FARM AND DAIRY

Northern Advocate, 4 October 1930, Page 11

FARM AND DAIRY

HEREFORDS FROM AMERICA,

HIGH-CLASS CHEVIOT SHEEP,

A pedigree Hereford bull, Shady Donald 23rd (Shady Donald 10th— Pansy Waterford 2nd), lias been purchased recently in the United States of America by Mr .fames McKenzie, of Masterton. The animal was bred by Mr A. A. Van Voorhis. of Beecher, Illinois, and the was made through the New Zealand Bonn and Mercantile Agency Company, Ltd.

Two heifers have also been secured by Mr McKenzie from Messrs J. O'Brien and Company, Ltd., Renfrew, Ontario. Both these animals are sired by Alberta Panama IT. The yearling heifer ; s Miss Panama O-B doth, from the dam Repeater's Girl. The two-year-eld heifor is Rlioda Panama and her dam is Miss Panama.

Among recent importations by the company are six stud Cheviot ewes and. two stud Cheviot rams, which were purchased from Mr C. Mendoll, of Denny, Scotland, for Messrs Chambers Brothers, of To Mata, Hawke’s Bay. They are regarded as the finest Cheviots ever imported into New Zealand. Three Devon bulls were imported for the Mountain Estate, North Auckland, from Mr C. Bad cock, Tasmania. They arrived in excellent condition and arc at present in quarantine.

DISEASE IN TURNIPS.

FAULTY NUTRITION

The disease in turnips, known as finger and toe,” or “club root,” . ha-, been found to owe some of its peenliaiities to a minute fungus. But this fungus is not now regarded as flu cause- of the disease, but merely associated with it. After several years of careful trial it has been demonstrated that' the primary cause of the disease is weakness of the plant, due to lack of proper plant food in the soil, to poor’cultivation, to inferior drainage, and to acid condition of the soil. As a cure for this disease and for many other diseases of turnips, it is recommended fhat the soil should be well drained, well cultivated, well limed, well manured, and that high-class- seed of a good strain be used. If these precautions are taken, and particularly If good strain seeds are used, there will bo considerably less disease of any kind in root crops than will be found where they are put in under cheap and careless methods. As a matter of fact, moso diseases of plants and most diseases of animals, if not. caused by lack of proper nutrition, are encouraged by poverty and uncongenial conditions. ■ *

CHRONIC MILK FEVER,

AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT,

Useful experiments have been carried out by Mr T. A. Blake, veterinary .surgeon for the Agricultural Department, Hamilton, in the direction of combating a trouble which assimilates the symptoms of milk fever, but which does not respond to the usual treatment of udder inflation.

The affected cow .staggers and usually falls, down, and if not given attention will die. Several cases had come under Mr Brake's notice during the last few weeks and after udder inflation had been tried without -success over a, period of several -days by the farmer, Mr Blake had given the animals an intravenous injection of a calcium salt. Within a couple of bonus the animals had recovered and had thrown off all traces of the infection.

Narrating an instance, Mr Blake said a, cow which had calved' four days previously had boon found lying down and in a distressed condition. The owner, thinking she was suffering from milk fever, blew up her udder several times that day. The treatment had no effect, an inflation Avas resorted t - again five times on the following .day without success, Mr Blake was called in the next day, and the calcium sa't injection was given. Within two hours the- cow regained her feet and completely recovered. Mr Blake said as far as lie know the calcium salt treatment was uoaa’ to N'Cav Zealand, although it had been carried out with success in England and Holland, The salt was inexpensive and easily procurable.

ABORTION IN COWS

CAUSES OF CONTAGION

| Leaflet of the British Ministry of Agriculture states that it is possible I that if a bull serves a clean cow a i very short time after having .served an j animal which lias very recently abor(ted, it may infect the former. Under j the .ordinary conditions of farming, however, jt is seldom that an animal which Iras aborted goes to the bull for a month or more after the act of abortion. By this time the. discharge has usualj ly ceased, so that the bull does not run | a great, risk of becoming’ contaminated. ) Moreover, except, In cases where a bull is under no responsible supervision and promiscuously serves a large number of cows whose owners have no particular Mintorest in their health, it is comparatively seldom that the bull will have opportunity oT serving a clean cow immodia.icily after it has served one which has recently aborted. The bull, then, cannot be regarded as a carrying agent of the first importance, but admittedly plays a part in the spread of abortion, and infection in this way must be guarded against. No symptoms immediately follow’ infection, but the disease runs an insidious chronic course, and given an infected, herd, one can never be sure which animal wall carry its calf to the full time. Soane animals may abort a little more than a month after infection, but the majority do not do so until throe or four months afterwards. Indeed, an infected animal may sometimes carry its calf practically to full time, and give birth to it alive.

HELD-OVER WOOL,

STOCKS IN DOMINION,

Figures relating to the stocks of wool held in the Dominion on Juno 30, 19*0, are -given by the Government Statistician, in the, latest abstract. The information has been compiled from returns- obtained from •Wodlbrokers, woollen mills, freezing works, woolscouniivg works, shipping com pauses, haivbour board, stores, fanners, and the New Zealand Railways Department, As in past years, farmers comprised the only group from which a fnlT response was- not (forthcoming. The great hulk of these, however, furnished returns, and consequently the figures are complete enough for practical purposes. , The total quantity of wool returned was 75,396,0361bj classified as follows: Total Hi. Merino 2,387,037 Half bred 9,209,616 Corridale 1,521,209 Other, including crossbred— Sheep 50,909,549 Lambs 9,038,045 Unspecified 2,331,180 Totals 75,396,636 The quantities held by the various interests, but. not necessarily owned by them, were as ToTlnw: Wbolhrofcers, holding permits 32,028,184. . lb Woollen mills 4,447,353 Freezing -works 7,825,590 Wool-scouring works 3,239,995 Shipping companies 5,083,502 Harbour board stores 1,007,225 New Zealand Railway Dept. 335,690 Farmers 20,529,088 Total 75,396,636