Farm Notes.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4359, 12 January 1909, Page 4

Farm Notes.

.. .1 .!. ■“ ♦ ■ " THE PIG * Pigs wsilljjegi? to, ,eat % soft < foods > whenonly A.iew_:weeks_old, and the ’ more be < encouraged to eat the better. This will-save the dam, and also get the : piglets into the habit of eating, so that they may be weahed young.- The proper age for weaning varies according to the thrift, the food, they have, their habit of eating and also the weather conditions.

SHEEP BREEDGIN

■ SOME INTERESTING QUESI TIONS 8,. y *' ... -- ■ I It is generally admitted that food, I climate, and environment,.play the I most important parts in building up |V/ sheep, but, though sheep-breeders |h have advanced. lately in" their scien= U tific knowledge, they fully realise ■ that, they still .have much to learn. |H A well-known New , Zealand sheepmm breeder, who was interviewed on the HH subject stated that -the tendency among stud breeders in New. Zealand to keep up the .standard of bone' and constitution desired, trusting to IV the better clad New. Zealand animal to supply the deficiency in ; wopl« HP'-He asked, *• Why shouldi this be necessary ? Is it that the change of ■ climate weakens the animal, or must it be - attributed to soils and general treatment? It .was - generally admitted,” he said, “that the average New Zealand crossbred wool was softer and more lustrous than English wool. Now, the question arose: How many of our stud breeders have 4h&good fortune to possess the right soils to breed the desired wool, and at the same time , to .keep up the English standard in bone and constitution? The effect of limestone land was usually to increase the bone and tissue substance of the animal, and it invariably followed that the wool would have a tendency to wiriness, and the locks would be smaller. A heavy clay soil had; the tendency to produce quite a different effect. The animal .would have a softer bone, much less firm tissue, and the wool would be den se> a dark yellow lustre and wide locks* Other soils, such as rich river deP° s * ts » tended to a very good wool, with a beautiful silver lustre, but they did not produce bone. The studmaSter who had heavy clay j an d an d went in for intense far m i n g ? su ch as heavy dressing of ijm e 0 r possibly basic slag, or the farmer who was fortunate enough to have a farm with the desired combination of soils, would no doubt come out on toP> provided of course, that the very necessary skill and knowledge required by the successful . breeder were exercised. - An illustration of this argument was v' the Taratahi Plain, between Masterton and Carterton, where some of the best Lincoln, and Romney stud nocks in New Zealand were located. It f was very . probable that the land problem was a strong factor leading up*to'this success. The soil (it used to be* said there was none) varied m the above instance from shingle to heavy qlay, and in a great part there f was a combination of the two. Was it that the grit supplied the bone and the play helped in producing a nice wool ? This was a phase of the question of stud breeding which was h not often brought out in print, “and,” said the authority, “these remarks might lead someone, who \ s was much more able, to take the V question up, and enlighten those who Were anxious to learn.”—Dominion.