which created the Farm Loans Association, to act as a loaning agent between the Government and the farmers. The association is managed by a board of five members. The capital stock is 1,000.090 dollars, divided into five dollar shares. Every borrower must subscribe and pay cash for shares to the extent of five per cent, of the amount of his loan, a. d loans are secured by a first mortgage. Loans must not be for more than 10,000 dollars, must- not exceed 50 'per cent, of the* value of the property mortgaged, and must he used solely for agricultural development. Since 1917 more than 7,000,000 dollar’s has in this wise been loaned to Manitoba farmers.