The Changes Effected by Colonisation. Hayward's Sheep-Dipping Baths. THE OBLONG BATH.

Otago Witness, Issue 1652, 21 July 1883, Page 6

The Changes Effected by Colonisation.

Hayward's Sheep-Dipping Baths.

THE OBLONG BATH.

The writer of Passing Notes has taken leave to doubt the accuracy of certain statements which are said to be made by Dr Hooker in relation to the animals and plants of New Zealand, and remarks in conclusion: "Perhaps some observant settler will tell us what the facts are." Now, sir, as a settler of 26 years' standing, and passably observant, I also beg leave to doubt. But one of my doubts is as to whether Dr Hooker ever made the statements imputed to him. If he did so, he is in my opinion partly right and partly wrong. Generally speaking, there can be no doubt whatever as to the exceeding feebleness of indigenous life, both animal and vegetable, of these islands as compared with European fauna and flora— the plants being particularly easy to extirpate. It is also true that the bluebottlefly disappears to a certain extent before settlement, but whether it is owing to the house-fly or the clearing and burning of the surface of the country is to me uncertain. Of the disappearance of the native rat (if ever there waa one) there can be no doubt, 'but whether his cousin, the English rat, "with habits of ancestral economy and cunning," explored and appropriated his "storehouses," or whether the process of appropriation was a little more' direct, it is bootless to inquire till weihaVeifirst proved the former existence of the native rat. When we come to discuss 1 the question of European plants driving out the fern and flax the case is no longer doubtful and obscure; and if ever Dr Hooker penned the passages referring to "the little clover competing successfully with the phormium tenax, or "the grasses sucking away nourishment from the great indigenous ferns and flax," then I have no hesitation in saying that he penned unmitigated nonsense. If the struggle for existence were between the grasses and the fern or flax alone it would very quickly terminate in favour of the latter. The grass or clover would soon be smothered; and" in a season or two would disappear. Every "settler of experience knows that when he burns off fern or flax and sows grass or clover his labour is lost unless he places stock upon the land. When stock especially cattle, are introduced upon the scene a new set of circumstances comes into play : the fern and flax not being well fitted to survive under those altered conditions, have to give place to the grass and clover, whidvare so fitted. When flax is burnt or eaten COTvn it takes two or three seasons to recover ; jyrass recovers in less than as many months. When the young fern is cropped down in the spring it is thrown back for the whole season, while grass recovers in a few weeks, and is all the more vigorous for being fed down. But besides eating down the native plants, the cattle tread upon their stems and roots, crushing them and compressing the soil in a manner unfavourable to their growth, while at the same time it favours the growth of the grasses. You will now see how the native plants diaappear, not through the direct agency of the grasses, but under the inexorable teeth and hoofs of animals introduced by man. D. G. P.

The Auckland Frozen Meat and Storage Company is now in process of formation, and the prospectus will be issued in a few days. Thera will be 30,000 shares of £5 each, makjig a total capital of £150,000. There will, however, be a first issue of 14,000 shares. Plans and specifications of the first part of the harbour reclamations are ready, and work will fa commenced at the earliest possible moment. It is expected the who c affair will be completed ready for work within 12 months. Arrangemeats ate being made in England to provide the most improved refrigerating machinery. w^°iJ at Tr 8 a^ Proceeding between the Wellington Meat Export Company and Union

Hayward's Subjoined we show two designs of improved bath 8, designed by Mr O. P Hayward (o Meswa Tomlinson and Hayward, agricultural chemists, Lincoln, England), who has been making a tour through New Zealand m the interests of Messrs Tomlinson and Hayward, and also of Messrs Bobey and Co., engineers, Lincoln. It has been Mr Hayward's aim in designing these baths to assist the flockmasters, large and small, in the more perfect dipping of their sheep, for with a great nuinu;t*i« u«fv.a OrAr.t.nd in New Zealand (doubtless

/stubborn sheep by mechanical means to the dip, which are found to be most troublesome ' to get into the bath after two or three immersions, and require more than ordinary manual labour. This gangway is an endless web, worked by one or two men ; the sheep are driven on to it at fold end, and find themselves carried along and deposited into the bath, having no potsible means of escape. This arrangement can be adapted to existing baths where either a aide or a straight delivery in used, and forms an ordinary gangway when not in action, which of course is not necessary when the sheep run freely, it merely remaining silent at such a time. The fold in closest proximity to the gangways should be latted,

i the expense, and be far cheaper than erecting a foot-rot race independently of the dip, besides having the benefit of the pens existing for dipping, and which are equally suitable for the sheep in the process of running them through the foot-roo composition. This raca is all made of wood. The ca( abilities of the bath to the dimensions of bath herewith are 4000 sheep per day* allowing for every sheep being a full minute in the bath. The cost of this bath, where concrete is available, exclusive of the draining pens, is £50. It is not imperative that the draining pens shouM be made of concrete, though they are far better and far more durable when constructed of that material ; but

is lost, and the dipping proceeds at the rate ] of 20 sheep per minute. D shows the position i of gate when the sheep are in the bath. Fis i a well, arranged for utilising the liquid to its j minimum quantity towards finish of dipping, : also for dipping a few sheep at any time with- : lout mixing liquid for the whole bath— the : 'same as in the swimming bath— which can I likewise be flushed at any time by means of ; valve and waste pipe at bottom of well. The fall board A works on pivots, G-, at both ends, -md the centre of gravity is more to the bath side, to admit of it being easier for the man to tip who works lever, B. H are sinks for the purifying of the liquid returning from i draining pens, and otherwise the same as per

Der oi Dawjo oio^kd" *»* ~.~.. — years ago), without the ut most care be taken at dipping, the result cannot be satisfactory to the flockmaster, nor can justice be done to the manufacturers of the dip, for Bheep infested with lice and their ova mast be kept for a xoiaute in the bath —a rule invariably not adhered to by those in charge o£ the dipping, because the baths arenot constructed to allow for this minute ; ana as dipping « every year being" therefrom, it has bee^a Sb cannot but commend Jemselvea to the notice of all practical men We nrst illustrate the swimming bath (with t footrot i-ace combinedV-abath much in vogue in New Zealand, but by no means perfect m their present state, but which can easily be altered to the subjoined design. Ihe geat fault- of the .existing swimming baths m New Snd is that they are too short-some being only 20 feet long, and the largest I h a t seln only 40 feet. Now a sheep will swim 20 feet in 15 seconds and 40 feet in 30 ' seconds, and strong sheep and merinos m less -this time being too short to kill the ova and eggs in the wool of the animal ; and as the ova of the louse tee very close to the skm of the sheep, it is imperative that the sheep should have a good soaking, and thus not run the risk of allowing the egg to hatch, .which it wjUo where an imperfect dipping has occurred. In the swimming bath beneath this important fact is strictly ■ al towed for. The length of the bath is 55 feet, by 3 feet 6

inches wide at top, and 2 feet at water level, and 9 inches .at bot-f * ~ \t tha inlet end the bath is o feet, w£e to prevent!? sheep from falling on the too of each other, and to prevent them from cJming in contact with the opposite, wall, which is the case in the narrow baths existing. Another object of their being wider at this end teSatßome eight or ten sheep may be submersed at one time here before they begin their S and the fact of it .being deeper at this

fas shown on plan, for the extraction of dirt tbat may be upon the sheep's^ feet, and thus prevent the same from finding its way into the bath, which all tends to discolour the liquid, and the cleaner this is kept the better for the wool. All warm dips are best for sheep, and a simple arrangement of two 400-gallon tanks— I — mounted for a fire, is shown. Jis the mixing trough, where a supply of mixed liquid can always be in readiness, and can be running into the bath at the 'aame time the dipping is going on, there being no occasion by this arrangement to stop for putting the liquid into the bath. The 400-gallon tanks are capital means for measuring the water, even where cold water is used for dipping.

corrugated iron* upon a good foundation, may \ be used with advantage. Several flockmasters have already put down this design of bath, and the latest is now being erected at the New Zealand Land Company's station, Acton, Canterbury.

This simple bath is designed for either large or small flocks, and can be used to far greater advantage than the swimming baths ; nor do the sheep suffer the exertion in this bath as is the case in the swimming one, which is of prreat consideration where heavy and stud sheep are kept.

swimming bath. This is an excellent bath for medium and small flockmasters as well aa for the larger ones, for it can be reduced in dimensions to dip as few as 500 sheep per day at a mere nominal cost, and quite as good results will be obtained in the Btnaller baths as in the larger ones. To those sheepfarmers who have hitherto been deterred from sheep-dipping through the expense of a large bath, one to suit their requirements in concrete, and only costing some £15, would answer their purpose admirably. The tanks, JJ, and mixing trough, X, are arranged the same as in the swimming bath, and the liquid can be running into the bath at the same time as the process of dipping is

until arriving at the exit, where an easy incline awaits them, and no jamming is experienced as is the case where a steep incline exists, for with the weight of «ci ul< l in the- wool (estimated at 201b at this point in longwoolled sheep) a sheep cannot traverse a steep incline until some part of the liquid has drained off. The sheep then arrive in draining pens, which are of oblong shape, as Bheep prefer and walk further away from the bath in pens -of this shape, and do not'then crowd at the gate of the pen next the bath . These draining pens have one channel only in each, the pitch of the pens being B<y constructed as to convey the liquid into this channel, which does not go direct back into the bath, but is carried first into a sink— E— where it is strained from alTdirt that may come from the draining pen, and enters the bath, by means of inlet G, in as pure a state as possible. This improvement should commend itself most strongly to flockmasters, as the excrement from the Bheep' discolours the liquid, and thus stains the wool, whaa it runs direct back into the bath. Outlet F is for rain water that may run off the draining pen, and which by enteriug sink, and G. being corked up, prevents it running into the bath, which is the case in existing baths. In the longitudinal section it will be seen that there is a well at the inlet end designed for a twofold object— viz., to utilise the liquid to its minimum quantity towards finish of dipping, and so constructed that a few sheep may be dipped at any time without mixing liquid for the whole bath, which cannot but commend itself to the notice of stud-sheep farmers more particularly. This well

is not imperative in the cle3Jgn, but is a great acquisition, as it is the means of always keeping the bath clean, the dirt accumulating at the lowest point, and can be flushed off at will at the waste pipe. All baths should incline from this end a little, as shown on plan, to give a fall from all parts of the batb. Two means of inlet from fold are shown on the plan—an ordinary latted gangway, H, with automatic fall board N, with decoy sheep X ; and a 'patent travelling gangway, O, with shoot L, and decoy sheep M. The latter is designed for tha better conveyance of old and

From the cross section the width and tapei of the bath is easily discerned, and the actiot of the automatic fall board is shown in dofctec lines. The shoot at end of patent travelling gangway is permanent. Ois the foot-rot rac< designed for the benefit of the advantage o: having the pens at inlet end and the draining stage at the outlet, so that the feet of tht sheep are kept as clean as possible both bofon Mid after the process. The fall board is pinnec up and the sliding gates withdrawn, so thai the sheep have a free run from fold. This, sombined with the dip, will considerably leesei:

1 The mode of dipping with this bath is as follows : — The aheep come along gangway L, and accumulate upon fall board A ; when the required quantity are upon the fall board (20 to this drawing of bath), a man actuates lever B, and deposits the whole of the sheep gently into the bath, where they are retained the minute by gate 0, and the same man, at lever B, opens gate C in the direction shown by E, and thus. admitß of the sheep proceeding to tha draining pens. While this batch of sheep are in the bath another batch is simultaneously accumulating on fall board. A, ho that no time

going on, without stopping the progress of the sheep, which is not the case in many existing baths. The capabilities of this bath are 4000 to 5000 sheep per day, and the cost of the bath in concrete some £40. In the selection of a site for a sheep-dipping bath, a hill side in close proximity to water is preferable, for the sheep will run better up an incline than on the flat, and this will consider ably facilitate the procesß of dipping ; and the pens can be arranged in taper form, so that the highest point is reached near the bath —say some 10 feet from the first pen oa tha

level. The walls of the baths need not necessarily be level with the ground line, but project a foot above the ground line, which not only gives the men a better opportunity for " crutcnlng" the sheep, but prevents water and dirt from going in at the sides. Concrete baths are far better than wood. Soft water is always best to use with any dip, and warm dips are always more effective than cold ones. Dipping should take place twice a year — viz., immediately off the shears, when the cost is a mere minimum, and which not only kills any eggs, ova, &c, there may be left on the skin, but i 3 an excellent stimulant for the wool, and the cleaner the sheep are kept at the commencement of the growth of the wool, the cleaner they will be throughout. The next dipping should take place m April or May, where shearing is done in November, when the destructive effects of the dip to all parasite life will still be noticeable in tha sheep. All lambs should be dipped immediately afte* weaning, and again in May, if necessary, Too little importance is attached to the dipping of sheep in New Zealand, doubtless owing to the magnitude of the flocks and difficulty of mustering, but it has been proved over and over again in the Old Country that the cleaner the sheep are kept the greater the yield of wool at shearing time, and for the cost per head— a trifle over a halfpenny— it is a great wonder that every floekmaster, both large and small, does not dip, particularly when it has been proved that sheep give from lib to 2lb of wool more when dipped over those that have not been dipped ; and with the tenacious lice that exist in the wool of the sheep in New Zealand, and which eat through its roots, it is aparasite that cannot afford to be trifled with, for the loss of wool by its ravages in the 13,000,000 sheep in New Zealand must be enormous, and it may soon become a question whether Government will not have to legislate for this amongst the other pests peculiar to this Colony, for its ravages may soon prove as destructive as the Beab, which fortunately is becoming rapidly annihilated. It is in the earlier stages that such pests require to be dealt with. The Sheep Inspectors all over New Zealand are well acquainted w.th this louse, which was imported some six years ago', and the climate of this Colony does not appear to have lessened its development in the meantime, but on the other hand has so matured it that its abode appears certain for some time to come,

' Among the sights of the Waimea (says a Nelson paper), Mr Tyree's fruit farm at Hope may fairly claim a place. It is situated about two miles from the railway station near Aniseed Valley Road, and affords a good proof of ■what may be done by close attention and welldirected labour. At present there are growing there over 3000 apple trees, some of which are Just coining into full bearing, and about 1000 peach, plum, and nectarine trees, in addition to a large number of pear, cherry, apricot, and i lemon, and various other kinds of trees. Coming down to the smaller plants, there are 4000 blaok and red currant bushes, 1000 gooseberries, and 9000 raspberries. These form a considerable list, but we have not yet enumerated all that are to be seen growing on this well-kept garden-farm, for, in addition to the foregoing, there are no less than 180,000 strawberry plants, which if placed in a single row would extend over a length of two miles. Off these plants it is 'anticipated fchat, with a fair"average season, some ten tons of strawberries will be picked. , The whole of the ground is worked by hand, and between the rows of trees are planted pot atoes and other vegetables, with the object chiefly of keeping the ground clean. A reservoir has been constructed, from which pipes have been laid to almost all parts of the plantation, which can thus be easily irrigated. At present six men are kept regularly employed, but this number will be increased after next spring, when it is inbended to extend the quantity of land under cultivation by planting ten more acres in fruit trees and bushes of various sorts. It is also the intention of the proprietor to pay attention to the cultivation of the grape, which there is good reason to believe will flourish well, as on the vines already growing there bunches of over a pound in weight ripened well last summer in the open air. Indeed, the situation appears to be highly favourable to the growth of fruits of almost every description, as an instance of which it may be stated that three crops of strawberries and two of raspberries were picked last season. Some difficulty was, we understand, experienced last year in finding a market for the produce of the farm, but it is expected that this will be entirely removed through the ! agency of the H6pe Fruit Company, who have • recently established premises in Trafalgar i street for the disposal of the fruits which are grown in snch abundance at Hope. M.v Thomas Russell, C.M.G., was enter- : tamed at dinner by the members of the i Northern Club at Auckland on Friday night prior to his departure for England. He spoke very warmly of the progress made by Aucfc- | land and of her future proßpects. He said < that he believed that the export of meat i would work a change in tjia' agricultural i \ industry ljtfcle dreamed of ?'? ' 7