NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2883, 23 June 1909, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Pedigree 'a a record of an animal's ancestors, and! by studying the Th« Value of pedigree of a horse or sheep I'edifre*. one learns that for many generations its siree and dams have been of high quality. For this reason a pedigree animal is more to be desired and is of greater value for breeding than one whose ancestors are not known. Breeders of purebred stock -in England and Scotland are very particular about this, and we all know of the success they have achieved, and how stud and flock owners in New Zealand are continually importing animals having a ficcd pedigree from successful breeders m (jrear Britain. If a particular ©train of breeding meets one'© ideals it is 'better to obtain as much" of that blood as possible, and then continue along the same line. If pedigree is not of value why have the world a best breeders practised line-breeding for ,so many years? They value ;t; t highly because animals whose sires and dams are of a certain type will produce "stock with the same desirabi& characteristics. . Although registered, several individual animals may have a short pedigree, their ancestors being practically unknown, and if showing undesirable characteristics the same will be in evidence among the progeny sooner or later. Although there are exceptions to all laws of breeding, to be reasonably sure of the best results one should know that the animals purchased have high-class ancestors. Pedigree is not to be valued higher than individual merit, but, as a rule, sheep, for instance, which combine the two, will give the' best possible results: and t« ensure that our lambs will be uniformly true totype we must pay close attention to the blood represented in our breeding flocks.

The harness horee^ — by which is meant the trap horse — that has to -The Httrneu earn his keep and a little 4 Horse more -by taking hia owner •on the Farm, from place to place is by no means done with yet, nor, as far as one can see, is he likely to be for some time to come. There are, it is true, a. good many farmers and others in the country who haye 1 foought motor oars, and with this modern and comfortable mode of locomotion are naturally loath to go back again to horse and trap. Still it is a pleasure to sit behind a free-moving horse that goes well up to his bit, and •fche enjoyment is considerably enhanced if one is holding the reins, and is not likely to be entirely forgotten by the advent of motor cars. A motor car is, however, a

wonderful time-saver -when one is in a hurry, and a comfortable mode of conveyance as well ; but there eeems to be no reason why motors and harness horses should not ■be used conjointly in the country districts. This is a fact which is generally recognised,

and it is therefore quite- likely that harness horses 'will be wanted' and used on the farm and station for years to come. A difficulty, however, will -always be to get

rid of the indifferent and middling horses, for which there is sure to 'be a growing

shrinkage of demand. In the larger towns of tihe Old Country taxicabs — partly on account of the studied incivility of the drivers of horse cabs^ — are likely to become more and more numerous, and motor omni-

foAes are apparently on the increase, but

while this change is taking place in the . towns of. Great Britain the demand for good harness horses in New Zealand is likely to be keen, and fair prices should be obtained for •fine right sort of horse suitable for gig ox buggy [for some years to come, or until flying machines are perfected.

In judging sheep from the breeder's standpoint one thins; above all Judging others to be looked for is Sfaeap. the genera] appearance, style, and character of the animal. We have the different breeds, and •each breed has some particular individuality about it to distinguish :t: t from other breeds. Breeders of sheep should always ■be sticklers for trueness to type, and rightly bo, the fleece of the animal being also an important point of distinction, the fibre of the Leicester, Lincoln, Romney, and merino being peculiar to these respective breeds. When judging any -one breed of sheep the breed characteristics jinusfc be ©awfully studied, and the type and character of the wool are an important consideration- in this respect, eueli as evenness, length, density, quality, lustre, and appearance; but besides these there the oharacteriatio differences in the wool of the various breeds which ehouJd be fully understood. In reference to character in breeding sheep, we always look for a stronsr masculine appearance and an erect bold oarriaire in the male, the bone in his leers heirw large., of good texture and qualifcv. In the female should be found a finer ar*fl milder appearance about the head 1 and

neck, with lees bold and erect appearance. In purepred sheep form and constitution, is always o£ the greatest importance in our i - breeding animals. When, judging sheep it ] is neceetary absolutely to have some method • in going about the work.. In the first place, if possible, take a view of the animai from A. distance to form an estimate of his or her form as a whole", and this plan always saves time in judging a large class. "When examining sheep one's hands should get down below the wool with a firm pressure. By keeping the hand* somewhat fiat a truer estimate will be arrived at of the covering. Remember, that by following some definite system and by careful selection and comparison, greater ease will ba . experienced in choosing between close rivals. One should never be over-influenced by prime condition in judging purebred sheep, because overfeeding, like fresh paint on an old house, may hide a multitude of defects. The entomologist of the Agricultural j ■ College, Colorado, gives winter some useful information Treatment with reference to the treatf "> r Aia««can ment of blights on fruit Blight. t reas during the winter time, and' goes on to say that during the eady months of winter very many of the young of the- woolly aphis, instead of locating upon the trunks or .branches of the apple tree, descend to the base of the trunk La search of some place of protection against the cold of winter. If there are openings in the ground about the crown of the tree they will enter a .n<3 work their way to the roots if possible. If they do not succeed in getting upon the roots it is sufficient for them to find protection from the cold, and when the warmer days of spring come they ascend again to the branches, where they nndu a suitable place to insert their beaks and extract the ,sap upon which they feed The partially-grown or fully-grown lice' with cottony-covered bodies, are the ones that irwgrate downwards in winter. When the louse has once inserted its beak and begun to suck the sap of the tree it seldom changes its location unless disturbed The lice that migrate down the tree to spend the winter in protected' places are very small dark brown or siaty-coloured objects without any of the cottony secretion upon them, so that the orchardist is not likely to suspect them of being the woolly aphis. -Uiese little lice can enter a very small actively die their way through the soil if 111' 411 & '^ Much can be done to prevent these enemies of the apple-grower from getting upon the roots of the tres ?Lf mM 5 8r «.'? le Soil to the trunks of the trees and then throwing a little loose has been picked and the leaves are off. the fc^L ShoUld sprayed with a kerosene emulsion, a good quality of fishoil soap or some kind of tobacco decoctin. if jt a not convenient to do the spraying or waalung m July it can be doneearly I*e1 *c spnnjr before the buos begin to open If a kerosene emulsion is used the oil tAouJd constitute fully ofte-fifteenth of the mixture. A rood fieh-oil or whale-oil **P may be used in the proport on of . pound to 6gal of water. If J tobacco decoc be ustiT \ P ? UDd Of tobac °o *I™W be used for each 4gal of water. When be thoiouffh ,n painting or spraying the rouni ttht ? ray€d nf° r at ]eas * 3ft or 4ft round the stems. One great advantage in trsafmg the tree* while they are dopant Zi£fijr y £\° f *** CTli if-'^t 011 1™ PJ) «""'^ of the lice w£ A vi u V th ° «, that when they hatch out in the spring th*>v will in^checl-. ter ChanCS ° f ke^ pinff tb « '^ AGRICOLA.

ANSWERS TC CORRESPOXDFA'TS < i JL nS^ er to °° rres Ponae E ts in the issue of loth inst an error unfortunately crept TfcL* m PI^ to W* sti °™ from W. T by To) TK^T. 0084 f COncrete floOr < 2 * v * o'-—Thrce0 '-— Three hags of cement are usually allowed P« eubio yard of gravel or screen ings, and for 27 cubic yards 81 bags of cement axe required, at 5s 4d p-r bar eq-ual to £13 10s. This was allowing tho concrete to be 9in thick, which is a liberal ground before laying the concrete possibly ™,1 cement would be sufficient! o~t ¥"* rr d l^ th€ cost of fJie "*in cementing to £9, as 18 cubic yards would f°« " Sl F* 5* bags of oement. If clean sand is obtainable for plasterinjr. cement can bo saved b- usmjr tb« proportion of 2 of sand to lof oemenfc for surface smoothing. A pood plan recommendefl ie to du<;t a lfttl« dry cement on the surface as th« work proceeds, and while the plaster is still wet lightly trowel ifc over.— Agricola.

Thoro is some spurious coin in circulation in Wellington. A local hotelkeeper bewailed the discovery in his cash register of a "eovereigm" made of lead. It is a first-class imitation.

Storrie's Ridger is the only one with patent hillside attachment and facilities for packiopr drills where the land is dry. — Nimmo and Blair.