NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3333, 30 January 1918, Page 8

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

It occurred to the writer when reading the remarks of Mr Mosley, The Dairy the local paper, that he Industry. of Clyde Yale, as reported in misconstrues the aspirations of dairy farmers generally, particularly the matter of improvement in ,'the breed of dairy cattle. Hence Mr George Aitchison's (Kaitangata) letter bearing on the subject is of interest ort certain features in 'this connection. The latter invites other opinions on the subject, Although unable to see eye to eye with either gentleman, the writer of this column would gladly see money spent in propaganda advocating those features of the dairy industry which are recognised by successful men as making for the increase of output of dairy products., per media of the use of bulls of butter-fat ancestry, and haeten to add (so as not .to fall foul of Mr Aitcheson! heifer calves rightly reared. The North Island has. it will bo admitted, had the matter of herd-testing pushed with vigour in comparison with the South Island, and the v cost of the campaign is a Government charge. The writer ventures to say that where vou could get half a dozen buyers for a bull of right dairy pedigree in the North Island you would seek long enough ere you secured one dairy farmer alive to the importance of butterfat ancestry in the Aitcheson queries how could semi-tested bovine heroes and heroines be satisfactorily distributed among farmers and dairymen. In Victoria it is managed from the State Farm, and the same methods could surely bo adopted here. Bull calves are sold at prices based approximately v on the actual milk and butter-fat record of the dam at the- rate of Is per lb of butter-fat yielded. The demand, it may be noted, is so strong thai; calves from choice cows are booked ahead of calving. ■ The writer lias no sympathy in a general way in the matter of governmental purchase of stud cattle or sheep, believing that_ the men, with studs arc- quite as enterprising as their forebears, and will keep up the quality of herd or flock, as the case may be, by necessary importation from Homo. The matter of rearing of heifer calves is one of importance, which is perhaps not sufficiently recognised by dairy farmers generally; but the use of the right sort of sire is certainly one of the cogent factors in aiding future production. Mr George Aitcheson says, inter alia, that "if generally could be persuaded to give their dairy heifers special attention during the first year of ."their existence, they would also soon learn that where they used to milk, say. 40 cows that 20 would produce probably as much. "Yes, and if attention was similarly given to the bull's ancestry probably 10 would do the trick.

The price of wheat in New Zealand _ is guaranteed for the incoming Guarantee of harvest—quite a sano thing Wheat Prices, to do, of course, under present conditions; but, considering that world circumstances are forcing conditions to one threatening famine to many peoples, and that there is also steady depletion of skilled labour on the farm, it seems that a policy of extended guarantees in regard to wheat should be adopted. There is practically no money risk, and perhaps the sowing down of

arable lands would be stayed in time. "Good grass is golden" is an old saying, and it is true. To imagine that graes land will bo converted to arable without regard to considerations such as labour problems, etc., is a policy more befitting an enthusiast than a practical man. Sd it would seem but common sense to endeavour to arrange a price for wheat for a term of years in New Zealand. Greafj Britain has given a guarantee on a sliding scale for eix years, commencing this yeac with 72s a quarter. This Dominion —the grain-growing part of it —is not so unlike, the Homo Country after all—not like Australia, where the wheat is "stripped," and the costly process of etooking, eto., evaded. The Government of U.S.A. have guaranteed their growers equal to 9s a bushel f.o.b. The Dominion of Canada, has given a similar guarantee to that of the U.S.A. To-day it is suggested in New South Wales that, in view of the national welfare, a guarantee of at least 5s a bushel f.o.b. should be given to wheat-growers for the next three years. Unless something is done in the near future there is bound to be a decrease in the area under this important creal. An interesting comparison between the cost of horse and tractor labour Horses and on farms at Homo is disTractors. closed in an answer given by Sir R. Winfrey to Sir Maurice Levy. It is stated 'that 3500 horses have been purchased by the Food Production Department, at an average cost of about £BO per animal. The number of men attendant on the horses at present* was 1025. The horses had been allocated to 44 counties in England and 10 in Wales. The majority wero hired out to farmers, who provided their keep at their own expense, paying 12s a week for hire. As to tractors, the total number acquired by the department to date was 1949. Of these 194 had been allocated to Scotland and Ireland. Tho average cost exclusive of freight was £3OO each. The charge -ofploughing was fixed by the Agricultural Executive Committee for each contract, and varied from 17s 6d to 30s per acre, according to the character of the land and other conditions. Motor tractor on farms is going to get a big stimulus from the authorities. The British Government has ordered 6000 to be ready for the work of next spring. Cows should be milked at equal intervals apart whenever possible to Skimmings, produce milk of comparatively uniform quality at each milking. The morning's milk ia usually of poor quality in cases where the night's interval is long and . the day's a short one. It is not always possible to milk cows at intervals of 12 hours apart, but it is a great advantage to have the intervale as equal as possible. An important point in the management of dairy cows is to treat them gently. Any rough treat- _ ment on the part, of the. milker causes a cow to hold un her milk, and thus creates difficulties -with the milking. When (a cow is treated in a kindly manner and is on friendly terms with, her milker she will give her milk quite freely. The richest milk comes at the end of the milking, therefore it is essential that the cows are properly stripped. AGRICOLA.

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. By Agricola. "J. . N.," Oturehua, sends grass for identification and questions its value as sheep feed. The grass is of little value for feeding purposes. Commonly known as hair grass (Festuca bromoides).