THE FARM

Waikato Times, Volume 90, Issue 14024, 29 March 1919, Page 10

THE FARM

AGRICULTURAL EVENTS FOR WEEK ENDING APRIL 5. M.jNDAY. Stock Sale at Cambridge. Stock Sale at Pacroa. Clearing Sale at Mr A. Day’s, Matainala. TUESDAY. Stock Sale at Tirau. Stock Sale at Ngatea. Stock Sale and Sheep Fair at Ohaupo Clearing Sale at Mr W. F. Sinclair’s, ■Walton. WEDNESDAY. Horse Fair at Te Puke. Stock Sale at Matamata. Stock Sale at Te Kuiti. Stock Sale at Katikati. { Horse Sale at Mr Newton’s, Waingaro. Clearing Sale at Mr F. Dickens’, Whatawhata. THURSDAY. Horse Fair at Te Puke. Slock Sale at Hamilton. FRIDAY. Stock Sale at Waihou. Clearing Sate at Mr P. G. Kay’s, Ruakiwi. Sale of Timber, etc., at N.Z. Dairy Association, Matangi. SATURDAY. Stock Sale at Te Awamutu. Jottings— The receipts in connection with the Masterton Show totalled £33G6 and the expenditure £3557. From reports furnished by Held inspectors of the Department of Agriculture, it is estimated that the total yield of wheat for the Dominion this season should be approximately 0,265,000 bushels. The Spaniards say, “ The hoofs of sheep are golden.” There is no doubl that every farm, big or little, should have a certain number of these animals. Mr Thomas Mathew has been appointed manager and agricultural instructor of the Queen Mary Instructional Farm, Hanmer Springs. Mr Mathews was a Main Body man, and is an old boy of the Timaru High School and an ex-student of Lincoln Agricultural College. The Minister of Agriculture, when speaking at the Marton Show, suggested that the judges of the various classes should be asked to supply a report on their reasons for placing the animals they had to deal with, and pointing out the defects in animals they had passed over. •Mr. J. Thompson, of Queen street (Levin) has a'bovine curiosity in the shape of a cow with nine teats. The first pair of the extra set are situated between the ordinary teats, and the remaining couple are on the back portion of the udder. The cow is an excellent milker and one of the best in the herd. The arrival of the Waihora at Dunedin with a cargo of gunnies (the first direct cargo to be landed in New Zealand for a long time) has had an effect on the price of sacks. Three months ago almost any merchant in the country would have paid a shilling each for any number of good second-hand sacks. To-day, about 9d is the market price—and it is a falling one. The present quotations for new sacks in the south are Is 4d for 44-46 sacks and Is 5d for 46-48 sacks. The Waihora has arrived in good time for the requirements of the harvest. Though the biddy-biddy, or burr, causes much annoyance when it comes in contact with one’s clothes, there is no doubt about its valuable medicinal properties. A farmer informed a Levin Chronicle representative that he knew of a case where a herd of 80 calves was badly attacked with scour, and all would probably have died but for treatment with biddy-biddy. The plants were pulled and boiled, and about half-a-pint was given to each calf, with a similar quantity of milk. All the calves were saved but three. The plant is very well known to the natives for its medicinal properties. Dry Spell Breaks. The break in the lengthy spell of fine weather which the Waikato has experienced for some weeks, will be welcomed by farmers generally and particularly by the dairying community, which is such an essential factor in c<ur agricultural life. Although conditions have been hinting throughout the week-end that the dry period was breaking, it was not until Tuesday that the rain came on to any pro- ■ nounccd degree. It was particularly steady in Hamilton and the immediate vicinity, and reports from various outlying localities indicate that the fall was fairly general. Feed is very plentiful at the moment and this freshening up will give an added growth to the pastures, which will be beneficial to stock. Appreciation— The management of the Matamata Show was well served all round, but the one department in which the press had particular reason to be thankful for prompt and courteous attention was in the steward, Mr. H. Moorc.Tones, who was requested to convey official results to the assembled representatives. Mr. Moore-Jones had a very heavy day’s work to perform m attending to the different rings where adjudication was going on, but he carried out his allotted tasks in a manner which indicated that he was thoroughly conversant with what was required of him and competent to perform it. We had reason to write of the Waikato Central Association's proficiency in this connection, and ourknowledge of Matarnata’s later efforts accords equal satisfaction at the attention and method displayed in this Important show department. Sunstroke— The unusual occurrence of a horse having been struck down with sunstroke has come under the notice of a county council in the Manawatu district. The veterinary surgeon who had attended the animal, staled that it was the first case of sunstroke among horses that he had heard of in the district. Although kept under observation for several days, the animal was continually falling down and showed no signs of improvement, having eventually to be destroyed. In England and on the Continent horses are often protected from sunstroke by canvas shields above their heads. Westland’s Progress— It is only a few years ago since all butter and cheese had to be imported to Westland. Now a considerable amount is exported. Besides the two butler factories at Creymoulh, South Westland has three butter and three cheese factories, each with an increasing output of good quality butler. An English visitor compares the cheese produced by a factory at Hari Hari quite favourably with the best English chcddar. Until recently all fat stock killed were imported from the North Island; in fact, a special landing was built for their accommodation. Things have changed. In 1917. 2000 head of fat cattle and 16,000 sheep were sent over the range to Canterbury. It is stated that over 5000 head of cattle left the coast | last year.

The Honey Crop— Regarding the honey crop for the Wellington district the apiary instructor reports as follows to the Director of Horticulture Division of the Department of Agriculture: A number of returns are now available, showing the honey crop gathered from apiaries in the district. They are all go oil average crops, which serve to indicate that the climatic conditions were very evenly distributed, as usually the crops are patchy. The quality is all that could he desired. None of this season’s crop has yet reached the market, hut prices are likely to remain firm. Beeswax is in demand at 2s 3d per lb.

Freight Shortage— Reference to the shipping position and to the large accumulations of meat and produce held in the Dominion, owing to lack of freight, was made by the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. W. D. S. McDonald, to a deputation of potato-growers at Christchurch. “As regards intercolonial shipping,” said the Minister, “ the difficulties in the way of securing freight were never greater during the war than at present. Some people thought that when the armistice was signed, everything would improve, hut they were mistaken. Then, the accumulations of meat, etc., in cool store arc heavy. In fact they are greater than lias been the case since the war commenced. And there is not a great deal of shipping in sight to appreciably relieve the position for a while.” DUAL PURPOSE CATTLE. The dual purpose breeds of cattle are supposed to he both good for milk and for beef. Of course, the scawniest Jersey will produce some beef, and the fattest Hereford cow will give some milk. But between these two extremes are a number of cattle which claim to be fairly good both for beef and for milk. Of these, the most famous is probably the milking Shorthorn (says Wallace’s Farmer), About two hundred years ago a Mr Dobinson, who lived in the county of Durham, England, from whence the shorthorns first came, brought over from Holland several bulls which were very likely of the sort that are now called Holsteins.

Probably these bulls improved the dairy qualities of the original Shorthorn cattle. ■

At any rate, when one of the original Shorthorn improvers, Mr. Thos. Bates, began to work with them, he found a number of cows which were very excellent milkers, as well as good beef animals. He liked the combination idea, and kept records of both the amount of beef and the amount of milk produced with a given amount of feed. To this day, Bates’ Shorthorns are noted for their milking qualities. After Bates’ time, the most popular of the breeders swung away from the milking idea for a great many years, but the common farmers, both in England and in the United States, depended very largely on the Shorthorn or Durham as a milk cow. Over half the milk in England is produced by Shorthorns. During the past ten or fifteen years, there has been a great revival of interest among certain purebred breeders of the milking type, and to-day we have Shorthorns which have made records in milk and butterfat that compare favourably with any breed. Some of the best have made records of around 20,000 pounds of milk and 1000 pounds of butter in a year. The best type of milking Shorthorns is very similar in general appearance to the Holstein except for the colour. They may be just a little finer boned and a little smoother, with a slightly greater tendency to flesh up easily.

But really the difference is more in colour than in anything else. The milk of the Shorthorn cow will average nearly a half of one per cent, richer in butter-fat than the milk of the Holstein. The calves of the dualpurpose Shorthorn seem to rank just as well with the" ordinary feeder as the calves of the more beefy type. At any rate, the ordinary farmer seems to fare just about as well which ever type he has. The Red Polls stand out more distinctly as a dual-purpose breed than any other. They were bred originally in eastern England, about two hundred miles soutli of where the Shorthorns originated. One hundred years ago, in this section of England, there were two types of cattle, one which had no horns and was of excellent dairy type. There was also a horned type, of rather small frame, bright red colour, with,, a white or mottled face, much like the Hereford. Gradually, the farmers of this section of England began to mix the two breeds, selecting all the time for solid red animals with no horns, which were good both for producing milk and beef. By 1862, it was realised that a new breed had been formed, and ever since then the new breed has given a good account of itself. Beginning with about 1873, the Red Polls have been brought over to this country in rather large numbers, although they are not nearly so popular as the dairy and beef breeds. The ideal Red Poll cow looks very much like a good Shorthorn, being broad over the back, short-legged, deep in the chest, and with thick thighs, while at the same time the udder is of good size, and the cow possesses the ability to yield slightly more than the ordinary Jersey or Guernsey daily, her milk testing about 3.8 to 4 per cent. Red Polled steers have often been shown at the International, and have captured a few prizes, although they are ordinarily decidedly inferior to the true beef steers. The cows have been entered in competition with the cows of the strictly dairy breeds, and while they have made very good records, they have not surpassed the record of the Holstein, Jersey, or Guernsey, the Red Poll occupies a position very similar to that of the milking Shorthorn.

A third dual-purpose breed was developed about 150 miles west and a little south of where the Red Polls came from. They are much like the Red Polls, except that they have horns, are a little smaller, gave a rather richer milk, and arc finerhoned, with a rather deer-like appearance. The Devon at one time was very popular in the eastern States. To-day, however, we almost never hear of it as a beef breed or a dairy breed. The Holstein, Ayrshire, and Drown Swiss have some claim to rank as dual-purpose breeds.

At any rate, the cows of these breeds and especially the Ayrshircs, fatten off very readily when dry, And the steers calves fatten off fairly well. The calves of the Brown Swiss arc of good size, and bring more money as veals at an earlier age than almost any other breeds.