RURAL TOPICS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXII, Issue 9734, 22 July 1910, Page 2

RURAL TOPICS.

{Smciallii Contributed.)

Blight ou Oaliforuiau Thistle—A Raugitikei Resident's Description — Floors of Fowl-houses—Dry Ashes Recommeuded—Success in Farming —Some Souud Advice—lnsufficient Capital Generally Leads to Failure —Many Farmers Now Paying the Peualty—A Struggle from Year to Year—Mauy Persons Met Suited to Rural Life—Strike ou a Harvest Field—A Farmer Takes Matters in His Own Hauds—Tuberculosis Still Spreading—Government Veterinarian's Views—Some Siguificaut Facts aud Figures-—Need for Pasteurising Milk and Cream—Some Convincing Experiments—S tat o Interference Urgently Necessary.

a resident of Kaugitikei writes to a contemoorary expressing surprise at the little interest taken in the appearance of blight ou Oaliforniau thistles, and that no sterja have been taken to preserve the grub during the winter mouths, being the one aud only raeaus of riddiug the country of the thistle pest. It is, he says, a really true and tangible blight, plainly to be seeu with the naked eye, in the form of countless thousands of tiny greeu insects something after the form of the rose-tree blight, whicn appear to attack the stem of the thistle and cause the whole of it, after a time, to turn completely black and wither off. Possibly it will survive the winter. If it is lost to us lor ever, then indeed shall we have cause to bitterly regret our apathy, for here is right into our hauds the most effective means of ever coping with the Oaliforuian thistle aud saving to the farmers thousands of pounds which are spent in a vain effort to check it. Some appear to doubt the agency of this blight, because ifc does not attack the roots; but the correspondent says that it does so, he having pulled up several blighted stalks with three or four iuches of root completely blackened. Even supposing that the roots were not affected with blight, are they going to survive for any length of time without tops to tliemV He thinks not. If they do so, then indeed could they never be cleared Dy cutting. He says he forwarded a parcel of blighted thistles to the Government Biologist, Wellington, hut apparently it was not sufficiently interesting to warraut any acknowledgment. He considered that the presence of this blight should be generally made known, aud an effort made to distribute it throughout the Dominion. The blight does not affect the grass iv auy way. It would be interesting to ascertain if the blight ou the (Jaliforuiau thistle has been seen elsewhere thau in the Raugitikei district.

To keep fowls in unfailing liealtli iv the winter time the floors of their should be kept quite dry. Various ailmeuts are avoided uuder such conditions. If t.ho floor is kept bare, the droppings inase it very uupieasuut. If bedded with straw, etc., this souii becomes moist both the droppiugs and atmosphere induce this There is no better bedding material for fowl-houses in winter than dry ashes. These are available to all. They absorb moisture aud disiufect well. They keep down smell aud prevent uucleau atmosphere. The ashes, as collected iv the house can be put into the coops daily, and every two or three weeks clean all out and begiu anew. Don't let them remain so long that they become mucky. They are then in an unfit state to act as intended.

It is essential (writes a contributor of the Pastoralists' Review) that all wbe contemplate taking up laud should seek the advice of a practical mau. So many theorists are crying: "Go ou the laud" that it is necessary to sift the souud advice from the theoretical, aud confine the question to broad facts alone. That successful life ou the laud is an ideal occupation, that it is thp backbone of aud essential to a country's progress, uo oue will dispute; but it must te remembered that the farming industry includes failures aud hopoless struggles just as other occupations do. Therefore, the advice to go ou the laud should always be tempered with experience. If all the individual failures ou the laud could be marshalled into a line there would be a strikiug array of those whose nou-suc-cess was due to having embarked ou the business with insufficient capital. This is au aspect of the question generally neglected by tho theorist, hut it lies at the root ol the advice by practical men. They know the great truth that money must be put iuto the land before money cau be takeu out; and they know wiiata bare subsistence farming is until the laud cau be adequately improved, stocked, and worked. There are, of course, instances where meu have started with next to nothing aud achieved success. But if these cases were analysed, perhaps the explauatiou would be either in exceptional ability or unexpected lurk. Tho rank aud file want to rely on more thau this, aud it is essential to consider the question of capital.

There are mauy farmers in Australia and New Zealand who are paying the penalty of starting operations with insufficient capital, by- struggling on year after year, dreading rent or interest day, and perpetually fearing some unexpected loss to which ail farmers are liable. There are instances where men have dove well on small areas, but have come to grief through having launched out ou farms beyond their means. There are also instances where a farm has ruined several industrious men of limited means, but when a rich man has taken it up, it l:as returned him handsome interest. It is largely a question of capital, and while sympathising entirely with every practical scheme for putting men on the laud, all who give the subject even casual consideration are forced to recognise the individual merits of each case, because to advise some people to go on the laud would be just condemning them to failure.

An instance of a strike iv a harvest field occurred recently in Bathurst, New South Wales, under somewhat peculiar circumstances. A threshing machine had arrived, and iv order to get the work through more expeditiously the farmer paid each of the hands an extra shilling a day. Having finished the job, the machine men passed on to another farm. Here oue

of the gang made a demand from No. 2 farmer for an extra shilling, explaimug. that he had been receiving this wage hitherto. No. 2 farmer agreed, but when his neighbour appeared dariDg the day and the position was explained the man was told his services were no louger required. Work contiuued for an hour and ahalf, when one of those ou the stack <Ic-!-cerjded and hold a conversation with the discharged hand and deniHoded die reinstatement of the man who had been discharged. Tue farmer declined to accede to the request. The spokesman threatened that unless the request was complied with the whole of the meu would strike and leave the machinery idle. The farmer persisted in maintaining his attitude. At a given signal from a workman the meu left the stack. The farmer at ouce paid them and ordered them off the premises. The men saw their mistake and begged their late employer to Jet them return to work. Both appeals aud threats were disregarded. Saddling a horse ho rode away to another part of the farm where some rueD were engaged ploughing, and they willingly rendered assistance. After less than two hours' delay the machinery was again in full swing a7id the stacks threshed without any further trouble. The first batch of men seemed disinclined to leave, but the farmer showed them that his orders were not to be disobeyed, and they were forced to return to town, having a walk of five or six miles in front of them.

t! At the annual meeting of the South Island Dairy Association, Mr C. J. Reakes, Chief Government Veterinarian, gave some valuable information with regard to the spread of tuberculosis both as regards . oattle aud pigs. Iv his opinion some definite measure must be adopted in order to cope with it, as it is evident, from the statistics available from the results of the inspection of cattle at meat export slaughter-houses and abattoirs, that the disease is making steady progress in tins country. Tho percentage of affected cattle had iucreased at the rate of one per cent, tor the three years ended March Hist, ISKK\ while in the case of pigs the progressive increase had been at the rate of two per cent, per annum. It was obvious, said MrKeakes.that it wos futile to concentrate) energies solely ou the destruction of diseased adult cattle when every year they were raising a crop of calves fed upon uupasceurisad skim milk, much of which, as shown by its effect upou pigs, was contaminated by the presence of turbercular germs. Consequently, a large proportion of tlie.se oalvos would, no doubt, become infected. The fact of the whole of the supply of f\ factory or creamery being mixed together made it possible for a few diseased cows imioug the suppliers to contaminate the whole of tho output of separated milk, or whey. It was necessary, he saul, if the disease was to be coped with effectually, to take measures to prevent its beiug disseminated amongst calves and pigs by feeding ciiem ou tliese contaminated dairy by-products, aud this could be done by the process of pasteutisatiou. lv Denmark, compulsory pasteurisation has been iv vogue for several years. A Danish high authority on such matters, Professor Bang, is emphatic in his assurance that the pasteurisation of separated milk at factories is a most valuable measure in preventing the spread of tuberculosis iv cattle.

The following remarkable case in point was giveu by Mr Reakes to demonstrate the effect of neglect to pasteurise milk at a dairy factory iv tho North Island. It was known that some of the herds supplying it were affected with tuberculosis. The. whole of the skim milk was used for feeding calves and pigs on one place. In 1908 the pigs from this place were so badly affected with tuberculosis that the percentage of diseased aui mals varied in different lots sJaugh tered uuder inspection from 51) per ceut. to 100 per cent! Last year the owner installed a rough and ready pasteurising plant at the factory, aud fed the pigs on the pasteurised skim milk. As a result, though in the beginning of the year a few tubercular pig.s were found, there was only ten per cent, as compared with 50 per cent, to 100 per cent, in the preceding year. As the beasou went on, successive large batches of pigs were slaughtered without a single one being found affected with tuberculosis; yet these pigs iiad been kept in the same pens, were bred from the same stock and were kept under exactly similar conditious in every way. except that the milk was pasteurised. Even the pig-sties had not been disinfected. This is surely convincing proof of the efficacy of pasteurising the skim milk or whey.

Professor .Bang affirms that where the farmer feeds calves aud pigs witli milk from his own herd. State measures are not necessary. It is quite different when, as m Denmark, all milk is sent to the factories, and when the farmer never gets his own milk back. In countries where tuberculosis is very prevalent, the skim milk may spread the disease to a previously healthy herd. In Dr Bang's opinion, the co-operative factory system, which otherwise has been a great agricultural success, has been the means of spreading such diseases as foot and mouth disease, tuberculosis, etc. This danger is so great, in the Professor's opinion, that he is quite sure no herds would have been free from tuberculosis now-a-days iv case no measures were taken to prevent this contagion. He is firmly convinced that a State measure is most urgently needed in this case. In Denmark it was prohibited by law, iv 1808, to return from factories skim milk and buttermilk, unless it had been heated to 185 degrees j Fahr. The pasteurising temperature has since been altered to 17(5 degrees, as a heat of 176 degrees Fahr. had been proved sufficient to kill the | tubercular bacilli. The Agricultural Department may find it necessary to take some compulsory action in this matter, which, it is evident, is of greater moment than generally supposed, and also more far-reaching in its effects and results.