THE RURAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20582, 4 December 1928, Page 4

THE RURAL WORLD.

FARM AND STATION NEWS.

By Rusticus,

FORTHCOMING SHOWS. December, 4, I. —Gore. December s.—Central, Gtago (Omafcau). December 6.-—Owhka. / . December 7. —Wyndham December 7.—Maniotbto (Ranfurly), December 11, 12.—Invercargill.' D'ecember. 15.-—Otago Peninsula (Porto- !; '■ hello) . December 20. —LaWrericc. December 27.—Waitahuna. ’ ~ 1929. January 12—Waltati. January 18.—Waikouaiti. March 17.—-Lake County (Arrowtowu), April 1; —Strath-Taieri (Middlemarchj-. WOOL • SALE DATES, The following is the calendar of wool Bales for the 1928-29 season:— s ■ ■ 1928—, \ December 7—^Wellington. December 12—Napier, December 17—Timaru. December 21—Dunedin. 1929 , January-7—'•Christchurch.-January .12—Wellington., January 18—Napier. V,. January 23—Wanganui. January 31—Invercargill. February. 5-—Dunedin. February B—Timaru. ‘ - • February 13—Christchurch. February 10—Wellington. February 23—Auckland. ‘ February 27—Wanganui.' March 4 —Napier., March B—lnvercargill; , March 12—Dunedin. ' . March ■ 15—Christchurch.' March 20—Wellington.-

Slaughter of Lambs. Freezing works in Canterbury will commence slaughtering lambs for export today. A schedule,. of prices issued by one company offers 10 Id for prime first quality to 361 b, dropping to 9Jd for 43-Solb and second quality ■ stuff. ■ It is doubtful whether ''killing will, commence ill Otago works before {lie New Year. There may be a little ■ stock. slaughtered during .the week before Christmas, but it is not considered advisable or. in the interests .of the growers or the works to make a start before Christmas, and be handling too many seconds.- The general opinion is that the stock will not be ready before the New Year; The South Canterbury , works will be’ opened- on. the 10th of this month,, and it -is possible that inroads will be. made: on;;Otago supplies. If this provesto be.thecase the local works may- find it ‘ expedient to- open a little earlier. Whether southern schedules will be as-attractive as those-offered in Canterbury, for lambs for early shipment remains .to.be. seen. ' No information is available on-the subject at present. Top-dressing Experiments.

The Department of Agriculture’s experimental work in the topdressing of grasslands _ which was commenced with such conspicuous success throughout the province last season, will be continued this year. The 11 plots in North Otago are to. be harvested this week. Mr T.' Selwood, who has charge of the Oamarii district, left yesterday with- a team of harvesters to begin, the work of. cutting, weighing, recording, , and. comparing. the results obtained from'the various fertilisers .after, two years; Interesting data should be available, this, -season of the effects the.,-Parlous The Centrab.Otago, plots will be dealt wjtih in all; probability next -week, under the direction of Mr A, S. Duff, and' the South Otago plots will in all likelihood be left till after Christmas. .Clover in Pastures.

seasons topdressing experiments throughout Otago were of great interest, and one of the features of the use of phosphatic manures was the marked preponderance of , cloy.er r that -made its appearance in the pastures. So great was the proportion that it indicated a badlybalanced • pasture in many cases. It is considered that the grasses can be forced to come away on these grasslands by the use of nitrogen, and to prove it the department, in conjunction with Nitram’s, Ltd., .of England, is arranging for an extensive series of experiments with nitrogenous fertilisers. This work should prove invaluable to -all graziers. -

Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs. _ Recently the . Milton branch of the Farmers Union, in co-operation with the local branch of the Department of Agriculture (Fields Division), decided to inaiigiirate the boys and girls’ agricultural club movement that has proved so successful in other districts and which has accomplished a great deal of good in Otago in the past. Competitions were: arranged for, and these are-well in. hand. At the same time club work was provided for the young agriculturists, who' came forward in very'satisfactory‘numbers. Indeed,, so encouraging was-the response to the movement .that three distinct supervisors had to he-obtained, and these men are. doing good work in fostering and assisting , a scheme that has great possibilities. During the past month or two the boys; and girls have been busy on the growing and cultivation; of potato crops. Interesting results can be expected when the. time comes for the harvesting of these crops. This is work that is well - worth doing. aud_ other farmers’ organisations province -would he.doing good; work if they attempted something-along similar lines. Cereals and Potatoes.

The following estimates of • the areas under wheat, oats, and barley in the Dominion for the current season were issued by tlm Government Statistician ’ at, date November 3, the -figures being based on a card census:—Wheat; 255,000 acres; oats, 303,000 acres; barley, 22,000 acres. ■ The corresponding final totals for the preceding season (1927-28) were‘262,199 acres of wheat, 303,708 acres of oats, and 21,732 acres of barley.. Wheat, therefore, has an estimated docrease'.in -area* this season of 7799 acres, oats a. decrease of 708 acres, and barley an increase of 248 acres. Also from a card;censusand‘at date November 3> -the Statistician: estimates .this area under potatoes-as 21,100-acres. The corresponding final figures for the 1927-28 season were ,21.693 acres. , Only, holdings of one acre and over .outside, borough boundaries are covered by these figures; a fair aggregate area ,of potatoes is also grown on smaller- holdings and within boroughs. Reckoned on -the average of the last, five; seasons—s. 34 tons per acre —the total yjeld from this season’s area would be 112,674 tons, as compared with a total actual yield of 121.402 tons for 1927-28. ; Cow-pox.

A' troublesome and somewhat irritating affection of the teats and udder of the cow is described under the name of cowpox. From time to. time one, or more cows in a herd suffer from this Complaint. The. infection is easily carried from one cow to another by. the hands of the milker or by. the cups of the milking machine unless special care is taken to detect the first appearance of symptoms and; take the necessary' precautions. In the early stages there, is noticed a tenderness of the teats when milking is being carried out. The teats are redder in colour and hotter.'to the feel than usual, and in a few days one or more blisters form, and with the constant handling at milking time the sores thus formed are difficult to heal.' The blisters rupture and are ■ later covered with a-thick crust or scab which comes away during milking. Similar blisters may appear on the udder itself. When the first member of the herd shows any of the above symptoms precautions should be taken. The affected animal should not be milked until the rest of the herd has been dealt with. An affected animal should be milked as carefully as possible by hand, using some emollient as vaseline. After milking, an application of boraeic ointment should be liberally applied. The hands should be carefully washed in some antiseptic solution and every care'taken to prevent the infection being spread by the hands to

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the other cows. A good deal, of patience is. required in milking ah affected cow and also in treating the'animal to effect a cure. 'An attempt should Eemadeto treat the cases early, as there, is a. danger bf .mammitis being set up. Care and attention -. given to the:. first member of a herd .showing symptoms,may 'prevent’ the spread of. the trouble to'any of the other' cows in’the herd.

Leg-louse of Sheep. ■ A, species of louse on sheep which.isinot frequently seen, and’ on'account of this is hot. recognised by sheep - owners, is • one affecting the hairy portion of the- leg and known under the technical name of Haematopinus pedalis.': The, parasite infests bbth the fore’ahd hind .limbs, but more frequently is seen onthe.hind limbs. The parasite, is a blood-sucker and lays’alarge number of eggs which remain attached to the hair, giving the affected part .a 'distinct brown _ appearance.' The parasite first made its. appearance so far as is known in tfie. Bants Peninsula district. Since then it has appeared in various parts, of : the; North Island, as well as the Nelson district,’ In., a case which came under notice recently the .wool of a ram’s scrotum was found to be densely infected, while the scrotum itself was considerably enlarged and hardened: The parasite can be readily- detected'at shearing or crutching time. Ordinary dipping methods are effectual in dealing with the vermin, and as clean sheep may become infected by contact with affected animals immediate precautions should he taken to safeguard the flock directly its presence has been detected. Flock-House.

" A splendid record of -achievement at Flock House is revealed in the annual report of the Board of the New Zealand Sheepowners’ Acknowledgement of Debt to British Seamen Fund, the controlling authority of this admirable institution (says the Dominion). It is now four years since the first draft of 25 boys arrived at Flock House to go into training for farming pursuits in this country, and three and a-half years since the first of the boys vrent into employment. The time is, therefore, appropriate for an, estimate-of the value of the enterprise to be- formed. Flock House was an interesting experiment in immigration. Only the sous of British, seamen were-eligible for selection, and the process of selection was carefully regulated under the conditions of the fund. This excellently-ap-pointed institution had, therefore, the further advantage of having good raw ■material to deal with. The report shows that iii every respect tlreaxperiment has been a practical success. . ‘ A Favourite Apple.

The Delicious apple, one that it among the most popular in New Zealand, is not favoured in Southern ■ England, v When commenting-on this fact at a meeting of Poverty Bay orchardiste the other evening, Sir H. E. Stephens, overseas- representative of tbe New Zealand Fruit Coil-' trol Board, stated that this year New Zealand Delicious apples,were coming into favour,, but the frequency, of the brown core, and the fact that much of the fruit must . have been immature, had ,-spoiled the sale of ■ the remaining quantities. He hoped, however, that the bad reputation that a portion of this variety held in England this year would be outlived. Wool Growing in. Poland. ’ ■: : . Importations of raw. wool into Poland are necessary yearly to-an average worth •of,r'2p,ooo,oflo. |ddllars., - Wool growing in Poland still' continues to decline. In 1900, statistics show sheep stocks at 18.000. but to-day Poland possesses only ab0ut..2,000,000 sheep, and to supply The; home . industry alone at least 9.000. would be. necessary. Tho Jarmers’ reluctance to sheep rearing emanates chiefly from the uncertainty, of demands at the sales. For this reason it is intended that regular wool sales will, be held in future at Thorn, Warsaw, and yilna, and the first of such sales — in conjunction with the sale of foreign wools was held in Thorn in October..

Meat Losses. The accounts of the Smithfield and Argentine Meat Company for 1927 show how severely ahd how seriously the Argentine.' meat war affected the companies operating in that country and Uruguay. Following a loss of £137,982 for 1920, the. Smithfield and Argentine Meat Company has’to report a loss of £112,738 for 1927. The result is, that a credit balance , brought in is converted into a deficit of £10,136. In their report the directors state that the companies engaged in the Argentine meat trade settled their differences in November, 1927, and the trading results reflect the long-drawn-out Tight. For the first half of this year, with normal trade, the company has earned a profit, but tire directors decided not ;to disburse any part of it in dividends.' The meat war while it-lasted sermusly affected New Zealand and Austrail a, but tbe outlook now is for normal trade with the usual seasonal price fluctuations.

World’s Wheat Crop—l 927-28. Below are given the official production figures for 1927-28, from, which' have been eliminated yields from countries showing' under 1,000,000 quarters;

T , ~ , . . ■ Quarters. b mted States .. 108,961,000 Russia (European). ' .. 73,000,000 Kussia (Asiatic) 21,000,000 Canada .. .. .. .. ... 55,004.000 India .. .. .. .. ... 41,874-,000 A lanca . ■ •• ... 34,569,000 Argentine .. .. .. .. 23.944^00 i taJ y •• .. .. 24,493,000 bpam .. .... .. .. ... 18.103,000 Germany ... 15,065,000 Australia .. 14,524,000 Earth...- Africa (including _ Egypt) . .. 1 3,196,000 Kumania 12,092,000 fc.-, •• •• - Wood United Kingdom ~ 7,200,000 ■p"£°‘S! avla 7,071,000 " 6,789,000 5,918,000 Czecho-Slovakia 4,730,000 ™?, an .. .. 3,655,000 Chile .. 3,500,000 Gfilo U e ,n " " 3.035,000 TTW,mf - ■’ ’ • 2.013,000 Adstrla* V. " " " ” fSo •• SS •• ' &ea Ze3land - •• iiSKoo • orea .. .. .. ... .. .. 1,139,000 The'grand total for the world's production is given as 521,904.000 quarters as against 521,823 000 quarters for the 1926whilst the ensuing crop (1928ters IS ' 7XpeQfpd to } ' ielc l 555,643,000 quarCare of the Flock.

, ca ™ management of. the sheep flock, nhere the owner’s aim is to drafted ’off-V 5 PoS f, ible of his lambs tli at ted oft the mother, the frequent change of pasture to maintain theonilk supply of the mother is desirable (says a bulletin issued by the Animal Husbandry Department ot the- Department of Agriculture). If there are any influences 5 at work to check the milk supply such check will be reflected in the ]arnb S A sc t back in the early life of the lamb as with to y regaim groWlng ammal is ver J’ difficult It is well known that a young animal dav neater increase in weight pc^ daj for the same amount of food consumed than-an older animal, other faeto-s Jieing equal. As the trend in animal husbandry is in the direction of early maturity and increased production the object of producing fat lambs off the mother Is certainly the most economical from (ho farmer’s point of view. Jn th e “nng and early summer, with an abundance of succulent food, and a careful management our *fat a arge P ercen tage of works ™ bs for ex Port thus reach the fie i gl ; ea; - er th « Percentage of fat lambs the better the return to the

farmer. The saving in feed alone when the first draft goes away is a, big factor, especially as the season advances and growth decreases or the herbage loses its succulence and high producing qualities. The quicker return, with a minimum period of keep means -a saving in feed for the remainder of the flock. It must be borne in mind always that grass of short growth is richer in mineral contents than when it lias grown'.longer, hence pasture management from this standpoint is important. Those lambs in the .flock which have to be kept over - and 'fattened on supplementary forage crops, or kept as. stores,"although not so profitable, are still worth attention in that a setback at this stage , may ineau losses later on frorn infestation with worms. The-danger Of internal..parasites taking -toll- of some of the flock is greatly increased if:the constitution or health of its members suffers through a .shortage of feed. The danger from internal .parasites is more pronounced in the late autumn and early winter and more common if this season ot the year is rainy, or if the animals are on land which is low lying and badly drained. .. ■

North Island Lambing. From information furnished -by • inspectors of stock in the various districts, the average lambing for, the current season m tlie A orth Island is estimated by the Government Statistician ‘at 84 61 per cent., compared with 87.28 per cent, last j 8 ’ 2 ] 1 ' 878 breeding ewes’in the North . Island, as shown; in the 1928 sheep returns,; the ’ number. of • lambs this season ,is estimated at 6,948;380. The South Island returns are not yet avail-

T n V mb , er of breeding' ewes in the North Island was 7,905,432, and the average percentage ; 0 f 87.28 produced te T d i la ? b - crop of 6.889,861. In 6 h 926 5 298 h tK P and +“ 10 ? l e wes numbered the estimated percentage was SS&TO?' th ° estlmated riufaher.’ oflambs The Clutha Show* In our report of the Ciutha Show it Dafsy er El USly 6tat i° d i hat Meadows T a .-L I y 1 P laced first in ■ the Jersey; class, whereas Redwing’s Tonsv iaa^Reawirt l^' 10^3 £ add y.™t of Molb nas Redwing) was the winning entry. Tonsvs t Bon C n°- W p a j 9 ham P ion instead of Redwing as stated in the ROTATIONAL CROPPING. galloway. determining stock carrying CAPACITY. . Mr R. B. Tennent (district superintendent of the Fields Division of the DeSouthl?ndV f Aericultur< i for Otago and southland) gave some' interesting de- & 1 |fpin eSte, " day i’ f experimental - work that is being carried out on the Gallowav «■- penmental areas at present. The object oX Penment3 is to determine the relative carrying capacities of top-dressed and untopdressed lands from the parties d airy cow/ to, this end the farm at Galloway has docL S ’St. Vld f n ? boutl2 email paddocks, each of about four acres. Special treatment witn manures were given of the subdivisions, and they will then on Z d J° r the >a Z ing of the dairy herd of tallies will be kept fio.J,- “ raz mg days each paddock t f’r and * records betaken ?/ e butterJat returns from each. Thus “ V ll . be . poes,b J e *0 ascertain just how pc l‘ st °. ck can be carried under certain top-dressing treatments. This really means; the,introduction on Galloway farm whfnb i h tsnßlVe i rotatl °9 al B ra zing system wliuli has such a wide and successful vogue on the Continent. Only small paddocks are used, and they are all-top-dressed intensively—far more thoroughly than is usually the case when laige areas are treated. A large number j OW f pe V, acre concentrated on the paddock with a view to eating down the teed available as quickly as possible—the time given . the stopk on each paddock being preferably about two or three days. 4”e stqck, iare . t;h en shifted on to the next ■of the prepared paddocks, and are allowed the some limited sojourn there. So the system ;goes on from paddock to paddock through the entire rotation. Dry stock can be used to follow in the wake of the dairy Animals .to clean up • roughage •or any other feed that has been left behind, in tins way controlled grazing of the and if desired, the whole farm, can be obtained, and the result is that a very limited area of grassland is rendered capable of ministering to the needs of a considerable number of stock. The principle ■ can -be applied to all classes °. f . byestock. A demonstration of the possibilities of this scheme of grazing, such as that which will be before the notice ox Central Otago farmers this season, will very quickly show how much to be preferred is this idea to the effete methods that are at present practised all through New Zealand. v 'lt is the intention of the department next year to co-operate with farmers and fanners organisations right throughout tfle Dominion with a view to the wholesale introduction of the principle, which will certainly prove one of the most helpful means whereby two blades of grass can be made to grow where one grew before. Tag system has been demonstrated time and again in other countries," and needs no vindication here, but the .experimental work which the department is carrying out at Galloway and the wider field of experiment that will, be inaugurated by the branches all through the Dominion next season will have for v?|J r °b.l ec t the determining of the special difficulties that will confront New Zealand farmers in the adoption of the idea Farmers are realising more and more today that the most important crop in New Zealand is grass, but too many have not yet come to the full realisation of what can be done in the conservation of the country s resources in this respect, and in the most advantageous and economical use of the pastures at present available. idow to make-the beet of the crops at his disposal is a; lesson that every farmer should learn thoroughly. i i s pla 9 s >“B to note that in Southland the Wmton Farm, Committee, which controls and directs the activities of the Winton demonstration area, has decided to develop its dairying experimental work along the most comprehensive lines One of the features of this year’s work at Wmton will-be the adoption of this intensive rotational cropping system, for which purpose approximately one half of the area of the farm will be utilised. “he importance of producing more from that area of land in the Dominion that is already broken in is constantly being urged on the farming community, but something more than exhortation is found in the Department of Agriculture’s attitude to the question. In this series of experiments the farmer is introduced, to a methpd by which the maximum can be got out of any area, and by which he can quickly and easily judge the relative values of the various parts of his farm Such work is of the greatest value, and should be watched by every grazier with a view to putting the idea into practice on his own holding at the earliest onnortumty.