NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3334, 6 February 1918, Page 8

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Undoubtedly farmers today are ur> against problems such as they have Farmers' never before had to conProblemt. sider. With the presont world demand for foodstuffs, 'tho lack of facilities to ship what is already waiting at this side of the world, the shortago of skilled labour, and the increased cost, of machinery which largely affects the present high prices of farm products, besides a score of others, it is not easy to decide just what is the best thing to do. Look at Australia to-day—in a quandary whether to grow whoat or meat. One side asserts that there is little use growing wheat unless the price is guaranteed, and even if prices aro guaranteed they should

bo limited to a proportion only of the wheat-growers in the Commonwealth, and granted not to all of them. Others maintain tliat as wheat in large quantities is not marketable, the best alternative is to grow stock instead. The facts in regard to this wheat business in Australia seem somewhat as follow:—The British Government has purchased from 'the Commonwealth wheat for which £26,000,000 has been paid. Only £5,000,000 worth of that wheat has been taken away, leaving £21,000,000 worth stocked up. waiting shipment. Now comes along 'the now harvest, which the Imperial Government has not dealt with, but for which the Federal Government has guaranteed farmers 4s a bushel, and has paid over 3s of that amount, involving an outlay of £15,000 000. This wheat has not been sold; nobodv knows whether it will bo sold, and, of course, if it' is sold it cannot be taken away. Those who are promoting the idea of stockraising instead of wheat-growing argue (says the Weekly Times) that it is improbable that shipping will be available for five years after the conclusion of the war to carry away this year's harvest, and that by that time, of course, if wheatgrowing continueSj and sufficient money can be found to guarantee payment for it, five more crops will have accumulated. They say 'that by the time the wheat can be removed and made available to the world'e markets a great deal of it will have deteriorated to such an extent that it will ba_ unsaleable, and that in any case the price may .then be so low as to involve tho guarantors, meaning the Government acting for the people as a whole, in very heavy financial loss. On the other hand, they say .that stock may be safely accumulated, and that what ships may become available can carry much more meat in concentrated form than wheat. Of course, a lot of this is supposition—bar the facts, — as certainly stock can no more go on accumulating unless there are satisfactory clearances from the various freezing works without disastrous results all round. Indeed, to-day there is no need to grudge th.n iarmer any small profits, as in the end the land will no doubt have to carry all the burden of the present war. Every operation on a farm —the application of fertilisers, 'the emValue of Keep- ployment of machinery, the Ing Records of use of foodstuffs —have as Milkers. their object the production of a cro]o or stock or milk at a lower cost than the amount of money realised from the product. Particularly is this the case with the production of milk. So' that it is necessary to keep record* giving the .quantity of milk of each individual cow, the percentage' of fat in the milk produced, and the charges. Given these fjhree factors it is not impossible to tell the cost of the gallon of milk from each cow, and so light upon the duffer at the milk-pail. He will learn also which of the cows has the greatest capacity. Time and attention, of course, are necessary, 'but it appears to be the only way to determine which of the cows are profitable and which are not. The indifferent milker probably eats just as much food as the poor one, and necessitates as much attention. The cow with a big milking capacity should bo correspondingly well fed. Every animal requires a certain amount of feed to keep it alive, and in good health, and this ration is known as'a "maintenance" diet. Anything eaten in excess of this- " maintenance " diet is converted into milk or meat, as the case may be, and comprises a farmer's profits. Yet the effect of high feeding is, of course, limited. The aim should be to replace the poor-yielding cows with 'ascertained sorts, arid the present time seems opportune, when so many good sorts are being sold off, very likely to " canners," ere they have reached their maximum possible capacity. Attention is drawn in the Journal of Agriculture to the following re- ' Sheep— ference to the blowfly, which Maggot—Flies, sheep-owners might kindly note: — <Jr Since there is some doubt as to which species of blowfly is mostly responsible for blowing sheep, and whether one species does the damage in one district and not in another, it is desirable in order to clear up this question that living Specimens of maggots from blown sheep be procured from all parts of New Zealand. Sheep-owners willing to assist are asked to kindly forward living specimens to ' The Biologist, Central Development Farm, Weraroa.' Specimens are best sent in a 'tin containing dump oatmeal. A note should be enclosed stating whether the maggots are from wool, feet, or horncavities, together with date of capture, locality, and any remarks on the extent of damage done in the district." Tho date of the Otago ram sale has been fixed for Tuesday, March Otago Ram 26, and will be held at BurnSale, side. Consignors will be able to land their ■ stock from fixtures farther north, and buyers will be able to attend the sale and get their purchases home before Easter. It was intended originally to hold the sale later in the week —on the Thursday, but the holiday would hardly permit of effective clearances, and possibly would have affected the attendance. Last year the rams were sold in the one yard with good results.The nublic could see without much trouble the rams sold to some advantage. _ On the cobbled alley ways and in the holding yard iviii spread some loads of tan, which serve to save tho feet of valuable animals. Similar arrangements will be made this year. They will indeed be improved upon, as last year was the first time this method had been tried, and, of course, perfection was not reached at one bound. AGRICOLA.