FIELD INSTRUCTION

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 13, 6 April 1927, Page 7

FIELD INSTRUCTION

. VALUE OF EXPERIMENTS ADVICE ON PIG-RAISING (From Our Resident Correspondent.') TAUMARUNUI, To-day. If the mountain cannot come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the mountain. The country settlers cannot all go to the agricultural schools for instruction, therefore the Government has decided that the instruction must come to them. For some time* past an extremely useful and promising work has been unobtrusively going on

among the farmers of the King Country, ranging from Te Kuiti to Raurimu, whereby instructors under the Department of Agriculture have been visiting the settlers in their own districts and associating them in the conduct of experiments, chiefly devoted to ascertaining the best and most profitable systems of manuring. It is well known that no set rules can be laid down for the whole country, as different localities require different treatment, and besides the conclusions arrived at are far more impressive when they are obtained by the settlers themselves. The instructors make periodical visits to the scene of the experiments, assemble the farmers and discuss with them the methods, quan-

tities and results. This has been done very satisfactorily both in the Ohura and the Owahango districts, by Mr. J. TL F. Jenks, an instructor stationed at Te Kuiti. and a few days ago Mr. K. W. Gorringe, instructor in swine husbandry, gave an interesting lecture on the rearing and management of pigs, to some 20 farmers in Owohango. PROFIT IN PIGS The last-named district, it may be remarked, is particularly well chosen for the purpose as it is one of small dairy farms, and pig-keeping has great possibilities as a side-line. He strongly urged the settlers to breed their own pigs as in the first place it was never safe to buy weaners from unknown sources, on account of the possibility of disease and in the second place a litter could be brought to the weaner stage at an average cost of 7s 6d each, whereas pig-farmers often paid as much as 35s for them at that age. That was foolish. The lecturer showed by figures that pigs, if managed properly, were more profitable than cows, and with proper management there was nothing disagreeable about the management of them.

Worms, both the lung-worm and the round-worm were the worst diseases pigs suffered from. Turpentine was a sure remedy for the former. Artichoke was an excellent feed and was easily grown.

PAYMENTS AT OTOROHANGA TE AWAMUTU, To-day. It is stated that upwards of £2,000 was paid for fat pigs at Otorohanga last month by one buying firm alone. During March nearly 1,000 fat pigs were secured in Otorohanga district by five buyers, many of these animals being consigned to Auckland to be slaughtered at Southdown. It may be assumed that nearly £12,000 has been paid to the pig-breders of this district during the past three months.

Accidents of all kinds on railways caused, in 1924, the death of 112 passengers and 263 railway employees.