CORRESPONDENCE

Southland Times, Issue 19661, 11 October 1922, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE

Letters must be written in ink and on one side of the paper. Unless a signature, not necessarily for publication, accompanies a letter as a guarantee of good faith it will not be considered. An asterisk attached to the signature to a published letter denotes that some portion has been deleted by the Editor, a right which is exercised in questions of public policy, libel, good taste and fair play.

THE lAMB TRADE.

To the Editor. Sir.—The lambing season is pretty well over and by all reports from the country it will be about the best Southland has ever had and farmers are busy now getting ready the land to get in lamb feed. In other years farmers mostly got in all their other seeds first, but not so this year. Fanners are realising that the lamb business is a very important one and that they must get feed early and be able to put those which are fit right, on to feed as soon as they get off their mothers. Some are putting in rape with the drill and giving it a good heavy coating of manure. Others are putting in rape, grass and turnips with a little mustard seed in the mixture. Others again are putting in Swedish turnips, all for lamb feed. Some are of the opinion that lambs hold their teeth longer on Swedish turnips than any other feed. All farmers are of opinion that to get their lambs fattened quick is what is wanted, as light prime lamb on the London market is worth more than heavy stuff. What most of them propose to do it to clean crutch and dip as soon as possible, clear every lamb off the place fat, then go on the open market and buy up a few hundred station lambs, pick out all the best ewe lambs and put them aside to keep up their ewe Hock, fattening the balance. Some farmers work on a system of clearing every sheep off the farm once a year. Some farmers 1 have been talking to lately say they are to knock a few boxes together and at the end of the rape season, the ne’er-do-wells and small lambs finish off with a little oats, so if this good weather will only continue right through the season the freezing works will be taxed to their utmost to take in the stuff. I am, etc., J. WELSH.