KILLING THE CALVES.

Shannon News, 8 October 1929, Page 1

KILLING THE CALVES.

A WORD OF WARNING.

EFFECT ON PASTURES,

The effect upon the beef supply of the killing of so many thousands of calves for the export veal trade, is looked upon by many people as of doubtful advantage to the Dominion. Mr G. F. Moore, of Bushy ' Park, Wanganui, the well-known breeder of Herefords. in a recent letter to a Wellington paper, is very emphatic upon the subject. He says: "It is absolutely necessary for the well-being of sheep, and especially., lambs, that cat;le sh'Duld be carried, to keep pastures in order for them. I say, without fear of contradiction, that the .chief cause jf land deteriorating in New Zealand s lack of cattle. The man who thinks he can cajriy his "sheep successfully' .vithout cattle will find he has made a very great mistake. "There is no doubt hat tiie slaughter of day-old calves of dairy breeds is responsible to a large jxtent for deterioration in land and dicep, for although' cattle of Ihis class are of poor beef qua&ty, they would jcrvc j quite well to clean uj> the pas- ' „ures for the sheep. A few years.ago thousands of steers of various ages could be purchased in Taranaki and „>ther dairying districts, .but now these are unprocurable. There is good money in beef cattle now, and this will -ontinue to be so, for there is a world shortage of beef.'' Mr Moore explains that the accounts .if the great lesses among lambs thi.-s ast autumn induced him to write on he subject. He says- ''Our expe iemv iias been that ever since we went in for JJomuey sheep maniy years ago, we have never lost more than one-haif per jent. Df our lambs. We have'found that the great secret of rearing lambs is the proper preparation of their pasture by cattle, for it is fatal to lambs to rim them on long pasture. They must have short, clean and fresh grass, with as much change as possible, and they should never run together in large flocks. The long, dry Danthonia which covers much of the hi.U country is deadly to lambs, being indigestible and altogether unsuitable for them. In fact, long grass of any kind is very bad for them, being merely a harbour for wire-worms and other grass para-' sites. Deteriorated land and stock in this Dominion will never be restored until a .'"air proportion of cattle are carried on every farm. Anyone inclined to doubt Vhat I say has only to watch how quickly weak lambs come away w.hen placed on a daily farm among the eows."Vv