NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3525, 4 October 1921, Page 10

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

The rolling of cereal crops may well be considered, as well as harFarm Work rowing same if the surface for October. G f the soil is caked, while , any feeding off must be carefully watched, as it is an easy matter to feed off the ears of grain and be in ignorance of it till later. If you do feed oii, then put on plenty of sheep, and make a proper job of the business. Botato-plant-mg may bo pushed along', leaving ample space between the drills for inter-oultivation. gee that all paddocks intended for hay are cleared of sticks, stones, wire, etc., and then harrow well, and distribute any spare liquid irom the byre or treat land with some soluble phosphate manure. All mangolds should be sown this mouth, having previously limed and manured this particular area The sowing of field carrots or drumhead cabbage wiil give useful feed 1 o the autumn. Land intended for turnips should be in hand, and the rape and swede acres got ready. If a few pounds of oats are sown with the rape it will he ready and in the milk stage when the rape is at its best. The sowing of grass seeds entads a deal of consideration; see- that there are early anti late grasses as well as clovers province! in the. mixture. Better sown out with a thin seeding of soft turnips or raj;e (for lambs) rather than with oats. The working horses will from now on require generous feeding, and the in-foal mares should be given light work. Y\ atch the dairy cows, especially those prone to milk fever. Seo tnat the calves have their milk at blood heat. A cupful of lime water in the milk occasionally serves as a useful tonic. Keep the pigsties clean and warm. Attend to the dbggy sheep before they come on to tlio shearing board. _ Skirt fleeces lightly, removing stemed pieces, and class to similar qualities. Overhaul the woo!shed and remove all sheepskins, straw, sacks, elc., and then disinfect thoroughly. Note all lame eaeep and treat at once. Cull sheep when 111 the wool, mid, if possible, roughly grade slieep ere filling up shed into line and coarse wools, teeo to it tha tall sheep are turned out in a ship-shape way culled, branded, ages and numbers noted, etc., for luiure occasions. The department’s chemist (says the Journal of Agriculture) would value Examination the assistance of farmers m of Fertilisers. examining the quality of the . fertilisers on the "market, r or this purpose a portion of fertiliser should bo taken from each of a number of bags and the portions thoroughly mixed together. Finally, a portion weighing lib may be put into a clean dry tin, and posted, with the invoice certificate ’ or a copy 01 it, addressed to the “Agricultural Chemist, Dominion Laboratory, Wellington. It is essential that the invoice cer tifieato should accompany any sample tent. Senders of samples will .note that under this arrangement the results of the examination cannot be supplied to them unless confirmed by an official samjile. If it is possible and the results warrant it, an official sample will be obtained by the local inspector from the vendor’s store, which will enable legal proceedings to be taken should any deficiency be found. The rabbi-t question came into prominence while Dr Reakes was in The Rabbit Dunedin the other day. Menace. Bossibly they will forsake their sunny quarters now that concerted action is to be taken. It is to be hoped that it is a race for the last bunny. The present law is to be amended in the direction promised, so that the occupier of rabbity land may now have a chance of putting all the evidence forward in respect to the sups he has taken to placate the inspectors, and so get a verdict 011 . the evidence. The inspectors will work, it is hoped, in unison with the land-owners in a co-operative way to keep down the pest. Soma farmers hitherto perhaps were wont to speculate which worried him the most —the inspectors or the rabbits, —as the former at times anticipated the impossible, with the result that lines arid feeling rose unnecessarily. It is hoped that by taking actiqgi along lines approved by inspectors and farmers that the pest will be kept under; and Rabbit Boards should, one would imagine, do good work, as areas held in proximity may lend themselves to economical poisoning or trapping, etc., as may bo agreed upon. Individual hardships should not crop up, as formerly, if there is any real desire to meet a rabbity proposition, it is only by determined effort that the pest can "be 'kept in check, and the present seems an opportune time to formulate schemes to circumvent the enemy. As a rule, skin troubles can be attributed to external parasites, which Irritation will be cured by applicaot the Skin. lions of an ointment or an oil. On the other hand, irritation of the skin may bo caused py internal parasites or by some constitutional derangement. ihe usual symptoms are rubbing of tile skin, cspeciiilly near the mane and tail, and stamping. It is advisable at first to look for external parasites. Failing any sign of these, look lor signs of internal parasites, especially in the droppings. If pin worms are present, winch yellow eggs near the tail will reveal, an enema of 1 per cent, of tobacco in warm water will get rid of them. Give the horse green stuff or carrots and bran mashes. The rubbed parts ma\ he washed wiih soap and water, to which a little carbolic is added, and then, twice daily a cooling lotion should be applied, such as of 6Ugar of Load to one pirn, of rain water. A little blue ointment rubbed in will uLo relieve the irritation. A dose of Epsom salts (4oz) will help to correct! a derangement of t.hc system, and this should bo followed up by a course of medicine. A mixturo recommended in "Farm, Field, and Firo-

aide” is loz powdered nitrate of potash, 2oz powdered bicarbonate of soda, loz Hack antimony, 2oz powdered fenugreek, the dose being a small tablespoonful daily. Skin irritation, due to derangement, usually is manifested by horses which are well fed on hard food without sufficient exercise or work. The carelessness with which farmyard manure is treated is asCare of tounding when one conDung. siders the cost of artificial manures, and the superiority of dung over most fertilisers wiiich to-day aro sold for something like £lO 10s a ton. Of course, it must be made properly, and not thrown about into loose heaps or disturbed Very much. It should be ii called in a solid pile, sheltered from rain. Once the heap is broached, no time should be lost in ploughing it in. Small heaps of manure mean losses. It is better to use up the manure before the heat of summer, as it wastes quicker then. Keep all the liquid in it, and if it must drain away, make some sort of a catchment tank Air and rain spoil farm manure, and to-day care of it means money saved. Plenty of litter means comfort of the animals and more manure, besides lessening losses of ammonia. In making a dungheap you, of course, start at the bottom. If the breadth decided upon is 15ft, the first cartloads should be dumped in a row across the whole breadth, and not thinly, and the next lot crossways, and continue dumping each load till each load is spread out and the middle being the higher part. The carts pass up and down the other side, till the whole is trodden and compacted. When high enough the thin sloping ends and any loose dung along the sides should be thrown on top and trampled down and ridged slightly, and covered with earth, etc. It is no use to cover loose dung, as by firming the heap air is prevented to some extent from getting in, and cause through fermentation. It is much the same as with a fire—too much air wastes coal; so with a manure heap—too much air wastet plant-food. AGRICOLA.