THE RURAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24417, 1 October 1940, Page 3

THE RURAL WORLD

FARM AND STATION NEWS BREED FOR QUALITY FUTURE PORK AND BACON MARKET Every' farmer In this country is under the urgent necessity of increasing to the uttermost the production of which his farm is capable, and the increased interest farmers are taking m their pigs woiild seem to indicate that this. department of the farm will also respond to the urgent- call. But we must not overlook the fact that the quality of our product is just as important .as ever ,it - was; nor should we think -that, . simply because Britain’s need is so pressing, we can dump on to her markets any inferior kind of carcass ,at all. so long as it is meat, writes ‘-Breeder ” -in the Weekly News. We have for some years now been endeavouring to increase our prestige .as producers of good quality porkers and baconers, and it would be an unfair and, ultimately, a most uneconomic policy to- take advantage of the position now. After all, a good quality pig takes no more feeding and will grow just as quickly as a pig of inferior type, and

although the grading regulations are not now as drastic as they have been in the past, the time will come when the regulations will be tightened up again and breeders of pigs of inferior type will find themselves losing several shillings on each pig they send to the works. Breeding Stock I have long been of the opinion that the fundamentals of the production of good quality porkers and baconers go right back to the breeding stock used in the production of the pigs. Poor feeding methods and bad management in the piggery will make a poor quality carcass out of a pig which would, under proper methods, have been a first quality porker or baconer; but no amount of good management or methods will make a first quality carcass out of a pig which has not been bred along sound lines. At this time of the year farmers should be selecting with a view to breeding young sow pigs from the litters which are now on hand, and, I cannot too strongly emphasise .the necessity for choosing carefully and with due regard to all the attributes which go to make a good breeding sow. Many of the points are definitely hereditary, and for this reason the farmer should select from pigs of his own breeding rather than buy indiscriminately from his neighbour, unless he knows the type of pigs he is buying. Sound Constitution Above all things, his breeding sows must be of sound constitution—poorconstitutioned breeding stock means a high mortality among the young pigs

during- the winter months; it means losses in grading due to disease and it leads to poor quality carcases due to the pigs being stunted, slow growing and overfat when finally they do go to the works. The farmer should always select young pigs from sows which are good “ doers,” particularly those which come through the winter well on fern or crops. I am a great believer in using crossbred sows—particularly the first cross between the Tamworth and Berkshire breeds. It is proposed to discuss in some detail, in succeeding articles, the points of conformation which are most desirable in breeding sows, but suffice it is to say here that always the farmer can be sure of breeding finest quality porkers or baconers from breeding sows of the Tamworth-Berkshire first cross,- provided he uses purebred boars of good quality and constitution. Sows of this breeding have that hybrid vigour which is peculiar to all crossbreds and, almost without exception', will be remarkably sound in constitution, great foragers and well suited to spend the winter and thrive on an area of fernroot alone. ’ Another inherited quality is that of prolificacy. Fortunately, there are very few strains of any breed of pigs in. this country which are deficient in this respect. ; Usually the fact that so many breeding sows have low weaning averages is due either to poor constitution in the breeding stock (either the sow or the boar) or to indifferent methods on the part of the farmer. Nevertheless,; one should' always select young sow pigs from big litters. I do not like to see breeding sows rearing large litters—usually there are three or four runts among them which are always an unprofitable proposition, and as a rule hone of the pigs do as well as they should. The value of a large litter lies in the fact that one can choose a nice even eight or nine young pigs, all of which will do well, and one can always be sure, with prolific sows, that there are at least 11 or 12 to choose from. A further inherited quality is that of the 1 ' amount of milk a sow will produce for her young pigs—and sows vary surprisingly in this respect, so much so that one should always choose one’s pigs from a sow which obviously is up to standard in this respect.

NEWS FROM CLUBS

During July the football teams from the Crookstbn and Moa Flat Clubs travelled to Heriot, where a good game was witnessed by a large number of club supporters. At halt time the score was 6—5 in favour of Crookston, but during the second spell the Moa Flat team, played better football, and came out winners by 16 to 12. For the Moa Flat Club, Nelson Paul accounted for nine points and Reg. Paul accounted for the remaining seven. Crookston's points were gained by lan Park, R. Morrison, and lan Rev'.e. Mr K. Kydd was the referee, !{. x * The attention of club members and farmers generally is drawn to the fact that wireless talks to farmers and young farmers are now to be broadcast at 10 minutes past 7 instead of 7.40, as in the past. The next talk will be given by Mr C. V. Dayus, M.R.C.V.S., of the Department of Agriculture, on Monday next, and the talk after this will be given on October 21 by Mr W. R. Harris, chairman of the Otago-Southland Council. V '*■ The monthly meeting of the Lawrence Club was held in the Druids’ Hall on September 18, when there were

15 members present. After the routine business had been dealt with, Mr J, Walker read a paper prepared by himself dealing with “How to Increase Production.” The speaker for the evening was Mr Ireton, traffic inspector at Milton, who spoke to those present on the rules of the road and the causes of road accidents. The talk was most interesting the speaker mentioning that the death roll on the roads could be avoided by taking care and by not driving at too high a speed. Many other factors such as keeping to the correct side of the road, observation of traffic signals, and general alertness were dealt with. Members availed themselves of the opportunity of asking questions, all of which were well answered. ¥ « * On September 11 a combined meeting of the Young Farmers’ Club and Farmers’ Union was held in the Hawea Hall, when Mr A. Scaife was in the chair. There was a large attendance of approximately 40 persons all told, who had come from a widely scattered district. One of the speakers for the evening was Mr N. Macdonald, district supervisor of the Otago-Southland Pig Council, who dealt with the subject of the necessity for the increase of pig meat as a war effort. This was followed by an illustrated address by Mr H. R. Denize, principal district inspector of the Live Stock Division of the Department of Agriculture. Mr Denize’s address was illustrated by a large number of fine lantern slides and dealt with feeding, housing, and breeding of pigs. At the conclusion of the address Mr W. A. Scaife, on behalf of the farmers, expressed his appreciation to the Department of Agriculture and the Otago-Southland Pig Council for going so far afield in meeting farmers in connection with the pig production drive. He also indicated that he was sure there was scope for increased pig production in the Wanaka area, although it was not a dairying district. y. ¥ * The last meeting of the Roxburgh Club was held on September 9, when 10 members were present. After the general business had been disposed of members were the guests of the Haeremai Club at a social evening. •V- « V ■ At the last meeting of the Clinton Club, which was held on September 17, it was decided to, plant the trees in connection with ,lhe tree-planting scheme on the 19th of the month. It was also decided to ask Mr A. B. Stewart and Mr J. Dodds, of Warepa, to be the speakers at their next meeting, on Tuesday, October 15. The speaker at this meeting was Mr A. J. Howells, solicitor, of Gore, who addressed the meeting on “Law Relative 1o Farming Business. This address was appreciated by all, after which a number of questions were asked. The September meeting of the Papakaio Club was held on the 9th of the month, when Mr T. A. Sellwood, of the Department of Agriculture, showed a number of agricultural films in connection with the increased production drive. ¥ * * The keenness displayed by many young farmers in the Clutha Valley

district. South Otago, to form a Young Farmers’ Club in this district has led to the formation of such a club. The South Otago District Committee of young Farmers’ Clubs wish to congratulate the numerous farmers and farmers’ sons who have been working with this end in view, on their decision to join up with the Young Farmers’ Club organisation, and wish to extend to them on behalf of all clubs in South Otago best wishes for a long, useful and happy period of activity and success. The advisory president, Mr J. Coll, and the senior advisory members. Mr E. F. Pannett and Mr J. Caldwell, are men who have always worked for the benefit of the farming community in Clutha Valley, while the club chairman, Mr D. D. Cross, the secretary. Mr Dan Coll, and the committeemen. Mr Miller, Mr Stirling and Mr Braid, are keen and enthusiastic to foster an active and useful club. Monday, October 7, is the suggested date for the. first meeting, which is to be held in the Clutha Valley School—thanks to the courtesy of the School Board—and all intending members who were unable to be present at the inaugural meeting are cordially invited. The meeting is to take the form of a debate. The subject, “Tractors versus Horses,” is of particular interest at the present period. The speakers will be: Tractors, Mr Braid, Mr Small, Mr Anderson; horses, Mr Coll, Mr Stirling and Mr Miller. Mr Gunn, the science master of the High School, has consented to act as judge. V Whilst some clubs have gone to the length of ceasing activities, for the time being for various reasons it is interesting to note the enthusiasm with which certain clubs are carrying on. This is particularly noticeable with regard to the Upper Clutha Club. Not very long ago this club held a very, successful field day and also arranged for a large meeting in connection with the question of the nroduction of pig meat in their districts. So far as travelling distances and availability of lecturers are concerned this district is in, an unfortunate position. Nevertheless, these factors have not in any way diminished the determination of the club to carry on. It is hoped that clubs living ill less scattered districts and where a variety of lecturers are more readily available will take note of this fact and follow the lead of the Upper Clutha Club. 1 w * * The following is the six'th of a series of short articles on the preparation and delivery of wireless talks prepared by Mr S. R. Whyte, and deals with the actual delivery of the talk. Presiuning that a speaker has observed the general hints given, there is little more to add. Some people are privileged in possessing what has become known as a radio voice. Without attempting to say what the qualities are that go to make such a voice, it can be stated that the main requirement is to be natural. As will have been noticed, many people “ pitch ” their voices when speaking over the telephone, so there is a strong inclination to do likewise before the microphone. In both cases, this is a fault, and results in a distortion of the voice. Therefore, the main idea is to keep the voice natural and not on any account to shout. It is better to speak quietly, as the control room can boost the volume, whereas the technician can do little to reduce it. Another obvious essential is to articulate correctly and not to slur words. Then the value of at least one rehearsal will be helpful because the speaker will know what is coming and be ready for any word which he may have difficulty in pronouncing correctly. In this connection, it is not always a long word that sticks a speaker—there are certain simple words which cause neople difficulty in pronunciation. If possible, therefore, avoid such words.