NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3524, 27 September 1921, Page 8

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Tha Hard Leader.

One looks to the dairy bull to improve tha dairy herds 11 the Dominion,

«nd yet how many valuable bulls are annually slaughtered before there worth has been proved, and possibly they become unmanageable, and when ihe bull is about six months of age, says an expert, he should have a ring put in his nosb and be taught to lead, and as soon as possible he shoUid be trained to lead with the staff. .No bull should be handled without a staff, as it is always the quiet bud that kills his leader, and no bull can be properly controlled without a good strong stall’. If buds are handled gently but firmly they will learn their position and maintain it, but once they have obtained the upper hand it is all up ! A bull is generally ready for service when nine months of aye, but lie si]on.ld 11 °t be allowed to breed more than lb ice or iour cows before he is a year of age, and from then until he is two years 1 oi age service should also be limited. From j the time a hull is two years old he can | be used for unlimited service, and by that j is meant up to 200 services per year, proj viced they are evenly distributed throughI out that period, if the herd sire is properly j handled lie can be kept in service until he is eight or ten years old, and where the herd is small ho can frequently be passed on to some herd for a time until an opportunity cornea to bring him back to his first herd. In this way ihe maximum benefit can be obtained from bulls that are of value, though those that d d'not prove to be sires of good producing heifers should be disposed of. Too many dairymen follow the practice of using a bull for a year or two and then disposing of him before his I rue value is known. Many of the best bulls have been lost in 'this way. By proper methods of feeding and management the potency of the bull, or his abii ty to sire calves, can be greatly conserved. There are two very bad practices which are too commonly followed. Many men allow the bull to serve a cow twice when she is in heat. This does nothing to add to the chances of the cow being successfully bred and ultimately detracts from the virility and potency of the bull. Equally bad is the practice of allowing the bull to run at pasture with the cows. This spoils the potency and the disposition of the sire. Ihe dairy sire is important not only in increasing production, but also a.s a possible ! disease earlier. The sire should be purchased free from communicable diseases and kept in the same condition. Most important in the list of diseases which the bull may transmit are tuberculosis and contagious abortion. Abortion is an invidious i disease once it enters a herd, and if the bull has bred an aborting cow. previous to breeding a clean cow, he is almost certain to convey the infection to the second cow. As some cows can spread the disease even when they apparently carry their calves for ihe normal period the only good practice is to disinfect the sheath of the bull before and after each service, and the hairs around the opening of the sheath should be kept clipped short-, as they are a good harbour for disease germs. With a little more attention to the care of the sire the size and quality of tho calf crop can be increased, and any extra labour and expenditure will ultimately be repaid by a general improvement in the herd as a whole.

Depth of ploughing.

There is a time for everything, and no one can with confidence affirm that deep ploughing should always be uractised. If land

is ever deeply ploughed it should bo before the winter really sets in. The writer is referring to districts enjoying a winter climate worthy of the name. If deep ploughing in the. spring is attempted the chances of a failure are great, as the frost effects of winter have been lost, and there is small chance of reducing a raw sub-soil to a fine tilth. Again, the situation and kind o-f subsoil must play a part in the matter. It is no good ploughing up gravel, sand, etc. The desirability of ploughing deep should depend upon the character of the underlying soil. The highest authorities on fertility state that the first 9in are the theatres of bacterial action, but litile nitrogen reaches the subsoil. Nine inches deep are, however, well within the limits of deep ploughing. The better plan is to gradually deepen the ploughed area by successive ploughin.gs until the time comes to sow, sav, potatoes or root crops, whatever opinions may be held as to whether deep ploughing is beneficial for cereal crops. 'llio checking >f weed growth by deep ploughing is of importance, and generally deeper ploughing year by year will result in a gradual deep, ening of the staple and the permanent improvement of the land.

A Wool Opinion.

The fiend of the wool market lately (says a writer in an Australian paper) shows that while the finer grades of merino,

crossbred, and comeback wool have dropped in price, the medium and coarser crossbreds, also skirtings and pieces, have advanced. Germany, which was not loaded up with heavy stocks of high-priced wool, should soon be turning out large quantities of finished material at a minimum cost compared with those countries which have to work off big stocks of wool bought at high prices. The demand for coarser grades of wool is likely to increase rather than otherwise. As the woollen mills in England, France, and Belgium gradually get. back to something approaching the prewar etage, and when the supply of wool becomes normal again, prices will become more equalised. .1 he financial position of the people is an important factor in regard to wool values. When times are good, and they have money to spend, the finer quality woollen goods are most in demand, and the finer grades of wool realise high prices. On the other hand, when money is less plentiful people are- obliged to use clothing manufactured from the coarser wool because it is cheaper and yet wears well.

Call Rearing

Preference should he given to the calves from special purpose or good milking cows. There are, oi

course, exceptions to every rule, lint in nine crises out of 10 such a. cow will transmit her dairy qualities to her offspring, more especially

if the sire of the calf is from a good milking strain. The bull used on a dairy farm should be of a clearly defined dairy type. It is not worth while to rear a calf that posesmanifest shortcomings, is puny and ill-developed, or has any malformat ion. The best calves from the best cows should be the rule. An}' calves that do not come up to the standard should be fed for the butcher, thus weeding out at a later stage will be saved. This attention to grade and weeding out as and when required is the only way to keep up a stock of perfect animals (adrises ati Hingliah authority), and it is of the first importance that the young stock that will eventually take their places in the herd should be as good as, or better than, their predecessors. Tt is a true saying that “ best pays best,” and so far as value is concerned there is no comparison between a well-graded herd, each animal doing its best and representing the maximum of profit, and one where good and bad, poor feeders, poor milkers, and weaklyconstituted animals are mixed up together. Where a herd of the first-mentioned type is wanted, the rule must be to never keep a poor cow in the herd, and similarly never to rear a poor calf, whether heifer or bull. AGRICOLA.