AGRICULTURAL ITEMS

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6545, 29 February 1928, Page 10

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS

AVanted Duty Lifted. The drought has assumed such a serious aspect in the Morrinsvillo district that something must bo done to provide food for farm stock. There is a duty of 20 per cent on bran and artificial foods end at the Fanners’ Union meeting there last week a member thought it would be wise to ask the Government to suspend duty on foodstuffs for, say, six months; Mr J. B.' Thomas in supporting the suggestion, said that there is a shortage of fodder, and if the duty is removed It might very much relievo the situation —The proposal was agreed to. Care of Heifer?. 1 Although it is true that the most ! important period in the life of a dairy cow is the first six months of her calfhdod, this does not mean that she can be neglected between the age of six months and freshening. Under-size and under-development generally can usually bo traced to under-feeding during the heifer stage: and it is an axiom of good dairying that the most productive cows are the ones that have grown to their full capacity. Every calf is born with certain inherent and inherited possibilities, says a writer in the “Farmers’ Advocate.” Her breeding determines the extent of her possible production and profit for her owner but her feeding and care determine the extent to which these possibilities will be developed. This is the reason why, when certain dairy farmers get hold of heifers that have been under-fed they can make them more profitable than they have been previously; but even the most expert feeding and care cannot make up for all of the lost opportunities that occurred during calfhood and heiferhood. , Worse Than Rabbits.

“Opossums are going to be a worse pest than rabbits," remarked a member at the last meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Acclimatisation Society (reports the "Daily Telegraph”). He stated that,a settler in the Whakarara district had his garden stripped of vegetables by the rodents,: who had also eaten his orchard right out. “They even took a bunch of carrots off his back doorstep.” he remarked. The opinion was expressed that it would pay the Society to issue' trapping licenses and it was accordingly decided to make the ncces-'-ry inquiries, beefed to Bum. In the tour of one hundred miles last week, members of the Hobson County saw no signs of any shortage of feed anywhere; on the contrary, hundreds of acres of paspalum pastures were seen literally going to waste. Fewer Land Workers. , To-day there are over 9000 fewer workers on the land than there were two years ago, states the Auckland ‘Sun.’