WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2738, 5 September 1906, Page 20

WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

One complete week of bright, warm sunshine no frost, no wind, The and everyone with a smilWeathtr. ing face — it goes without

saying that everyone connected with land is working at high pressure trying to make up for lest time. If this good weather lasts through September farm work will not be so very far behind. I notice with pleasure that the fine weather has also given c fillip to suburbanite, who are working with might and main digging up the waste and unsightly patches round their residences, «nd planting vegetables or ornamental shrubs ami fk>weis: it all depends of the grower '« taste. To some the homely cabbage and caidiflowers have fir more beauty than the most expensive bulbs. Ko long as they lultivate their curToundiags they arc doing a good work, both from an hygienic and a scenic point of view. When the drainage is imperfect the digging and turning over the soil, ailovring the air and sun to do their woik of destroying the -nany forms of microbe that infest even the mo3t cleanly -kept yard-°, is of incalculable value in the preservation of health. Most men when they take up a farm say they want to make a home for thenvelves. but by their actions how few appear to be doing so, more especially in the a£riculruEil and dairying districts. You niay travel for miles even in oidsettled districts without seeing any attempts made to beautify their so-called homes. Although many farmers have made money and have cleared theia holdings ?f debt, their chief object appears to be either to *ell at a big profit or else re-mortgage so as to gamble in land. This is not as it shoxdd be. Until our farmers settle down contentedly to *njoy their -well-earned competency there can be no real stability in the most' paramount industry of the country — the agiicultural and pastoral industry Wl>en every farm stands surrounded by plantations, orchards, and gardens, then one can say that the country is settled^ on a firm basis. It is disheartening to see the nnmbci of Chinamen travelling about thp agricultural areas selling -common vegetables, which the farmer can raise with very littlo trouble. The farmer's argument is that be cannot afford to spend any time on a garde.n, and it is cheaper to buy -what kittle vegetables they use than go to tlw trouble of growing them. This is true in many instances, as vegetable? are a rarity on many Xarmers' tables. At present potatoes may be considered as a luxury, to that from «n economic and health i oint of view vegetables should be produced more largely the farms.

I suppose tin's has V«n as good a lambing season as has ever been exLamb »traenoedi on the We&t Marking. Coast. No doubt, there are >till a large number of ewes to lamb yet in the nigh country, but before this appear.6 in print the bulk of the open country farms will be about finished. As £ "nave previously poinfed out, the open lands are more dependent on the weather conditions than the bush country, the latter having the advantage of shi-lter from the hush and hills, while the downs ha\e nothing better by way of bhelter than a wire fence. If thi3 fine wrather continues for another week many farmer? will be starting to mark thir lambs. Lamb marking cannot be considered a serious or intricate business; still we often pee it d'O'nc in a very -careless manner, with ♦he result that there is sometimes a fairly heavy percentage of deaths. The chief thing to consider in marking lambs is to have the operation performed in clean yards, and t< zet the lamns into the yards as quietly as possible oo that they are not. united or heated. On »mall farms i\hen tho flocks are rmall, and sometimes on fairly Jarge properties, the custom is to brii:s the lamb, into the wookhed yaids, which is generally situated at the homestead, and is irsed for <a,U manner of thing-:. <=nch as dagging and butchering. so tki't there js consequently an accumulation of filth about. Eton although the yards may le ck-anpd out there is always thp danger of the gerrrti of blood-poison-ing lurking in the soil or fences. So that it is always advisable to erect temporary yards in tlio corner of the field i\hcr? tho eives and lambs aio giazing The lambs can tlun be yarded without e\rr, lo«ing their uut ln-r-. Anyone who has had anything to <lo with lambs is aware that even with a mob of a few hundred, if th-ere fre several gatr<- to get through the lambs lose their mother- and get into such a state of excitement that it takes a great deal of tact ai.ci patience to do anything nith them, more c-peoa!)y on a bright. ;unny day, when tho lambs are in a playful mood. When in tho old day* one had to handle some thou-ande of ewos and lambs in one mob. I always selected a ferny or scrubby hill whereon to oroot lamb-marking yards. By <-o doing the lambs did not got into bunchc- and break away. In mo\ing ewes and iambs tif-vcr ho m a hurry. Start early, g.vo your-elf plenty of tuce. and do net round them up together until you rercli tlie gate. Tlien Ihe lambs knew that their mothers arc in tho vicinity, ard do not try to get to the other -end of the paddock to look for them. Another ad\antage rf electing temporary yard' is that th<" lamb« ha^c not to be mo\ed after being operated on. and thcie is. therefore, less chance of lambs losing their mothers. The job should be finished early in fhf afternoon bo as to gne tirre for e\e>y lamb to reach its rrc'tlier 'ipfciv daik. K\cn in tfte small paddock the careful -~liei>lierd will with tho flock and sco that they are all properly mothered before he leaves them. Wh^n tH^ flocks ;ie l?rg? and tiic i)s<sdcck r-'-.^ I . it 15 ftbeciu'*-* E.:cr='iTj- f> r.>- tho ow*< be headed back for an li<>ui or two, as there is alwajs a chance tint quite * nuiuber of larnb^ will nev<v find their raollu-r-., eeppoially tn'iu-. as tlio owe i--g*»neially sDtisf.ee! if thp pot- <">nr> lamb, ard cleais out ro the far end of the paddec-k. Ca-tratiiiii lambs ~ a very Mm pie ope.*tion. only. like many other jobs peitainiu.2 ta the sheep on the farm, it is often

done too hurriedly. -An adept at the Job seldom makes a mistake, but you will often see a new chum trying to be fast break the testicles. If such happens "there is every likelihood; of some of it being., leji in the -purse. Thi3 is very liable to cause inflammation, and perhaps . death. Tho Government veterinarie9 ♦recommend disinfecting, tho knife, either by immersing in boiling water or washing in some disinfectant. In all my long experience I have never had 1 a case of blood-poisoning, and seldom or never had any deaths. These could generally be traced to accident or rough treatment. Now and again, liowevef, &, big, strong, healthy lamb will die in a few minutes after being operated on. This I have always put down to shock to the system — perhaps through having a weak heart. The custom in New Zealand is to take the top of the purse (which, I believe, is the cleanest system, and not so liable to close quickly) and retain the pua. Some of the old breeders would have none of that, their contention being that it curtailed the cod, thereby spoiling the iook of the wether when fat. No doubt there is something in tha*; still, sheep buyers are too good judges to be had by a big cod or purse. A new system of taking the tails off is now largely in vogue on the W««t Coast. I beiieve it is -an oW. custom in some- parts of England. Instead of cutting the tail off with a knife a hot iron is used, and the tail is burned off. The iron is similar to a. branding-iron, only in thefonn of a short, thick ini£e. The advantage claimed ior this system is that the tails being seared in the act of severing, there is no loss of -blood. There may be something in the argument, but it upsets the ideas of us old fogies. The opinion, however, has always been that 'ambs are often benefited by bleeding. Many times I have seen good sheep managers mark their lambs earlier than usual if they were not doing well, their argument being that they would improve, directly after docking. There may be something in favour of *earingT, «s Z liave oft«n notices^ th«.t tt«r» were as many ewe lambs as wefhers died through tha operation.

Some time ago it was decided by the Romney Sheep Breeders' AssoWool ciation to apply for space ExliJb'.tf. for an exhibit of Romney wool at the forthcoming Exhibition at Christchurch. lam sorry to see that the project has been abandoned. The reason given by breeders being the trouble and expense of -sending a fleece or two of wool to Christchurch. I do not know exactly what! the cost of show-cases, etc., would 1 be, but it should not be a large sum, and surely if patriotism does not appeal to breeders their pockets should do so, as the benefits they would derive from such an advertisement would repay them handsomely. Poverty cannot be taken as the Romnew breeders' plea, as they have been having real good times of late years.

As the shearing season is again getting near, farmers are wondering Wool how prices are going to be Tallies. for the coming clip. One thing is certain : that the figures have never been stronger in the history of the trade. A computation, tabulated by Mr Frank Bennett, editor of the Wool and Cotton Trade Reporter, gives the sheep stock in the world as follows: —

1895. 1905. North America .. .. 51,223.983 46,799.939 South America .. .. 102,847,134 99,998.513 Europe, including Asiatia Kussia, .. .. 198,184,214 186,771,991 Asia, except China and Russia in Asia .. 21,951,752 19,043.711 Africa 31,800,052 27,452,722 Australasia and Tasmania 120,770,000 74,800.000 526,867,135 454,966,936 It will be seen from these figures that thero is no countiy in the world taken in block which has not suffered a decrease in its flocks, and from reports from all available sources there appears no likelihood of any increase, except it be Australia and Africa, and perhaps the Argentine. Seeing that the flocks of the -world have been reduced by some 72.000,000, and that the wool-consuming population is increasing, both by the birth rate and new countries adopting woollen clothing, it appears impossible there can be any slump in wool for some years to come, unless through some calamitous war. AXTIQUA OVES.