NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, 14 December 1893, Page 6

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

The season has been, up to the present time, a very moist one, and feed Tho abounds everywhere. Much Flocks. rain has, however, made the

grass very washy and watery, and to this must be attributed the prevalence of scouring in all the paddock flocks. -Notwithstanding frequent dagging prior to shearing most of the sheep are coming on the shearing board in a very dirty condition about tbe breech, ;and much growling is indulged in by the shearers. It is a good thiDg to have plenty of grass and clover, bub there is no doubt that stock are very much healthier in a drier season, when there is less grass, but more nourishment in ifc. The scouring is merely the result of a looseness in the bowels and does not appear to interfere with the health of adult sheep, but I notice that when scouring appears in the lambs they do not thrive and grow as they should do, seeing that the ewes have a good flow of milk. All that can be done is to move the sheep from field to field as often as possible, and also to put out plenty of rock salt for them to lick at. I have heard complaints of strong, healthy lambs having died suddenly in good feed without any visible cause, bub in such cases the de iths have ceased with the moving of the ewes into fresh pasture. There is no doubt that autumn-sown rye or cape barley is much better for ewes and lambs during the spring and early summer than the very best pasture. After November the season generally becomes drier and the grass firmer and more wholesome, so that if the sheep can have access occasionally to a bite of rye until the end of November there will be no reason to complain of their being thrown out of sorts by a surfeit of washy grass.

The wet weather which has caused the great flush of feed, and presumably The also the dirty state of the wool Fleece. about the breech, ha 3, in addition, to answer for the extreme lightness and want of lustre in the fleeces now being taken off when an occasional fine day presents itself. The wool is as clean and light as if the sheep had been put through a wash pool before shearing, but its condition is nob the same. The protracted wet weather has prevented the fleece from acquiring the weight and firmness imparted by a healthy growth of yolk, or grease, in a moderately dry season with plenty of feed. When sheep are plunged into a wash pool all the soluble impurity is removed, but the grease rises again and the wool "handles" well though light and clean; but rain-washed fleeces are different, and handle as if cold and lifeless, if I may apply such an expression, and the weight is much less than it should be. We cannot, however, change the weather, and must perforce make the best of it, and place the advantages against the disadvantages. The early sheds have only averaged about two days' work a week, and men who at the beginning of the season hoped and expected to get a run of two or three sheds will probably only secure the one they have. Various reasons are assigned for the matted or cotted condition of the fleecei of the aged ewes. Some give shortness of winter feed as the reason, 1 ut bo my knowledge that alone does not account for it, for I have seen matted fleeces upon ewes that were well fed all winter. 1 think much wet weather has more to do with it. The past winter and spring have been so wet that the fleece has not been dry for more than a week together during the past six months, and consequently many of the fleeces are matted together just like a doormat, much to the disgust of the owner and the aggravation of the shearers, who cannot take a good blow, but must just snip off the fleece with tho points of the shears. By the way, some of the late aspirants for a free pass and £20 per month were asked if they would be in favour of restricting shearers to eight hours a day, and thus give more men a chance to get a place. I noticed, however, that the majority of the shearers did not relish that proposal at all. When it comes to the pinch they are just as selfish as the much-abused capitalist. Taketho present season for example. The men are lying about killing tima while the sheep are getting wet and then getting dry, and when they set to again they are eager to make up for lost time and to make a cheque for their families. It is not to bo expected that they would wish to be confined to eight hours shearing and spoil a good tally for tho sake of idling about during two or three hours of wasted daylight. If they would nob shear more than eight hours it would take much longer to complete the work ; and as

the sheepfarmer has to board all hands, he would bave to reduce the pay all round, so that Ido not see what the hands would gain beyond the fact that smaller cheques would be the rule because more shearers and other hands would be employed.

When so many of our milking cows are kept for the dairy it will nob pay to feed Feeding the calves in the natural way by Cahci. allowing them to run with the

mothers all day, only depriving them of their mothers' milk at night time. This was the old way of manipulating the dairy herd ; and when the price of beef was such as to make the rearing of calves a "more profitable business than dairying it did not pay to destroy the calves. Now, however, the conditions have changed, and the milk is more taluable than the calves ; consequently the calves are freely destroyed at birth; only a proportion of them being reared to keep up the stock of dairy cows. This almost universal practice, combined with the export of frozen beef, has so reduced our stock of great cattle that butchers find some difficulty in obtaining a full supply of good beef. Now is the time, therefore, to set about rearing all the calves, which can be dono quite well, while reserving the cows for the dairy. At first the calf must get whole milk slightly warmed; but after a week or two skimmed milk should be added, in everincreasing proportions, until skimmed milk only is used. But since calves will not thrive to the best advantage on skim milki it will be advisable to add something else to the milk. Boiled linseed is usually recommended, but a little pollard does very well, or ground oil caka may be used. The pollard will be easier obtained in the country than the oil cake. Then something might be said as to the method of feeding. The U3ual plan of hand-feeding calves, where there are more than two or three, with a bucket is both troublesome and Unsatisfactory. When so fed the calves gorge themselves rapidly, and soon put on a pot-bellied appearance—which means indigestion and general want of health; There is the same objection to an open trough but of which the calves feed in common. The correct method of feeding calves that are separated from their mothers is by means of a covered trough with indiarubber teats fixed along the sides. The calves can soon be taught to suck these teats ; and by so doing the true natural system of feeding is fairly well imitated. By the suctorial action a proper proportion of saliva is mixed with the milk, which passes on to the stomach slowly, allowing the proper process of digestion to go on undisturbed. Nothing could be more injurious to a calf than a rapid gorge of cold milk, and we need not therefore marvel when we find so many hand-fed calves fall victim to consumption of the bowels, or scour. I have seen these rubber teats attached to a trough in use for lambs, and the result was entirely satisfactory.

On every sheep farm of any size it is found advisable to keep a certain proStud portion of stud sheep, if only Sheep. a single ram and a few ewes. In sheep-breeding it is also desirable to cultivate prolific breeding. Stud ewes should be animals of the very best type from mothers with a record for twins ; but to do the lambs justice, the mother should only rear one. The odd lambs should be put to the artificial mother— the trough with rubber teats, and fed on cows' milk". In this way the stud lambs will get the whole advantage of the mothei^s milk and the mother's care ; while tho hand-fed lambs can be placed among the general flock. Both mothers and lambs will require a little extra attention, and, besides a good paddock, well sheltered and watered, they should have a feeding Bhed provided with troughs in which such feed as shredded turnips, oil cake, bran, or oaten chaff is constantly kept. After a very few lessons the animals soon take to the feeding shed themselves ; and it is needless to add that the food and shelter has a marked effect upon the welfare of the sheep so treated. The extra trouble is little, and the expense is amply repaid in the finer animals added to the flock ; for the best animals cannot be reared out in the open in a state of nature. The election is over, and the result is good, bad, or indifferent, according to Our opinion ; but one thing is very Represents!- unsatisfactory ; namely, the great tires. dearth of practical farmers in the new House. Stran?e to say, nearly all the farming candidates were on the Opposition side, and in nearly every case they were defeated in favour of lawyers, newspaper men, or tradesmen. This tight little colony of ours depends almost entirely upon its agricultural and pastoral industries, and yet we must be governed by men who know no.tb.ing about farming and farmers' needs, and care just as little. However, the mischief is done, and it is of no use to croak over it ; and time will show what is to come of putting in a crowd of men bent upon making things lively for those who possess rather more land than their socialistic ideas will agree to. I am a small farmer, and do not hanker after being a big one to be made a target of for those who want to pull everybody down to their own level, but I cannot understand how so many small farmers could vote, as thousands must have done at the late election, in the same direction as the town mobs, who appear to think that their interests are antagonistic to that of the country people, and also appear to delight in seeing taxation piled upon the dwellers in the country. So far as lam concerned, the only little bit of consolation in respect to the result of the late election is that the Ministry will see that they have so humbugged the small farmers that they will now assist the towns in returning men of the right colour, and therefore they (the Ministry) will not require to endeavour to set the town against the country in future in order to keep their places and their

Not nearly so much attention is paid to the production of eggs for market in Tho Egg this country as there ought to Market. be. The average barn-door

fowls are of no particular breed, and the different breeds are allowed to intermix promiscuously till mongrels -of a very doubtful character are produced. Now, clearly, if the best results are to be attained some method must be systematically pursued in the hen run. If the desire is the maximum of fullsized marketable eggs, then a careful selection of a good laying breed should be made, and that breed kept up by placing a purebred rooster among the brood hens — which, by the way, should be kept apart from the general flock and reserved for breeding purposes if the very best results are to be obtained. As to tho beat breed fancicra differ ; but for the production of good large eggs iv quantity mv fancy lies with the Spanish and Andalusian "breeds, though the former has been considerably deteriorated in recent years by breeding to feather, ear, and other useless show characteristics irrespective of useful points such as laying qualities, fitness for the table, &c. This remark does nob as yet apply to the Audalusian, which is at the top of the tree so far as laying properties are concerned, is a passable table bird, and is fairly hardy. Those who cannot go iv for

expensive prize birds wherewith to improve their flock of hens should procure settings of eggs from a reputable dealer, and so make a commencement. Even with the nondescript fowls generally kept, if a purebred rooster were added to the flock every second year it would not be long before there would be a marked improvement. This mixture is now well known all over Europe a 8 the only certain cure The for rot and blight in the Bordeaux potato crop, and it has unMixturo. doubtedly performed an immense amount of good in that direction. It has been mentioned and referred to frequently in the Witness recently, so that it should be now pretty familiar to all reading farmers. Like many another good thing, this famous mixture was hit upon in a singular fashion. Years ago an old French orchardist neaf Bordeaux put his wits to work to discover a plan for preventing boys and others from helping themselves to his fruit, which grew beside, and probably overhung, the footpath. He therefore devised this mixture, which left such a dirty green scum upon the trees and upon the fruit that no one cared to touch it. Both he and his neighbours, however, noticed that the continued use of this solution caused the trees to bear better fruit and more of it, and in the course of time it was found to be the best, and in fact the only, wash for preventing disease in potatoes, and it still remains a standard preparation after years of tests. The formula for the mixture is no secret, and is as follows : — Four pounds of bluestone, 41b lime, both dissolved in 50gal water. I suppose that a less amount could be made in the same proportion, but when spraying is resorted to a large quantity of solution is necessary for each tree in order to make a good job of it. Agricola.