NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 4006, 23 December 1930, Page 12

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

The Heal Wool. Although wool values at present arc ruinously low, and one is apt to take little care in the classing and get-up of the clip and flock, the sheep owner, for hie own interests, must give these matters attention. A farmer should make a point of studying individually every breeding ewe or ewe hogget at or immediately preceding shearing, when it is carrying a full fleece, and when defects m growth, quality, character, and'soundness can be determined. Now that lambfattening is an important matter, more attention should be given to the conformation of the carcass and genera] shape of the ewe in view of the near approach of the mating season. The ideal wool to grow will naturally vary with the type of the country. Whatever the farmer’s personal prejudices may be. it is safe to say that the greatest profit will be made by producing the heaviest fleece that the country will grow without signs of break or tenderness. If the sheep are gone through carefully, and the fleeces opened for examination always in the same place, the farmer cannot help recognising the type of wool that his country grows to perfection, and that is the class of wool he should strive to produce irrespective of whether it is fine or coarse, in immediate demand or neglected in the market To strive to follow the demand of the moment in wool production is the most fatal mistake in sheep farming, for on the average small farm, where the soil does not vary in quality to any great extent, only one type of wool can be

grown to perfection—that is to say, a find wool or a coarse wool.

Milking Hint. In an article dealing with clean milkproduction in Farm Feeding a suggestion emanating from Mr Bontour (well known by repute as holding strong opinions regarding the right and wrong method of feeding milking cows) that one of ths best ways out of the wet-milking difficulty was to get milkers to smear vaseline on the hands before they began milking. This being a mild antiseptic probably helps to keep the bacterial counts down. It also will have a tendency to prevent mammitis. or inflammation of the udder ' (or garget, as it is called in some places), which is caused by the entrance of certain bacteria into the udder via the teat. It is well known that cows which are kept under clean conditions suffer from mammitis much less often than cows kept in a dirty, unhealthy shed. The bacteria which causes the disease, like most other bacteria, thrive in dust and dirt generally, but they can only enter the teat in the milk, and if the teat is always drymilked the chances of there being a drop of milk left on the end of the teat are greatly minimised. Furthermore, if the teat has become well impregnated with vaseline, as indeed it will, there will be almost no chance for the bacteria to be able to live on the teat at all, for they will be destroyed by the antiseptic.

The Übiquitous Fowl. -Not a new’ breed, but just an arresting heading to remind one that the hen nowadays should be attended to with care ! Poultry manure is rich in plant food, and if properly dried and stored is a great deal more valuable than farmyard manure and. takes second place to only a few of the fertilisers on the market. Where there are a number of fowls' kept the manure forms a considerable item in their yield. Since the advent of the motor car stable manure is becoming more difficult to obtain every year, and it behoves all who keep fowls to save the manure. It should always be methodically saved by the sm.gll poultry keeper as well, for a little concentrated manure for special uses is a very handy thing to have about a garden. It should never be used fresh owing to its burning tendency, and its value is about double when it has been allowed to dry in the air. Once dry, it is best stored in a barrel, mixing in a little soot and drv soil as the barrel fills up, and if not wanted for immediate use a covering of dry soil should be placed on top and the mixture kept dry. An excellent liquid manure can be made by mixing some of the contents of the barrel with an equal quantity of soot, putting it in a piece of sacking, and soaking it in water for a few days. About loz of dry manure and loz of soot are usually sufficient for a gallon of water, but experiments should be made by each man for himself as to the suitable strength for the plants in question, starting with a weak solution and strengthening it if it seems advisable in later applications.

Baling Wo=-?. ' When baling wool it is advisable to remember that the bales should ,be as even in weight as possible, say. around 3361 b for fleece wool; but usually pieces, bellies, etc., are slightly heavier. In order to secure even weights of fleece wool it is a good practice to count the fleeces into the bale, and when it is weighed this gives a good guide. In a small clip a few mixed bales are unavoidable, and it is not very material, providing the wool is to be reclassed by an expert in the store of the selling agents. In any case some care should be bestowed if only to make the job of classing not too strenuous. If the sheep growing coarse wool are drafted from the fine wools and shorn separately it makes for better work. The presence of foreign matter (principally jute fibres) in the wool has long been the subject of complaint among manufacturers, and, pending the introduction of the perfect woolpack, everything possible should be done by the woolgrower to minimise the ground of such objection. There are three ways in which jute fibres can get mixed with the wool in the process of baling, and as far possible those should be prevented. When the woolpack is put in the press Jong strands of the inti thread are often found inside. These should be cut off and removed. Tt is a good practice to shake the woolnack outside the shed before putting it in the press. Occasionally the corners of the pack are cut down slightly to make n neater bale: the short threads should be taken out of the corners of the bale or thev get into the wool. When the bale is being sewn, if the r nds of the threads are thrown carelessly on the floor they will probably be picked un with some of the wool and put into the' press, A small bag should be hung near the press and all these waste nieces of thread, etc., nut into it to prevent their getting inio the wool. AGRICOLA.