FARM AND DAIRY

Taranaki Daily News, 14 October 1929, Page 16

FARM AND DAIRY

IMPROVING GRASS. SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS. AN EMPIRE SCHEME. There is a growing realisation of the value of- grass to the Empire as a whole. It is a raw material. which may be regarded as an asset common to the Mother Country, the Dominions, and many of the colonies. It is the basis of the dairy industry and the meat producing industry, and the raw material of the woollen' industry. In fact grassland is a bond which unites the remotttfct corners of the Empire—the life blood of the more important Empire industries. To the layman the word “grass” is of little significance. To the agrotologist, the grass specialist, the word means a world of herbage plants, each one with its own habitat, needs, and economic value. Each country has indigenous grasses which have thriven in their natural habitat. But with the introduction of domestic animals some of natural grasses have not been able to thrive under changed conditions, and so the changed conditions have necessitated new grasses.

THE QUALITY OF GRASS. In the selection of a raw material for any purpose it is natural to select that of the best quality, if. indeed, this can be determined. And so.’, we should attempt to grow grass of the best possible quality. The quality of grass which it is intended tot emphasize in this article is the breed. Attention has already been drawn to the importance of nutritive value and miii’tfral contents of these herbage planta—questions which, in consideration of the grassland problem as a whole cannot be dissociated from breed and from each other. In the general picture of living things there are good breeds and - bad breeds of each and every class. Within one breed of sheep or dairy cattle there are animals of high productivity and so of greater economic value than others. It m the constant endeavour of the farmer to select from his stock animals which will raise the productivity of his farm. So it is with herbage plants, and it is -the endeavour of the plant breeder to improve the quality of the material at his disposal. Successful economic plant breeding depends on the ability oi the specialist to select wisely from the multitude of strains and types available to him. Thia selection, based on extensive and laborious quantitative trials, must be based on the fullest information of what constitutes the most desirable attributes which will include information on mineral contents and nutritive value. Many species of grass of European origin have been found so valuable that they are now the common property and the common interest bf farmers and specialists in all parts of the Empire. Thus in the greater part of New Zealand, in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, the rye-grasses, the red and white clover and cocksfoot are typical.

PLANT BREEDER'S' OBJECTIVE. ’ The plant breeder’s efforts-are being directed towards producing strains of these which will maximum ability to withstand grazing, capable of producing the maximum of leaf per acre per annum and of responding freely to wise and adequate schemes of manuring. . Equally important-is the provision of ’strains that will produce the maximum of herbage at different times of the year so that by the blending of strains it may be possible to extend the length of the grazing season. Further matters of importance are the provision of strains having increased powers of resistance to drought, frost, and other adverse conditions. RESEARCH ON HERBAGE PLANTS. Sufficent has b<?en said to convince the reader of the importance of herbage plants, especially to New Zealand, w'here over 90 per cent, of our wealth in the form of meat, butter, cheese, wool, and the like, is produced from grassland. Most of our knowledge on this fascinating and vital subject we owe to Professor Stapledon, Director of the Plant Breeding Institute of Aberystwyth University in Wales. The. primary purpose of this institute is to breed pedigree strains of pasture grasses such as cocksfoot, rye-grass,, clover and the like to replace less desirable species and strains with the ultimate view of restocking Wales, the United Kingdom, and the Empire with herbage plants of higher productivity. EMPIRE PLAN FOR RESEARCH. The need for application of the newer knowledge of plant breeding is becoming more widely realised. In Sweden and Denmark particularly, the harvest is being reaped. An urgent necessity exists for intensive research to be carried out on a co-ordinated scheme embracing the whole Empire and paying due attention to all the conditions under which the most important herbage grasses serve the Empire. The first step has been taken in deciding to set up an Imperial bureau off herbage grasses under the directorship of Professor Stapledon. It is visualised that as a result of its activities an Empire scheme will mature and be launched. That it will be of incalculable benefit to us all is beyond a shadow of doubt.

AMERICAN STUD SHEEP. A REVIEW OF PRICES. Of the 10,597 purebred sheep reported sold in U.S.A, during the year 1928, 78 were Cheviot, 265 Cotswold, 91 Dorset, 4833 Hampshire, 322 Lincoln, 330 Oxford, 3176 Rambouillet, 144 Romney Marsh, 1230 Shropshire, and: 118 Southdown. Prices of purebred sheep, including ten of the leading breeds/were considerably higher in 1928 than in 1927, according to reports from individual breeders to the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United States Department; of Agriculture. Combining the auction and private sales, of the above breeds, results by sex and ago groups are as follows: Of the 2756 ram lambs under one year of age, 2 per cent, sold for less than £3 per head, 28 per cent, brought between £3 and £6, 56 per cent, sold between £6 and £B, and 14 per cent, sold above £B. The 528 ewe lambs divided into similar groups show that 3 per <j?nt. sold below £3, 63 per cent, between £3 and £6, 23 per cent, be-

tween £6 and £B, and 11 per cent, above £3. Of the 4236 rams of breeding age, one year and under two years old, less than 1 per cent, sold below £3, 12 per cent, between £3 and £6, 46 per cent, between £6 and £lO, 36 per cent, between £lO and £2O, and 6 per cent, above £2O. Thirtyfive per cent, of the aged rams brought bi tween £6 and £lO, 35 per cent, between £3 and £6, and 30 per cent, above £lO. BREEDING FOR SEX. A SUGGESTED METHOD. There have been many theories pkt forward from time to time on the methods which might, be adopted to determine the sex of calves. A writer in the current issue of Thornton's Quarterly Journal, published by the well-known firm of auctioneers, valuers and shippers of purebred livestock, makes a further plea for the old. idea of. alternate sexes. The method advocated is as follows: If a cow produces a heifer calf and she is mated at the first, third or fifth time she comes in use, the result will be a bull calf; if mated at the second, fourth or sixth period, the produce will again be a heifer. If the cow first produces, a bull Calf and another bull calf is required she .would be mated at the second or fourth period, etc. The writer states that the late Rt. Hon. Frederick Wrench tried the system 'with great success in Ireland. He told him that for five years he never bred anything but bulls from certain cows, as although they were splendid breeders, he did not want heifers because they were not of the families that- he wished to keep in the herd. Order is the first law of nature, and nothing comes by chance; it that the most reasonable and commonsense law in this matter is that the sexes should be alternate.

The idea is that the sex is always determined by the female and has nothing whatever to do with the male. It is held that the right Ovary produces a male, and the left a female, and that an ,egg is shed from each ovary alternately. In the ease of twins either two are shed from one ovary or one from each. Arguments will be brought forward that some cows will breed mostly heifers and others bulls—thia may be either a matter of chance as to the service, or one ovary may be weak or even diseased. Others say that certain bulls get more males than females. This may be so, but if a penny is tossed twenty times it may come down eighteen times heads and only twice tails.

“There have been many theories on this subject and plenty of people will no doubt,” says the writer of the article, “ridicule all that I have written, but I ask those breeders who deem it highly import-ant to breed calves of either sex to give the method a trial. It means trouble and great care is necessary to ensure that a season is not missed, which is easily done, especially when cows arc tied up during the winter months.” SHORTHORN MILK YIELDS. ENGLISH REGISTER OF CATTLE. Tho continued popularity of the milking Shorthorn is demonstrated by the British Government’s Register of Dairy Cattle for tho year ending October i, 1928, the twelfth of the scries. Of the 7500 milk yields included, 4326 are those of Shorthorn cows, or consider“ly more than half. They include no less than six records which exceed 20,0001 b, while, of the remainder, 42 cows gave between 15,000 and 20,0001 b; 60 cows gave between 14,000 and 15,0931 b; 164 cows gave between 13,000 and 14,0001 b; 386 cow’s gave between 12,000 and 13,0001 b; 944 cows gave between 11,000 and 12.000 lb; 2045 cows gave between 10,000 and 11,0001 b. ■ Most creditable amongst these excellent yields is that of Mr. Law-rence Hignett’s 1 (Hook End, Checkendon) Apley Proud Kirklevingion that gave 22,SGS’/jl'b. This is a ten-year-old pedigree Dairy Shorthorn whose full lactation period record totalled 24,18211 b. The next highest Shorthorn record is 22,3941 b given by Pencvyd Ringlet 13th, bred in the herd of Mr. T. P. Preece, and now’ tho property of Mr. Frank Brown, Slecches, High Hurst wood; Sussex. This cow’ also heads the-list of animals gaining certificates of merit with an average of 21,075%1b for the past thr - official milk-recording years. She has yielded 22,G50£, 18,182 and 22,3941 b in the three years 1926, 1927 and 1928, and her total of G3,226%1b is greater by IGjGlllAlb than the three years aggregate yield by the next best performer amongst the cow’s gaining certificates. A non-pedigree Shorthorn in the herd of Mr. A. G. Tagg, Edge Hill, Stapenhill, Burton-on Trent, conies next with the excellent yield of 22,0881 b. She is followed 'by Dumpling, another non-pedigree Shorthorn from Mr. John Day’s wellknown herd at Shepton Mallet. Her record of 21,639 Jib in the official year only represents part of her lactation yield, which totalled 25,889%1b in 332 days; very little short of the English Shorthorn record. Dumpling was the highest yielder in the Somerset and North Dorset Milk Recording Society last year. Lucy, from the herd of Captain Ha.'rop at Garthgynan, Ruthin, the holder of the Harold Jackson Cup, ranks fifth among these leading Shorthorns with her record of Her average for the last three years with- which she won the All England inter-breed trophy i.j 15,0641 b. Mr. E. Macintosh’s herd at Boxhill. Downing, supplies the sixth highest

Shorthorn in Louie 7th, a ten-year-old pedigree cow’ that gave 26,1341 b. No fewer than 99 Shorthorns gained certificates of merit by exceeding the yield of 27,0601 b in the last three milkrecording years. As mentioned previously, the highest total was given by Mr. I’rank Brown’s cow Pencoyd Ringlet 13th. Mr. E. R. Debenham’s Blackthorn Bud was next with 42,039 i, and the same owner’s Flower was third with 46,8581 b; 37 other Shorthorns gave yields exceeding 36,0601 b for the three years.

OIL FROM WHEAT GERM.

Looking, smelling, and tasting like ordinary lubricating oil, three gallons of oil extracted from wheat are stored at the Wheat Research laboratory in Montreal Street (states the Christchurch Times). It . is intended that over twenty gallons shall be extracted. The oil will be used by the Veterinary Division of the Department of Agriculture in its antisterility experiments on farm animals, which will be commenced in about six weeks’ time. The oil is strong in certain vitamins that ordinary pasture grasses may lack. The three gallons of oil have been extracted from 500 pounds of wheat germ, which itself constitutes only about one per cent, of the grain of wheat. The germ is extracted in the process of milling, and in the ordinary course is fed to animals as offal. Much plant has been necessary for the extraction of the oil, and though such extractions have been made in other countries it is believed that the work in Christchurch is on a scale never before attempted in the world. The extraction is being carried out under the ■ guidance of Mr. H. E. West, the institute’s chemist. It is understood that the anti-sterility experiments on farm animals will be among the first 'of their kind in the world? Many experiments with wheat oil have been carried out in the United States, but experts have , in the main confined their experiments to. rats and mice ■ .