NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

The matter of the compulsory examination of stallions by Government Compulsory veterinary experts is rapidly nfwfrHi!?. 11 o° mi *B *<> *c front in of Stulllous. Australia, and it seems probable that ere long several of the States will insist on all stallions exhibited at horse parades and shows having to undergo an examination for soundness and be granted a certificate. From that to insisting that animals used as sires must also be certified to as free from hereditary uniound'ne<? 9 is but a short step. The system of inspection is in operation in Victoria, and has been found so valuable that rw-anjr wio we-re at &rst strongly opposed to it are now among ite most ardent advocates. At present the system is voluntary, and the Minister of Agriculture and the veterinary staff have done everything possible to make things go smoothly. The evidence gathered wiD prove highly interesting, and it will be surprising if it <V )e s not lead to more stringent measures being taken. We learn, for example, that out of 889 stallions inspected 684 were gTanted certificates and 205 were refused them. Stallions known by their owners to be unsound would not be presented for examination, as to do so would be to expose them to the risk of rejection. Ira the draught stallion class upwards of 32 per cent. weTe refused certificates—about 24 per cent, for unsound ness and over 20 per cent, for one form of hereditary disease, sidebone. If the- percentage of rejects wae so high among horses whose owners believed them to be sound, the question naturally arises. What about those whose owners had reason to believe their animals to be unsound? The value of inspection was shown in Victoria last year when a Government veterinarian refused to pass an imporrcd draught horse as sound. The expert was subjected to a great deal of odium from various quarters. He had detected in the animal symptoms of that insidious hereditary disease, sidebone, and stuck manfully f i? i KUrl3 - ln dxM3 course the history of the horse became known. It was found he had been pronounced to be affected with s;debone by competent experts in Great Britain, and, being barred from exhibition at country shows, had been shipped to Victoria. South Australian breeders are becoming unoasy over the question, as There is a possibility that unsound horses f • om Victoria may find their way into that. State on the off-chance that their known unsoundness would 1 escape detection ir. tbp sale ring. The South Australian Royal Agricultural Society is therefore urging trr Government to insist on stalliqns exhibited at country shows having to undergo examination, ac has been the rule for titae past three years at Adelaide. Farmers are being urged that in their own interests they should support the metropolitan tocietyV request, as it is only reasonable to suppose the country districts will be used as a ■dumping-ground for horses that could i.-ot pass the test of the Royal Society.

This question of conrpulscry examination

of stallions is of direct inXmt Zealand terest to the Dominion, as Interested. our breeders have hitherto

found an excellent market in Australia. Breeders in Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia have shown a partiality for our horses, and it may be well to consider whether something should not be done to maintain our reputation. It is just possible that if nothing is done by our agricultural and pastoral societies and the Government voluntarily the time may come when our horeea may not be allowed to enter the Australian States until they have undergone expert examination. Victoria lias already made a move, but it i» taken in quite a friendly spirit. Mr Swinburne, the Minister of

Agriculture, has intimated that his department would, as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made with the chief veterinarian officer of New Zealand, be prepared to admit New Zealand stallions holding a certificate of soundness from the New Zealand Department of Agriculture to Victoria without further examination. From this it may be assumed the time is not far distant when, no stallions from the Dominion will be admitted without such a certificate. Every breeder of stock will recognise that the matter ' has now reached a stage when action cannot be much longer deferred. The average farmer may believe that he is as well able to judge of the soundness of a stallion as any vet., but this confidence is altogether misplaced^ and the figures quoted as to what has been discovered in Victoria is striking testimony of how unsoundness may pass undetected until very serious loss has "resulted. When, inspection was first made compulsory in England no less than 33 per cent, of tie draught horses were found to be affiictedl with sidebone. Some forms of hereditary unsoundness do not declare themselves until a horse arrives at a certain age. To the outward eye the progeny may turn, out favourably, but as time goes on the mischief declares itself. It ie to be feared that many farmers- look more at the price which is asked for the service of a. stallion than at the matter of soundness. This is a short-sighted policy, but as the farmer appears unwilling to take steps to protect himself it may be necessary for the State to see that in the interests of all concerned no horse that ie unsound is used as a sire. Owners will protest against interference with their property, but this is a case in which the general good must be considered rather than, the interests of the few.

In fertile districts where the farmer has virgin coil to deal with we Farmyard are assured 1 no attention is Mannre. paid to the manure heap, that, in fact, such a thing is unknown. Where mixed farming is carried on. this is undoubtedly a shortsighted policy, and if the farmer intends to retain possession of his farm he will probably live to regret the mistake made. This by way of introducing an article on 1 "Farmyard Manure: Its Value as a Fertiliser " in the Journal of the English Board of Agriculture. The writer, Mr A. D- Hall, remarks: "In ordinary mixed farming, undoubtedly the best way of utilising farmyard manure is to apply it to the root crops, and especially to- mangolds and potatoes. Swedes require much less nltv> gen than do the other root crops ; they aitK> require a firm but fine tilth, and in consequence not more than 10 to 12 tons of dung should be given for swedes, and it should be applied in the autumn, in order that it may become well rotted before the spring cultivation begins. But for mangolds and potatoes up to 20 tons of dung per acre can be- profitably employed, and it can, if necessary, be applied before powing. Any surplus dung after the requirements of the- root crops have been satisfied! is probably best given to the young seeds in. the early winter, to act both as a f*rtilisei and as a mulch. The seeds benefit greatly, and at the same time much of the added fertility is retained for the ccrn crop that follow 3; manuring the yfung seeds is certainly preferable to manuring the old lea before it is ploughed up for ■wheat or oa-te. A certain amount of the farmyard manure made on the farm should, however, always be reserved for the meadow land, especially on light soils and on land comparatively newly laid down to trass. Of course, dung would be wasted on i : ch grazing land ; it is the thin soils t'l-at aie cut for hay or <rr-ass land that has rnly been laid down for a few years and has had l no time to accumulate a- stock of humus which are most benefited by an occasional dressing of farmyard manure, once W e\ery four or five years."