Farming Column

Hokitika Guardian, 19 December 1931, Page 8

Farming Column

PARASITIC GASTRITIS. CAUSES HUGE ANNUAL LOSS TO DOMINION. Parasitic gastritis in lambs and hoggets is undoubtedly responsible for a greater annual loss to sheepfarmers in the Dominion than in .almost any other disease or ordinary cause of mortality. Some authorities have estimated the annual loss to New Zealand farmers to exceed one million sheep per annum from this cause alone. Whether or no this is an exaggeration it is fairly certain that, according to the season, the percentage of among young sheep ranges from five to twenty per cent. Not only does this large number of lambs and hoggets actually die but those which have been affected and yet survived are stunted in growth, producing a clip of inferior, and tender wool. Further, their ! constitutions become so undermined that they never develop into robust animals. In his report on the 1928-1929 season the Director of the Live Stock Division of the Department of Agriculture pointed out the serious losses which occurred from this cause during the year. The report notes, inter alia, “once such a condition becomes established it is alomst impossible to avoid heavy mortality—only those with strong constitutions will be able to survive. In such cases the hunlis eat sparingly and cannot be induced to take artificial food. At this stage medieval treatment frequently does more harm than good, for even if the parasites are destroyed the animals have not sufficient recuperative powers’ to enable them to -recover. The crux of the whole matter may 'be. found in the statement that “The only hope of avoiding heavy mortality among lambs and hoggets is to prevent their being affected with these worms.” Once heavy infection takes place one can do little more than watch animals stagger about undersizul, scouring and anaemic, instead of jumping and romping with Superabundant energy. Practically all sheep are said to be infected with these internal parasites to greater or lesser degrees—most of our .pastures are teeming with the eggs of newly-hatched worms, awaiting re-entry to their host the sheep, by the way of the grass eaten. How, then, may infection be prevented in such circumstances? Successfully to combat such a pest it is necessary to possess some ''knowledge of the life history of both host and parasite. Briefly, the lamb commences to oat grass from four to six weeks of age. It is from then onwards subject to infection, although it is only when the worms have become firmly established in comparatively large numbers:—usually December or Jjnnuay—that they make their presence evident in the condition and appearance of the lamb’s growth, and fattening to an extent rarely appreciated by the farmers. Subsequently, r

short, hard cough develops, indicating the species of worm which affects the lungs when they become established. At this stage it is prnetical!ly impossible to eradicate the worm by medicinal dosing, as any drug or astringent strong enough to kill the worms when diluted with the contents of the paunch and other stomachs would undoubedlv seriously affect the already enfeebled lamb. -Besides this only one of the three known varieties of worms—and that the least harmful—the “strongukus contortus” or twisted wire worm is affected by drenches at it feeds on the contents of the fourth stomach and bowels. Of the two other varieties one burrows into and lives on the lining membrane of the stomachs; while the other perforates the stomach intestinal tissues, enters the flood stream, and conveyed by this ultimately lodges in the- linings, where it sets up acute inflammation and ultimately causes pneumonia. Fortunately the eggs from these parasites cannot incubate within the sheep. They are voided in the excretions, hatch on the moist surface soil, and as minute worms climb the grass blades and, with the food eaten,' re-enter th e host. In their most delicae and immature state all these parasites must therefore pass through the paunch of the sheep. It is here the stock owner has most chance of destroying them before they reach maturity in the fourth stomach. In many instances a. medicated salt lick has proved’ effective—one which, although containing strong germicide,, doesn’t injure the sheep yet destroys the minute worms which enter the paunch. An abundance of minerals improves the animals appetite, fortifies it again.st the attacks of such parasites as liver-fluke, intestinal worms, etc., and prevents “perverted” appetite which loads to animals eating all sorts of rubbish in an effort to satisfy the 'craving for minerals.

QUALITY OF OUR CHEESE. Much has been heard of late concerning the quality of New Zealand cheese, and an effort has been made to prove that the Canadian article is superior to our product. This contention is to a large extent based upon one fact, that Canadian cheese has ' reached a higher price on the London market. The assumption which we are asked to take, that the Candians manufacture a better cheese, is totally incorrect however. The only reason that 'the Candian product fetches a higher price is that it is matured for .six or eight months.

Were New Zealand cheese treated

similarly it would unquestionably command a similar price, but our authorities evidently consider that the cost oi' maturing it would not be warranted for the extra value realised. In this connection special interest attaches to the statement made the month before last by Dr Ruddick, the Dairy Commissioner of Canada, in a communication he sent to the Bellville branch of the. Depart me.nt of Agriculture in Canada.

Dr Ruddiek’s statement is as follows :—‘'During my recent visit to the dairy produce markets in the United Kingdom. I was very strongly impressed with the growing unpopularity of late fall-made cheese from Canada. The complaint is .'that they are Jpastyj immature and of poor flavour. If this matter is not attended to it will soon be impossible to sell cold weather cheese in the United Kingdom. Time was when anything could be sold. That day is past. The attitude of the trade is, why handle inferior Canadian cheese when good New Zealand is always available? The demand for high-grade Canadian is as good as ever it was and it Rings a premium, but improperly cured cheese is not wanted at any price.’’ The passage in Dr Ruddick’s statement “. . . when good New Zealand cheese is always available,” is deserving of special emphasis as showing that the Canadians—our biggest competitors—think more highly of our cheese than many of our own people do. WONDER CRASS. FOUND IN DARKEST AFRICA. PLANT'S TO HELP EMPIRE FARMERS New grasses which may be of gr.af value to stock-raising in parts of the Empire have recently been discovered in Bechuanaland, in the back-blocks of South Africa. About a year ago the •(Empire Marketing Board made a grant to enable Dr Poie-Evans, Chief of the Division of Plant Industry, to explore boliinicaLV the interior, of Bechuanaland, a native territory of 275.000 square miles lying wedged between Southern Rhodesia, the Union, and the SouthWest Africa. There are. less than 2,000 whites in the whole of Bechuanaland, but countless native cattle. Thousands of cattle are driven 400 miles to market. They have to swim crocodile infested rivers and risk attack from man-eating lions and,tsetse flies. Parts of the Protectorate. are terrible dry and the rainfall drops to less than ten inches. WOOLLY FINGER GRASS. It was ill this dry area, near the Great 'Makarikari Lake, that Dr Pole--1 Evans mado His. discovery—or rather discoveries, for ho brought hack over 100 different specimens of grass. One species was an exceptionally droughtresistant ..plant, a new type of Woolly Finger .'Grass (Digitaria). There are ■BS different kinds of Woolly Finger grass already growing at Pretoria, but thi) new plant has all, underground creeping root—a stolon—instead of the ordinary root. It is thus able to store up moisture and nourishment for long periods and to “live on its fat” when the rains fail.

This grass has actually provided keep for stock after something like a year of uninterrupted drought South Africa experts regard it as one of the most important botanical discoveries yet made in the Union. If Woody Finger grass can be persuaded to flourish in Australia it may open up thousands of square miles of jparched country as a sheepraising country. Other grasses which may prove interesting to New Zealand were brought' back from Lake Makarikari. 'Some are particularly rich ip phosphorus. The natives say that grazing stock make for .patches of the mineral rich plants from miles around, and that these grasses provide keep when almost everything else is brown and dry.

POSSIBILITIES IN RUSSIA. Bechuanaland is not the only country where valuable grasses may still remain unknown. .Russia still holds great possibilities A Canadian scientist, Dr O'. McConkey, states: “The whole history of successful cereal breeding in Canada is one of introductions from Europe and Russia,” he says. Plants of immense. value to' 'the Empire may still await d.iscovery in the vastness of the steppes. Dr McConkey suggests a new kind of exploration—a search for economic ■plants. Dr McConkey has made a thorough survey of scientific advances in grass management and breeding for the Empire Marketing Board. Great Britain alone imports about £375,000,000 worth of grass products a year, representing a value of about £lO per head. Ninety-four per cent, of New Zealand’s exports consist of grassland products. 4