NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3886, 4 September 1928, Page 12

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

l£qre Fat at Less Cost.

The value of a herd improvement asso-

elation is measured by its progress. High monthly records or individual records do not by

, themselves prove anything, but a comparison of previous years will tell a story, good or indifferent as the case , may be. By testing and rejecting the cows which do not more than pay their way and feeding the balance according to their production, the probabilities are that a small number of cows will return more milk and butter-fat than the original herd not culled. Those cows which are retained should be fed in a common-sense manner, not too much feed, not too little, but just enough, and good water should be convenient to the animals at all times, it will be found that not only will there a. great dea l more butter-fat, but it will be produced cheaper. Testing culling, and feeding should be the slogan o every dairy farmer who desires maximum net returns. It is a mistake for a dairyman to say his herd is, not good enough to join a testing association J.lie object of a testing association is not to make a lot of high records, but is for dairy herd improvement, and this is best accomplished through intelligent culling, feeding and breeding.

“ Trotting ” at -Auction.

Trotting at stock auction sales pos-

sibly will never be eliminated—such is human character, —but auctioneers should have . some

~ . T x xi. x re S ard f °r buyers and not forget that some time in the future the buyer of dear stock may become a client of the selling firm, and if he has been plastered” with a dear lot of stock and the market has weakened there will be trouble. To-day practieally all classes of stock are selling freely, and fairly high rates for stn<>k a r e ' nadura ßy rightly expected in view of the probable high range of future values for fat stock. An auctioneer well up in current fat stock values is supposed to possess something more than the knowledge that to-day’s prices are comparatively good. He must endeavour to visualise the trend of future values in respect to the probable local demand and for export, and sell his stock in the interests not only, of the vendor, but with due regard to the chances of the buyer getting out with his newly purchased stock some time in the future at a fair profit. Many buyers of stock must lean to some considerable extent upon the greater experience of the auctioneer, seeing that they cannot attend the metropolitan markets but occasionally, _ and of' necessity are consequently ignorant of relative values, and m their desire to secure stock are easy prey for a ruthless seller. These remarks apply particularly at the moment, when beet cattle are realising high rates and graziers with feed may possibly be stampeded into buying at ridiculous prices. An auctioneer is justified in securing fair market values, and would not be challenged if h e carried along the bidding, say, but "one step,” but we do object to the wholesale disregard of the other fellow.”

Californian Thistle.

An old friend, “the Californian thistle,

appears to be exercising the minds ..of agriculturists in Canterbury.

. A letter from Dr Reakes (Director-general of Agriculture) was discussed at a meeting of the- North Canterbury executive of the Farmers' Union. “ Generally speaking,” the writer

stated, “ Californian thistle is to be found all over Canterbury, but, although widespread, it cannot be regarded as out of control, with the exception perhaps of the portion of the Wainiakariri river bed and a portion of the Eyre and Rangiora Counties. There are also areas in the Hurunui, Blyth, Leader, and Waiau river beds where control would be difficult and costly owing to the fact that the thistle is to be found amongst gorse and broom. It is considered, however, that control is possible in most of the districts in North Canterbury, and the department will endeavour to have the provisions of the Noxious Weeds Act strictly enforced. If it is found that occupiers are not doing reasonable work to control the weed, prosecutions will fol? low. ■ Each case will be decided on its merits. I think you may be assured, therefore, that in the current session more attention will be given to the necessity tor clearing this noxious weed. Inquiries show that a very considerable amount of good work has been done, but it is, of course, the. neglected areas that come under public notice. It was unfortunate that in the very high floods in the Aor th Canterbury rivers in May, 1923, a large area of land was inundated with flood waters, which spread Californian thistle over areas that were previously clear of weeds.” Members of the union, when discussing the subject, did not express airy admiration of the manner in which the Government handled its own weeds, and decided to write the Depart? ment of Agriculture for information regarding the latest methods of preventing the spread of the obnoxious thistle.

Uniformity in the Flock.

As sheep exercise the dual function of

wool and mutton pro? ducers, close attention should be given by flock? masters to both of these products. Wool has been

increasing in price of late years (writes New Oswestry” in the London Live otock Journal), and as the value of high quality tells every endeavour should be made to produce it as near perfection as possible. Even when low prices rule there is always a better demand and more money paid for the first-class (jualrties, and .thus when it is realised that this quality costs no more to pro* aa those of lower degree it .is obvious that it pays to produce the better wool. Ihe most essential points to secure in a fleece are uniformity of length, even- ' ness in quality and stajfle, and freedom from kemp hair or coarse wool. To obtain fleeces of this description is a work requiring great care in selection of both rams and ewes, and there is no season of the year better than that when the sheep are in full fleece for selection and examination to be made. During the sprint therefore, it should be the business of every flock owner to go through his entire Hock and examine each and every sheen with respect to the quality of the fleece and to draft all that in any degree do not come up to £he required standard, this examination, particularly in pedigree nocks, should be even carried further, bhould any ewe whose fleece has any glarng fault be discovered, not only should she be drafted, but her produce also. Like weeds like, and though the use of a rt mie-wool ram on a coarse-fleeced ewe may to some extent remedy the evil, it is perfectly certain that sooner or later the objectionable feature will again assert itself, and thus tell against the reputaa OI c fi° ek from whence it came. A fine w’ool mostly commands the best price, and uniformity in the staple is an important matter. Of course, it is not necessary that all the wool in a fleece should be the same length, but in the different niam points, such as neck, back, sides, and breast, it should not be Very uneven. Such uneven growth is caused when the sheep have for a time had insufficient or poor food, which results in the wool being alternately thick and thin and wanting in curl, thus giving - trouble in spinning, as well as damaging the appearance of the cloth. One of the most important tests of the reputation of any flock is the appearance of the fleeces. If these are uniform it can generally be taken as an accepted fact that careful management and selection a^ a exercised, but when the contrary is the case it shows that th e produce of the flock cannot be depended on to produce a uniform result. - To many flockmasters this view may appear somewhat out of the ordinary course, but this particular fault has before now been the cause of the loss of trade, especially that from abroad, for if there is one point more .essential than another to a large miijority of our export buyers it is to nnd fleeces uniform throughout.

AGRICOLA.

In paying cat Is 6Jd per lb of butterfat for aH grades of cream, the Uruti Valley Dairy Company claims a record for the season for butter factories in Tara- ?, ak \., and Probably in New Zealand (says the Taranaki Herald). The Uruti faetory sold the first three months’ output of the season and consigned the balance. Its achievement is added proof to the assertions that a company does not necessarily need to be a large concern to give the best return to suppliers.