LIVE STOCK AND THE FARM

Southland Times, Issue 20979, 11 January 1930, Page 13

LIVE STOCK AND THE FARM

WARM PASTURES

SOUTHLAND HERD-TESTING ASSOCIATION

FIGURES FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER. The secretary of the Southland and Otago Herd-Testing Association (Mr H. Oswin) supplies the following figures covering the operations of the association for December: — Hightest Lowest Group. Averages. herd. herd.

December, 1929: Herds 247, cows 8427, average milk 10681bs, av. test 3.8, av. b.f. 40.241b5. December, 1928: Herds 245, cows 8544, av. milk 10211bs, av. test 3.6, av. b.f. 36.751b5. Also tested December, 1929, but not included in averages, 353 “B” class cows, and 866 cows in 81 herds under own samples, system. Total for December, 1929: Herds 328, cows 9649.

THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT. HEAVILY GRASSED COUNTRY. The Southern District was visited during the week, a run being taken from Invercargill through Gorge Road and on to Fortrose and Tokanui, and from there through Waimahaka, Pine Bush and Morton Mams to town. The country generally is looking splendid and many of the pastures and crops could not be bettered anywhere in Southland.' The land along tne railway towards Gorge Road has advanced rapidly during the past live years and it would probably be safe to prophecy that another five years will see a great part of it clear of stumps and in good pasture. There are many good farmers there for the fences are usually good and the farmhouses look well cared for. The stock is all in splendid condition, but there are very few shorn sheep. Mr Holmes’s estate is looking particularly well, and the flocks of sheep and herds of Herefords, backed by the fine belts of shelter trees, make a very pretty picture. The country about Fortrose is very well grassed, but the best crops are to be seen between Tokanui and Fortrose. There is one very fine field of white clover which is carrying a large flock of,sheep and could probably carry more. Crops of ridged turnips are numerous and generally fairly clean. They are not far enough advanced to give any promise of heavy feeding, but tne damp weather has started them well and the usual fine weather of the autumn months should provide plenty of growth. The whole of the Pine Bush district is looking we.l and the same is equally true of Mataura Island and Morton Mains. The dairy herds are in splendid condition and the factories are busy. Some very line fencing with concrete posts was seen and most of the fences are m good order. There are still a few farmers who allow their fences to get into bad order, and one place was seen where a large herd of dairy cows was crowded into a filthy yard. The yard did not show any evidence of having been cleaned for some weeks and, if the milk from that farm is being sent to the factory, and presumably it is, there is work for those whose duty it is to look after the health of the public. In any case the health of the cows is worth consideration. The effect of the showery weather is apparent in the large number of unshorn sheep all along the roadway. The shearing season is going to be one of the latest experienced in Southland for manj’ years and, as a consequence, the sheep will not be as well clothed as usual when winter comes. The other important .factor, that of winter feed, is assured, and rabbits are not plentiful enough to do much damage to the young crops. DAIRY COWS INCREASING PRODUCTION. A man well versed in dairying matters, who has been visiting a number -of North Otago centres, remarks upon the marked change that has taken place in the character of dairy herds in that area within the last few years. This he set down to testing and the elimination of unprofitable cows, the light milkers and small producers of but-ter-fat. He expressed the opinion that this change will largely aid dairy farmers to stand up against' the drop in the prices of dariry produce in the London market. It means, he says, a valuable method of reducing the cost of production, for it will result in a much greater output from even a smaller area of land. A REMINDER ORCILARD REGISTRATION. The attention of all occupiers of orchards from which fruit is sold, or which have been planted for the ultimate sale of fruit therefrom (although the trees may not y'ct be in bearing), is drawn to the necessity of applying for the registration of their respective orchards during the month or January. An application to register card is forwarded by the Department of Agriculture to all those who have previously registered, but such action is not incumbent on the Department, and lack of receipt of a card is no excuse for non registration. These cards are available at all the main offices of the Department, and in cases where a card is not received or has been mislaid, the grower should at once apply for one either to the Horticulture Division, Department of Agriculture, Wellington, or to the local orchard instructor. Failure to register renders the defaulter liable to a fine up to £2O. As the Department is loth to take proceedings for nonregistration, it is hoped that growers will co-operate by registering promptly and thus avoid the necessity of any such distasteful action being taken. Orchard registration is the basis on which the orchard-tax is levied, and prompt registration facilitates the forwarding of the tax demands, which payable between the first and twenty-second day of March in each year. All tax collected —less cost of collection—is placed to the credit of the N.Z. Fruitgrowers’ Federation, Ltd., Wellington, and is expended in the furthering the interests of the fruitgrowing industry generally. It should be noted by small growers that although orchards of less than 120 trees are exempt from tax, they must nevertheless register their orchards, however small, if fruit is sold or is intended to be sold therefrom. SORE SHOULDERS PREVENTION BEFORE CURE. Separate collars for each horse on the farm as a means of preventing sore shoulders are recommended by Mr J. H. Shepherd, professor of animal husbandry at the North Dakota Agricultural College, U.S.A. “When you buy a horse collar get one that fits the horse that is to wear it and don’t change it to another horse,” he states. “There is a considerable variation in the shape of horse shoulders, particularly those of geldings. My rule has always been to have ample room to place my hand in the lower part of the collar when buckled up and on the horse and to have a little play on the sides as well. I have always believed that more length than that does not let the collar set on the face of the shoulders right, and too short a collar will choke the horse. “I have always liked the idea of soaking a new horse collar in water for twenty-four hours before putting it on the horse that is to wear it. The soaking softens the leather and lets it mould more completely to the shape of the shoulders. Dry the surface thoroughly before you put it on the horse. “A horse with shoulder galls is a pathetic although not unusual sight. The greater part of the sore shoulders come from illfitting collars, dirty collars and dirty shoulders. I have always made it a point to rub all dirt from the face of each horse’s collar, when I unharness him, and I do it with the palm of my hand. The collar is usually moist with sweat, and the dirt will roll off under the palm pressure, and leave the leather face of the collar smooth, bright and clean. If it does not rub clean, wash it clean with water and dry it with a cloth. I like to bathe the horse’s shoulders with cold water when they are unharnessed, making sure that they are entirely clean.-

OLD AND NEW

HORSES AND TRACTORS. An important conference was held at Rothamsted on “Power for Cultivation and Haulage on the Farm,” and the papers have now been issued; they were coutributed by well-known experts in the various branches of the subject. It was generally agreed that no form of mechanical power is likely to displace the horse, the machine being nothing like so adaptable as the animal; the proper use of a machine is to provide a reserve of power for heavy and urgent work in cultivation and in harvest. Steam is the most flexible form of power; increased load does not “stall” the engine, but merely reduces the speed. Its use, however, is confined almost entirely to contract ploughing and cultivation, there being as yet little steam haulage in agriculture. Most of the engines on the farm, whether stationary or tractor, are driven on paraffin or petrol; these are increasing in number and efficiency, but are little used for road haulage. One of the most promising developments is the Diesel engine, now successfully used for cable-tackle sets costing much less for oil and depreciation than the paraffin engine; it is being tried for light tractors. Electric motors as worked out by Mr Borlase Matthews are the simplest of all and they can advantageously be used about the buildings wherever current is available; they are, however, less convenient for cultivation. For the present the most useful type is the paraffin-driven tractor, the general design of which is being gradually worked out; the agricultural requirements are fully set out in Dr Keen’s paper, while the specification and design were discussed by Mr 11. G. Burford, who laid down some useful rules for the guidance of engineers. Its limitations are shown by the fact that the general purpose tractor is used for about 300-700 hours annually, as against 1700 hours or more for horse, and that its cost is about 3s per hour of work, as against about sfd for the horse. The tractor, of course, does much more per hour than the horse, and ploughs at a cheaper rate per acre (10/- to 15/- per acre, against 15/- to 20/-) : for other cultivations and for harvesting, while quicker, it is dear per acre because it is not given a full load; whenever new designs of implements make this possible the process becomes more economical; at full load the tractor compares favourably with the horse. FOR PERU CORRIEDALES SHIPPED. That our Corriedale sheep are meeting in Peru with the same high favour that they enjoy rh the more Southerly South American countries is evidenced by the orders received since the first shipment was despatched two years ago. The initial shipment of 10 stud and 100 flock rams, and 40 ewes, and the second shipment of 40 stud rams went forward per special direct steamer to Callao, the chief port of Peru. The order just shipped being a small one of 12 selected stud rams did not offer an attractive enough freight for one of the IndiaPeru cargo steamers to call here, and, consequently, shipment had to be made by a Home-going steamer to Panama, and the sheep transhipped there to a steamer for Callao. This greatly adds to the transport expenses, and it speaks volumes for the enthusiasm and progressive spirit of the Peruvian breeders that sheep are imported despite the exorbitant charges. The present shipment went forward per the “Piako,” from Auckland on November 21st, and comprised 11 stud Corriedale rams, selected by Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Co., Ltd., from the flocks of the late H. T. Little Estate, and Hugh Ensor. The order was for 12 rams, including 2 special studs, but, unfortunately, one of the latter rams died in the truck during transit to Auckland. These two special rams were selected at the Canterbury Metropolitan Show, both being prize-winners in the class for pair of ram hoggets. It was particularly unfortunate that one of these rams was lost, as they were sired by the late H. 1. Little Estate’s two best breeding rams. The sheep was fully insured, so that neither vendor nor purchaser suffered any monetary loss. Losses of New Zealand sheep during shipment are rare, and despite the fact that transhipment will be made in the Tropics, it is not anticipated that further losses will occur. FEEDING HORSES Oats are preferable to barley as a regular feed for horses. If barley is used the quantity must be slightly greater than it would be if oats were supplied. Coarse, rough fodders are neither suitable for working nor idle horses in any great bulk. If the horses are inclined to bolt their feed of corn, as when hungry, it is well to mix it with a handful of chaff, which will necessitate greater mastication. Horses with defective .teeth are best fed with crushed oats (says an exchange). Barley is more difficult to masticate if fed whole, and if ground it tends to form a pasty mass in the mouth. The best way, perhaps, to feed barley to horses is to make a boiled mash of swedes and grain. This used to be a very common evening feed for brood mares in England, and often was a rare pick-me-up for a

horse that was off colour, or in low condition, owing to defective teeth. A close stuffy stable is a sure cause of sickness among horses. The stable must be well ventilated, without, of course, being draughty. Fresh air is good for the horse. He can stand any degree of cold at work or exercise out of doors, but he is not immune to the effects of a cold draught in the stable.

FROZEN MEAT

EXPERIMENTS IN AUSTRALIA.

The report of the Meat Preservation Committee of the Australian National Research Council and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research for the year ended June 30 gives details of recent experiments carried out to determine the cause of “drip” in frozen beef after thawing. The report does not support the theory that in slow freezing the water passes out from the fibres to freeze into large ice crystals outside and between bundles of fibres, and on thawing the water which has been so frozen out is not completely reabsorbed into the fibres. On the contrary microscopial examination of pieces of beef muscle during the process of thawing have shown that as the ice crystals diminished the fibres, which were previously compressed into bundles, resumed what was apparently their original shape and size. There were no indications that the fibre walls had been ruptured.

The observations of the committee also discount the second theory that the large ice crystals rupture the sarcolemma (the tubular • sheath enveloping the fibrils of muscle), and thus cause the drip. 'Hie sarcolemma is described as being an extremely resistant elastic membrane, and is not likely to be fractured by ice crystal formation. It appears, however, that molecular changes do take place in the sarcolemma itself due to freezing, which probably involve alteration in elasticity and facilitate the flow of muscle juice when the meat is cut.

The report states that a previous proposal of the committee to ship an- experimental consignment of prime young beef to Great Britain in frozen condition was revived in June, 1929. Accordingly, arrangements were made to obtain two purebred and prime bullocks of the following breeds: AberdeenAngus, Shorthorn and Hereford, and have same fattened on concentrates.

The cattle were duly slaughtered in Melbourne at the end of September and one hind and fore from a beast of each breed has been frozen and shipped to London. On arrival the beef would probably be displayed at Smithfield and subsequently cut, certain joints being subjected to cooking and eating tests. Portions of the other bullocks are being held in Australia, some in a frozen and others in a chilled condition, and at the end of about six weeks are to be subjected to similar cooking tests to demonstrate that young and prime beef does not suffer by freezing to the same extent as older material of poorer quality. HERE AND THERE AGRICULTURAL NOTES. AT HOME AND ABROAD. For the month of November seventeen dairy companies in South Taranaki paid out £184,757 in advances to suppliers, the highest being at the rate of Is 7d per lb of butter-fat, and with two other exceptions, the rate was Is 6d. Parts of Hawke’s Bay had a taste of a Home Christmas, a heavy fall of snow having taken place on December 23 on the Ruahine ranges. There was a heavy coat ing extending half way down the mountaii slopes, an almost unknown event for thi ’ period of the year. The weather foi Christmas was therefore quite cold. A total of 25,295,560 sheep were shorn in New Zealand in the 1928-29 season, the number for the previous season being 23,958,577. Lambs tailed during the 192829 season totalled 13,855,958, compared with 13,178,72 in the 1927-28 season. The dehorning of dairy cows is usually carried out without much risk to the animals dehorned. It is recognised that it should not be done in extremes of weather, either hot or cold, or when a cow is approaching calving. Recently a Waikato farmer was caused much anxiety by the excessive bleeding of some of the cows operated on. It seems probable that the trouble was caused by the cows being turned into a paddock of rank clover too soon after the dehorning. When the number of pounds of dry feed consumed are compared with the number of pounds of dry human food produced by various animals, the economy of the cow is distinctly shown.

<u P> o O 3 & BJ .S ■d cn u, •s s o o 3 .S mT a -3 o "m £ S 2 2® & & 9 o ►—i o Taieri .. .. .. 33 945 1026 3.8 38.81 53.57 33 25.27 26 79 12. Stirling .. .. 27 967 1065 3.8 40.35 48.19 37 31.17 23 87 11. Pukerau .. .. 30 948 1020 3.8 38.65 51.39 49 27.48 35 95 9. Mataura .. .. 26 889 1157 3.7 42.45 57.57 21 30.93 43 97 13. Edendale .. 32 1285 1128 3.9 44.14 60.23 38 35.06 51 100 11. Waimatuku I. 34 1090 1061 3.8 39.88 53.94 35 28.22 36 • 100 12. Waimatuku 2 34 1176 1034 3.8 39.04 51.36 25 24.53 34 89 10. Otautau .. .. 31 1127 1073 3.6 39.03 52.42 12 27.62 21 86 11.