ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2, 20 February 1928, Page 147

ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES.

IN order to ensure reply to questions, correspondents must give their name and address, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. Letters should be addressed to the Editor. LARVAE OF SHEEP NASAL BOT-FLY. A. W. M., South Norsewood : On splitting open the head of a four-year-old ewe, after killing, I found seven maggots, about Jin. long, well up the nose and almost into the head. They were similar to the ordinary maggot, only larger and flat on the under-side, with more pronounced rings on the body, and two small black spots on the end of the tail, white and brown in colour. I should be glad to have any information about them, with cause and cure, if any. The Live-stock Division :- The maggots were the larvae of the nasal bot-fly (Oestrus ovis). The mature fly deposits its larvae in the region of the nostrils of sheep during the summer months. The larvae find their way into the nasal cavities and air-sinuses of the head, and attach themselves to the mucous membrane, where they set up some irritation, depending on K the number present. As a result of the irritation there is a chronic nasal discharge and sneezing, 'but seldom if ever are these parasites the cause of any mortality. The larvae remain in position during the autumn and winter, and are ejected in the spring, when they develop into the mature fly. Treatment depends on the surgical removal of the larvae, and where a number of sheep are affected this is therefore out of the question. The application of some dressing to the nostrils to ward off the flies is recommended as a preventive. Stockholm tar is suitable for this purpose, but, as with the flies causing bots in horses, no reliable dressing has so far been found which will permanently prevent their attack. GRASS MIXTURE FOR SCRUB BURN. J. D., Okoia :- Please let me know what would be a good grass-seed mixture, for sowing on rather steep country after burning scrub (Wanganui district). The Fields Division :- For sunny faces the following is recommended : Italian rye-grass, 3 lb. ; perennial rye-grass, 7 lb. ; crested dogstail, 41b. ; Danthonia pilosa, 31b.; paspalum, 1 lb. ; colonial white clover, 1 lb. ; Lotus major, Jib. ; subterranean clover, J lb. : total, 19-Jlb. per acre. For dark faces cut out the danthonia and add 1 lb. of brown-top. AUTUMN-BEARING STRAWBERRIES. “ Strawberry,” Whakatane :- Will you please inform me if there is a genuine autumn-bearing strawberryplant in existence ? Ido not mean the varieties that will occasionally bear a second crop of fruit in the fall when probably the spring and summer crops have been rather poor, but a real genuine 100-per-cent. fall-bearing variety that would bear its fruit in March and April. If such a plant is in existence, would the fruit have any value commercially at a period when there are such a lot of other fruits waiting to be eaten ? ■ The Horticulture Division : In the long catalogue lists of strawberries there are a number which are stated to be autumn-bearing. In many cases they have, their origin with well-known firms of repute, and they are doubtless true to description in the locality of origin. There are also sundry “ ever-bearing " and “ perpetual ” varieties. But, interesting as these types are, they have not generally the cropping-capacity of the summerbearing plants, and it is doubtful if the crop has an equal commercial value.

CONTROL OF SPURREY OR YARR. “ Yarr,” Mount Somers : I have always been able to grow very good turnips on my homestead paddocks here, but I can see trouble ahead, as yarr is appearing in almost every paddock. I would be obliged for any information as to the best method of dealing with this weed. It disappears entirely as soon as grass is sown down, and reappears with renewed vigour when the paddock is again broken up. . All paddocks have been limed. The Fields Division : Spurrey or yarr is an annual free-seeding weed which causes trouble in cultivated paddocks and young grass. Its presence may be taken as a general indication of the need for lime, and the application of about io cwt. to 15 cwt. of burnt lime per acre may materially modify the conditions under which spurrey flourishes. Sheep will eat spurrey with relish, and this affords a means of control by sufficiently heavy stocking to prevent seeding. ’ A case, however, came to our notice recently in Canterbury of a farmer who lost about fifty sheep out of two hundred, mostly fullmouthed ewes with lambs; the lambs were not affected. The cause undoubtedly was due to feeding on a ploughed paddock which was growing spurrey and nothing else. Under these conditions spurrey may cause bloat, but it seems quite safe when mixed with grass. Elimination of spurrey is a difficult matter, but the general method adopted in Southland is to work the ground down as fine as possible in spring and make the conditions as favourable as possible to assist the germination of the seed. Thereafter repeated harrowings as soon as the seedlings show up will very largely assist eradication. This early spring fallow should be followed by sowing of green feed, such as oats and vetches, and subsequent heavy stocking.