BY THE WAYSIDE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 20, 16 October 1937, Page 17

BY THE WAYSIDE

News of Interest to H.B. Farmers * N.Z. SHEEP FOR JAPAN It is expected that- this year more thau 7000 stud sheep will have been shipped from New Zealand to Japan. Included in the recent shipments was a consignment of 240 merino ewps and 11 tams bred at the- Hawkesbury , Estate, where. ono of the old merino studs is toaintained. Sheep from the Hawkesbury fiock have been eent tor various paits of the world. Quite a profitable export trade in stud merino sheep has been developed in SOUth Africa also. This is all very intcrestiug, but it must be galling to Australian meriiio stud sheepbreeders to know that the breeders of New Zealand and South Africa afe able to send sheep to foreign markets which are not open to Australian breeders. ' The Aiistralian merino export embargo is a costly farce. Oats for Pigs. Acdordilig to Mr. O. C. Culbertson, Who is in Charge df the feeding eXperiments at the lowa State College, U.B.A.. pigs may be induced to eat more grain and will make faster gains if oats are soalted before feeding to pigs. Speeding np gains is induced by soaking, but otherwise there is tio saving of food. It feqiiireS the sama amoUilt of grain to produce a given increase in weiglit. Against the Saving of time in produc ing the gain is slightly increafied cost of Soaking the grain, and the fact that any soaked grain not eonsumed wiil readily deteribrate. Tar-branding Sheep. Much loss is occaaioned to Wooi • growers each yeat arising f fom the fact that there are still some who persist iu using a tar bfkfld on sheep. Wooi from Sheep that- have been, tar-branded is sold often at a lower price than wodl branded with one of the several bratiding fluids on the fctiarket. These are vefy satisfactory, being harmiess and havag.tio ilbeffects on the wooi, while at the saitie time they are readily euiulsiflable. It is difficult to remove tar from the wooi during the process of mantifacture. Tar-stained wooi therefore may bring a lower prico than ,clean wooi freo from tar. The grazief, obviously in. hia own interests, should discontinue the praCtice of tar-brand-ing. Planes Frigbten Stock. In Eurbpe and America complaints are common about the damaging effeci upon stock of planes flying low. Breeding ewes close to lambing are often frightened badly by low-flying planeB, and considerable losses have been rfr> ported. The trouble is not as serious in England as it is reported to be in Europe and America, but even in England complaints are frequently . cnade. In one case a Wiltshire shepherd reported thht low-flying planes were observed over a flock of 250 crossbred ewes about the time of joining. When it came to lambing the shepherd had to "draw" a record percentage of lambs from the ewes and many of the ewes and lambs were le$t. Cattle and horses, it is said> beceming accustemed tt> the low-flying planes, are not affectfed as afe sheep, but there have been calving and foaling losses from the same cause. ' In most countries, however, the authorv ties aTe alive to the trouble, and ara preventing low flyitig. T.E. Testing. Many farcnerg experience a rather sickening feeling when the veterinarian calls to ttiberculin test their herds, states "Hoard's Dairyman" (U.S.A.). It is not a pleasant sensation. We have had this feeling many times. A few persons have been so disturb'ed Over tuberculin testing that they have acted unreasonably and committed. aots which, in their more eober moments. would not have been committed. We believe in these cases they have coun selled with fear not courage. A.report comes of an owner of two cows in New Yotlc State, who had them kill* ed rather than have them tuberculin tested. This man holds that it is not the right of the State to force the owners of cattle to have them tested. He forgets that bovine tuberculosis in a herd is likely to spread to other herds. If some method could be foutid to koep the disease from spreading to other herds, and the man had to livo with it hinisOlf alone periiapB his reasoning Would be right. But in this particular case, wouldn'fc it have been bettOr to have had the cows tuberculin tested before having them slioH Tho use of tubefculin does not hutfc a cow, nor does its injection disturb her. We can feej rather proud of what has been accomplished in eradicating bovine tuberculosis from our herds. No other nation in all the wofld has accomplished what has been done here. Nearly every State now is accredited, which means that less than one-half of 1 per cent. of the animals havo bovine tuberculosis. This disease has been practically eradicated from our herds. It will take some years before it is entirely eradicated, but it is undei such control that it is no longer a disease that needs to be fearpd, providod all herds are tested occ&sionally. Inoculation of Imcerne. It is certaiu that failure of lticerne and other leguminous crops can frequently be attributed to the absenco of bacteria, which are essential for succeBsful growth, In the growing of [[logume crops, such as clover, iucorno,

peas, or beans, for the fertilisation of the land one fact is of prime import ance. The lbgume bacteria must be in the soil. tJnless there, are nodules on the roots the crop has no fertilsing power. It does not enrich and may actually impoverish the soil. No nodules will be bome on tho reots unless the particular species of i nitrogen-flxing bacteria adapted to the particular plant is in the soil. There is no one species of bacteria capable of working with ail the leguminous plants The clover bacteria do not work with soya beans. The bacteria of sweet clover and lucerne do not form nodules on the roots of peas.. Even if grown not as a fertiliser but as a forage crop, the legumes are not to be depended upon unless the proper bacteria are present in suffieient number adequntely to supply the plant ] with nitrogen. There is alwttya a possibillty that crop failure may be duo to tlie absence of nocfule bacteria. The plant may be starving, even with its yellowing leaves bathed in the element which it craves. True this is not always the case, foi the legiune may get nitrogen from thc soil, as do other crops. On very xich soil a fair crop of legumes may be produced even if there are few legume bacteria, present. In this case the seemingly satisfactory crop would bo making no addition to the wealtli of the soil, but instead would diminish it. The only way to judge of the success of a legume crop is by observing tho quantity of nodules on the roots.