FARM & DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 March 1916, Page 10

FARM & DAIRY.

HAWEHA RAM FAIR. , The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., held their annual (iiii fair at Tattersall's, Hawera, on Saturday last. There was a large and representative attendance of sheep farmers, with the result that the fair, ao far as prices were concerned, provsd to be the best held in the district. With the exception of a few lines, the quality left much to he desired. Special Mention, however, should he made ol the Border Leicester! penned by Mr. A. S. Tonka, which far quality were easily the best sheep catalogued, but unfortunately did not meet with competition. Good sheep were also yarded by Messrs G. C. Turner, J. E. Corrigan, D. J. Willis, H. E. Gosnell, M. J. Goodson, 0. J. Hawkcn and P. Bremer. Lincolns and Southdowns were in good demand and sold well; there was also a fair enquiry for Romneys, while Border Leicesters were neglected, and few of this class found buyers. The following sales were negotiated: On account of Mr. A. S. Tou ks, 4 2-tooth Lincoln*, fi',4 to 9Vs guineas, one Border Leicester, 5 guineas; on account of Mr. George Hobbs, 24 2-tooth Lincolns (bred by M. H.-Wybouriie) 4'/s> to f>% guineas, two aged Southdowns 3 guineas; on account of Mr. ,1. R. Corrigan, 15 2 and 4-tooth Romneys 3% guineas, two 4-tootli Shropshires V/g guineas, one 4-tooth Southdown 3 guineas; three 4-tooth Border Leicesters 1% guineas; on account of Mr. John Forbes, eight aged Romneys 2 guineas; on account of ?'-. D. J. Willis, three 2-tooth Eomii'-y.; 3 guineas, six 2-tooth Southdowns 4% to 6'A guineas; on account of Mr. 0. J. Hawken, 16 2-tooth Lincolns (bred by T. A. Winks) 4'/4 to 7'/> guineas: on account of Mr. H. Willis (Masterton), 38 2-t«oth Romneys Vf t to 3'/ 2 guineas: ou account of Mr. G. C. Turner, 11 2-tontli Lincolns 4% to 5% guineas, soven 2-tooth Lincolns 5 1 /, guineas: on account of Mr. IT. E. Gosnell, 32 2 and 4-tooth Southdowns (bred by J. C. N. Grigg and James Burke) 4% to 0 guineas, 18 2-tooth Lincolns (bred by F. Wilson) 3 to 3'/ + | guineas; on account of Mr. William Wil- | lis, 20 2-tooth Lincolns 3 to 3% guineas; on account of Mr. M. J. Goodson. seven J 4-tooth Lincolns 4 to 0 guineas, 6 2-tooth Lincolns 4% guineas; on account of Mr. C. Goodson, one 4-tooth Lincoln 2 guineas; on account of Mr. J. H. Baker, one 4-tooth Lincoln 5 guineas; on account of Mr. R. H. Nolan, five 2 and 4-tooth Romneys 1% to 3 guineas; on account of Mr. P. Bremer, 10 2-tootli Lincolns 3 to fi guineas; on account of Mr. W. Williams, nine 2-tooth Lincolns (poor) 1 guinea; on account of Mr." R. J. Linn, five 2 to 0-tooth Southdowns 3'/ 4 to I'A guineas.—Star. PREVEXTHING FOOTROi. COURSE OF TREATMENT. Footrot is a disease from which all flocks suffer More or less, and in many eases it is the most serious trouble with which the shcepfarmer has to contend. There is still some doubt as to Us cause, but there is general unanimity of opinion that it is contagious. The usual method of treatment is to pare the hoof of the affected sheep and to apply a dressing of some preparation, proprietary or home-made. Detailed treatment of each hoof separately is not only a slow and somewhat laborious business, but as it entails the turning of tho gheep more or less on to it 3 back it cannot be good for the animal, and in the case of ewes in lamb, it is a fruitful sourse of ahortion. It has been noticed that the ordinary process of dipping the Bheep had a curative effect on foot-rot, and this was ascribed to the action of the poison on the cause of the disease. From this, it appeared probable that beneficial results would follow the walking of ail'eetod sheep through a solution of poison just deep enough to cover the noof, and in practice this has been found to be the ease. In order to test the effects of such treatment on a considerable scale, flie English Board of Agriculture, some time ago, distributed 30 baths (llift by Ift|, each accompanied by lewt of copper »uiphate. to a corresponding number of sfcecp faneers la Great Britain. The instruction* lupplijd were that the wieep should be walked once a month or [is-iener through a 5 per cent, solution i»f :he substance (lib in 2 gallons of ; water), after ttt tool's in the case of a tad iSUck htd been cleaned and i drcL-scd. Rep-Mi? <rom most of the recipients aire u>w come in, and they are quite uca.nii4s.-j? in gjcribiug much benefit to the urn of the bath. Rut it would appear t«« information to hand that still rmulU (especially where it (i a case of curing rather than preventing) will be got by using a 10 per cent, solution (lib of copper sulphate to one gallon of water), and in stubborn eases the sheep should be put through the bath as often as once a week. Although the board have only experimented with copper sulphate, they arc aware that other substances are employed, such as 3oz arsenic mixed with 3oz washing soda and boiled in 2 gallons of water, or 1 part of sulphuric acid to 10 parts of water. Arsenical anil other I sheep scab dips may also I>p used to furnish tho solution'to be placed in the bath. It is doubtful, however,'whether any substance is more- effective than copper sulphate, and tjie latter is comparatively safe and easy to manipulate. As a result of these experiments, the following suggestions are made as to the course of treatment:

Bath »f wood or concrete, 10ft long ami Sin wide (12in is unnecessarily wide), sides sloping out, ends .lin deep, provided with cross pieces or grooves to prevent slipping, side fences close [boarded and to slope out so as to admit !«.' sheep walking easily through. I .Solution to consist «f lib copper suli phate in 1 gallon of water. If prcven- [ tioii is only aimed at, half this strength will suffice. Time to be allowed lor thorough solution. The copper sulphate should be bought under a guarantee of purity (A3 per cent.), and, if possible in the form of powder, not in large crystal*. I Sheep, if badly'affected, should have their hoofs pared before they are put through the bath. A day when the grass and soil is dry should be selected. '"opper sulphate and most of the other substances which a rc used being poisonous, a cover for the bath to prevent stock from drinking the solution may be an advantage. In say case, the bath must be well feated in." Parts of Xorth Canterbury are by no means out of the wood go far as rainfall is concerned. Several northern farmers are complaining that they have not received a tithe of the rain other parts have. Especially is this so in the Hawarden and Waikarj districts. While other parts are getting good rains, they iave had only light showers, which have 8«* ficjatty begeflted the djgtriefe.

NEWS ANB NOTES.

In every 100 pounds of milk there are about 87 pounds of water, so don't forget te give the dairy cow all the pure water she wants. Some fair crops of Cape barley are being threshed on the Waimate Plains at present. Mr. W. T. Wells, of Manaia, expects to get in the vicinity of SO bushels to the acre. A wheat known as "Federation," which in many ways resembles Tuscan, has bees grown most successfully in Methven and its sub-districts this season (says the Lyttelton Times). Mr. Gordon Seatt, of Lyndhurst, who has part of the original Springfield estate, has just completed threshing a paddock of this breed of wheat, which has given the fine return of 44y 2 bushels per acre. An old Ellesniere farmer, who has lately revisited that district, states that the crops are the poorest ever known in the locality (says the Christchurcb Press). One man who had purchased some of the best land in the Southbridge district at £35 an acre, had won a return of only 10 bushels of wheat, which was hardly enough to pay interest. All over the Ellesmere country it is said this story can be repeated. It is the worst year yet experienced in this wellknown and fertile portion of Canterbury. An ex-student of the agricultural course at one of the district high schools was working on a farm along the coast, and when the sheep were brought in to be dagged he took his share. His employer was watching the boy at work, and observed him knock off and go away for u spell. When the boy returned (a,ays the Feilding Star) the employer asked him what he had gone away f«r. "Oh, well, I just remembered that the last ewe I tinned out had a bad foot, so I went back and trimmed it." The farmer was so pleased at the boy's thoughtfulness that he increased Li 3 wages on the spot. Mr. Robert Brown, of Lincoln Farm, Waianiwa, had rather an unusual experience lately in connection with a foal. Two of his mares foaled, and one of them died. He took the motherless foal to the surviving mare, and she offered no objection to being saddled with the responsibility of suckling two foals; in fact, she seemed pleased to have the privilege of attending to the wants of the foal that did not belong to her, as well as her own foal, and both foals are now reported to be doing well. The mare seemed to have rathav too much milk for one foal, but in any ease it is most unusual for a mart to rear another foal in addition to the one which she is responsible for bringing into the world herself. In the United States, the American Humane Association is engaged in an agitation for the adoption of a minimum speed for stock trains. At the present time live stock conveyed by rail are not allowed to be confined in the truckß longer than 28 hours at a stretch. Any journey exceeding 28 hours from trucking to untrucking must, oe broken by a rest of five hours in comfortable yards, during which time the animal niiist be fed and watered, either by the owner or by the railway oompany, who can recover the cost thereof. The Humane Association is, however, not satisfied with this, and believes that suffering could he reduced by requiring stock trains to travel at the rate of 'from 18 to 20 miles per hour, with few stops.

The Queensland Lands Department now employs two officers, officially designated "water-finders." One works with the automatic finder and the other with the old-fashioned twig, one checking the other. A remarkable demand for their services has set in. Tn fact, it is impossible to meet all the requests in a given time. A report lias just been submitted to the Lands Department on the result of their operations in the shire of Murgon. where they conjointly selected a number of sites for wells. Several cases were quoted. In one, water to the amount of (100 gallons an hour was struck, the pump being unable to reduce the flow. In another 3,">0 gallons, and in a third 150 gallons were obtained: while in two other cases good supplies were obtained without any estimate of the quantity being given. One former went 20 feet, and obtained a small supply. Another struck salt water. The farmers had to sink from 75 feet to'2Bo feet to get the better supplies. Those interested in the fruit industry, as represented by their several organisations, met recently in Wellington, and adopted a list of suitable varieties 01. fmit for cultivation in New Zealand to meet the several requirements and wants of the export trade (which is to a great, extent the fond dream of the otchardist). and for domestic purposes. The decisions were made after careful consideration h.v fruitgrowers, nurserymen and the officers of the- Department of Agriculture. This is certainly a step in the right direction, and it d«es seem strange that it was not done years ago. It would have saved thousands of pounds to nurserymen, who often have as many as three to four hundred varieties catalogued. Orchardists all over the Dominion are cutting on hundreds of varieties which time has proved worthless, or almost so. As one northern grower rewavked at the gathering, "If such a list had been prepared 30 rears ago, it would have saved growers an incalculable sum."

j Few coukl lay a charge of being nonprogressive at the door of the Xew Zeai lis lid farmw, but it does seem strange that wliile engines of various descriptions have supplanted the horse in many fields of activity, the agricultural domain of the horse has not been invaded by mechanical power to any extent. It is to a great extent due to the tractors sold for the purpose, lluny were .right enough as lons as they were working upon the surface of fairly firm soil, but when it came to harrowing and similar agricultural operations, this was where | the greater mobility of the team told. To the average man who keeps a sixhorse team or two, it would be of little use to have a tractor to do the plough-, ing if a team had to be kept available' for discing, drilling, harrowing and the oilier multitudinous operations that the successful cultivation of the soil demands. With the majority of machines placed upon the market, the great fault lias been the lack of ability to work satisfactorily upon the soft and newlyploughed soil. From an economic point «>f view, the machine has much to commend it. Its cost of upkeep ceases when the work is done. This is not the case with the horse, as many a farmer knows to his cost this year. An instance was given in these columns lately (says the Christehurch Sun) where a farmer would have been much better off had he sold the chaff he fed to his team in the winter, and not grown any crop at all. Mr. G H. Ensor, of White Rock, has introduced a, new tractor from Australia, which is highly spoken of in this conS£tM?Pi *nd muca i§ expected from it