NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2481, 2 October 1901, Page 8

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

We have had a backward spring, and there

is not the spring in the grass The Breeding that there should be at this

time, consequently the ewes

have not a lull flow of milk and are not as strong as they would be under more favourable conditions. Those' Bheep-, farmers who sowed dun oats or rye in the autumn for their ewes are mow 1 reaping the benefit oL their foresight. The cold snap Jast month was hard upon the lambing flocks, and while the late lambing ewes will certairdy be better off in the. matter of feed they may also have better weather. Old pastures are always late in springing Jind there fehould be a portion of the farm, sown to grass every year in order to ensure -a bite of fresh grass as early in the spring as the weather will permit. Whatever prospects there way be in the matter of feed the number of sheep should be in proportion to the supply, as over-stocking is a huge mistake, especially jn the case of breeding ewes. Short commons during winter and early spring mean low condition, weakness, little milk for the lambs, and, in bad weather, heavy mortality in both ewes and lambs. The cruel and gluttonous seagull commits great havoc when ewes are weakly, in .spite of all the, care of whoever is in charge. It is a heartrending sight to see the eyes torn out of a weekly ewe that cannot rise after lambing, without assistance, and no matter how watchful the shepherd may be this sort of thing frequently happens in good-sized flocks unless the ewes are strong and hearty. There has been a heavy mortality among breeding ewes this spring, more ©specially in the case of those carrying a pair of lambs. One or two vets have investigated the matter and arrived at certain conclusions as to the cause, of disease and death, but I am not satisfied that their theory is correct, as eweg have died in the same way unde.r greatly varying circumstances as to feed, condition, etc., and -the reasons given by the vels could not apply in all cases that have come under my noticed I am inclined to think it a sort of epidemic caused by certain germs, and that, like the mysterious horse disease of Winton, it cannot be accpunted for by any visible or known cause. As a. rule disease in stack can bt traced to unsuitable or insufficient feed, but not always, and I do .not see why this peculiar complaint in pregnant ewes should not be due to injurious bacteria, microbes, or whatever they may be called. The prevailing epidemic of influenza is not due to our diet in any way. so far as I know, and there may be a similar unaccountable cau?e present in the air which has resulted in tie death of our ewes.

A Southland Farmer's Wife writes to ask for

a few hints about rearing lfaud.feeding lambs by hand, how often Lambs. they should be fed, etc. If she has had any experience in bottle-fed babies she cannot go far wrong in treating lambg in the same way. In hanJfeeding young animals we should' follow Nature's plan a$ much as possible, and thrt, as regards quantity, is little at a time, but as often as the lamb will take it. When a skinful is given at once the lamb gets pol bellied, and souring is likely to follow, J believe a baby's bottle hold's about half a pint, and for the first week or ten ''ays a lamb should have about half a bottle every two hours; aftor that, if it is strong and thriving, half a pint may be given about four times a day until it begins to nibble grass, when twice a day should be sufficient. Lambs are very quick at learning to drink and generally do without a rubber teat or the finger in about a week. I have reared a good many by hand, but do not adopt any hard and fast rule, and Farmer's Wife will soon find out how much a lamb wants and how often it needs a drink to keep it thriving and contented. The temperature should be no hotter than blood heat — that is, about the warmth of new milk, in fact jhe milk should be given to the lambs just as it comes from the cow, and not hotter than lOOcleg Fahr. pn way account. Thett is no need to

dilute the milk with water so far a3 I know. Little and often is the main thing, just as the lamb would run to its mother for a wee drop whenever she has it ready. Some people think that cows' milk should be diluted with water for young lambs because doctors advocate it in the case of bottlefed babies, but reference to a table showing the comparative average compositions of the milk of different animals proves that ewes' milk is much richer than eowa' milk in every way. Ewes' milk has less percentage of water thaa cows' milk, more casein, more albumen, more milk sugar, and more butter-fat, so that a lamb's stomach is made for rich nourishment. When a motherless lamb is brought in wet, cold, and empty it is often killed by kindness straight away by giving it a big dose of hot milk while its body is weak and below normal temperature. It should be well-warmed first, and then have lukewarm milk in small quantities until it gets lusty a-nd lively — a teaspoonful at a time is enough at once when it is very weak. There are lamb-feeding patents for suckling a dozen at once, with rubber tubes and teats, but a lamb soon learns to drink and a little patience is required for a few days only.

I have received a query from Hawke's Bay, which was more than a fortWinter night old when it reached Turnips. me, in which "Manager"

asks for information anent the time at which turnips should be sown in order to come in for winter-feeding. Also, the best varieties to sow. A sa rule , the hard, keeping turnips require about six months- in which to come to full growth and ripen, but this is modified to some extent by soil and climate. _ The custom in southern districts is to sow the main crop in December; in a good season I have had good results from sowing up to the middle of January, but, as a rule, prefer to have all the sowing done by Christmas or New Year. If "Manager" has moist and rich land the growth will be very rapid, and any time in January* should be early enough for sowing. The object in "choosing the time of cowing is to arrange, as nearly as> possible, that the crop will keep sound and fresh until required. If sown much too jarly this is not the case. The shaws drop off and the bulbs become dry and woody, especially if the autumn proves to be dry and windy. "Manager" will be safe in sowing not earlier than the Ist of December, or not later than, say, the 20th of January, according to circumstances. One advantage in sowing in good time is- that it allows a margin of time for second sowing in the event of the fly taking the first. With regard to the kind to sow, I may say that in southern latitudes it is advisable to keep to the hard, yellowfleshed sortg for, winter feeding, as these stand the frost and enow bettei than the softer kinds. These are the green-top yellow Aberdeen, purple-top yellow Aberdeen, and the Fosterton hybrid. The principal kinds of white-fle3hed and softer- turnips are the Devonshire greystone, Imperial, green globe, Lincolnshire red. white stone, purple-top mammoth, and all-the-year-round. Of these, I find the first two mentioned to be the most satisfactory. The purple- top mammoth often attains great' size, but has no substance, and is a very bad keeper. In the Haivke's Bay climate it is, I should think, not always necessary to grow the .hardest turnip even for winter use. and if "Manager" wants them for hoggets I think he will find the greystone or green globe quite hardy enough and much better for the tender teeth of the young sheep in. 'the early springtime. When the winter has been mild I have had these white turnips keep sound and good well into September, and I suppose the most rigorous winter in Hawke's Bay would not be more severe on roote than what we call a very mild winter.

All naturally fertile soils contain a certain

A Few Pointers about Caltlratioa.

in the ashea of plants. Of every 100 tons of produce taken from the soil, 94 tons are said to be derived from th» atmosphere, from water, and from organic matter, and about six tons from the mineral constituents of the soil. From this it is easily seen that the organic matter can soon be used up or reduced below the necessary quantity by injudicious cropping without manure. The mineral substances cannot be so soon exhausted, as they are not liberated or made soluble faster than thej can be taken tip by the growing plants, especially if ieep ploughing is adopted occasionally to bring up a fresh supply from below. The amount of natural fertility varies in exact proportion to the amount of essential mineral substances made available as plant food, and is also dependent jw»on a suitable proportion, of organic matter being present in the soil, and upon the' practive of good cultivation — that is, proper -mechanical treatment of the aoil. Good farming, therefore, consists in the maintenance of a sufficiency if organic matter, proper tillage, < intelligent cropping", and keeping a growing crop in full possession ofthe soil, so that it is nob robbed by useless weeds.

The editor lias sent me, for notice, a copy

FastearislHf and Sterilising.

of a pamphlet upon Pasteurisation and Milk Preservation, ' and a few ideas therefrom may be of interest to some readers of the Witness. It is written and published by J. H. Monrad, of the State of Illinois, who has previously published an account of M. Pasteur's and Dr Babcock r s researches. Mr Monrad, of the State of Illinois, who has a healthy cow fed on pure food, is absolutely pure and sterile — that is^ if it could be kept secure from the admission of air in a sealed bottle it would remain sweet and good — if not for ever — at all events, for a very long time. In practice, of course, it_ is impossible to keep it free from, contact with the air, and thus thousands of germs get to the milk from the air, the udder, and the hands and clothing of the milker. Even if the most careful precautions are taken and the utmost cleanliness observed in regard to byres, cows, the utensils, and the milker, there remains then the favourable breedingplace for bacteria— namely, the end of the milk duct in the teat? of the cow, where they find a favourable temperature for hatcEing, and obtain nourishment frond the few drops of milk which hang in Jie teat-mouth from the previous milking. The writer says, however, that it must not be supposed that all the bacteria that ge'b into milk are undesirable—some of them do ao harm, and some of them are useful, not only in the manufacture of oheese and butter, but also in aiding us to digest the milk. It is on this account that physicians diffei as to the lesirability of giving' infants pasteurised, or sterilised milk. ,^| gome oj the readei'* o.f

amount of organic matter and an indeterminable quantity of each "of the mineral fcuosta-nces which are found

these notes may not be very clear as to the difference between pasteurising and sterilising, I am explain that by pasteurising is meant heating njilk to a temperature of about 155deg Fahr, and keeping it at that for 20 or 30 minutes — in fact, what is usually termed "scalding. ' This amount of heat is said to destroy most of the bacteria, but in order to kill all of them it is necessary to boil the milk, and even heating it to 212deg does not destroy some of the more tenacious. The word sterilising properly means, of course, rendering the milk sterile— that is, free from all germs and organic matter, but it appears that there is no necessity to sterilise, as it is proved that pasteurising kills the tubercle, the typhoid, and the cholera bacillus. It is important to bear in mind that after milk has been heated to 155deg or boiled, it should not be allowed to remain in a warjn place as the spores will the« hatch out and breed new bacteria ; it is necessary to at once cool it down to about 50deg Fahr.. at which temperature it will keep sweet and good foi some time. The greater part of the treatise under notice consists of illustrations and explanations of the modern appliances for pasteurising milk and is of little interest to any save those who go in for supplying large towns with pure and wholesome milk. AGRICOLA.