FARMING NOTES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIV, Issue 14009, 13 March 1920, Page 7

FARMING NOTES.

COWS IN-.'GERMANY.

The number of milking: cows in Glermnnv was un the Ist of March, 7,782,-OOO.'-ngiriiist 8,799,99JK on the same date of 1918, and 9,176;000 in 1917. The total mimlk-r of horned cattle was: 1919, 16,639,000; 1918, 19,434,000; 'and 1917, 21,364,000. The number of other domestic animals was as follows: Horses, 19!9, 3,660,000. Pigs, 1919, 7,169,000; 1918, 5,723,000; 1917, 13,009,000. Goats, 1919, 3,733,000: 191», 4,015,000. Rabbits, 1919. 6-,092,000; 191$, 8,474,000. Of sheep, the niimber been stagnant these last three rears,' being about 6,000,000. Poultry, 1919, 44,061,000; 1918, 50,029.000. COW POX. Should cow pox appear in a herd, prompt action should be taken at once. The affected animals should be isolated and placed in charge of one milker, of whom every time he has finished attending it tlu? hands and arms .should be disinfected.. Meanwhile the whole of the remaining herd should have the teats and udders washed with a disinfectant, as it.would be possible, and indeed most likely, that the disease-pro-ducing organisms had already spread to them, but so far had not shown up. It may be interesting here to note that vaccinating cows against' pox has. been successfully carried out- by using the same lymph as that used for the human subject, the scarifying being done upon the escutcheon, near the udder and at a spot where it would be free from rubbing and contamination. COTTED WOOL. As cotted or matted wool is a loss ■■<> tli' flock owiiei-. the cause of this condition ■•;' the fleece is often discus*- .<!. It is generally supposed that it is to a great extent influenced by the season. Xo doubt that is to a certain extent i|uite correct. It should, However, be also remembered that the proportion of cotted fleeces in a flock can be very materially reduced by the careful rejection of sheep that exhibit any inclination to bear such fleeces. ft may.be accepted that the cotted or matted lleece is chiefly the result of a failure of certain sheep to secrete a sufficient quantity of yolk, the natural lubricant of wool, or that combined with the first cause'that the wools grows with a tendency to cott. The rotted fleeces that are associated with years of great rainfall are increased, but the real factors are not those of the season but the failure to draft out the sheep that show the inclination to produce the cotted wool. ft is wellknown that cotted .wool msv be practicallv eliminated from a flock bv careful breeding.

HOW TO STORE POTATOES.

SOME VALI/ABLE HINTS. First of all, in the prevention of | potato storage dry rot. comes care in tli-- digging, handling, and storing of the tubers so that they are injured as little as possible. It is almost, but not unite true, that a mature potato with :> sound skin if kept in' a well-ventilated storage bin will not ro;. At least, it lean be safely sa'id thai- more th:m 95 j per cent, of the tubers which 'do not rot in storage from dry rot suffer from serii.tts wound* first and then rot afterwards. The second essential thing for rot prevention during .storage is the surrounding of the tubers with favorable condition--. The successful storage of potatoes i-: dependent on the temperature at which they are held, the moisture fitment of the air. the sire of the storage pile, and the exclusion of Ihdit. Given mature, uninjured tubers, the ivrr. factors most commonly responsible for [inor storage results are too high temperature and insufficient '.•cnlibtioi'. ! There are a number of distinct rots of potato tubers caused by different nr-gani-m.s. and almrsf without except ion | they ahe most severe when the storage ,■ temperatures are high, and when the .'air becomes heavily laden with moisIture.. due to I >ck of proper ventilation. { Kur instance, lu-ith-r the powdery d-y i rot which i- so coiiinir-n in the easrnni ■ part of the State, nor the dry rot which lis apparently widely distributed all over the State will develop seriously in -tor t.ge if the temperature is kre.t at from 34 io 3* degrees Fahrenheit, and if the storage place is kept well ventilated. Potatoes in lai-'/e i-uantities should never be placed directly in storage if they become heated by high temperatures. They should first lie thoroughly I cooled to prevent as far as possible the natural hciting which takes place, and |to start the Storage period under as

favorable conditions as possible. This cooling may often be done with convenience and economy by leaving the potatoes outside the -torage place unt'l ".'ell i o Jed hy night temperatures, anil then moving them into storage cither bite i:t night or earlv in the morning before I they have had an ooporf unity to become heated again by externa! conditions. A good .»torage place embodies the loiiowiug requirements: Ease and tbiiiiutgiiiie-s of ventilation, ability to prevent rapid changes in temperatun in.-ide in response to rapid changes in the temperature „f the atmosphere outsi ie. convenience in. cleaning, conveniently arranged for ii.-c. ample in size, and durable. In many sections of the United States where potatoes are an important cash rrop these essentials are most efiiei-ptly secured ill the cellars constrtuted hall underground and half above, with three or more ample sized ventilator.- in the top, and with larg« doors and a driveway in at one end j large enough to accommodate a wagI gon for convenience in loading or un- 1

loading the potatoes. Another type of storage place used with much satisfaction in the United Utah's is the double-walled, sawdustliueil bin. with arc walls about six niches thick and with ventilators in the side-, which, when the days are. warm nny be left .open at night and kept closed in the daytime, with the result that the v, hole bin is kept reasonably foot all the time. All storage places should be provided with a thermometer so that the temperature may be regulated intelligently. Injuries are produced when the temperatures are too low as well as when they are too high. With tin* dry rot it appears that the irtitifal time, the time when much of ilie loss from this disease results. .is during the first two months after dig-

jjnu.. wiirn tin- temperatures arc :ij)l in be hitiht-r than during 'any other part of the storage period. It is at Litis tinu* that porntoes need especially to he surrounded hy the favorable conditions that an- best secured only in a good storage place. All ri'fiitiar potato storage places, and particularly those in which rotting of potatoes was had the previous year, should he thoroughly cleaned and Jisinfested hefore potatoes are again piaced in storage in order to kill all the potato rot-producing organisms already present, and thus to prevent widespread infection of the now crop. To.accomplish this, the walls and floors may he. thoroughly swabbed or sprayed until wet with either of- the following solutions: — Copper sulphate (Milestone) 1 pound, water 10 gallons: or formaldehyde 1 pint, water 10 gallons. " After hoiiijr thus disinfected, the storage place should be well aired ( and iii ied out before potatoes are again piaced in it. THE PIG. Although the pig has more than doubled in value of late, he has not Brown/correspondingly as a popular side issue in fanning. Tt is the other way. indeed. There is no class of stock Sept on the farrft to-day that will permit of such a quick turnover in capital on so small an investment as the once-de-spised hog. The porcine race of animals .is to-day,in- the._-lime];^bt %: v-hosi f rbni"' th e ; coin's uih'er ; and 'protfiieeT ? s>v--iew£ :; point. Their bacon helped save the food situation in the great world crisis. The hog is a scavenger of the farm. There is little produced on it that he will not cat. and it is a-common saying that the "soueal"' is the only part of the carcase for which a_ profitable use has not been found. Pig growers of bygone days look with envy on tlie present generation marketing pigs on the hoof at £4 per cwt. and recall rathpr woefully the days when the cured article had to be carted to the grocer at 3d per lb—and taken out in stores. In view of the return on the capital

involved it "Is surprising - that there' should be such a shortage. The fatt is that the one "time staple and also "the handiest diet - skim milk ,is scarcer than it was, and much' -nore valuable, and few farmers care to be bothered, with the business 'these times. Other branches of farming pay .ill right, hence the insufficiency. The only remedy is to do away with the Sxed price. If bacon jumps to 2s 6d per 11), well and good. The price will drive tomebody into the industry. -The position now is that there is not enough bacon to supply 50 per cent, of the requirements of the people, and if lifting the limitation of the price means a doubling of the retail price, the other 50 per cent, could please themselves whether they bought bacon or not. Under present conditions they have not »ot that option.

THE BY-PRODUCTS OF AN OX. It is not sufficiently appreciated that I a strer weighing a thousand pounds has approximately 4401b of inedible waste. Science has now been brought- to bear on the problem of the waste parts thai in the old days used to be thrown away. The hides of the cattle now go to the tannery; the bones are selected and knife handles and other articles are made from them; the hoofs are steamed, pressed flat under gigantic pressure, and become the raw material for but- . tons; the hair is dried, washed, and. sorted, and goes into cushions, mattresses, artists' brushes, and' so .on: miscellaneous bones are cooked, and the fat obtained from them is turned ovpr to the soap factory, what is ;eft being ground into bone meal and ;ised! as fertiliser: the best blood from, the, best animals is treated and "dried:-and utilised as a basis for nourishing foods and some classes of pharmaceutical'preparations: the balance of the blood is also sterilised, and becomes available according to its quality as chicken feed' or hog food or fertiliser. From the fat surrounding the internal orgms "stearine" is refined and used l in ihe making of oleo-margarine and certain cooking compounds : the intestines,, after being cleaned and steamed, are turned to account as casings for sausages or reappear its musical strings, surgical ligatures, or the guts of lawn-tennis nickels; while the glands and secretions form the basis of a variety of medicines. ' *

SCHOOL SCRIPTURE CLASSES. The Wear Street Hal! Was well filled last evening upon the occasion of the; distribution of prizes to-pupils in the. Scripture classes n.t the.'three--primary., schools. . Rev. J. A. Lochore presided.; Apologies were received from Rev. W. ; McLean and Captain Moore. Yen. Archdeacon Russell led in; prayer. The report of the secretary (Rpy. S. F. Hunter) was as follows: —"Th reporting another year's work in connection with the Scripture classes in -the- 1 schools of Oamaru, we would first express our thanks, to all, who by thonv eo-operation, have aided in whatever'; success has been attained. We would* thank the Committees, head teachers-'; and staff for their sympathy and prac-

tical assistance. We-would also thank [ those who undertook the arduous tn.sk of examining the papers at the close every class, and they have cheerfully done their work. They ares Standard VI., Mr R. Cowan, of Weston.: Standard V., Mr J. Reid: Standard IV., Mr W. .1. Rogers, of Totara ; Standard 111.,' 'Mr Wm. Rodger, of Maheno; Standards ."I. and ]]., Misses Mason and. Crawford, of Maheno. We congratulate the -successful prize-winner*

while at the. same time recognising the splendid work done by many of . the unsuccessful scholars. The classes haviheen taught by the following:—Rev3. J. A. Lochore and S. F. Hunter, and Mr H. P. Long-at the North School; jirschdeacon Russel.l and Rev. S. F. Hunter at the Middle School; Commandant Cook and Rev. .J. L. Robinson (whose work was undertaken by Mr Leng" on his removal), at the South School. The main work' for the year was on a portion of St. Luke's gospel, but towards- the close the portion of St. Mal-k's Gospel was studied for examination purposes. The work is so arranged that a child will have been' examined on the whole of St. Mark's Gospel. In closing, the Ministers' Association would express it's recognition of the privilege it is to teach the children in the schools, and Icj£* forward with interest to a continuation this ye;ir of the help and interest of all to whom w* are indebted, and leave the "results with the .Master, who* Himself loved and taught the children."

The Chairman welcomed Mr W. F. Abel, of the North School, and spoke of his own imminent departure after six years in Oamaru. He stressed the increasing value of the Scripture lessons in the schools.

The assistance? given hy teachers was .acknowledged in short addresses by Ven. Archdeacon Russell and Revs. Lochore and Hunters.

Mr J. Reid suggested hints for the assistance of children in their studies. On the motion of Mr W. McLaran, seconded by Mr W. F. Abel, a hearty vote of thanks, with acclamation, was accorded the ministers for their work in teaching the children. Similar votes of thanks were accorded the examiners.

During the evening the following items were given by the school children : Middle School, "Beautiful Ohio'': South School, "Polish Lament"'; North School, "Now is the Month of May." A collection taken ■up to defray the cost of the prizes realised the. sum of £3 12s 7d. t The Doxology and the Benediction ! concluded the evening. | The prizes were distributed by Mrs Lochore. who addressed the children briefly. The following is the pri^e list :-'-. —South School.— Standard L—Leona Hastings 1, Margaret McCulloch 2. ■ Standard lI.—G. E. Thomson 1. JR. O. Lambert 2. Standard lll.—Elsie Brooker 1, Noeline Thomson and Jessie S. Frame (equal) 2. 'Standard IV. —Rena- Couper: 1, Jack Heron 2. Standard V.—Eva. Grenfell 1, Valine McKenzie'2. Standard Vl.—May Rush 1, Nancy, Heron 2. —Middle School.— ■Standard T.—Kelvin Grocott 1, Esmond Cleland 2. Standard IT.—Madge Stagpoole 1. 51. Chase 2. Standard TlL—Belle Campbell I, Roland de Norville 2. Standard TV.—lrene Jamieson 1, Gordon Parker 2. Standard V.—Ella de Jonx 1. Verm Crocker 2. ■ Standard VT.—Annie. Adams 1, Robina. Jamieson 2. —North-School. — Standard L—T. Fox 1, Tui Harrison 2. Standard IT.—A: Mackay 1, Ivy Collins 2. Standard TlL—Melha Mitchell 1, Colin McLaughlin 2. Standard TV.—Alice Denholm 1, Fdq;ar Ironside 2. Standard V.—Maiona Juriss 1, Atnv Mackay 2. Standard VT.— Violet Feathers 1, Alan Deem 2.