SEASONAL WORK ON THE FARM

HYDATIDS INCIDENCE DISQUIETING A very disquieting sign in the incidence of hydatids in stock slaughtered is that despite intensive publicity there is no lessening of the disease. The time may come when a price differential for hydatid-infested lines of stock may have to be instituted. Intensive measures have been taken to induce farmers, as a body, to take the simple precautions necessary to deal with the menace. The report adds that though some new developments in the campaign against hydatids are promising, the position is serious.

FEEDING OF YOUNG PIGS IN EARLY SPRING Late-farrowed litters should receive special attention when approaching weaning age. The Department of Agriculture has shown that creep feeding is the secret of the heavy weaner, and best results will be obtained by having a supply of meal and milk always before the litter. Weaned pigs must be well fed and if meal has been used before weaning, its use should be continued for at least a fortnight to avoid an after-weaning check. The meal ration can be reduced as the skimmed milk supply increases. It is preferable to feed meal as up to half the daily rations of weaners and give the milk saved to the store pigs rather than to feed meal to the older pigs at this stage. After weaning, sows should receive sufficient milk and meal to enable them to regain the weight lost during previous suckling. They should be hand mated, and once safely in pig may be allowed to subsist on good pasture.

CARE OF EWES WITH TWIN LAMBS For the first month or 6 weeks of life the lamb depends almost entirely on its mother's milk. Ewes are capable of producing more milk than a single lamb can drink in the early part of lactation. Twins, on the other hand, can soon drink all the milk which the ewe can produce. For this reason the Department of Agriculture recommends that ewes with twin lambs should be drafted off and grazed together on good paddocks. Separation is most easily done immediately after lambing.

FEEDING MILKING HERD DURING SPRING Autumn-saved pasture is almost equal to high-quality spring pasture as a milk-producing fodder. It should be rationed to the milking cows to make it last until the spring feed comes away and hardens up. An electric fence is essential for efficient utilisation, enabling grass to be grazed in small breaks. Unless sufficient reserves of this pasture are available for full feeding, the balance should be made up with silage. Enough hay should be retained to balance the lush spring growth. When the autumn-saved pasture is finished the herd should be rotated round the farm. Paddocks should be small enough to maintain a concentration of 20 to 30 cows per acre. If necessary, larger paddocks can be sub-divided with the electric fence. Aim at grazing pasture when it is 4in to 6in high, as it is then at its most nutritious stage. Do not keep cows in any paddock for more than 1 or 2 days If necessary, clean up after them with dry stock.

ROTATIONAL GRAZING OF CALVES Over 9 years at the Department of Agriculture's Ruakura Animal Research Station well-reared heifers have out-produced their poorly reared mates by an average of 15lb of butterfat in the first lactation when both were well fed after calving. Frequent changes to good, clean pasture are essential if calves are to be successfully reared. This rotational grazing eliminates deaths in winter and the need for drenching against worms and produces yearlings 100lb heavier than those kept in the one paddock for weeks at a time. Further information on correct rearing of dairy stock is contained in Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 228; “Good Rearing of Dairy Stock”. This is available free from offices of the Department. * * *

St. Peter's College Expanded A new chapel to accommodate 150 and costing more than £8,000 is being built at the St Peter's Maori Boys' Roman Catholic College, Northcote. The new building, of an uncommon design, is of brick vencer. It will contain a vestry, a vesting room for the choir and two side chapels. The funds were provided by the general Maori mission. The chapel will be opened next October. The old chapel is overcrowded and will be used as an extension to the college dining room. A large new dormitory is also being built. Some of the work is being done by the fathers and boys. The chemistry laboratory has been extended and a large room added which will also be used for an assembly hall. The college, a secondary school, has a roll of 90 boys.