FARMING WORLD.

Waikato Times, Volume 123, Issue 20693, 31 December 1938, Page 23 (Supplement)

FARMING WORLD.

By “STOCKMAN."

Disease In the Herds The “carrier" of disease may be the animal which looks one of the best in the herd, and is one of the last to be suspected as having been in any way responsible for an outbreak of disease. Prime cattle killed in the abattoirs are occasionally found in an advanced stage of tuberculosis. In the case of diseases like aDthrax and ■‘blackleg,'’ when death of the infected animal takes place, there are enormous numbers of microbes in the body. These are very resistant. Disintegration of the body is followed by these organisms becoming widely distributed. Water, cultivation, earthworms, and wind all contribute, and so a wide area around the spot where the animal died is soon contaminated. The chance of another animal becoming infected will largely depend on the number of visits it pays to the infected piece of ground; hence we hear of certain paddocks on a farm being associated with a certain disease. Pastures and soils frequently become Infected in a varying degree with microbes, and often according to the concentration of animals. Large

numbers of disease carriers discharging on a restricted area lead to heavy infection. Thus piggeries, calf and sheep pens, and fowlyards may become badly contaminated. Infectious material may be discharged into feeding troughs, drinking places, or over wounds. Parasites In the Soli Many of the larger Internal parasites spend part of their life period in the soil, and concentration of animals in small areas often means a high degree of infection of such soil with these parasites. Tuberculosis, calf scours, pjg scours, contagious pneumonia of pigs, swine fever, and contagious abortion of cattle are all good examples. Improved pasture and sub- . sequently heavier carrying capacity have facilitated greatly the spread of larger sheep parasites. Human beings frequently transmit animal diseases Indirectly. Mastitis of cows is no doubt greatly assisted in its spread by milkers’ hands. Although all the necessary elements may he present in a ration, yet their proportions may be so unbalanced that they lead to an improper functioning of the digestive organs, so that disease of one or other parts of the body may follow. Most dairymen are aware that their cows must receive a certain amount of roughage to give the food bulk. There are many poisonous plants which cause serious stock losses. Most of theift contain poisonous subtances which are unknown; others contain hydrocyanic (prussic) acid. Many of the unknown poisons produce marked gastro-intestinal disturbances such as diarrhoea, etc. In these cases the disease usually runs an acute course and death or recovery quickly follows. British Sheep It is not generally known that the density of the sheep population of Great Britain is greater than that of any other country in the world., with one exception. Although the United Kingdom is generally regarded as an industrial country, agriculture still employs more persons than does any other industry, and sheep rearing plays an important part in British farming. According to the wp-est bulletin of the British Department of Overseas Trade, New Zealand aline carries more sheep than the United Kingdom to the hundred acres of area. The actual number of sheep in £he British isles, it is stated, is &. out 28,000,000, which is more than double the number of France, and more than seven times that of Germany. No other country in Europe, with the exception of Soviet Russia, has so many Among the reasons why sheep play such a prominent part in British agriculture is included the temperate climate —there is no tropical heat, seldom intense cold, and prolonged periods of drought are almost unknown. Also, a good deal of the area of the land surface is more suitable for sheep than for other live stock. Moreover, it is indicated, mutton or lamb is a favourite food of the British people. Another factor of importance is the breeding of stock for the foreign market, some of the best foreign flocks having either originated in or been strengthened by British stock. Thirty Native Breeds In all. there are more than 30 distinct native British breeds, which have been developed to take advantage of the wide range of types of soil, systems of draining, and differing condi-

tions of climate and elevation. Some of these breeds are no longer of serious economic importance, but according to expert opinion, about 20 breeds are regarded as indispensable. Some are exceptionally hardy, and thrive on the more inhospitable mountain ranges. Between 1896 and 1932 more than 70,000 Lincoln sheep were exported from Britain to South America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Egypt, the United States, Mexico, Russia, Spain. France, Germany and the Netherlands. High prices have been paid for Lincoln rams—one fetched as much as 1600 guineas. The Kent, or Romney Marsh, shepp, probably has the longest traceable history of any in the country. It does well even in adverse circumstances. One ram sold at a Romney Marsh show for £IOOO was resold in the Argentine for £I6OO. The Southdown, Suffolk and Hampshire Down breeds are peculiarly well suited to arable farming conditions and their meat is noted for its tenderness and rich nutritive qualities. Of late years the British consumer has demanded small joints of mutton and

lamb and British farmers have sought to produce sheep that yield smaller

joints and lean meat at an earlier age