NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2664, 5 April 1905, Page 8

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

According to experts, the potato disease is travelling over the fa-oe of The Potato the country almost as fast Disease. as the Liand Commission. There have been many theories advanced as to the cause of its sudden appearance ; but it is all pure guesswork, and nobody can tell much about it. It is possible that this disease has been sent to prevent farmers from getting too nmeh puffed up with the prosperity that is supposed to be prevailing among us. I do rot suppose there has ever been a time in the history of the colony when all things have worked together for our good to the extent that we are nowv experiencing. Wool and sheep at boom prices, wheat ana oats at a paying figure,' -a good la-nib-ivs and a growthy season for all kinds ot feed As all these mercies are certainly n-ore than we deserve, it is only reasonable that we should look for a "fly in the ointment," and here it is in the shape of a take-all blight in the potatoes. I see that the potato crop is reported to be poor in Victoria, but the reason is not stated. It is quite certain that sound potatoes ars ofcine to be very scarce here, and consequently very dear. The area planted with potatoes is usually about 35.000 acres, which, at an average, generally produces more than we require for our own consumption - but this year there will be none tor export, and not enough for our own requirements.

The editor has forwarded me a long letter from ' "L. M. V., GlenThe Babbit orchy, in which he refers Pest. to a letter appearing m the Witness of February 1 tW<? rear. The letter was headed, 'Tne Sbft P^t in Australia" and was written w Mr Wm. Rodier, of Tamjma Station, Cobar, New South Wales. . In that letter Mr Rodier outlines a practaoal scheme -for thl entire extermination of the rabbit pest in Australia and New Zealand. Shortly stated, his scheme consists .in extermination by means of an excessive nunrber of bucks/ His own station of Jambua consists of 64-.000 acres, and he states that ne has practically cleared it of rabbits by the Shod he advocates in his letter. His men fZ ; paid by the week, and their instructions are to liberate all tne bucks they catch t and ES all the does they cam. He has - evented tiaps for catching rabbits alive, and isss: srurtt^- -» vj exceed the females in numbers, they wiU kill ail the young ones that may be bom 1 hey will also persecute the does so that they will not oreed; and when the bucks largely exceed the females, they wiU worry the remaining ones to death." The does being thus disposed of, the bucks in due course die out, and thus extermination is the result Of course, the land nmst be securely fenced for the success of this plan. Ms Rorlier began to experiment about 16 years ago and I well remember seeing an article in the Australasian on his metb#d, anu wrote, a note in this column drawing attention to it. Mr Rodier is quite satisfied with the success of the plan in his own case, but is deeply concerned that other* will not adopt it; in fact, he complains that it is treated with ridicule on^ all hands. Attempts are now being made in New South Wales to arrange with the Pastsur Institute, of Paris, to initiate a scheme of ■wholesale destruction' by introducing a fatal disease among the rabbits.. Mr Rodier 'thinks it is both unnecessary and^ criminal to import any such infectious disease, as no one can tell how far-reaching its^resnlts n.ay be. "L. M. V.," of Glenorehy, says he read Mr Rodier's letter with interest, and has been hoping to see some reference to it in the Witness. He agrees with Mr Rodier that it is dangerous to tamper with infectious diseases, and thinks his plan should be tried in this colony. He thinks it shows downright common sense, but admits that there are not the same facilities here for catching rabbits all alive. H» says that trappera who know what they are about are not so foolish as to kill all the docs ; they want some breeders for another season's trapping. Mr Rodier'a method is in accordance with laws of Nature, and we all know what tb^e result "would soon be if we- left all our ram lambs unoastrated and allowed the" whole flock to run together. Mobs of wild cattle dlo not increase much, because of their being too many bulls. The herds of deer are aware of the necessity of turning a number of bucks away from Jierd every year. My advice to "L. M. V." is to start on his own account and follow in Mr Rodier's footsteps, despit© all the ridicule that may greet hfs attempts. "Let him laugh who wins" is a wise and good saying, and if Mr Rodier has cleared his own run he can well afford to smile complacently at the folly of those who will not try his plan.

X bave received a copy of the Transvaal [ Agrio.iltural Journal, which : Agrlcultu'ft ia published quarterly in ' ' in the Pretoria. It is a well-printed ffransraoL volume of 250 pages, and though much of the matter treated is quit© foreign to otB" requirements, owing to the differonce in latitude, yet there is a good deal of interesting information as well:- Th© Governmenb agricultural chemist writes a description of the Wonderfontein Oavea, whicg contain wonderful limestone formations in the shape of stalactites. The chemist, however, visited tho caves for Iho purpose of ascertaining

' particulars regarding the deposits of hat' gusno therein. He says that the high freights to the Transvaal make imported fertilisers become very costly to the farmers, and that it is, therefore, very deehable that the natural manurial products should be utilised as much as possible. He says that the soils of the. Transvaal appear, as a rule, to bs deficient in lime, phos- ! phates, and nitrogen. As limestone is ' plentiful, a supply of lime, he says, could readily be obtained, but deposits containing phosphates and nitrogen are very scarce. It is true that the recent war has caused the bones of thousands of horses to be left bleaching on the veldt, and if these could be converted into soluble manure- their value , would be considerable. i "Tke Revolution of the Plough ' is the title of an interesting description of the various 6teps by which the primitive wooden plough has been improved during the last 100 years. The market prices of produce in Pretoria and Johannesburg are pretty high, judging from quotations given in this Journal as ruling a few months ago. For example, wheat ranged from 18s to 25s 6d per bag; chaff, 5s 3d to 12s per bag; potatoes, frorii 10s to 32s per bag-; onions, same price.

Scab has been prevalent among the flocks of Great Britain for some Scab in considerable time, and there British has been much discussion Flocks. about the best way of get-

ting lid of t. For many I reasons it has not been thougnc advisable ! to legislate for the compulsory dipping of • all sheep as a cure and preventive of scab. ' I s«e t»y recent Home papers that the ' British Board of Agriculture has at last ; decided to take steps to stamp out the ' disease, and has issued an order making dipping compulsory within certain areas, and also preventing the removal of sheep from infected areas. When scab prevailed among the flocks of this colony in years gone by compulsory dipping was most vigorously enforced, and sheep farmers, being anxious to giet a clean certificate, did not endeavour to evade a law which was passed in their own interests. Scab was stamped out in die course of time, and it is to be hoped that it will never re-appear. It seems strange to us that compulsory dipping has not been generally enforced in England long ago, seeing that we have had a compulsory dipping law here for 6ome 10 or 12 years. Sheep farmers of good sense do not require any legislation to make | them dip their sheep ; they are well aware that it is to their own interest to keep their flocks clear of vermin of any kind. The law does not compel the dipping of merino sheep, but the owners are of opinion, for the most part, that it is an advantage | to the sheep, and sheep dips are becomingvery, common on the runs. s" The present sheep tax was put on 40 years ago, or more, to defray the expenses ©f enforcing the dipping law against scab, \ and although Ecab has disappeared the tax \ is still with jis, and .much of the revenue i derived from the sheep tax is expended . in many ways that are of no benefit whatever to sheep owners. A tax once imposed is very difficult to remove, and though eonrebod? has said that without the tax the Government would get more reliable statistics as to the number of sheep in the colony, I can scarcely think that the majority of sheep owners would make a false return of the number of she&p in their possession for the sake of saving a few shillings. AGRICOLA.