DRUMMOND NOTES

Southland Times, Issue 17468, 7 October 1913, Page 7

DRUMMOND NOTES

(From Our Own Correspondent). TliO' revivifying inlluenco of spring is not only apparent over the whole face of nature, but it lias also an. exhilarating and stimulating power on. ■ the lower forms of vegetable and animal life all through, and even right up to the lords 'of creation. Everyone in the full possession of normal vitality seems to experience its life-giving invigorating power. Some seasons this awakening to life and increased activity comes imperceptibly. On other I seasons there is a general-, burst into life, and a bustling eagerness to take advantage of the opportunities a favourable spring time affords in rural outdoor life such has largely been the case this season.. It can" be accounted for. I have no doubt, to some extent from the previous season. We have had more favourable weather in September, and it has been taken full advantage of. There is not so much land under crop as yet, but all the necessary preparations have been going, on apace. There has not yet been a fine dry seed-bed such as we have seen 'in some very favourable seasons, but , fairly good progress with outside work has been made, and if October will keep .fine as much will be got into crop as mosfpeople will desire or require to have in'grain. The grass is fairly well forward for this season. The paddocks have sprung •into greenness very rapidly, and even though the grass is short in old pastures, In new pastures that have been saved there is a bite arid a promise of more shortly. ■ It is a matter, for gratulation that the grass is coming as it is, considering, how much more serious it might have been for many a one. scarce of feed, if the winter had been severe ‘ and the spring backward too. We arc, 1/think, just getting right into the middle of the lambing season so far as Southland is concerned, and-' the weath'er has not been quito favourable so far as it has’ gone. Not a few are finding it better not to have the lambing so early as has previously been the ca.se,' chiefly on account of feed riot being forward enough,' until about' the. middle of October. A good lambing will’, now very much depend upon what Octo* / ,ber may bring forth in weather. Earij lambs are all right, if their dams have feed enough to keep up -the flow of, milk, but if at any time at all they get j

stinted the after effects are sometimes serious, and their- fattening capabilities are not infrequently much curtailed. One drawback in not. getting in. the drop earlier is the making it almost impossible to get in lamb feed early enough for requirements .for fattening purposes. • Rape ami early turnips for fattening lambs- may go in any time, and since very many will require the most of this month to get all their crop in 'when the fat lamb market opens they will most probably find themselves at a great disadvantage in not having tjie feed ready. Ttius it is a penalty seems to be incurred by being late, or work not being overtaken in due season, and having still to be done when other work should be gbne on. with. The dairy factory social, which came off successfully on the 24th September, seems now to be an annual function looked forward to. particularly by the young people. The men, or grown-ups, or by whatever designation those .who have come to the years of maturity may be. called, were the only -parties charged the amount of one shilling for admission, which may have helped to augment the numbers of the rising generation. Mr .Tames Sawers, of the Dairy Department, by request, gave a highly instructive address, with tabulated statements giving the results of cowtesting under the supervision of the Department in- the North Island. AA Uh something like about 13s per month, or about £S per annum to keep and milk a cow, it must have come home to-many that dairvlng must be conducted on intelligent and scientific lines, , when one,, cow can only yield a few hundred gallons of milk per annum, and possibly onfy 150 pounds of butter fat, whilst another, or a. whole herd of "cows, selected by testing can give .3 or 4 times the quantity of milk, and from three to five hundred pounds of butter fat. lam quite confident there were many suppliers at not a few of the Southland factories who (H<i not have an average of ISOlbs of butter fat for the season,, ■and from the want of proper feeding the cows were dry two months at least before ’they should have been if attended to. At some of the factories in South-' land where any sort of cow is milked and any nondescrlpj; bull is. kept the average from the cows kept and from heifers so raised will not exceed by much ISOlbs of butter fat per cow for the whole factory. There cannot possibly be success under such conditions. There are three essentials absolutely requisite before success and profitable milking can be attained. They are':, breeding, feeding, and testing. Just think what a difference it would make to anyone having a return of from £ls to £2O per cow or even less, as agalpst about £7 or £S, as is too often the case at present. • There - was a talk in some quarters during the winter season of forming A literary and Alebatlng ' society, but no one moved In the matter, and it did not eventuate. We have Instead got a football club with over 40 members, and they . haVe been very much alive during the season. They played six matches, winning three and losing three. The president. Mr Andrew Lindsay. has most Indefatigable in his efforts,.to whip them into good form. Mr John B. £indsay made ah active ’ and efficient secretary, while Mr G. McColl captained them to some good purpose. They are also financially sound, and will start another season strongly indeed with a credit balance of over £6.