NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2170, 26 September 1895, Page 5

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS .

About seven years ago a Mr Rodier, of Tambua station, New Sjuth Wales, put The Uodier forward a novel scheme for Method dealing effectively with the „ rabbib pest, and I referred to the matter at thy time in rather I Ka&liit a -slighting manner as being Destruction, a visionary and impractical schema. Notwithstanding the discouragement Mr Uodier received from all quarters when he first mooted his plau, ho ha? been steadily persevering with ibduciug the Uat seven years, and receutly wrote to tho Australasian recounting his experience during that time, and jmtifying all that he had said ia favour of hu scheme when he first made it known. Briefly wub, his method is to " kill the does and let the bucks go alive," and his reasons may ba summarised as follows : — (1) When the bucks are more numerous thau the does they (the buck?) will kill the young ones. (2) When the does are very much less in numbar # th<»n the bucks they are prostituted, aud rendered unfruitful or sterile. (3) When the bucks still more largely exceed the does in number, the former will worry the does to death. In this way, says Mr Rodier, the does are got rid of, aud the surviving bucks gradually die of old aga. 110 goes ou to s*y that ho has been following this plau for seven years, and has never wilt'ully killed a malo rabbit. He enclosed his ran with 40 miles of rabbit feuce^ftud contends that he can now show better results trom h ; s plau than his neighbors can who hate followed the popular mctLoJs of dealing with tho post. His ruu, he sny», is well suited For rabbit*, bsing scrubby, ■ rocky, aud full of holua aud burro-vs, <md ytt he cau carry more sheep and show bettter returns than any other station in the district. He has m-iu to dig out the small burrows, but for tbe larger oaei he uses traps for catebing the rabbi to alive aud unhurt. The does ho kills, but the bucks are CAruiarked and let go, co that he will know when they are a^ain caught or neeu. Ho claims ttut Lis plin i< tbe o»si<M.t, she^pfst, aud mo3l (.(lective in existence, aud that it is the only oue that will &ive good and practical n.salts over large areas of poor country with grod harbour for rabbit?. Ho aajs tnat by mentis of the 0.-diuary trapping syatem it is lha bucks that are generally caught, aud the reduction of tlieic wum'«et tends to polygamy and more extensive braeding pov?era on the part of the djes. Ue solicits oilers of live

we aro in that respect somewhat ahead of the mother country.

Tho last quarterly number of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Sooioty of Il'iHgArorm of England contains au article on Calves. this subject by Professor Brown, one of the Biitish big-wigs on matters of this sort. The article covers nearly 20 pages of tho journal, and includes several illustrations showing the growth and appearance of the disease in various stages. I will endeavour to state tho professor's ideas as briefly as possible. Ringworm, then, is a parasitic disease, and a parasito is an organism which lives upon another organism — generally one higher in tho scale of animal or vegetablo life, aa tho case may bo. (The mistletoe is a familial- instanco of a parasite ) Thus a small animal may attach itself to another animal or to a plant, or a small pant may take up its abode upon another plant or upon an animal, and ringworm is really the pft'ecta of the growth of a minute plant or fungus in the skin and hair cf tho calf. A fungus is a sort of mould, but thera are thousands of vari«tic3, and there have boon lei-red men who hive made thefe things the special study of their lives. The fungus known as red rust is a sorb of plant growing upon the wheat stalk, and those horrid pesti tho mussel scale aud woolly aphis a-ro an iubt&nco of small animals growing u»ou the apple trees. Now as to the iiAHie. The word "rin<" is of course due lo the way in which tha disc isa spreads, .and tho "worm" h probably owing to tha popular idea that used to prevail that the uiischief is caused by a tiny worm boTing into tho skin. The profo«sor than asks, Why d its tho growth of a minute plant i>poi bbc skin of an animal cujho disenso? H« says tfanfc a«i blifiht* and all other fungi can onlj live Mid do their work in the midst of rottenness aid decay it follows th»t when they attach thcmsslves to an Buim»l or plant there c:nuot bo Jie+lthy aud vigorous growth in all its part<, and there must be something wrong before tho fungi can appeir. "Whsn ringworm isor.ee rsUblishid everybody can eec it end knot? whit it is, bnttke professor says il is of more importance to diwjovr it in it« early gtaga Rnd arrest its progress. He says it is not accompanied by .my violent i.chiug, as the calveo do not appear to rub tht muclves any rooie than calves genera' ly do at any time. He Bays aleo that "The severe inflammatory symptoms, with the formation of pustules and scars, described as incidental to chronic ringworm in mau, arc uot cbsorveJ iv the lower

Not only the flesh, bub the wool aud every other feature, will become assimilated t> tha conditions of different localities Hair is fcha covering of tho sheep for the most .port in a state of nature ; and wool ii the result of de•vtlopmeat under the guidance of man, aloug .■with easier conditions of life and abundance of pasture. Oiiroato ht« some influence on density ; but is not the sole factor. In a Btate of nature tfee flneut fora, &c., are found in the coldest climates, bat under domestication that by no means follows with the wool of the sheep. Extreme exp>3nro and poverty of soil are responsible for the kemp or dead hairs that appear in the fleeces of lome sheep in England. On the other band, the superior , purity of Australian wools, their fot'fcnefa and lightness and lustre, are attributed to tto climate of Australia. An expert considers that a given Uraperature and a certain amount of moisture are necessary for the reteution of lustre in wool, ard cites Now Zealand wool in support of this theory. Another thing tbut i» promulgated is that lustre jb afS'ciated with •clay soils and hardiness with chalky aoi's. Quantity and coarseness are largely a question of food. The gradation extends from the with heavy and comparatively coarse fleeces to the Shetland with its light fleece of txceptionolly fine-fibred wool. Ib was Mr ©akewcll's opinion that rich pastures had to be overstocked to grow fine wool. Abuudanse of feed makes beavy fkeces that get their weight {trgely ftoni greate and to some extenb from length and size of fibre. The same breeder considered that clay Boil was the best for wool growing, sand nexfc, and lime last; and the general opinion to-day amoog flockbroeders would endo«e that statement. Agricola.