NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3881, 31 July 1928, Page 12

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

It is now left to the individual to secure

Daylight Saving.

his share of sunshine, as the defeat of the Summer Time Bill in

Parliament during the week settles for the time being a muchdebated question. The voting in the House—33 to 28—does not give a very large majority, but country settlers for the most part will proclaim it a sane one. Thank goodness, there was no referendum taken on the matter. If, as is often said, the primary industries constitute the economic backbone of the country, surely it would have been folly to indulge the sports with more time to play games and incidentally harass the most important of the inhabitants of New Zealand—viz., the mothers and children, and, of course, the dairymen and those farming arable acres.

On farms where the brood mare is used

The Marc and the Foal.

freely it may be necessary to continue to work her after she has foaled. There is no danger in

doing so, provided <he mare is not over-heated nor kept away too long from her foal. The mare must be well fed and care taken in changing her feed, or the foal will soon scour. If the foal becomes affected wjth either diarrhoea or constipation prompt attention must be gives*. A dose of castor oil—;say a full tablespoonful—should be administered at once. If, for any reason, the foal is unable to get its fill of the first milk of its dam it is liable to be constipated. The first milk is of the nature of a lubricant, as well as being very rich in albumen. It is often advisable (says an expert) to give the foal a small dose of castor oil as a preventive of bowel trouble. When diarrhcea is present fallow the dose of castor oil with a pint of fine gruel or warm milk, in which stir a small teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda. A few drops of tincture of iron and a drop or two of laudanum may be added. This

mixture may also be given in a drench of starch gruel. Any serious case of constipation may need an injection of soap and lukewarm water, which "will relieve the bowels, as a preliminary to the dose of castor oil. There is generally a tendency to constipation at first, and serious trouble may be avoided by careful attention to the state of the bowels of the young foal. This trouble is naturally averted if the foal is able to get the first milk of its dam.

Although we have great faith in the use

Af literals—not Everything.

of minora.s 1 r grazing on our depleted pastoral and a-ab'n and have reiterated the

fact not ini... .. must not be supposed that tonic iic-xs, etc., are alone going to clean up diseaseinfected animals. Not much. Before an animal can make the best use of any kind of feed it must be in proper con-

dition to utilise it. If it is unhealthy, worm infested, or sick from digestive or respiratory troubles it cannot make profitable gains. An animal must first of all be in first class health before it will put on weight, grow wool, or make milk, as the case may be. Stock feeding to-day is a very different thing to what it was m years gone by, when the main thing iv as to cram as much feed into the animals as possible. Feed was feed. A o /* a / le m °dcrn stockman recognises that he must practise feeding his stock a balanced ration. He must become more or less familiar with the terms used to denote the main ingredients of foodstuffs fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and minerals, and know how to furnish them to stock either by way of bought-in foodstuffs or feeding, the various forages grown -on the farm. We should aim to stock ideal feed combinations, and thus do our share towards aiding digestion, help to prevent disease, and so keep the animals vigorous and healthy.

Wic call for more production implies in the minds of some people

Smaller Farms.

a need for cheaper reading, and this question

was discussed at the Counties Conference the other day, when Mr C. J. Belcher (Eltbam) submitted the following proposal:—“ (1) That for the purpose of encouraging smaller areas the Government the question of legalising roads of half a chain upwards. (2) That where an individual or body of settlers desire to subdivide their holdings, the Government provide the services of a Public Works engineer free of charge to inspect and. advise on the cheapest and best methods of subdivision. (3) That the Government provide cheap money under the Loans to Local Bodies Act for the purchase of lands for roads, fencing, and metalling, etc.” Speaking in support, of the remit, Mr Belcher said that what was hindering the* subdivision of farms was the prohibitive cost of forming and metalling roads one chain wide, together with the cost of fencing, surveys, thid legal expenses, added to which there was the large amount of land unneces-

sarily alienated iicau piuuuction. Individual or a number of owners could not face the heavy cost of providing roads one chain wide. “ Ther'e was no question that in many circumstances, roads of half a chain in width would be ample to meet all traffic requirements. It was suggested that the law should be amended protiding authority for roads from half a chain up to one chain wide as the circumstances in each particular case warranted. Safeguards would be required, providing tor subdivision and roading, according to carefully considered plans, approved preferably by the Public Works Department. » the Government could very materially 1 assist by the advice and co-operation of the engineers of the Public Works Department, granting loans at low rates of interest, and in other ways encouraging the movement towards smaller, areas and in ense cultivation. 77 Some opposition was immediately forthcoming to Mr Bel- % ers + pr fP- al -. Mr W - w - p - Scarff (Heathcote) said they need not go beyond Wellington to observe the fallacy of providing narrow streets. It was almost impossible in the principal streets of the capital city of the Dominion for a tramear and two motor cars to pass. A h ®. l° U^ CrS °* the cit .v never dreamed tnat traffic would increase to the present sb^rtJ Sl i° nB i‘ road in couutr y districts should be less than a chain in width. Mr ?emit° W TT ar also opposed the He pointed out that every farmer and mode , rn l aids of telephone and power lines, and how was a half-chain road going to carry two lines of poles’ S th r af Sl H ent W 1 ’ A E ’ Jul!) P« inted a Ut D M-T he i? l L ni ! ter Of Lands (Hon. tlmf i O ) h< ? d to ld the conference that he had in mind a scheme of closer ettlenient by the cutting up of familv ‘ loUb ‘ ‘'■• Minster

AGRICOLA.