THE RURAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23054, 3 December 1936, Page 3

THE RURAL WORLD

FARM AND STATION NEWS

By RUSTICUS.

Items of interest to those engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits, with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed. Tbsy should be addressed to Rusticus, Otago Daily Times, Dunedifc

1936-37 SHOW SEASON ROSTER OF FIXTURES 1936. Agricultural and pastoral shows have been arranged for the 1936-37 season as follows: December 4.—Maniototo, at Eanfurly December s.—Wyndham. December s.—Tokomairirc Farmers' Club, at Milton. December 8 and 9.—Southland, at Invercargill. December 10.—Owaka. m , December 11 and 12.—Otago, at Tahuna December 18.—Clutha and Matau, at Balclutha. December 19.—Otago Peninsula, at Portobello. December 26.—Tuapeka. at Lawrence. 1937 January 9.—Blueskin, at Waitali. January 16.—Waikouaiti. January 22.—Palmerston and Wamemo. at Palmerston. March 6.—Upper Clutha. at Pembroke. March 20.—Temuka and Geraldine, at .Winchester.

TOPICS OF • INTEREST

OFFICIAL NOTES

Magistrate: “ The best thing you can do is to go home and make it up with your wife.” , , , Husband: And what’s the second best thing? ”

Owing to a rearrangement of the programme from station 4YA, necessitated by a special broadcast of the first cricket test match in Australia, the Farmers' Union session next Monday will take place at 6.30 p.m. instead of the usual time. This will be the last session until the first Monday in March, when these broadcasts will again be resumed.

At the monthly meeting of the Clutha branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union held on Saturday last, a discussion took place in regard to the Government control of Electric Power Boards. It was pointed out that at present power was procurable from the Dunedin City Council at a lower rate than from the Government station at Waitaki, and it was thought that a change was not desirable. It was decided, however, to make inquiries through the provincial office as to the relative merits of Government and local body control.

On Monday next, the 7th inst., Mr C, B. Barrowclough will address a meeting in the Town Hall, Miller’s Flat, nis subject being “Twelve Months of Labour Government.” The meeting, which has been organised by the Miller’s Flat-Roxburgh branch, is open to all those interested, and members are specially invited to be present. It is anticipated that there will be a large attendance as Mr Barrowclough is a most interesting speaker, and as chairman of the Vigilance Committee of the Dunedin' Chamber of Commerce is highly qualified to deal with the subject.

The annual fat lamb judging comi petition will take place on Saturday next, December 5, at the Burnside works of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company, Ltd., and a cordial invitation is extended to farmers to be present. 1 Members of Young Farmers Clubs are also invited to attend, and there is special interest attaching to the function for them on account of the fact that the announcement of the winner of the Lincoln College Scholarship, so generously donated by the New Zealand Refrigerating Company, will be made after the judging is completed. Approximately 200 lambs will be killed, dressed, and judged, and an opportunity will be given to the visitors to inspect the latest improvements to the works. The company has generously arranged to provide morning tea for those attending.

The monthly meeting of the Palmerston branch, N.Z.F.U. was held last week, when Mr Wedge presided over a good attendance of members. The secretary reported that a visit had been paid to the district by the organiser, Mr H. W. Wilkins, and arrangements had been made for a

special meeting to be held on Tuesday, December 8, to put into operation the new scheme of organising. The secretary was instructed to obtain from the provincial secretary particulars of the Drovers and Musterers award. * # *

The attention of members is drawn to the provisions for the licensing of cream lorries where they are owned by farmers and are used to cart their own and neighbours’ cream to factories. Provision is made for the licensing of such lorries at a reduced or nominal fee,at the discretion of the Commissioner of Transport. Lorries used only to cart farmers’ own cream, or which car.t cream without reward do not require to obtain a transport licence. The following should be noted:— 1. Applications should be addressed to the Commissioner of Transport, Wellington. , „ 2. Applications should give full particulars of the cream to be carried, the route to be followed, and the. district and full postal address of the applicant. Some indication should also be given of the anticipated revenue. 3. Applications should also request exemption from the 24-hour break, and should state that the driver will be required to work only for a very short period on Sundays. Application forms can ■be obtained from* any licensing authority or from the Transport Department, Wellington, on application. The above concessions have been obtained largely through the repeated representations that have been made to the Government by the Farmers’ Union through the Dominion office, and members are advised to see that the necessary applications, as outlined above, are sent in to the Commissioner of Transport, Wellington, without delay.

After protracted negotiations which were put under way By the Farmers’ Union, the Minister- of Agriculture made a statement last week in regard to the system of grading for malting barley, and also announced the prices for the coming season. Some criticism has been made in regard to the prices as these were announced by the Minister without being submitted to the committees for approval as promised. The prices for malting barley containing under 5 per cent, of seconds and otherwise conforming to the No. 1 grade malting barley standard are as follows:—Hawea-Luggate district, 5s on trucks: Arrowtown-Frankton district, 5s on trucks: Garston district, 4s 6d on trucks: Canterbury and North Otago, 4s on trucks: Marlborough and Nelson, 4s 3d in store. Where suitable barley crops are grown in districts’ which have not been specified, the prices will be arranged as occasion demands. Where contracts have already been fixed for the present season, these are to remain in force, but where the contract price is lower than the named prices, the difference will be paid as a bonus. The Minister also stated that the Dominion, with its high producing capacity, should not be dependent on outside sources for its feed barley requirements, and that aspect of the position should be looked into. To co-ordinate these investigations, a small committee, consisting of representatives of the industry and of the Department of Agriculture. was to be set up to facilitate the betterment of the Industry.

The Dominion Office reports that the Minister of Agriculture has replied as follows to the remit forwarded from the October meeting of the Dominion Executive:— Remit: “That the Government be urged to bring lime under the Fertiliser Act, it being well known that quantities are being issued under standard.” , . „ , Reply: “I have to advise that the need for controlling the quality of agricultural lime sold to farmers is appreciated, and officers of my department are at present studying the matter carefully with a view to determining what form of legislative authority is advisable. You will realise that the lime deposits vary considerably in quality and structure, and that in certain districts no really high-grade rock is available. These factors are, however. receiving consideration in relation to the problem as a whole, and your executive may rest assured that the subject of its resolution is not being overlooked.”

POISONING IN SHEEP MILK FEVER AND SORREL SEASONAL LOSSES AMONG EWES The grouping of milk fever and sorrel poisoning together will, no doubt, appear to be a confusion of ideas. In this article, however, a discussion of the similarity in the symptoms of the two diseases, the method of treatment, and the rapidity and sureness, of the cure in both cases will explain why the two troubles have been discussed together. At Lincoln, the Veterinary and Chemistry Departments of Canterbury Agricultural College have carried out a considerable amount of investigational work on these problems. The work is still in progress and will require to be pursued further, both in the field and in the laboratory, before the factors underlying these troubles are fully understood. In view, however, of the large number of cases of milk fever and of sorrel poisoning in Canterbury and elsewhere, it is desirable that the information already collected regarding symptoms, causes, and treatment should be made available to farmers. Milk fever is- known to some sheep owners as lambing sickness or dopiness. It may occur any time from one month before lambing up till six or eight weeks after lambing, or. sometimes even longer. Both ewes in high condition on good feed and ewes in poor condition are subject to the trouble. Numerous cases are recorded and treated every season, but it is certain that many more ewes die because farmers do not recognise the condition, or do not know that a large number of affected ewes can be effectively and easily treated at a small cost. SYMPTOMS OF MILK FEVER In mild cases, or at the beginning of an outbreak, ewes may stagger on their feet when disturbed. In more serious cases, or later on in the staggering stage, ewes go down and in most cases cannot get up. Tetanic symptoms (muscular spasms) arc common. The animal is dull and Anally becomes comatose (unconscious). It may remain in this stage for from 12 to 24 hours before death, and frequently there is a discharge from the nostrils, and the breathing is always abnormal. TREATMENT Even animals which have been in a comatose condition for long periods respond to treatment, the recovery frequently being spectacular. If no other means is available, the udder may be inflated with air, even though the ewe has not lambed. This treatment is not always sure and it commonlv results in injury to the quarters should the air be dirty A more effective and safe treatment is the injection of calcium gluconate solution under the skin. This solution may be made by heating 20oz of calcium gluconate, soz of bone acid and lOOoz of water, or smaller quantities of these substances in the above proportions, bringing to the boil, and

then cooling before use. A nickel syringe holding 100 c.c. or about 3oz and a hollow needle attached to the syringe with rubber tubing are necessary. The cost of such a syringe should not exceed 15s to £l. The syringe is filled with the solution, the ewe is put on her back, and the needle •is inserted under the loose skin between a foreleg and the body where there is no wool. The solution is injected slowly. About five minutes should be taken to inject about 3oz of solution. The needle is then withdrawn, and the seat of injection rubbed softly with the fingers. The swelling will go down in a few hours, and the treatment ir. such that _no animal can be harmed by the injection. It is common for ewes to recover completely within a few minutes, although in some cases it may be half an hour or longer before they are normal again, the time of recovery depending to a large extent on how long the ewe has been down. One injection is usually. sufficient. Injections of calcium gluconate ov calcium chloride into the jugular vein are sometimes used, but this is best done by an experienced person, extreme care has to be taken, and the treatment is no better than the subcutaneous injection, although somewhat more rapid in action. CAUSES OF MILK FEVER

While the factors actually causing milk fever are still being investigated, biochemical researches have shown that the condition is invariably associated with a decrease in the lime content of the blood. It is certain, however, that this need not result from a diet deficient in lime. During late pregnancy pr during milk production a ewe is in a very sensitive condition, and any factor which gives the ewe a check may result in a failure of the nervous and endocrine glandular systems. ine system is unable to maintain the normal amount of calcium in the blood. This drops, and the symptoms induced are those of milk fever. The injection of calcium gluconate restores the blood calcium to normal, and also restarts the normal functioning of the regulatory mechanisms. SORREL POISONING Sorrel poisoning is very common in Canterbury, and sheep are affected from early spring until late autumn. Ewes, lambs, and dry sheep may be affected. The symptoms and treatment are identical with those of milk fever. , , , . Sorrel leaves and stems contain a substance, oxalic acid, which results in a lowering of the amount of calcium in the blood. The actual mechanism has still to be investigated, but the condition is identical with that outlined above. PREVENTION It has been found that sheep running in paddocks red with sorrel may not go down, whereas others in a paddock without much sorrel may be badlv affected. This may be the result of several factors which are being investigated- The first is that the oxalic acid content of sorrel may vary at different stages of growth and at different times of the year. The second is that the palatability of the sorrel probably varies and the sheep eat more at one stage of growth than at another. If sheep have to be run on sorrel, cases of sorrel poisoning should be watched for. If an outbreak occurs, the sheep should be removed to another paddock. . Pine needles also contain oxalic acid, and cases where these have caused deaths in sheep are known and have probably been due to the effect of the oxalic acid on the lime content of the blood. There is still much work to be done on prevention, treatment, and underlying causes of the conditions outlined. A wider knowledge of the facts at present definitely known, and of the utility of the treatment advocated would result in the saving pf many ewes by farmers themselves in those instances where outside assistance is impossible. Especially is this the case since the condition is one which should be treated as soon as it is observed. During this season the college staff have been called upon to treat many cases of milk fever and of sorrel poisoning. Several hundred ewes have been treated successfully using the method advocated in this article. Recoveries as a result of it have been about 95 per cent. It would be interesting to know how many ewes have died in Canterbury through failure to obtain advice where outbreaks have occurred, and through faiurc -to apply suitable remedial treatment in all cases where losses have been high.