NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3111, 29 October 1913, Page 14

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Tho facility with which the income to be derived from past-oral country is sometimes arrived at would be commendable if the conclusions drawn were anywhere near the facts of the case. It is quite a simple matter to reckon 20s for a fat lamb and 7s or 8s for the fleece of a sheep and the turnover between the store ewe and the same sheep fattened. Even on arable farms where 100 per cent, of lambs can bo obtained and whore the grass is suitable for fattening them, these figures may possibly be realised in a good year, or even bettor figures than these when a higher percentage of lambs is obtained. But on any other class of country the calculations require considerable modification. Few small run-holders or any run holder cultivates land to fatten his lambs. Instead of getting 100 per cent, of lambs, 75 per cent, would bo nearer the mark— - only a proportion of which would realise as stores about 12s 6d at present values. He cannot replace old fat ewes with other cheap sheep of a similar age and nature. They would die on his hands. His flock is maintained cither by retaining tho homebred lambs for breeding purposes or by purchasing- two or four-tooth ewes to replace those sheep culled for ago and all faults and sold as stores. When this is done there must bo depreciation to the extent of 7s or 8s per head on the exchange. His position at tho prices quoted—and it is only on good country that they can be realised—would be somewhat as follows: His annual loss from all sources would probably bo 5 per cent. For every 100 sheep turned out ho would get the increase from 95, wool ss, 61 lambs at 12s 6d, and 10 lambs (culls) at Bs. From this gross amount tho depreciation of 7s per head on 25 ewes and all the expenses of running the place would have to be deducted. Instead of receiving 27s or 28s for wool and lamb, the run-holder on average tussock country thus would receive about 14s gross income. That is a highly payable price, but does not justify the values which arc being placed on tho goodwill of pastoral country at tho present time. The figures quoted can only bo obtained on well-managed country of good quality. When they are exceeded great judgment is exercised in the selection of the stud sheep used, and tho flock thoop stocked. Even the most experienced are not justified in giving freehold values for somewhat precarious leasehold tenures. A typical sample may be quoted. For a small grazing run of 1100 acres, which will carry 700 owes, having 16 years to run. the sum of £4OOO is demanded and got—nearly £6 per sheep in its natural state, including improvements. The fact is, many of them are loaded up to the last fraction of value, and, after paying interest, the owner gets a very poor living out of them, and has little say in determining their value*. No flock-owner can hope to make such profit from sheep without dipping them at least once a year. The essential point to be achieved is to get the sheep freed from the irritation and torture caused by ticks and lice. Tho sheep then applies its food to keeping its body in a clean, healthy state all the year round. After effective dipping, they are contented and thrive well and are easily maintained in a vigorous condition. The reverse is the case when their energy is spent on continuous fretting and rubbing themselves to allay irritation. They make use of even barbed-wire to shift their tormentors, and in th’o process tear off their wool. When the body is thriving the skin fs clean and the fleece grows steadily. When that condition is maintained during tho year a full return is secured from wool. Both the health of the sheep- and the clip suffers from its inability to settle down quietly for any length of time. During last year Mr Watson Sherman stated that Jiis practice at Conical Hills was to dip ewes and lambs as soon after the ewes wore shorn as possible, and when dipping was done when the lambs were quite young all the ticks disappeared. In his oninion the ticks dropped from the ewes after shearing to tho lambs, and when the wool on the lamb was not long enough to give them footing they rolled off on the grass, where they ran-Vlly succumbed. If tho dipping was left for even a fortnight after shearing such good results were not obtained. In this way Mr s>henn«n got his ewes absolutely clean to the following shearing board, which means that thev were free from annoyance ah the year. This is a thing that not one flock-master in a hundred can ach’eve, and comnletely expunges the theorv that it is essential to have a month's growth of wool on a merino or two months' growth on a crossbred to retain tho dip in order to get all the ticks killed. From experiments conducted in Tasmania it was ascertained that the cheep t’ek emerges from the chrysalis stage on the twenty-first day after its birth, and on the twelfth da-- thereafter the female first lavs its enr(Ts, The noisonous dip certainly kills all the live ticks, but it is very doubtful if all the eggs are killed A second d'pning after thev are hatched and before they begin to lav their eggs might ho the means of effectually riddlne- hoggets of these troublesome pests. This would need to he done w'thin one month from the first dipping. In the same exnerimcnts it was determined that t.-eks placed on a sod of turf and prevented from escaping by moans of a zinc cylinder embedded in the ground died as early ns the second or third day. It must therefore be by contact with affected sheep that tho ticks spread so rapidly, and not by means of tho pasture. It would be out of_ nlaco to indicate what particular dip should or should not be selected, but in tho course of a somewhat extended experience the conclusion has asserted itself that scion-

Delusive Figures.

rpdlpping.

Rrtrne r hvprTatioiis nn Dipping Sheep.

tifically-made proprietary dips open cut more evenly and give more steady, reliable results than the home-made article. Ex'pense should not stand in the "way of securing the dip which gives satisfactory results It is immeasurably the cheapest in the long run. So many of them have failed to give the desired results. Dips w'hich have secured the commendation of thousands of flockowners and steadily increased in popularity must have lasting qualities," and should not be lightly discarded for some unknown but perhaps cheaper compound. The difference in cost cannot be compared till the year is out —so much of the success of the flockowner depends on their effectiveness. Saocess depends on using the right dip, having it the proper strength, thoroughly mixed and seeing that it penetrates to t..a skin of every portion of every sheep before it is allowed to leave the baih. If dipped immediately after shearing, less dip wul be carried away with each sheep, and less expense will be incurred. Dipping sheep is warm-weather work, and should not be delayed longer than necessary. Extremes of temperature should be avoided, and at any time it is advisable to finish operations for the day so that the skins may be dry before night. It is very desirable to have a clean muster. If 20 or 30 ticky sheep are left out when the others are dipped the whole flock will soon be affected again. Some difficulty is occasionally experienced in mixing poisonous dips, but if the packets are steeped in water, stirred into a gruel, overnight there will be little further trouble. Most of the poison is held in suspension only, and the bath should therefore be well stirred from the bottom before beginning and after every stoppage. Any material which floats on the top of the bath .during diuping and is liable to stain the wool should be skimmed off. Over-driving and over-heating should be carefully avoided, and the sheep should neither be thirsty nor tired. Shelter from a hot, blazing sun is advisable after swimming through the dip. Stud sheep are easily scalded in that way, and take some time to recover. One-minnte baths are recommended, but this is immaterial in a poison dip if the solution has soaker! right into the skin all over the sheep. Wherever it is possible to crutch the. sheep back in the bath once or twice this materially assists the thorough soaking of the fleece. When sheep arc properly dipped and reasonably fed throughout the year they grow fleeces which stand examination and realise food prices, for the staple is sound. It oos not take a very large fraction of a penny per lb on the wool to pay for even two dippings annually ; but one should lie enough. If. however, the sheep are not clean in the autumn, a second dipping would bo more than repaid The teeth of a sheep deserve more consideration from breeders than is usually given them. Many excellent ewes arc culled when still growing valuable fleeces because their vigour is waning on account of loose or broken teeth. They cannot be profitably kept another year for that reason. Other points have been bred into sheep, why not this one? Some merinos are to be seen 10 to 15 years old with mouths as sound as a bell, and possessing all the vigour of young sheep. In any flock only a proportion have defective mouths at a certain age. The remainder are passed for another year or two. In the journal of the Bath and West Society Mr W. J. Malden makes some interesting remarks on the tooth of sheep. He thinks there is no reason why the teeth of sheep should not bo developed in the same way as other desirable features, so os to make them serviceable for breeding and wool-pro-ducing for many years longer than at present. Long teeth above the gums with short fangs, he says, are much more readily loosened than arc those which are short I above and long below, because the long . tooth not only gives more leverage, hut the shallow fangs can little resist the force applied, so that at a comparatively early ago such teeth become loosened. * They should also bo closely set so as to support each other. Bad teeth hinder the building- ; up of the flock; hence the teeth of ewes ; selected for breeding should be closely i examined. The duration of a ewe as a [ successful breeder is mainly controlled by her teeth. The lambs selected for breeding j purposes should therefore bo overhauled i carefully with a view, among other things, of discarding any which show dental weakness or irregularity. As a rule a farmer is better served by getting the manufacturer or j agent to mix up his artificial manures for him. They have special machinery for the purpose, and a special knowledge of each ingredient. If he wishes to mix them himself, the department has published diagrams which have boon reproduced on several occasions in this paper to guide him in ascertaining which manures may not bo mixed together, which may ho mixed and sown right away, and which may be mixed without loss of valuable ingredients. Generally any manures which, on being mixed, give rise to chemical action ore liable to be reduced in value before and after reaching the ground. Thus free iime manures are not mixed with manures containing ammonia salts. If it is desired r.o make up a mixture containing superphosphate, muriate of potash, and sulphate of ammonia, which may he mixed together

Breeding for Sound Teeth.

Home Mixing of Artificial Manures.

with advantage for the turnip crop on light land, and having approximately a composition of 20 per cent, soluble phosphate, 3.3 per cent, nitrogen, and 8 percent. potash, it is arrived at as follows: — If the superphosphate contains 30 per cent, of soluble phospato it follows that it must form twenty-thirtieths or two-thirds of the mixture. Similarly, muriate of potash containing 48 per cent, of potash will form 8-48ths or one-sixth, and sulphate of ammonia containing 20 per cent, of nitrogen will form 3.3-20ths or one-sixth also of the mixture. Reducing these to a common denominator, there will be four parts by weight of superphosphate to one part of sulphate of ammonia and one part of muriate of potash. Any lumps in any of the ingredients, and particularly in the salts, should be reduced to powder, and mixed as intimately as possible so as to ensure uniform composition. AGRICOLA.