SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2690, 4 October 1905, Page 8

SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

fFsoii OtTR Own Corbrspowbkwt.) During the past 10 days there have been frequent cold winds ancl Tne Weather light showers of rain, and nad in addition a snowfall octlie Farm. curred on the night of the 28fch ult., remaining 1 on the ground during the forenoon of the following day. The rainfall (l.£Bin) has been moderate, however, for there were few rainy days during the first three weeks of the month. During that period rapid progress was made with the farm work, and the bulk of the oat seed was sown. A few delayed operations, and others had to wait till small areas under turnips were ready, so that there is a comparatively small area to be sown yet. Here and there one can already fee tho green braird in some paddocks. The sowing was not commenced on most farms as early as usual, j but notwithstanding the greater portion of j the sowed land has been put out of hand j earlier than usual, owing to the fineness I of the weather and the reduced acreage to be dealt with. It is satisfactory to report that a considerable number of farmers sow only double-dressed seed oats — oats from which about 10 per cent, of small ! and light grains have been removed in ' addition to the 8 or 10 per cent, taken out at the time the gxam was threshed. Of such seed, about 2j, bushels per acre is sown with the drill, and from 2| bushels to 3i bushels by means of broadcast seedsowers. The main crop of potatoes will be planted during October. It is not likely there will be a large increase in the acreage, as the seed is dear, and there is too much manual labour in connection with their production. Potash manures are the most valuable of the artificials for this crop, but they are much inferior to farmyard manure. Carrot seed may be sown at the same time as potatoes are planted, but the crop is seldom good on the clay loams, and swedes, being 1 more cheaply produced, j take their place for feeding horses. A great deal of land was> ploughed for turnips during the winter, and at the present time ploughing land to be laid down to grass in about a month's time is engaging tl.e attention of farmers. A large area will be laid down without a crop, and there will be no diminution of the considerable acreage under turnips, during the last year or two. New pasture is goad at the present time, but the herbage in paddocks laid down icoie than throe years ago is scanty. The turnips are hardly finished in many places, and it is an -advantage to have these roots up to the middle of October.

Lambing became general during the latter half of tho month, and alThe * though the weather was Flocks. showery and cold, there were few deaths, except .during one or two days. Tlhe ewes have been doing well on turnips, and it is better to "have a few deaths among the ewes than to have the flock in such low condition that -fihey are not fit to rear lambs satis< factorily during the time that there is a shortage of pasture after the turnips are finished. There have been a fe-w cases of ante-partum paralysis in ewes, but only in flocks that were not driven off the turnip paddocks in the evenings. .It was found that the mortality ceased even among e.wes in high condition a few days after they were removed to a bare paddock and allowed to feed on the turnips thereafter during the daytime only.

la the last note I mentioned ante-partum paralysis in ewes. The Veterinary. nature of this ailment and " its causes and treatment should now ,be well understood by all who have read the Agricultural Department's leaflet on the subject; but judging from inquiries appearing in the newspapers some sheep owners have been too busy to read anything on the subject, or were not interested as long as there were no cases in their own flocks. The nature of the ailirent and the remedy have been well understood in other countries before our veterinary" surgeons bad a chance of ascertaining the cause of the diseased condition iv this country, as one can prove by reference to such standard works as those by 1 Williams on "Veterinary Medicine" and I Steel on "Diseases of the Sheep." The "former says in the work mentioned (eightn edition, p. 13) that in Britain fatty degeneration of tho liver and anaemia are commonly met with in sheep too exclusively fed on turnips. "During good seasons, when the turnips are firm, well grown, and healthy, they tend to overload the system with saccharine matter, and to induce a ,cle°-eneratnc- change in the liver, which lenders it of a palish yellow colour, friable, and incapable of performing its functions. This condition may be associated with fatness; indeed, sheep so affected begin to die when almost fit for the butcher, aixl the best plan, when they thus begin to fall off, h to make the reir-aindei of the flock so fed into mutton as soon as possible." Thus it appears that shoe!? other thai! pregnant ewes may die from fatty degeneration of tho liver. And, as a matter of fact, most farmers ha^e occasionally found apparently healthy fat sheep j dead, although perhaps the cause of death was not apparent to everyone. Steel, writing in" 1890 in the work mentioned above, gays that "acute yellow atrophy of the liver occurs amongst highly bred sheep, especially pregnant ewes, uhen highly fed on cakes and Swedish turnips for some time. . . . Animals in this stage arc verging on disease, and should have their diet lowered gradually, and tho system reduced by cathartics. Death occurred in 16 to 20 "hours, and if the animals remained alive longer they ustxally recovered." One of the most suitable cathartics; on account of its action on the liver, is sodium sul- | phate (Glauber's salt). The dose for sheep 1 is from 2oz to 4oz. It is dissolved in half a pint of warm water and administered I once a day for two days. As this salt 1 costs Sd an ounce, it would be expensive,

and the old rule that prevention is better than euro applies in this' disease as well as in others.