FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 51, 25 March 1909, Page 4

FARM AND DAIRY.

Jill GfLIiUTH'S NEW WORK. The Melbourne Argus of a recent date, has the following The passage of the Veterinary School Bill through the Legislative Council 011 Thursday night, completes a most important piece of work. Were the Melbourne University being reconstructed, there is little doubt that tho primary schools of the. University would lie those of agriculture, veterinary science, and mining. There is, however, this advantage in the late development of the veterinary school, that it is being organised 011 most admirable lines, and. as projected, will be equalled by very few schools in existence. The principal feature. of the Bill provides for the erection, on four acres of ground granted by the City Council 011 the Pig Market reserve, of a Stock Diseases Research Institute. This will be presided over by the professor o! veterinary pathology, Mr Gilruth, and from this department a systematic investigation, will be made into the nature of the various stock diseases which afflict the suWimnan inhabitants of tho elate. There will further arise, too, a certainty of investigation into those complex problems to breeding to which .Jlendel has attracted attention, which are of the utmost importance to the economic future °' the state. The annual Joss from diseases of stock and from ignorance of some of tile principles Which underlie the practice of breeding must be enormous, and we may now look for a gradual reduction in 'the mortality and improvement in the character of tlie work done. The Mill further provides for the establishment of the veterinary school in connection with the University, in which veterinary students may be properly and adequately trained. The whole will be administered by the University Council, under the advice of a Faculty of Veterinary Science, composed of equal numbers of 'members appointed by the Government and by the . University Council. The University freely lends its aid and its resources to the development of the school, and is to receive fees for actual services rendered. All moneys received whether from the Government or from fees, for the purpose of the school; will be paid into a separate fund, .and disbursements from tiiis fund must be shown in a separate account. The establishment of this, the I first veterinary scliool in Australia, is a j matter for great congratulation.

THE CARE OF SHEEPSKINS. I iROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. A farm product which receives very indifferent attention is tho sheepskin, With pio[j"r uiie hi i.iking off, drying,

that should return a fairly large revenue, It is no uncommon tiling to soe skills lying about, some on the ground, and others on fences waiting for the first skin dealer who happens along, and that, too, often on places quite nandy to the railway. On a sheep farm, a large number of skins must aggregate each year, and for that reason, all the more cure should he devoted to tiieni. In the (ivst place, sheep should be skinned as soon us they are dead. In that way the skin comes oil' easily, and is free from stains. It is not necessary to use a knife all the time; in fact, it is far preferable to use the hand. There is then less danger of the skin being damaged, ami, besides it is taken oil' more quickly, Of course a skill full of holes loses n great deal of its value. As soon as convenient us .soon ns the skin is oil', it sliduld bo washed with a solution to keep away the weevils. The little insect does a deal of damage. The longer it is allowed to remain a tenant, the greater the damage. One wash that has been found effective is made by putting eight gallons of water into a vessel with 101b of soda ash, and half a pound of Barbadoes aloes. Stir this mixture well till boiling, then add lnlb of arsenic, When boned tne mixture will risejike boiling milk. In oi'de: to prevent it from running over, a bucket of cold water should be kept handy and poured ill when the mixture rises too high. This forms a stock solution. When wanted for use, one part of the solution to live of water would be the proportions required. It is, of course, poisonous, and care should he exercised in storing and using it. In painting the pelt, be sure that the work is done thoroughly, and that the whole of it is well covered. The skin lias now to be dried, and it is in this part of the work that carelessness is frequently displayed. I'old along the middle from the head to the tail, and let them hang over a rail. It is of importance that they should be well dried before being packed. If that is not done they are likely to become mildewed or rotten. In sending to market, the skins should be folded with the llesli sides together, and bundled with wool to wool. Each bundle should weigh about 2cwt. Although the foregoing treatment may appear rather troublesome to some, it is work easily carried out when done systematically and constantly. Do not allow the work to accumulate. If farmers would only pay a little attention in this direction, it would pay them handsomely.. Hides also re-! quire attention, and there are other pro-1 duets that would pay for any little trouble.

Some months ago, Mr Buchanan, M.P., for Wairarapa, offered to give £soop for the purchase of land and £IOOO for stock for the purpose of establishing an experimental farm, but the offer was not accepted by the Government. Tho proposal was considered last week by the Wairarapa and East Coast A. and P. Society. Mr Buchanan said the offer still held good, and he urged that if a farm was conducted on sound business lines there would be little or no loss. If the Government was afraid of loss, it could easily limit the expenditure, and so control the loss. Money had certainly been lost at the Levin* farm, and he was afraid the total loss had never been made public ; but surely if the Govern- ■ mcnt took his offer up and appointed a . practical and capable manager an experimental farm, carried 011 on proper business" lines, could be made to pay, or at least could be run without excessive loss. Tho Wairarapa district was entitled to call upon the Government for an experimental farm, even though small loss might follow. Could any subsidy be more profitably used than to assist the scheme under discussion? It was a cided to again approach the Government on the subject, and ask it to accept Mr Buchanan's offer. An Ashbnrton farmer writes to the Guardian that land values in Canterbury are ridiculously high, and that there is too much exploitation by syndicates. It is absurd to think that young men, anxious to begin farming can give £27 to £3O per acre for land that will produce only from 30 to 35 busliels.of wheat, and about 40 bushels of oats per acre. When the price of oats and the diseases that have ruined the root crops in Canterbury during the past three years arc taken into consideration, it proves that prices will have to lie lowered ; otherwise there will be a large exodus ol people from Canterbury for other parts of the Dominion, where better inducements are being offered to buyers. For at least seven years preceding 1007 the farmers of Canterbury have enjoyed a period of prosperity unexampled in the history of the province, but during the j past two years things have undergone a material change. Wool and mutton ( ihave decreased in value, droughts have occurred; there have been visitations of crop diseases; and yet, notwithatand-■ > ing this, land has, until recently, kept , on increasing in value. He calls this an atrocious anomaly. Although a year has scarcely elapsed i since the Te Arai Estate, in the Poverty Ila.v district oil the east coast of the i North Island, was thrown open for sct- ? tlement, the property to-day presents a ■ scene of transformation. The Poverty i Bay Herald savs that the presence of

over forty smiling homesteads, each with its dairy herd, its sheep or its crops, where formerly a few shepherds made their occasional rounds, brings pleasure to the eye. The improvements «n the whole are of a good and permanent nature, and though only a small start lias been niado in some instances, the buildings are of (in admirable class. The reading of the settlement has been almost completed, and whilst in this respect the settlers are well served in the summer months they will be considerably handicapped, more particularly along trie Arai Valley road, in the -winter months through the clay roads being unable to stand the increased traffic, whicli reduces them to quagmires. A year before the resumption of the estate, it was carrying 10,(j00 sheep, and about 2380 cattle. This season's official figures show that there wore 2(1,330 sheep pasturing on the estate, together with 2107 cattle. Whilst the number of cattle has diminished, it should be mentioned that those now on the Te Arai are practically all of the dairying clnss. This season there are also 545 acres under crops, and the settlement is estimated to be carrying a population of nearly 200. When the re-valuation of the Arai riding, at present in hand, is completed, the improvements effected by the tenants will amount to a large iigure.