SCIENTIFIC FARMING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3613, 12 June 1923, Page 70

SCIENTIFIC FARMING.

The addresses by experts with regard to scientific methods of farming were continued at the Technical College on the 4th mst, Mr Tennent presiding. PURE SEED. Mr ,T. 11. I] ad field was the first speaker, his subject being- "Value and Importance oi Pure Heed.” Mr Hadfield said that the subject might be dealt with under three or four aspects, but he would deal more fully with a pleasing phase of the subject, which was germination, the importance of winch was generally recognised, and in this connection he drew special attention to the Journal of Agriculture, and dealt with the strike of the seed, determination of the quantity of seed to be used, and uniformtiy and strength of germination. The test was simple and the results, if not absolutely accurate, were near enough, and the test should be adopted whenever there was a doubt. The importance of uniformity was not generally sufficiently recognised by farmers, and as an instance of that lie mentioned maize. As to purity of seed that had received full consideration in the Journal of Agriculture, the object of the test being to determine the percentage of rubbish, and the presence of foreign seeds, the latter of '»liieh might bo cheaper seeds. Taking 50 of the worst seeds in Zealand probably 90 per cent, introduced was weed seed. He proceeded to cite many cases where the use of impure seed had resulted disastrously. He expressed the opinion that the farmer would be protected if the vendor had to guarantee purity. An act cf this kind was in force in Great Britain, the guarantee being as to purity and germination -up to a certain standard, and tho packet was marked with the date of testing. The subject he wanted more particularly to deal with was trueness to tj’pe. which had met with much comment by New Zealand writers. New Zealand seed might be free from weeds, well dressed, and strong of germination, but it was not true, and there was greater scope in this direction for improvement than in any other. He here commented on the foot that stocks deteriorated, and ought to be kept up to standard by selection. Wheat and cats were not pure, and in New South Wales the demand for pure wheat could not be met at double the cost of commercial wheat. Many would say that a mangel was a mangel, and that there was nothing further to worry about, but did the dairy farmer say the same regarding his cows, etc. He maintained that there was no difference between cows, hens, and root crops. In dairying, poultry keeping, and farming we were not now so much concerned with new breeds as with improved strains. He went on to refer at some length to Denmark. and said that the Hehveg commenced in 1885 had established certain facte, and that in later years further examinations had been made which wore of a comprehensive order, from which there naturally followed a guarantee of the strain up to a standard. SUPPLEMENTARY FORAGE CROPS. Mr J. Alexander dealt with Supplementary Forage Crops, and speaking on the subject, said that turning out cattle to feed had been absolutely called in. Feed should be carted out to them. He proceeded to recommend the field carrot for South Otago and Southland, Sheep did well on field cabbages, which were ridged in the ordinary way, the same fertiliser being used as for swedes, and the thinning out being done similarly to the thinning of turnips. He showed a picture of an acre of ordinary land in Southland which had yielded .24 to 25 tons. Urging that a good supply of green food was advisable he said that we could not do better than confine our attention to good crops of Chou-Moellier or Kale. He proceeded, by illustration, to give details of the growth of Chou-Moellier one of the strongest features of which was that it resisted club root and would place the grower beyond the worry of club root land. Even with the infection of club root in land the grower could get a pretty fair crop of ChouMoellier. A good illustration of the size to which the plant. grew was shown, the tops reaching as high as two well-grown children. We could not., said Mr Alex-

ander. grow this steadily in Otago and Southland, and he did not thing they should attempt it. A crop Would stand splendidly till winter, and a sowing later in November would easily carry the farmer right through winter until September or October, In finishing off fat lambs they would find that, acre for acre, they would turn off three lambs with Chou-Moellier for one with rape. At this stage the speaker showed a field of standing ChouMoellier that he said had been absolutely

rotten with club root. It was a six-acre paddock arid had been in turnips, and there was not a single blank in the drills. Proceeding, he said that Chou-Moellier and Kale yielded largely, and at this stage showed a picture of Chou-Moellier that was grown in a club root paddock and Was nearly up to the shoulders of a man 6ft in height. There was no question about the folly of that partiular crop for South Otago and Southland, but there was no reason w-hy it should not grow splendidly in Central Otago where there was irrigation or in the north. Mr Alexander) then caused several scenes to be placed on the screen in which the crop was Kale; the pictures, lie remarked, having been taken by an officer of the department. These crops had been grown in Southland and grown very successfully. He mentioned that they had not had to resow one head of ChouMoellier or Kale yet, and only half as much seed was required as turnip seed to grow a good crop. Mr Alexander also spoke briefly on lucerne, hay, and ensilage, and said that lucerne was not recommended for South Otago or Southland, but Otago Central was eminently adapted for it. Supplementary food for good cows during winter lime should be considered and should consist of good hay. Wo had got to encourage the growing of hay—hay and ensilage stacks should be side by side. Ensilage was cno of our most valuable supi-.le-mentury crops, whether for sheep or catllc. Finally, he stressed the importance of shelter for dairy cattle, remarking that shelter meant food, and the covers on cows (shown on tho screen) were the saving of tons of winter feeding. HYDATID DISEASE. Dr Barnett and Mr W D. Snowball participate a m addressing those present on the subject of “Hydatid Disease.” Mr Snowball said hydatids affected all domestic animals, and the trouble being to a largo extend preventable he thought it well worth consideration for a F ew minutes It was a disease distributed all over the world, more especially where there were domesticated dogs. In certain countries it was extremely prevalent. In the case of a cow with cysts the cow went off, and in sheep the production of stock and wool must be affected, so there was an economic loss. Cows were mostly affected in tho liver or lungs, and a short irritating cough was noticeable. It was sometimes difficult to distinguish between a cow affected with tuberculosis and or.e affected with hydatids. They could pass the treatment by, the greater thing was prevention. The disease could be prevented and could possibly be entirely wiped out. The remedy was to treat dogs by tho following method: —Tie up tho dog for 12 to 2 l hours and administer liquid extract of male fern, 20 to 30 drops in butter or milk, after at least 12 hours 'fasting, to be followed by a dose of castor < il. The materia should be care-' fully collected and burnt so as to prevent contamination. With sheep care must be taken to collect the materia because it was from that the dog picked up a form of tape worm Destroy tho hydatid cysts that were found in the carcase. Bury them deep, or the dog would scrape them up. Dr Barnett said that hydatids concerned not only animals but human beings and 40 to 50 per cent, of stock animals were affected by hydatid cysts, and although the disease did not easily kill animals it did some, rnd there was an economic loss. When the liver was affected by hydatid cysts it was regarded as useless and was thrown to the dogs, which perpetuated the disease, a thing to be avoided, and there was the fact that human beings could contract the complaint in the same was as animals from the clog. There were about ICQ fresh cases in New Zealand every year cf people becoming subject to hydatid disease. That was from the deg, and out of these 10 or 12 per cent, died. He was speaking from hospital returns. There were many varieties of the tapeworm family, and they varied in size from in length up to yards long, and in order to complete their life history they had to go through two different cycles. The adult stage was the bladder stage. There were hundreds {in long at the upper end of the intestines of a dog, and as they ripened these passed out thousands of eggs. The dog licked a child’s face and licked dishes, and it was not all the dog licked, and the disease was conveyed directly to the individual. A man event for a pail of water and gathered a bunch of watercress, a.nd the eggs were distributed through the same medium. That was how the human being got the infection into the stomach. But. the egg did not grow as a tapeworm. It burrowed through perhaps to the liver, and gradually formed bladders Sheep got the trouble through eating grass, and cows and pigs in the same way, or Toy drinking water. There were 20 or 30 animals that might be affected by the bladder stage, but only the dog by the tape • worm stage. When an affected liver was flung away it was eaten by the dog, and went back to the adult tapeworm. It could only become that through the dog. Practically ihe whole of the sheep dogs became affected by the tapeworm, and the South Island was much more affected by the disease than the North Island. “You dip sheep,” said Dr Barnett, “Surely you can give the dog something that will clear out the hydatids.”

Replying to questions, Dr Barnett said he did not think cats transmitted any hydatid disease to children, but the cat had other parasites. Some said it was subject to diphtheria. Not much importance was attached to the cat as a spreader of the hydatid disease. It was the dog. He was practically the sole animal that produced hydatid disease amongst stock animals. The customary votes of thanks were passed to all those giving the addresses.

DISEASES OF DAIRY CATTLE. At the afternoon session the subject of “Diseases of Dairy Cattle” was dealt with by Mr W. D. Snowball, M.R.C.V.S., and b.v Mr W. D. Blair M.R.C.V.S. Mr Blair, who spoke first, gave his attention particularly to contagious mainmitis and other kindred troubles. This, he said, was one of tho worst troubles the dairy farmer had to contend with. Ail mammitis was not contagious, but as the different forms were hard to distinguish it was safest to treat all cases of it as contagious. He proceeded to give a brief anatomical description of tho udder of the cow. Various names had been given to the disease mammitis, but all meant an inflammation of the udder. Practically all cases of it were due to micro-organisms, which on account of lowered vitality or injury to the cow had opportunity to become active. Contagious mammitis was due to a microbe which could be seen only under the highest powered microscope. Since it was first reported in North Otago in 1904 it had made rapid strides throughout the country. This was largely accounted for by the large increase of dairy farming. The finer and

better bred a cow was the more liable it as a S e neral rule, to the diseases that afflicted the species. In most cases the infection was caused through the teat, out it might also be caused by wounds or abrasions The disease never occurred in orj cows. It had three forms known as V' 1 ’ le, sub-acute, and chronic. He described usual symptoms of each of these three, ihe sub-acute was tho most dangerous, because often the only symptom was a change m the character of the milk which might i. Uf T‘ Gtl^d - Hu could not condemn too strongly the practice of milking the first discoloured milk on to the floor. So far no satisfactory method of treatment had been evolved, and in the chronic and subacute forms of disease treatment might be sa.d to be out of the question. Hope had been held out that a vaccine might be fsom-ered, but that had not so far been tuiniJed. In whatever form the disease appeared it wag essential that treatment stiould be commenced at the earliest possible stage. He described a course of treatment for acute cases by keeping the animal warm, fomenting, massaging, and frequently stripping her. The only thing for the subacute and chronic forms was prevention, and in this connection he quoted the pre-

ventive measures laid down by the Department of Agriculture. These emphasised the necessity for careful examination and scrupulous cleanliness in all dealings with ine cow. The. use of boraeie acid as a sate disinfectant was recommended. He, added instructions as to the preparation of samples of milk for analysis, and said that no . charge was made for laboratory examination and report. There could i>e no doubt that machines were the chief cause of spreading the disease, as fully 70 per cent, of the dairy cows in the dominion were machine milked, and very often nroper precautions were not taken to ensure their cleanliness. He read the dairy division’s directions for effectively cleaning a milking plant. Questions came promptly at the close °f. ‘-he address, and one of the questioners sa! d. that many farmers took strong exception to the practice of men at the saleyards going from one cow to another handling their teats. Mr Blair said that mammitis could be induced I;y working milking machines at too high pressure or irregularly. That form of mammitis, however, would be simple and not contagious. Mr Snowball’s part cf the subject was Parturition and the \ arious Means of Rectifying Malpresentations.” The lecture was illustrated with instructive lantern slides. Mr Snowball pointed out to begin with that some cows prior to parturition were kept in such poor condition that they did not have a fair chance. When a cow showed symptoms of calving she should be put by . herself in a safe, sheltered place. The hair of the tail and udder should be clipped and the cow thoroughly cleansed. A cow would remain in labour for 12, 24, or even 48 hours, and yet produce a perfectly healthy calf, so there was no need to rush in. to assist. With the mare, on the ether hand, the period of labour was short. In ordinary eases there was no difficulty in giving a little assistance to the cow, a nd he explained in detail how this might be done. Diagrams showed various types of malpresentation, and the lecturer explained how these should be dealt with. The concluding part of the lecture dealt with the care cf tho animal after birth had taken place. Many practical questions followed this address also, and were satisfactorily answered by the lecturer. Mr H. D. Tennent then answered a number of questions that had been put in the question box. In concluding the school, Mr Tennent said the departmer.t was thoroughly gratified at the manner in which farmers from all parts of the country had taken advantage of the school. Fie assured tbqrn that if any one of them was in difficulties and the department could be of any asistance they need only call on any of its officers, and he could be relied on to do his utmost to help.—(Applause.)