THE NORTH ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3994, 30 September 1930, Page 17

THE NORTH ISLAND.

GENERAL. At the National Jersey sale at Hamilton the following purchases of interest to the Manawatu district were made:— Middlewood’s Juggle, July 17, 1929, to F. W. Mitchell, Feilding, 57gns; z Daisy’s Volunteer, July 22, 1929, Mr Lurcher, Longburn, 63gns.

Some 500 acres of grain crops have been sown, at Ratana, and an area of 400 acres remains to be planted (states the Wanganui Herald). Six tractors are at present at work on the estate, and a similar number of teams. A considerable demand for sodium chlorate for use in the attempted destruction of blackberry at present exists in Hawke’s Bay, farmers on infested lands being keen to test the efficiency of the chemical.. In a number of cases experiments with the chlorate in the crystal form are to be tried this summer. . Farmers are haying a busy time docking lambs, and. in the Wanganui and Rangi.tikei districts percentages, generally speaking, are good, and both ewes and lambs are in good condition (states the Herald). Feed has received a check somewhat, due to the lack of rain and late frosts.

. A farmer from the back of Utiku, speaking with a Wanganui Herald reporter the other day, said that the snow has remained on the lower level of the ranges for a longer period than he could remember for the past 30 years. The country in that district, he said, would benefit by good warm rains at the present time.

A Wanganui farmer who has returned from a visit to the Hawke’s Bay district states that farmers there have not experienced such a good season as on the west coast (states the Herald). In cases where ewes have had twins, some farmers have had to kill one lamb as the ewes had not been in a good condition, having experienced rather a hard winter.

Early indications of a good lambing season have been borne out during the last few weeks, and a generally high return throughout the Auckland province is reported. It is stated that the percentage of twins born this year is abnormally large. The increase in numbers is particularly noticeable in the Waikato district, but it is not confined to that area.

The Taranaki “ coast ” lands at present are looking very well, and the improvements being made in fencing, building, and ploughing and grassing must mean greatly increased production during the next few years (states the Herald). South of Pungarehu the grass appears to be two or three weeks ahead of that nearer the mountains. In spite of the threatened lower prices, farmers generally are putting hard work into their farms.

The returns of the new dairying season show a slight decline in the production of butter manufactured by the Bay of Plenty Dairy Association (says the . Poverty Bay Herald). The output for two months this year was 80 tons, as against 86 tons last year. The butter-fat received last month was 114.3141 b, as against 115.6891 b for August, 1929. The total paid to suppliers this season for the two months was £7917, compared with £11,476 distributed for July and August last season, a decrease of £3559.

Farmers in and around the Tikokino district have suffered heavy losses in many farms through the recent bad weather during the lambing season, and their docking percentages will be much lower than-usual in consequence (states the Dannevirke Evening Star). There has ’ also been much loss on some fa.nns among the breeding ewes ai.-d hoggets. The squally weather, bitterly cold rains,

hail, sleet and snow, and severe frosts have taken heavy toll as far as early spring growth is concerned, ' and both sheep and cattle have suffered accordingly.

An unwelcome visitor to sheep farms in the. Pirinoa district was a wild pig, which had recently been causing serious losses of lambs by its ravages (says the Wairarapa Times). After several unsuccessful attempts to capture the marauder, a party lying in wait by moonlight sighted a boar, but not before it had killed several lambs could the party get in rang and disable it with a bullet. It was immediately hemmed in by a pack of dogs, and finally despatched with a. bullet. The boar is reported to be the biggest caught in the lower end of the Valley for some years.

The country. throughout the South Auckland province, with evidence of spring on every hand, presents a beautiful picture at present (comments the Star). Pastures are verdant and carrying fat and contented stock. Lambing is well advanced, and the mildness of the season has been such that the percentages are higher than usual. The banks of the Waikato are looking at their best, with tlie willows that clothe them bursting into leaf. The vistas that are opened up from road and rail are refreshing and colourful, interspersed as they are by fruit trees and gorse in full bloom. THE GRASS GRUB. The past season has been one of the worst on record in Hawke’s Bay as far as the activities of that unwelcome pasture pest, the grass grub, are concerned, and one of the districts worst hit by the activities of the grub is that of Takapau, a number of pastures on the plains suffering from its attentions. A Takapau farmer stated that experiences of the grass grub in his district indicated that it took to newly cultivated paddocks, which had been sown down in grass, particularly if they had been rolled, in preference to established pastures which were consolidated. Once the grub got a hold on a paddock it took two or three seasons to eradicate it, in his experience. Heavy rolling, coupled with top-dressing, was, in his opinion, the most effective way of combatting the grub in the Dominion, but he mentioned a method employed in Europe, the grubs being attracted to the surface at night with a bright electric light and drawn into a machine by suction, similar to that employed in a vacuum cleaner. STOCK LOSSES. Not until after shearing time, with its necessary tallies, will the exact state of affairs be known, but nevertheless, it is apparent to everyone now that the winter is over that stock losses in Hawke’s Bay this year have reached colossal figures—by some it is estimated that they are not far short of the six figure mark, although stock authorities do not subscribe to this view. Certainly the past winter has taken a far heavier toll than it should have been allowed to take of the province’s flocks. The mortality has been practically confined to sheep, cattle losses being negligible. First of all there was, at the commencement of the winter, the heavy mortality rate amongst young sheep, hoggets dying like flies on some properties. This was followed later, after farmers had been congratulating themselves upon the fact that they were in for a good lambing, by further mortality amongst the ewes, due to starvation, in some areas farmers being compelled to kill the new-born lambs in order to give the ewes a chance. Mortality amongst two-tooth ewes due to starvation was particularly high this year. Luckily the trouble was not general throughout the province, some districts escaping practically scot free. One meets occasional farmers who will tell you that they have had quite a normal season. Stock authorities, in endeavouring to arrive at an estimate of the total stock losses during the wniter, are faced with a difficult task at this stage, and one hears a wide range of opinions expressed on the subject. That they have attained a very serious height is recognised.

DAIRYING IN POVERTY BAY. With an abundance of feed everywhere in the dairying country in the vicinity of Gisborne, the September butter-fat supplies show a decided increase, on those for the similar period last season. This comes after a decrease in August production as a result of later calving in most parts of the district and along the coast. Had the cows been brought in at approximately the same time as last year, there is littie doubt that with the most favourable spring conditions there would have been an unprecedented increase in the production from the whole district. As it is, the butter-fat supplies are rising' so rapidly that a large increase for September, compared with the corresponding month last year, is expected. The Kia Ora factory-has already a 36 per cent, increase, while other factories are also experiencing much better figures. “ I have never seen the Matawai country looking better at this time of-the year than at present,” declared a Gisborne farmer after a visit to that part of the back country. On the Gisborne side of Matawai, of course, the emerald covering on the hills was more marked than iu Matawai itself, but the feed around Matawai was showing up well for the time of the year. A splendid early spring had been experienced, and six weeks ago there was as much feed there, if not a little more, than at present. The cold snap, with snow, put the pastures back a little, but they were coming away again. The cows appeared to have calved earlier this season than is usual in that area, and the butter-fat supplies were commencing well. More cows were milking in the Matawai district than last season, and on places where sufficient feed had been provided the herds were in good condition. MILK FEVER IN COWS. During .this period of the year milk fever is probably the most troublesome condition with which owners of cows have to contend," and the following notes on the subject by Mr A. L. Thompson, Government Veterinarian, should prove useful: — A number of cows which go down with milk fever do not get up after the treat--1 ment of inflating the udder has been ap-

plied. . They recover consciousness, feed and drink normally, but owing to weakness in the hindquarters are unable to get on their feet. This is due in most cases to insufficient inflation of the udder in the first place. Most owners seem to be afraid to blow the udder up hard in case of injuring it, the result being that the udder is usually only partially blown.

. Milk fever is due to a temporary calcium unbalance or deficiency in the system, caused by the sudden demand for an excessive supply of calcium, for the early milk. The object then of udder inflation is to check the secretion of milk, and thus for a. time the demand on the system. This gives the system a chance to recover the proper calcium balance. It will easily be seen, therefore, that when inflation is not sufficient to completely check the milk secretion, the system does not get an opportunity to quickly and completely recover the lime balance. Hence, although the cow recovers consciousness, she is unable to get up for some time. The necessity for complete inflation of the udder is thus easily understood, and owners of cows which get an attack of milk fever would save themselves a lot of worry and perhaps the cow’s life by making sure that the udder is initially blown up so hard that it makes a sound like a drum when tapped with the finger. A strong pump is necessary for this. A motor car pump will answer the purposes admirably. Never drench a cow affected with milk fever. The danger of setting up traumatic pneumonia is too great. Keep the cow propped on her brisket in as natural a position as possible, otherwise there is a danger of her becoming blown, and thus being suffocated. FOODS FOR STOCK. A remit from the Pohangina branch of the Dairy Farmers’ Union urging the Government to admit imported stock foods free of duty was discussed and eventually rejected at the meeting of the executive of the union which was held at Palmerston North. Mr J. Dawson stated that while he knew opinion on this question was divided, he thought that the Dairy Farmers’ Union and the Farmers’ Union should keep together. Pointing out that there were two sides to every question, Mr P. J. Small said that other countries were erecting barriers against New Zealand produce, and he thought the Government was right in retaliating. Mr Small, further maintained that there was no necessity to import stock foods. The Dominion had the climate and the soil to grow its own, but the trouble was that farmers would not bother themselves to grow it. The chairman, Mr N. Campbell disagreed with Mr Small. The revenue of the. Dominion was going to be increased if the tariff on stock foods was abolished. If it was going to pay the country to let the food in free, then this should be done. The other countries would get no extra benefit if the duty was taken off. Mr L. Poupard thought that New Zealand should protect its own industries, especially in view of the fact that unemployment was rife. The other colonies were building up their own industries, and even England was building up a big trade to compete with Denmark. Mr W. H. Gimblett pointed out that New' Zealand W'as penalised by other countries. Australia, for example, practically debarred New Zealand potatoes altogether. Mr J. Boyce expressed the opinion that the union could well leave matters as they were.

Mr Gimblett defended the average farmer as a hardworking man, but in reply to a question from Mr Boyce he admitted that the young farmer of to-day was not as hardworking as those of the past generation. The remit was rejected.