NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2499, 5 February 1902, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

At the time of \vritin?, reaping ha<! b«gim in Canterbury ard North Harvest Otago, Imt in Fouthorn disHlntfi. triots it will be a month or moro ere a fatr start 13 made. The excessive rams in December water-loggpci thp land, an»l prevented crops from making tbo usual mid-surcincr progress. Consequently tho ripening period will bo deferred, and there wiJl be ample timo to get th* 1 rocta hoed and thinned ero tho binder commences operations. Wheat can be cut c« the green iido with safeiv, but it is batter to allow oata to hefome fuilv ripe before cutting, e«pecially wher, as i = the case of many <vons this year, thoro is much leafy growth. The riper that heavy oats are cut the faster tho sheaves dry afto-r rain, and leading in can be done pooner without danger from heating in stack. It is to bo hoped that th" despatch of so many meu to the front will nut cause- a serious

shortage of harvest hands' for the ingathering of the crops. In many ways.a late harvest is a disadvantage -to the farmer, - but, on the othei hand, it enables the more northern crops to be harvested, and many men set free to come south in time for the later crops. I took a run up through Canterbury recently, and from what I could see from the train, I judged that it will not take long to stack the majority of the crops, is they are not nearly so 'bulky in straw as usual. I saw oats on the lighter lands under 2ft in height, though they appeared to be well-headed and likely to yield well in proportion to the straw. There seems to be a prospect of both oats and wheat bringing a fair price, but if such ie the case, it must be owing to a short supply for local consumption, seeing that wheat is still ruling at a low figure in London, and oats are practically barred from Australian markets. Th© prospect of large orders being received from South Africa may assist in hardening the value of the new crop of oats. Without that I do not see how the late prices can be maintained. Stack-building methods are "improving year by year, and it is now a rare thing to see grain-stacks built in such a way that the rain is taken into the stack instead of running off. I do not like to i-ee a stack built upon the ground, for, however dry the latter may be at the time, moisture will be drawn in later on, and the bottom course of sheaves will be damaged. It is safer tc put down a load of straw, or, if .straw is scarce, gorse or broom OS scrub will answer the purpose.

The sparrows and linnets are very busy in the early ripening grain TJi* Small crops, and seem to be as Birds. numerous and mischievous as ' ever in spite' of all the efforts to diminish their numbers. It cannot be denied, however, tl.at many farmers are careless about bird-poisoning during the winter when the birds are not so much in evidence, but these farmers are the first to complain when harvest approaches, and the feathered pest 3 commence operations upon the grain. I believe in the ibuying of eggs and the heads of young birds during the summer months, but the slaughter should bo maintained all the year round as much as possible. Every bird killed during the winter means one less to attack the grairT crops, and it means, also, that there will be so many eggs less to buy in the summer. If every farmer would lay poison at the right time, the result would be much more satisfactory than can bo expected from the efforts of one or two here and there in a district. Simultaneous and united action would have appreciable results, but I am aware that this doctrine has been preached many times before with little effect. There has been mention made recently of the necessity for legislation for the suppression of the small birds, but we have twice had laws passed in this connection without producing much progress towards the end desired. There was a Small Birds Nuisance Act passed in 1882, which, so far as I am aware, was a dead letter. That act was repealed in IE9I, and another one with tho same titlb appears in the statutes of- that year. This" act contains no compulsory clauses, and its provisions chiefly consist in giving local bodies power to apply a portion of their general funds to the destruction of small birds. They may apply whatever sum they may think fit, and in whatever manner they may think most expedient for attaining the object in view. Any council or road board may lay poisoned grain, seed, etc., upen public roads and reserves, provided the poison is not laid within 220 yds of an inhabited house, unless the owner, or occupier thereof, consents thereto. Borough councils and town boards may also make by-laws for carrying out the objects of this act. Every chief inspector and inspector of stock appointed under "The Sheep Act, 1890." shall be an inspector under this act, but here a question arises. When the Stock Act was passed in 1893, the Sheep Act was repealed, therefore, I suppose, tho seventh clause in the Bird Nuisance Act is null and void, if, indeed, the whole act is not rendered so by the omission to pass an amending clause in the latter when "The Stock Act 1893," was substituted for "The Sheen Act. 1890." The third clause in the Small Birds Act gives local bodies the power to strike a separate general rate, or a special rate for the purpose of raising money for the destruction of small birds, provided auch separate or special rate does not exceed one=i\teenth of a penny in the pound of the rateable capital value. At that rate, land valued at £16 per acre would pay Id per acre as bird tax ; at £8, id per acre ; at £4, id per aero. I do not know of any case of a local body striking a special rate under this act, but it would, possibly, be better if the money required was 6o raised, as all farmers would then .realise more forcibly than some do now that ..he birds cost them both grain and cash, and that would perhaps induce them to take more energetic measures at poisoning time. Unfortunately, the birds do not always take the poison laid for them, or, if they do. it does not seem to be fatal. Opinions differ considerably upon this point, and cne farmer says he finds numbers of dead birds, while another givee quite a different report. Ihe matter would be much nimplified if we coulct pet a df-adly poison that the birds would take readily.

The editor has kindly forwarded tne the annual report of Mr GilThe Veterinary ruth, M R.C.V.S.. chief of Report. the veterinary division of the Department of Agriculture. There is a lot of useful information contained therein, and a copy af it should be in the hand« of all dairymen and stockowners An account is Riven of the latebt outbreak of anthrax, and it is stated that this disease is traceable to the use of "greenbone" manure. A description is also given of the investigations in connection with the rnees of swine fever in the Mataura district, ar.d of the steps taken to destroy infection. Tuberculosis is very fully dealt with, and it is satisfactory to note that the methods adopt. f*i in convection with the detection of this disease appear to be such as to reduce the risk of erroneous re^iits to a minimum. Mr Gilruth believes in the test being made in the mofit thorough manner, and is not satisfied with raerplv taking the temperature of a beast at the timo of inoculation, and only onco afterwairis, as he thinks such a p4ncticr- is pretty certain to lead to misleading re-uite. He* thinks, t^o, that great care should be exercised in examining animals before inoculation in order to ascertain.

NlMi""' ar.J TCt./.t?.'** E^iJ-ts r.f Art.f.cin! Manure* Ice ro»i cro"?, erase lands, pram, potctct-s, etc., era very ey*<ss'va, aid having erected oxvtn«ivo rjac'fi.nery f° r treating them, splendid results may ba expected.

with as much accuracy as possible, that there is no systematic disturbance A any kind that might induce occasional \ariations" of -temperature. There is no doubt but that much of tht opposition to the tuberculin jtest has been caused bj the perfunctory and . careless manner in which it has been conducted, no attention being paid to the condition of the animal, which may be such as to cause the temperature to rise without being due to r diseased condition. Mr iWilkie also refers to the folly of expecting tuberculin to give infallible results under all circumstances. He says the use of "tuberculin requires not merely ability to read a thermometei, but, also, a great amount of discretion and an intimate acquaintance with cattle in both health and disease. Mr Gilruth reports that 25,690 cattle were examined at the foui chief freezing works last year, and that 670 were condemned as being tuberculous, an average of 2.73 per cent. A half-starved and stunted calf will never make a profitable cow or Rearing bullock, and it is better tv - the Culf. knock a calf on the head - at birih than tv begrudge it sufficient milk to keep it in a growing and thriving condition. We should be able to rear better calves nowadays, seeing that dairy farmers get plenty of fresh skim milk back from the- factory, whereas in former times the skim milk was usually sour by the .-time it had been long enough in the pans .for the cream to rise in hot weather. The • separated milk is so deficient in nourishing ingredients that it is advisable to add lineeed or oat meal to give bone and substance to the calf until it is able to -nibble grass, aftei which time it only requires milk as a drink, and in due course takes to water-drinking. The future of the dairying industry really depend" upon the breeding and rearing of good heifer tahe=, and the folly of stinting the young cues that are to bring in the monthly cheque by-and-bye must be apparent to every sensible man. •Where dairying is carried on all the year round, calves, are coming at all seasons, and autumn and winter calves require much more care tha« those dropped in the early Bummer, A'hieh have warm weather at the ]tart, and are pretty strong nnd hardy by the winter. Late calves require housing and more liberal feeding, and should be provided with an early bit of green food in the spring. I was reading, the other day, a description of the manner in which an English farmer rears his calves. He reekcus it costs -him 2s per week to keep a calf properly, and works it out as follows. He give* it its mother's milk the first week, e>_. second week three . quarts new and three ," quarts.-skim milk per day, third and fourth week two quarts new and six quarts skim milk per day. At the end of the first month he stops the new milk altogether, and uses the following: — Three pounds of lineeed, with lib of flour or bean meal, boiled together with sufficient water to make sgal ; to this add sgal of skim' milk, and the whole is sufficient for five calves per day. He values his skim milk at 2d per gallon, which 13 much in excess of what it is worth to us, but as he is a large seller of new milk at 4d per quart, I suppose the skim milk is worth the price he puts upon it. I am sure very few colonial dairy farmers reckon their calves cost them 2.s per week tor several months, but I have no doubt that there would be more profit, in the long run, to them if they spent a little more- in this direction. "fh© Australian Meat Trades' Journal, a small paper, published in A Warning Sydney, contains a stronglylo Australian worded article upon the Farmers. down-trodden condition of the Australian farmers and stockowners. They are told that they must organise and turn out the gang of professional politicians who have too long ruled the roost and caused overgove^nment, extravagance, and corruption, the evil results of which all fall upon the farmers. « ho have too long stood the prc/cnt state of affairs. It is pointed out that the railwayrates on produce is too high, because the railways do not pay as they should, on account of the Government stroke prevailing among the servants, who, having vote 3, seem to think they can do as they like. The writer of the article thinks that civil ser- ' V&xts should not have votes, as the work of the State suffers in consequence. It is asserted that the farmers have to pay high freights because of protection, which preventi the steamers from getting full cargoes when returning from the United Kingdom. The farmer is unable to get sufficient competent labour because the Government has fixed a high minimum wage in the towns in order to buy up the votes necessary to keep professional politicians in power. Australian farmers are told that their only hope is to combine anil oifuuuse as New Zea-

land farmers are doing, and their platform should be economy, large reduction in number of members of Parliament, a property vote, no vote foi Government servants, and cheap railway rates. This is pretty strong, jmd, if true, it is time the farmers of Australia took steps to effect some improvement in their condition. I was under the impression that things pertainine to agriculture were more satisfactory over the water than here, but it is a fact that there in room for impro\ement in that respect in all parts of the British dominions. AGRICOLA.