THE FARM.

Timaru Herald, Volume CVIII, Issue 1682, 31 May 1919, Page 3

THE FARM.

jNIOTIES BY "KOIUDL" x THE WOOL CUP. iiiccs and figures are now available in i:(;juh:cUl!u \ntu] the satu of toe iast clip, aoa comparisons may now be haaw beiiiveen tue eAps of J yxv-its, and iyi.B-ly. 'J-'iie clip tor the period is now practically all valued and xt> amounts to 515,058 bales of a value of ~li,yfcjo.4oo, rouiKiy Itt we.gos IBy,2Bti_,y-iO--,sv ai.i.d tuc average tveigpt per bale is btSGiij. I'iie average price per lb is But as the wool ea l r do? s nob c.iose until 30th June, <i.nd there are some 30.000 'bales of odd lots, roiUrli lots, and general clearing up parcels of wool to conu: in, which wools, ol course, are of Sourer value, the probability is t'liat t>h e average.for tlhei vivo.a clip wi :j hhe id per lb J, ess thar j the lojd above quoted. The quantity of wool den I'd with in I last year's whole dip was 522,325 bales, i of a. value of £11.854,522. The average : vaius per bale was then £22 14s, and w? avel ,' a,ge P rice P°i' l»nnd 14.96 d. When the allowance of, say, Jd per pound for the 30.0C0. ba'es of oddments <'i. wool yJt. ,to come in is taken into accoiint, • thu value per pound of this year s clip may be brought down to there is not very much d( uprouc* between the two vea.rs. .rhis year, however, the New Zealand ■ wool grower will participate to "the extent of 50 per cent. hi. the profits made y '" e Imperial Government, vii account of tire sale of its wool's in open iKarlvst. _ "What that amount of profit will be is cot yet .ascertaiunb.te. The sa.es are sti-l going on. • .- Mr \Y alter Hll, chief supervising valuer for the Government, in his rePort on the clip covers practically the uhoia of tlhe Dominion, taking each se.ling p.lace in turn. In regard to Canterbury hie states:— Christ-church : In most cases the winter had left traces of its seventy <ya this wool, and while there were a few lines equal to or better than, previous season-, most of the cho'ce lines of Nortlii Canterbury wool were this season of only medium character and condition. Because of : tliis, valuers have not been able to get up to the previous season's prices. In oonssquence. the number of appeals have bo"ai considerably increased. Besides the worse condition, .there is evidence of want of the usual care in preparation ,which in case of public auction would in many cases affect the .competition from those wanting straight anld weill got tip lines of wool.

Timaru: The severe winter had left its traces on much of the wool Fubmit-t-ed for valuation, and generally the clip was nctb in such good condition as the previous .year, being only an average clip. Ther 1 ?. were a, few good lines m three-quarter bred wotols. Wellington had the honour of gaining the highest price per hale. £24 15s lOd, with Tokoma.ru Bay and Wanganui well up to tha'o Timaru was practically £1 per hale bs.ow Wellington, iVihile Invercarg'll wag llowest.on the list-, '!>*- ■ n S .i'us't below £2O. The average price per bale was £23,4s d.

THE MILK SEPARATOR. A good milk-separtor is is sometlhing like a bicycij of motor-car, inasmuou i ha.t jf you take care in. keeping it ciean, a-id see that no parts are abused "y neglect of lubrication far harsh treatment, it wall last for years and doi ail that, was exipsctecl of & in the way of efficient work. There are some excellent makes on. tlhe market, and- even at the present prices it is always economy to invest in a reliable make". To get the best work out of a separator it is necessary to observe the instructions by the workers as to speed at which, it should be worked; also ork eve/J]y and sifceadily. not imagine that you are turning, the handle of a churn, in doing .which a. certain ;nnoutiit of jerking is necessary, but kcop up the same pressure light chrougjh tlie revolution, If th© diireclions call for a revolution of, say, 45 per minute, do not turn at 40 for five minutes andtbqn at 50, under the idea t hat, sq long as tlie viorreot. <i.ver*ige ia obtained th..nks will be all righifc. You may slightly exceed the indicated speed if you find rather too much fat left in thie milk, but under no circumstances .should the speed be slackened. The beat results are obtained win an the milk is mil through the. separator as soon as possible offer it is drawn from tOie oow. If 'bo stand about foj- some time* it will get cold, and there will be a serious Joss ;af fat unless it is warmed up again t 0 about 90 degress. The best way to do 'this is to plunge' the pail wntainSpDig tlio milk into hot water, and continually s jt'ir !t s contents until the desired temperature is obtained. O eanlines s is, of course, absolutely essentia.!. Oil every Ira-ring before each time iof use. and do noit use too much oil; a few drops onllv are necessary, aind! will be mort» effective than a quantity. About once a week well oil the bearings wiib parrifin ; this will bj'innr out all the 'dirt, thick aJid gumjny oil % svnd the rnacihiine will run mora easily in cqtisrquance.

POTATO POISON. On this subject a writer in the Otago "Daily Times" refers .to the maltrter in the following, terms:— Can any of your r'eaders explain Why in recent yciars the taste of thte domestic potato has changed^to a bijtter flavour, suggestive, of the presence of solanine F This, I beiievß, is geneirally under tbe skin, and tlhe of the tubers may have something to do with the matter to which I call attention. An o!d copy of tlie "Lancet" medical journal says: "It is undoubtedly the case that there is a time when the potato may contain, an important quantity of poison, and this appears to. bis when the tubers begin to germinate and in thati case the solanine has found chiefly in the peel and tlhis eyps.'° In a "Lancet" 1846, which is rather too fair away for reference, a. peculiar eruption was traced to the use of diseased potatoes, causing rigors, hot skin quick pulse and abdominal pain. In tlie next stage ro*e-colour'?d patches appeared and quickly vanished, aind in this third stage there were swollen muscles of the neck, etc.. pains in the bones, etc., Thus it is that, although poisoned potatoes are rare, it is advisable to. keep a iook-out for those kinds which grow in cerifrn c''o?e. heavy soils and may be affected with a bad taste.

A WOOL IS'OTE. Lsavijig out for the time being tttie MibjeoD or the valine of the carcase as food, and looking at the master of tbe wool alone. it is w» 1 1 to remember thati the I'oiv in- the price the greater tli© necessity for ma'in.ta.'ning the highest standard, b«:aus»? this will ;:ive t'hati particular clip or mark a preference in the market mid s'-cure the liigh price that is attainable for that e ass of wool. It is fortunate that whatever causes lead to an incren-ed quality in the meat react 011 live woo!, and improve it also, although these changes are not. always roil current iin< regard to size and w-eiglit, as a large and heavy carcase is usually M r.oinpanird by an increased coarseness in the fibre, and 'if this change is l.i-enrr-bt ;iliont inn rapidly n'-"o hv a. !•'ndi'iv y to drlertonvLion in Hie F.fcriK'i.uro of the individual fibres, especially : as regards tjie, farm jvpiJ grranpfcraeu.tij

of tlie epidermal scales. In th e animal economy the greatest- vm\ation s and changes always occur iu thoso. parts which aro the least fixed, and where vital action is the most active. This is specially the case with the appendages of t'he skin, wluoh are, indeed in a sense almost independent in the.r growth of the ordinary control ol : the remainder of the organism. Tins is eieariy shown in the case which i s frequently seen in the human subject, where the bKard will continue to "row even after death showing that the infibres of hair, wnea onte the fclliole or sac lias been formed and tho connection between the hair and tho loot perfected, are independent organisms, and have a. resembtance to a vegetable rather than an animal character.

- No animal is more- easily derauged by iiegiect t-han the sheep, and one of the first symptoms when this neglect becranes chroiiic, and they are permitted as it were, tc* run wild, is the reversion 10. certain parts of the fleece of the wool to hair when the softness and curl ot tltoe wool diminishes and the fibres become harsh and hiomv, often goin." - as far as to produce what are" called konips, where the norrnal structure of the ordinary woojl fibre is entirely obliterated, and the whole shaft if the/ hair becomes horny in texture and thus the fibre becomes brittle, and harsh' and loses o.Ji its felting properties. In this case such fleeces can only be used for the vary lowest class of Mods, and sometimes are quite umisab'e at all Apart from neglect, some individual sheep, even m wall-tended flocks, are more liable to these valuations and reversions than, others, -and the careful farmer should weed these out and so raise the standaa'd of quality in the! Hock. These aro only a few of the points (concludes the Live Stock Journal) which researches into the structure of the wool fibre bring under our notice bu,t they are all-important matters..both to the farmer and the manufacturer. Fortunately, the revelation of the del'eots which may exist and their causes also reveals, as allready shown, the remedy, and in this respect the results of these technical investigations enable us to know the methods we must emplby .to attain the highest perfection to which we may be able to bring: the art •of wool production and give to it its , CTPatesit commercra,!-.' value. A word tlie wise is sufficient.

JOTTINGS., ' • is ''beiieved to V)e a ree ord yield of wheat was thrashed, on the iaieri recently. On a ten-acre padddclr on Mr G. M'Leod's farm at Moriiona a yield of 283 bags of rmrple Tuscan W ?^ t ,T as 1 o7ltained - This works out at 941- bushels per acre.

Sheep not infrequently in autumn-' winter seasons, owing to ■ their prominent eyes being exposed to <.old ; suffer from temporary blindness. It may be a result from disturbed digestive functions. Suggest that you change the pastures, and look to the water supply. Treatment of just a, few cases might, b e practicable, .say. by using an eye lotion of two grains of zinc sulphate to loz of distilled water. At the same time give some E-psom salts—4oz in a 'pint of water." Many inquiries have been mad© lately concerning the prospects of supplies of basic slag being available, but it would appear that the possibility of regular shipments of high grade basic slag coming to hand is nil in view of the fact that, in consequence of supplies available being insufficient for the requirements of the,, Old Country, the export of best basic slag has been prohibited. It is stated that the lower grade of basic slag now being sold is hardly suitable for New Zealand at the present cost of transport. The Hauralvi Plains are attracting considerable attention from Taranaki and other buyers, and £75 pei- acre has been realised for one section, whil.\ a block which was auctioned brought £20,000, or in the vicinity of £SO per acre. The dry spell has improved the area considerably, feed is plentiful, and the production last year was well over £'50,000. Only a third of the plain has yet been brought under the ballot The Minister of Lands has promised greater vigour in draining operations A complaint submitted to the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce that the Agricultural Department refused to make soil analyses for the of some land in the North of Auckland was brought under the notice of Dr. .0 J. Reakes, DirectorGeneral of the 'Agricultural Department in Ohristchurch. He said that there must be some misapprehension, as the Department always was vary pleased to analyse soil for bona fide farmers. As a matter of fact, the Department encouraged fanners' to send soil to it for analysis, " and it jrav? them the best possible advice as" to their operations.