A Farmer's Note-Book

Southland Times, Issue 23380, 11 December 1937, Page 18

A Farmer's Note-Book

Except for a few scattered showers which were followed by cold westerly and southerly winds the weather has remained dry and pastures are showing the effects. It is essential that a good supply of clean water be provided at all times during these hot dry periods for all classes of stock, especially milking cows. Otherwise production will fall rapidly. Sheep and lambs will also loose condition if their supply is short and naturally there will be smaller drafts of fats off the mother and more fattening feed required.

Shearing of wet ewes may be proceeded with but if the lambs are fit for the works it is advisable to wait until after the first draft of lambs are taken out to avoid the risk of a cold change putting the ewes off their milk. It is a general rule to push on the shearing so that the ewes will not require the attention these hot days through being cast, but if a comparison is made of the time spent looking round the sheep with the loss in the condition of lambs and the extra feed required to finish them, through being caught in a cold storm at shearing time it will be found the attention given looking round them two or three times a day for an extra week or two will pay handsomely.

The sowing of all root crops and green feed should be pushed on as fast as possible. Some prefer to delay sowing until it rains but unless the area is very small there is no advantage. Where large areas are to be sown it is useless waiting for rain as it is impossible to get all the seed in while the ground is damp.

The British Friesian cow Lavenham Chancery 3rd has finished her second consecutive 3000 gallon lactation period milk yield, having three other separate and consecutive lactation period yields in excess of 2000 gallons. The official recording for the full ten years work of the new lifetime production champion is 78 tons llcwt 27flb of milk from 1927 to 1937.

The result of the pig census taken by the British Ministry of Agriculture on September 4 for England and Wales is 4,356,000 comprising 472,000 breeding sows 33,000 boars, balance young and store pigs.

Friesland, Holland is a wonderful dairying district. At four o’clock each summer afternoon one tenth of the entire population of the province is engaged in milking black and white cows in the field. These people keep very careful records of their cattle and exceptional pedigree forms are used by them of their bulls and special cows. It is a revelation to see the pedigree of one of these bulls which is a vast roll extending from the roof to the floor. In one pedigree one could perhaps count at least 100 appearances of some great stud bull showing how intensely close these cattle are bred.

Last year a special commission was established in Uruguay to improve sheep breeds in that country. Special premiums are paid to growers for the breeding and purchase of pedigree sheep, and the sale and use of inferior sheep is forbidden. In addition, rebates are allowed on the transport of wool by rail, and material and machinery intended for the wool industry are exempt from customs duty.

The original sheep were black, but they were domesticated thousands of years before houses and cattle, and maybe before dogs. They supplied milk and cheese for the human race, and little wool. The merino was a late development, the name meaning “to walk about,” as they did by hundreds of thousand on the Spanish hills, when it was not necessary to safeguard the flocks.

The average farm in. India is not quite three acres in area, about onefifth of which is usually irrigated. By a system known as fragmentation no one farmer can hold all the good land. Under the system he may have half a dozen plots, varying from good to poor land separated by the good and bad plots of his neighbours.

The Argentine Government has issued a decree prohibiting the export of wheat and flour until further notice. This action was taken because leading bakers had refused to reduce the price of bread and to increase the size of the loaf, their claim being that the price of flour was excessive.

Receptacles with water for washing the cows’ udders and the milker’s hands before milking each cow, and cloths for wiping them are a necessary adjunct to cleanliness.

The top price at the Victorian Red Poll Cattle Breeders’ sale was lOOgns for Mr J. Mclntosh’s “Burnwood Ena,” a first-prize winner at the Melbourne Royal Show.

A cheap curry comb can be made from a piece of board about the size of a rat trap, and the metal tops of bottles. The bottle tops are fixed to the board in six rows of three each with big clout-headed tacks. A strap of leather can be tackled on the back as a grip for the fingers when the comb is being used.

A thistle root measuring nearly seven feet in length was taken from a stubble paddock which was being ploughed recently.

The Clydesdale Horse Society of Scotland is giving two championship silver cups, one for the best stallion and one for the best mare, to the Royal Agriculture Society of New South Wales for their one hundred and fiftieth anniversary.

Germany and Italy have recently been importing much frozen beef from Uruguay. Armour’s Live Stock Bureau has issued a report of the number of cattle used in boneless beef, beef trimmings, and canned beef in the United States of America. The number has doubled during the past five years. The principal use of boneless meat has been in sausage production.

The block test competition for export chillers held at the recent Bulawaye (Southern Rhodesia) show was won by an Aberdeen Angus, with an Afrikander second, and a Shorthorn third. The winner’s live weight was 10651 b, dead weight 7081 b; for the Afrikander the weights were 10651 b and 6651 b, and for the Shorthorn 11051 b and 6401 b. The age of the steers showed a maximum of four years. The treatment of split hoof consists of making a sharp cut in the horn of the wall immediately below the split. This has the effect o fstopping the split from spreading. In addition the crack itself is clamped to force the two edges together, after- a suitable dressing has been applied. Australia produces 25 per cent, of the world’s wool, and in value it represented 33 pbr cent, of the world’s production. The total of all kinds of beef imported into the United Kingdom during the month of September amounted to 1,094,895 cwt. Of the grand total for the nine months from January to September, which , was 9,153,877 cwt; Argentina contributed 61 per cent., Australia 18 per cent., and New Zealan, Uruguay and Brazil 6 per cent each. i

A recent importation was a stud Southdown ram for Mr Walter Price, of Fielding, from Mr J. Pierpont Morgan, England. He is an outstanding ram with splendid constitution, standing squarely on short legs. He gives every indication of being an excellent sire, hading stud appearance and plenty of vitality.

Messrs L. G. Goulter and Sons have purchased one ram from Mr C. C. Dane, Victoria, who in turn purchased his from Mr J. Pierpont Morgan. This ram was awarded the championship at the recent Melbourne Royal Show. An evenly fleshed and well-balanced sheep, his head is particularly good and he has a perfect fleece of true Southdown wool.

Of the two Southdown shearling rams bought by the Southland Frozen Meat Company at a recent sale held in Chichester, England, one was bred in the King’s flocks, and the other came from the estate of the Duke of Bedford. They are expected to reach the company’s farm in March and there will be used to further the fat lamb trade in Southland.