Agricultural and Pastoral.

Otago Witness, Issue 878, 26 September 1868, Page 16

Agricultural and Pastoral.

CAKING FOR THE FLOCK.

Nearly seven years ago farmers read in our columns "the sheep has a golden hoof," and since that period a great many farmers, have discovered the truth of the saying. But the majority of those who havd resorted to sheep and legitimate husbandry, are still unacquainted with the greatness of their value, and have not yet realised the fact of their being extremely profitable, even if sold for no more than they cost a few months previously. They have yet to learn that the improvement they effect in the condition of the soil is itself no ordinary profit, and that even though the flock had ' to be bought expressly to manure the farm, that would be thus more cheaply and effectually done than hy any other means. These truths we have endeavored to enforce on the attention of farmers whenever the season for doing so seemed opportune ; and we believe that our columns can justly lay claim to credit far much of the extension of sheep farming amongst the occupants of tillage farms. Be that, however, as it may, sheep have become a recognised essential to farms and farmers in many of the best tilled districts, and we only regret that we cannot for many substitute all. It must come to that if the process of exhaustion is to be effectually stopped, and that at all events is what the farmers ought to accomplish, more especially men who are farming their own land. They can have no interest in wearing out the soil, however it may bis with the holders of short leases, and for that reason we have pressed, and shall continue to press, on their attention, the immeasurable value of a good flock. At this season of the year yeaning takes place in a great many parts of the colony, and it is in relation to the care of ewes and lambs at that important juncture that we are about to offer a few suggestions. The system adopted upon squatters' runs is not the one that should be followed by farmers. Comparing the per centage of lambs obtained upon runs with that upon English farms, it must at once strike us that the system which gives such small results as in the former case, must be very far from a good one. It must certainly be unnecessary for farmers to adopt it, for their flocks are comparatively small, and thus there should be no difficulty in affording particular gmd timely attention to any individual member requiring it. Farmers have" no right to be satisfied with eighty or ninety per cent, of lambs, even though their flocks may consist of the common sheep of the country. Merinos, whether pure or half bred, are not so proliflc as any one of the Engl'sh breeds, but a few twins nearly always come when ewes have been all the year round upon a, farm, and these extra lambs should at least make up for the loss by barren ones, and thus keep the average up to a lamb for every ewe,

The command the farmer possesses over food supplies contributes his one great advantage over the squatters ; without such command he could not hope to improve much on the squatters average, nor should we have been justified in suggesting the expediency of attempting it. But it is one of the first duties of a farmer to arrange a steady supply of food for his flock throughout the year, whilst the squatter has to take what nature sends much grass, or little, as the season may permit. A farm on which a flock is kept should ne*er want a good supply of hay and roots against a possible time of need, and that we all know may happen at any season of +he year. If the reader will recall the experience of four or five years, he will remember not only dry summers with no pasturrge, but winters in which immense numbers of stock perished for ivant of feed .enough to keep them alive. In this colony we never know when the pinch is coming, but every farmer can be prepared for it, and those who wish to keep sheep successfully must adopt the course indicated. Now with regard more especially to the treatment of ewes during ihe yeaning or landing. We don't believe in losing lambs that are born alive, nor in losing dams. In England, flocks of 600 head are often organed without the loss of a half per ccn f - of tlie dams > whilst one P er centl n *vore than cover the average loss r>f liwmX But then the shepherd know and p'^™ M» ddy ; he has been Sarwl f n it **&, at the critical season of krnbing' tlie !** X divided attention. Z<*e *"? JJ o*l^0 * 1^? 1 , 10 can rise to a sheep dog is considered fit to be a shepherd. On farms ths* ,» re conveniently subdivided, the services ot a dog are rarely required, and they wo!ud never be so if the shepherd and his flock were on proper terms. Sheep .that are ■accustomed to be dogged are always uneasy and thrive badly in comparison with flocks through which the s,hjnh|rd can

¥alkT -without causing a "single sheep fo rise from its place.' With flocks that arl hunted by dogs, as those on the runs are here, it is impossible to do much at yeaning time ; such sheep are best left to themselves. But farmers' sheep should be reared and treated quietly, so that if need be the shepherd may be aKleto handle them without the attempt to do so inducing a struggling match between shepherd ana sheep. It is astonishing in how short a time a really competent shepherd will diveat even bush sheep of their wildness ; after being a few weeks in small enclosures, with no dog to harrass them, and i being frequently visited by the shepherd, they "become pretty tractable, but it is not until they have learnt to eat hay or other food that is given them, that they are fully brought under control. At this season of the year many lambs are lost through exposure to bad weather ; on farms this should not be the case, for a large pen should be made of thatched hurdles, and all around the inside of it, hurdles laid flat, supported on others in their ordinary position, should be covered -with a good depth of atubble or rough straw. It is not from dry cold weather that the young lams so much require shelter as from wet. They do famously in a had frost, hut they don't like a wet jacket, and though common sheep are 'cheap, it will pay farmers to take care of them at critical 'times. Ewes that are about to yean should he rei moved to high and dry pasturage, and in cold districts, if not everywhere, they should receive a daily supply of hay. If grass is scarce, a few mangels may be added ; but it must be remembered that, whilst ewes are in lamb, great or sudden changes in the quality or description of food should be avoided. Thus, if the ewes are poor, it will not be right to shift them into abundant pasturage at once, for that would probably cause a great many to slink their lambs. The desired improvement in condition should be accomplished gradually, and though ewes ought to be kept in fair order, they are none the better for being really fat at yeaning time ; on the contrary, losses are more likely to occur than when they are simply in good store condition. In cool districts, the ewes with young lambs should be kept in the pen until the frost is off the grasß, and 'should get hay the first thing in the morning. Ewes with lambs intended for the butcher should be separated from the rest, if the pasture is not very good, and put into better, or where they can have a little extra feed, of which the lambs when old enough can partake. A lucera field which has not been stocked since the autumn cutting will afford a nice bite for any ewes and lambs it may be desirable to favour ; if farmers had fields of sainfoin, they would be the best possible ran for such stock. If farmers cannot get ompetent shepherds (and good hands of that kind are as hard to be met with as any other), they must themselves attend to the sheepfold at this season. The difference between good and bad shepherding often amounts to over twenty per cent, in the number of lambs, whilst the loss of ewes occasioned by neglect is in some seasons a most serious is em. — Melbourne Leader.