NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

Otago Witness, Issue 2630, 10 August 1904, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

! It is important to know what constitutes an accident in these days of What is an • frequent claims under the .Accident? - provisions of the Workman's Compensation Act. . Generally^ speaking, an accident is taken to mean any unintentional and unexpected occurrence which causes injury to a. workman ; but there are cases which are not so easily classified, as, for example, when a man with a constitutionally weak heart strains it seriously by over-exertion in any_ way and thus is either temporarily or permanently unfitted for earning his livelihood. If a claim, is made x or compensation in such a case the onuc ?f proof lies on the man to show that his injury was caused by over-exertion, and, I suppose, th& employer would have tc .prove that the man bad" a weak heart. The British act is much the same as ours, and a liberal inteifpretation of an accident has been laid down by the British House of Lords, — namely, that the word "accident" is used in the act in the popular and ordinary , sonse of the word, as denoting an unlookedfor mishap, or an untoward event which is not expected or designed. - The courts here have shown a tendency to construe the act in favour of the workmen, and seem to take "a pretty broad view of the circumstances which can 'be said to constitute an accident; and the same may be said of | the British courts, according tr reports of recent cases. A mill hand in a woollen factory had a pimple on his neck, which, by some means, got rubbed and caused the skin to break. There were, some bales of Persian wool in th© factory, and, as is well known, Eastern wcols often contain germs of .anthrax and other vile diseases. , At all events the man contracted anthrax, and was laid -up for a considerable time. He claimed compensation, bait the judge decided against him on. the grounds that a disease is not 'an accident. A similar case occurred in another Yorkshire mill, and a wool-sorter was seized with anthrax, presumably from the presence of Persian wool. In this case the judge decided in favour of the workman, thus reversing the decision of the judge in the other and similar case. Both cases were taken to the Court of Appeal, and both were decided in fa- I your of the claimants. Another case of recent importance is mentioned in English papers. A man was stocking wheat, and got a thistle prick in his thumb. In a few days it became painful and inflamed, and had to be amputated on account of tlie ; presence of blood-poisoning. As the fa»mer was insured, he loft the insurance company to defend the claim made by the man. The company filed z defence, but eventually abandoned it,- and confessed i judgment, thus establishing the fact that a ' thistle-prick is an accident in respect of which compensation is payable. Looking ! at such a case as this fiom a humanitarian point bl view, it must be admitted that it was very hard on the man to be laid up through the Harvest, and also to lose his thumb; but, all the same, it opens a very wide door through which claims can be made upon a fanner employing labour. The moral is, of course, that every farmer ' should insure against claims, and let the i insurance companies pay or fight as they j choose.

I have 'noticed a query in th© Veterinary Column of the Witness askSconring ing for a reason for scour CaKes. in calves, which have been fed on separated milk and oil cake. The reply was to the effect that the oake might be stale and fusty,

and thus cause thf. pernicious effect described. Oil cake, ood-hver oil, linseed, and \ arious other substances haA-e from time to time been recommended as a substitute for the butte-r fat and solids removed from pknn milk, but I have always found that whole whtat-rneal is as good as anything. I have roared a §ood many calves upon skim milk and ji little wheat-meal, and have rarely seen any signs of ecour^ ing. The meal is about the same cost as oil-oake, linseed, etc., and is prepared by pouring boiling watei upon it and allowing 1 it to stand for a few minutes before being stirred into the milk. Calves dropped in the autumn should get a little gcod sheaf chaff when they are old enough to nibble, grass being tcarc© about the time they 'begin to use- their teeth. j It seems only reasonable to think that =uch a question as this At What Age would have been finally deShonld Heifers eirled long ago, and that Breed.' all the i.rguments that could possibly be advanced would have been worn out and the mattei settled during the scores of years that cattle-breed-ing has been recognised as one of the important branches of farming. Nevertheless, the matter is still being "argued, and seems to \g> no nearer finality than it was a hundred years ago. Without ignoringthe truism that circumstances alter cases, i I cannot «cc that circxims-tanc-es can have much bearing- upon this matter. _ The main point at istue is whether it is advisable to allow a heifer to have her first calf when two years old, or whether her maternal duties should be deferred for another year. Oi course, the chief argument aga:nst the earlier age is that the strain upon her system tends to check her giowth and to result in her being of smaller sizs at maturity than would be if she dropped her first calf when three years of a-gf. On the other hand, it is held that eai-ly breeding ensures more regular and prolific ..breeding, and that the milking qualities are improved by coming into the rlairy at the- early age. If there is any diminution in size as a consequence — and I have vot found that there- is — there is a qcod offset in the fact that a year is gained m the heifer's life of usefulness. If it is true, as tho faying goes, that most of the breeding goes in sit the mouth, any ill effects urjon the development of the heifer by early brooding can be counterbalanced by good feeding. It appears that pedigreo breeders, showyard exhibitors, and those who go in for fashionable and highly-reputed strains of purebred cattlp are nearly all in favour of three years as being the best age at which a heifer should drop her first >alf; while breeders of the Jerseys and other l>Kcds of milking- strains are quite satisfied that it is the test policy to let the young f-emales take the bull a.s soon as they hjive an inclination to do so. I suppose it will always bo the case that those who bteed for exhibition,, for pedigree sales, or to indulge a fancy for fashion's sake will adhere to the belief that three years is young enough, while those who breed for utility and direct profit cannot afford to feed a heifer an extra year before getting any direct return. It must not bo forgotten, however, that it often happens that if a hc-ifer is well fed and inclined to be beefy and not allowed t.-> breed when first she has a desire in that direction, she will not breed when her owner thinks the right time has arrived, and in the end has to gt to the butcher. AGBICOLA.