THE FARM

Waikato Times, Volume 89, Issue 13815, 20 July 1918, Page 8

THE FARM

EVENTS FOR WEEK ENDING JULY 27. •MONDAY. Cambridge SU>.-lv Sale. ('l.'.ii'ili" .'nir ,r I e kow liiii. TUESDAY. ()li;til| o Sunk Sales. i likutain >uo< k Sale. Tauiiiaruiiiii Stock Sales. I iaiiiiltnii l.uis' Fair. 'i iriiii Sunk Sak'. Clearing Salt' iii l\o!o-o-liangi. v li ai in- Sale at Orini. WEDNESDAY. Otoroh inga Stock S.iir. Hamilton Horse K.tir. Katikali Stock S:tle. Hamilion Dairy Cow Sale. Oiolohailgn Stuck Sale. Clearing Sale . t Molumaoho. Clearing Sale at Monavalo. THURSDAY. Hamilton Ski;'!, Sales. Land Sales at Hamilton. Clearing Silk- at Sumy River. Clearing Sale al Katikali. Clearing Sak' al i'i.iielc. y mi) ay. Waihoii Stock Sale. Charing Sale at Tau|iiri. Clearing Sale at Wal Clcring Sale al Te Mnwhni. SATI'IIDAV. Te Awainutn Stock Sale. Clearing Sale at Tauwharo.

Lucerne Kay for Pigs. Lucerne hay is an exceedingly good feed lor pigs, especially brood sows. There are substances in lucerne, and especially its leaves, whirl) are higll'y essential to the proper growth and development ol the nig. Mange's and Scour. .Mangels given to any kind ol stuck just after being taken from the kind are calculated to scour animals, owing to their great acidity. The acidswhich occasion the mischief are nil converted to sugar by storage; the change in tho nature of the mange! being similar to that produced in the apple in similar circumstnnces.

Look After the Cow. While the dairy cow does not have to pull heavy loads, she has hard work to do, and unless she has plenty of fresh air, as well as good food and care, she cannot do her best. Cows shut up in a foul, poorly ventilated shed cannot do their best, any raori than a human being can if confined in a hot, stuffy room. Dried Milk and Pigs.

The creation of one industry may sometimes mean the death of anothei (says a Taranaki paper). For instance. if the dried milk industry were to take hold in this district, what would he come of the pig-raising business;' There certainly would he no milk for raising pigs on, and weaner calves would have a shorter allowance than usual. A Record-priced Mare.

Mr H. E. B. Watson, of Tai Tapn, lias sold one ol his Squire Ronald mares, Peggy Ronald, winner of reserve champion at Ellesmere, and clutgi pion prizes at Christchurch and Dun. idin. The buyer is Mr W. J. Dqftk, oi Ashburtoii, and the [nice probaljfy constitutes a record for the Doininioiffer a colonial-bred marc.

Rifles'or Cow Covers. The Military Appeal Hoards are evidently finding it necessary to tightei. li:} more and more in the matter ol exemptions. At a sitting at Palmers ton North the other day Captain Walker, the military representative, gave vent to the following:—"lt amuses me," he said, ''to hear men asking for exemption for young fellows to make cow covers in a crisis like this. Why can't they patch up last year's covers and'make them do " Farm Hours in France.

Working hours of French peasants on Ihe land in these strenuous days ar.' fl'om about 3 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the workers are nearly all women or temporarily released soldiers. The fact intlieates in some degree the tremenlutis si rain falling upon the agriculturists ii: '•lie neighbourhood of the battle zo: • and tha great effort that is being uiadi to si.sla'ii French agriculture. F»on; time to time the industrious and invincible peasants of our ally have been given valuable assistance in the shape of seed, live stock, implements, etc . through the medium of the Agriculture' Relief of Allies Committee, help wind' in the hands of so deserving a class. is bearing fruit now and will be still more fruitful in the future.

Lucerne in centra* CUago. The remarkable virtues of lucerne, and the suitability of the lands of Central Otago for its successful production, are daily becoming more widely recognised (writes the Clyde correspondent of the Dunedin StarJ. There are tremendous possibilities for Central Otago per medium of this wonderful fodder plant, and * soon as its cultivation is gone into on a larger scale I ventune to say that there will be a greater boom that ever fruitgrowing saw or ever will see. It is only a matter ol time, hut the time will assuredly come when Central Otago will be the home of many cheese factories, creameries, etc. The water is the very lil'eblood of the soil, and shortly ( '?) a benevolent Government have promised that two hi" irrigation schemes will be distributing the precious fluid over many miles ol the arid lands of inland Otago. When that actually happens then we will come into our own, and Central Otago will lie verily a land flowing with milk and honcv

Electricity and the Rabbit Pest. Some time ago the president of the Southland League indicated that he was convinced that the rabbit difficulty could he very greatly minimised bv means of electric power, and in conversation with a representative of the Southland Times on Wednesday Mr Kodgcr said that a practical test of his suggestion ljad been made with \ei'\ satisfactory results. He had consigned tu him a few days ago a dozen live tab bits, and through the kindness of Mr K. G. Foster, the borough electrical en gineer, Mr Crane, his assistant, the idea of killing the rabbits by electric power was proved to he possible. The test was made I'.V means of a length of ordinary sheep-proof wire netting, the electric current being passed through it sit 2.'10 volts, the ordinary voltage supplied to a private house. The rabbits coming into contact with the wire netting were electrocuted, and while two rabbits received only a slight'shock aad recovered after a time, this was found to he due to the priinative method of experimenting. The result of tin experiment has convinced those interested thai further exhaustive tests in a practical way should be made, and arrangements have been made whereby these tests will be carried/out within the next few weeks. TURNIP SEED. XKYY /.KM. Wl> I'liMlil (. niiX. 11l ail al'lii'i.' \\ Inch ih al.-, Willi Ibe pruihiclii I' im ii p -' • i. Mr \. II i aickav n-- i I ivi-nuic'lll I»i ■ < I ■ > l: i -1. - i; - '"Tin' I'ldloWlll : 'i ■■ il" In mi ni:'l!i'"lllial nail.l be ,I.l'ipbd Im - ciililu' -lip plii - nf i"i' .ii> -I'"\\ n liirnip -..i11: I ll\ Ibe farmer bun-' If ivM-niug crops and selling the h.jr.j in-xi \,-.,|- nn Ibe

ujiri] iiiarki'i : •> b\ ih- seed iin ivh ml Cnlllr.HMillii ll lII.' lil'i'Srllt !11 Hi' I'nl' lIIw I'll ll inn ;i defniile crop .il ,i i-.'i lain 'price per |muiiiil : •'. h\ lhi- sci'il im rI'li.'inl liii>ii:~ t'l'nin lin' I'arnn r -i owing rlopx ili the llliirki-l price. Mini i .I\ iI; ■_• l .■;,.-,. ,il; ililc i-Xj.fiiS' s iif hi ili;i-.'iiii ill. hal'Neslmg Hid llli i"diitl!i. |ii-i'llii'|' Willi ll.i' ivnl id' I In' I iin 1 iliiriii- Hi.' linn (In 1 1: 111: J is m'.'ii|ih'il. Assuming ;i shortage i»f liim |i seed iii-xl \ear, lin' lirsl ih.'llih i Would In' h> I';IT llli- niosl |H'nlil;ili||. lor llir farmer In ;iiln|il. 111.. Imwrsi'i, will |p|'uli;ilil\ iml uiiileriake .lll> Si etl-gl 11\•-. Ill.'-: llllii'SS il lli'lillilr

price I'm' lin' sceil is Miarniitoed him. This man) m ei| nici'cli;inls arc prepared lo iin al lie presenl lime, aim ..re iiffi rin.y in Ifif vicinily of 'is per pmiiiil I'm' s I harvested in xl summer I'lolll approved O'opS. The lllil'ii mclliod. Ili.d of merchants hiiyini: crops uiili'i.-hl, is also heini; adopted. Iml is mil cnlirei) silisfaclory, as Hie farmer, having no I'lullicr inleresl in llic (Tup, is linl likel) In exercise |ln same decree of siipervisioii as when he > In receive a il< linili- price fur llic • I lil'iidllCi'd. •'II is to he Imped (hat from COO to ItMMI acres nf lurnips ma\ he reserved for seed Ihis year. Manx merchants ■re ipiile willing- lo cnnlracl (nv largi iii'ir iyes, and il is entirely in the farmers' hands whether or iml the production of liirnip seed will he car tied mil on iin cxli'iided scale. II is possible thai sllorlnge of labour will ad as ;i deterrent, but |he annum! reipiiii'd would not he very great, ai Ihotigh il would be mainly needed jus! il llic periu i when llic ordinary harvesting iij'cr;:lions arc in full swing. Labour for bird control, especially il small areas are reserved, would also be ln'iiv) : bid as the critical period coincides with Ibe school summer holidays, juvenile labour might well be utilised for Ibis purpose. There arc .a yood many difficulties to be overcome in the matter of harvesting turnip seed, more especially in the way ol shaking oil' the, seed in the various operations between cutting and threshing, l-'ull inquiries as to llic host methods of procedure are being carried out, and the results will be published in the Journal in time for nexl season's harvest."

THE SPARROW IN AUSTRALIA. The great agricultural areas whirl, arc being developed in Western Australia are free from at least one curse —they know not the sparrow. This creature may be found in all othe l [tarts of Australia, where his depredations cause losses running into hug< sums every year; but the great Centra! Australian Deserts have, so far, barren his progress westwards. Rut there an millions of them in South Australia and that State and the west are now linked by a railway and a telegraph line —the former going overland am' the latter following the coast. >■

The Commonwealth Advisory Conner of Science and Industry is now makin; a special effort to keep the sparrowsout of the west, and the operations an interesting. A leading ornithologist, Captain S. A. White, of Adelaide, Iku undertaken the task. He is basing hi: work upon the well-known fact thai sparrows are dependent upon human ,■■■ fivities, and do not thrive away from settlements, and is therefore confinin; his attention to the railway and tele-

:raph line. ll e has ascertained thul the birds have penetrated along th: railway only as far as Tarcoola, am has initiated there a ruthless war Sixteen birds have been killed at Tar roola, and it is estimated that there are another 20 about the place which mux be killed. But they have become ven wary, and no one can get near then! Three residents, with guns and poison have undertaken to "get" the tin 1 . creatures, under promise of a consider aide reward, and Captain White hope, that the migration may be stopped there.

It appears that on the southern route along the coastal telegraph line, tin sparrows have made greater progres: and have actually reached Hilda and ; station 90 miles west of the town Similar arrangements are being madi with the residents in those places, am it is hoped that energetic- measures wil also check the sparrow invasion here.

.Naturally, West Australia is watch ing the operations with a certain strait cd interest.