NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 14

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

The harvest is so late this .year that a great many of the crops are still in the field, and will not he safely etooked for pome time to oome, Tiio eeason lias been a wretched one in many ways. All the crops have suffered from prolonged rain and frost, a low range of temperature and want of ripening sunshine. The causes have operated in

Farm Work for April.

preventing stock from fattening, and the grass, although plentiful, has not been nutritious, and after some weeks of sunshine ia only now beginning to respond. This is manifested in the difficulty experienced up till now in securing either lambs or sheep for freezing. Few of them are prime enough yet for the works. Crops will be so late this year that threshing will run into winter, and careful thatching is therefore necessary to avoid the loss entailed by wetheaded stacks. Cultivation of the stubble cannot proceed till the fields are clear, but no intermission of farm work is permissible. Every crop must be sown in season. As soon as tho old year's work is out of hand the new crop demands the farmer's attention. Frequently tho work of one sca-on overlaps that of tho next. There arc none of the stubbles so clean that thev will not be benefited by scorifying and harrowing in order to spring all tho weed seeds before they are turned over with the plough. When the weeds have shot through (he ground, but not till then, land intended for spring beans, early peas, carrots, and mangolds may get its quota of farmyard manure spread over it L.fore it is ploughed for the winter. Tho final ploughing should be deep, and the surface left comparatively rough. Full use should be made as a help in aid of the winter's frost. If heavy enough, it purifies and pulverises the soil in a manner no cultivation can do, and a hard winter's frest is a perfect God-send to the farmer. Seasonable sowings are wheat, oats, barley, vetches, winter beans, and late grass steels, which may be all sown this month. Rye grain may aJso bo put in if desired. "Winter oats with a good exposure are to be recommended, especially in late districts. If they are well established before rough weather comes on, they grow stiffen- straw, which stands up better when filled with a heavy head, and matures earlier than tho later-sown grain. Winter beans may be sown in April on any stubble that has been prepared by ploughing and manuring to receive them, and another sowing of oats and vetches may be made for spring folding. Potatoes.—-Early varieties arc already dug up. but some of the main crop will be dug this month. Digging should begin when the hauma wither, and care should be taken to avoid using the tops to cover either bags or loose potatoes. One never knows whether they may have been touched with the blight, and it is easily transferable by contact. Summer fallows are made use of by some farmers, but a fallowing crop serves the same purpose, and may be made to contribute its share to the farmer's income. Tho ground also is far better continuously occupied with some c:op, which will make use of, store up, and return to the ground the nitrogen which is steadily being liberated in all cultivated soil by various agencies. In a wet summer also the nitrates are washed out by excessive rains, and the soil impoverished to that extent. Sheep-dipping is vital to the health of.the flock, and should not be neglected. If sheep have enough wool to hold the dip there is no object in waiting any longer; and this necessary operation should be performed before the rams get to work and the ewes are settled on their lambing country. Mating the Flock.—The exact date for letting the rams away varies witli the spring in different districts. Locally the (list week of April is usually the selected time. There is no object ijn "having the lambs arriving before there is ample fooel for their mothers. Unless special prevision has been made for the purpose it is bad policy to have tho lambs too early. A fresh', clean pasture should be provided for the ewes before mating them, so as to have them in a thriving condition when impregnated. Nature demands a thriving condition during the five months from conception to birth date, and any departure from that condition set 6 up lambing troubles, which are difficult to account far later on. Other Stock.—The season is approaching when all tho other stock of the farm will demand tare and attention, or they are likely to go back in comlition before being put on turnips. Dairy cows are particularly susceptible to cold weather, but respond freely to shelter, clothing, and improved feeding, and from the standpoint of an investment such expenditure pays a handsome dividend. IJcokkeeping.— April is a specially good month to begin some system of bookkeeping ?rom which tho finuncial position may be determined at. any time. As a rule, the simpler the entries are the better chance there is of their being picked up. But great security and personal relief from doubt is seemed by jotting down daily in a rough diary all the transactions of the day, and if these are posted up under their separate headings in a ledger it is always possible to arrive at any information needed. Vetches.— The vetch is a staple food for horses during summer, maintaining a condition which is equal at least, and often superior to that maintained by a heavy grain ration, and at a smaller cost. Vetches arc also admirable for pigs, cattle, and eheep, especially when the latter are folded on them. But. a successful vetch crop is only obtained by sowing in good time.

In the application of shrewd business ability to the management of his flock and the cultivation of his land the successful ram breeder has few equals. A man who keeps a ram-breed-ing flock must work systematically. His monetary return is long- in coming, and his sheep must, be kept, in a progressively thriving condition fom the day they are dropped fill tney are placed on the market or go to service. The provision of a succession. of green crops, which is one of the first duties of the ram-breeder, enables him to do this and bring his flock successfully tlirough all seasons, good and bad. But this year seems to have upset the calculations of many breeders, and fiome of them lost from 20s to £3 per head for want of development, aixl condition in their sheep. A beginning cannot bo made too soon, and till the ram lambs are 501 bor 60!b in weight the most of the food is supplied through the mother. Together they aro placed on the first green crop, which keeps up a generous flow of milk and teaches the young lamb to forage for himself. ])eforo and after weaning rape and young grafs, or the latter alon«. are frequently relied on. Kye is a never-failing source of benefit in the spring. Sometimes it is mixed with

The Bumbreeder*

vetches or trefoil. Ono might name all the crops and find that some brooder had utilised one or moro of them, or calculate on growing such a succession as stubble turnips, green tops. swedes mangokis, vou-nir grass, rye, sainfoin, cabbage, kale, and rape, but the difficulty is to have these available in succession as they are required, and this- is whore the skill and ability of the ram-breeder meets its recompense. Any ono of thorn will not be used by itseJt, but in conjunction with bruised oats or oaten sheaves or hay. The price of labour is such that his system will involve eating the whole of thorn off on the ground. His manure is distributed by the sheep, and no mechanical device can improve on them or better the consumption of crops on the ground. The conditions are artificial throughout, and great care is necessary to avoid scouring on the one hand and constipation on the other. If purebred sheep are well managed largo returns are secured from them, but nothing must stand in the way of steady progression till the sheep are placed on the market, Unless backed up by intelligence and regular feeding, all the expense and skill of the brooder may easily bo thrown away. They demand constant attention, and "if the breeder does not almost live with his sheep and make a_ Kobby of them his shepherd must do so. if ho is to succeed.

Some judicious culling in the ewe flock would do good before the rains are turned out with them, and there are several other classes which require overhauling before winter sots in. The severity oi the culling will depend upon the country utilised, and whether the fleck is a permanent one or not. Any crossbred sheep over five years old requires special pasture, but, as a rule, after that age they should be culled out of a tussock flock. Then there are those ewes which are defective either ill wool or in constitution, and bear outward signs of falling away in well-doing. Sheep which have pig-mouths, bare bellies, bare arms, and weak woo! on their backs and arms should be sacrificed whatever their other qualifications may be. Those, also, which have defective udders cannot raise a lamb properly, and should be rejected. Then the permanent breeding flock should have no glaring inequality in wool, and some attempt must bo made to get them all having as much as possible a familv resemblance; anything too fine or too coarse in the wool should go out. If no wool-classing has been don© on the sheep's back before shearing, it should be attended to now. Seeing that wool figures so largely in the profits accruing from the breeding" flock, it is really worth while securing an eyenly-woolled lot of ewes carrying a full " fleece. It is impossible to raise lambs of a high standard without culling the ewe? well. It is the progeny that should be kept steadily in view. In working up a breeding flock it is •desirable to work to a fixed type, haying eet a standard which is to be maintained at all cost. Xo one can do that simply by running the owes through a race and cutting out conspicuous sheep; every siieep must be handled and carefully looked over, noting, first, constitution, next the general symmetry unci frame, and then the wool. It will be seen also that they have a good set of lr'gs and feet, and are even as opposed to a patchy fleece. Much care will have to be devoted to the ram used, seeing that his characteristics are imported to perhaps 70 lambs while the ewe's characteristics only affect one. If the rams have been previously pampered, they will need feeding when with the ewes. They are apt. to miss the food they have been accustomed to when they need it most. The rationally-fed ram will leave healthier and more valuable stock, and more of them. Next, there are the wasters and anything off-class among the hoggets to cull out before thev are added to the main breeding flock. If the flock has been carefully bred great care is observed in the selection of tho young sheep, and those which are added to the flock must be acceptable in every particular. Anything else is either fattened or sold. Thirdly there arc the unthrifty lambs, which arc not, as a rule, profitable stockto hold over winter. This is the usual time of year to dispose of all these culls. They will never sell better —or rather less badly—than at present. They go before tho grass goes off in the back end, and relieve the pasture for new stock which might be added to the flock.

Calling the Flock.

!At tho ram fair it was noticeable that, when buying stud sheep, the buyer had nothing to guide him but the sheep in front of him. There is no Tecord of pedigree to refer to, and if Mich great value is attached to the pedigree of a. stallion or a shorthorn bull, why is it not insisted upon also in the case of a purebred .sheep, which is either to make or mar a whole flock? Many flocks are conducted with the same scrupulous regard to heredity, arc a; well brought our, and as carefully handled as the horacbreeder does with his best ; yet reliable records of pedigrees which would enormously increase the value of particular animals are not kept where the public can refer to them. Nor is the pedigree of individual sheep demanded as an essential condition of eligibility at any of the shows. Tho show catalogue, therefore, does not give much information as to the breeding of the sheep exhibited. Registration might be done

Sheep Ped gr<es.

: without anv groat difficulty. Most of tho purebred flocks are numbered in the ear with indelible ink and a record could easily ! bo kept in that way of each sheep's history I and progeny. Large numbers would have !to be dealt with, but if the system is | worth tho trouble, that should not be any i great disabilitv. There is much to be said !in its favour. * There can bo no doubt that the value of anv sheep would be very much : enhanced if its history could be traced back [to a line of noted animals. The best buyers j are as exacting concerning tho blood they buy as they are concerning the merits of the particular sheep. The want of a Flock ■ Book number must therefore reduce tho i value to the breeder of high-class sheep. ! The breed societies could easily limit comI petition to registered animals for any ' prizes they may have to offer at any of the shows, and encourage registration in 1 that way. Making a statement of pedigree 1 compulsory in all cases where it is required j respecting other descriptions of stock would I bo a guide tot the buyer and a movo in i the right direction. And it would soon I follow "that, all sheep competing: for prizes ! would be eligible for entry in such a Flock ; Book.

"All longwool or crossbred sheep must be dipped every year, between Ist January and 31st March in the North Island, and elsewhere in the Dominion between Ist February and the 30th April." Thus runs the provisions of the act, and it i 3 followed by an admonition that there are many good preparations to be obtained, and great care should be exercised to follow th-o written directions with each closely; and that the sheep are immersed for a sufficient time so that, every portion of the skin has been thoroughly saturated before the sheep are allowed to leave the dip. Difficulty is sometimes experienced in mixing up the powders, but this may be overcome by soaking them over night in kerosene tins before use. Frequent stirring before beginning to run the sheep through is necessary to prevent settlement —and also after every stoppage the mixture requires stirring up from the bottom. The greatest care should bo exercised to let sheep cool down after travelling before they are put through. The profitable prosecution of the flock-owner's calling demands that he should dip successfully, and his very existence depends upon it. Great care will therefore be exercised in mixing and putiing the sheep through, so that all parasitical life with which the sheep is infested in any stat?o of its existence shall be killed, and any dip which does not do this effectively is worse than useless. This cannot bo determined immediately after dipping, but an examination made a fortnight afterwards should not disclose any fertile eggs or live ticks. The whole cost does not amount to much, and after successful dipping, the sheep thrive and are easily maintained in a healthy condition, while tho growing fleece makes steady progress. A satisfactory fleece cannot be grown unless the sheep's skin has been in a clean and healthv state all tho year, and they have been free from restlessness and irritation, and that condition cannot be secured without effective dipping. AGRICOLA.

Slieppdipping.