BY THE WAYSIDE

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19882, 11 May 1936, Page 12

BY THE WAYSIDE

. l Topics of Farming Interest N, I l HANDLING YOUNG PIGS i Youg igs should not be lifted just i behind the forelegs, nor by the ears or Ltall, said Mr H. R. Duvidson, in the |course of an address at Leamington, 1 England. The meeting was arranged by “l‘ the County Agricultural Organiser, and ‘, was primarily intended for pigmen, - many of whom came with their employi.‘ ers. Mr Davidson went on to say that f sticks should never be used for driving t large pigs; they should be shown an I', opening in one direction and all others _l blocked by fences and hurdles. p: a it a ll Lime is classed at an indirect fertili- .‘ ser. While it is not regarded as a plant t: food, it is just as essential to plant life l‘and growth as nitrogen, phosphoric - acid, or potash. Soil may be rich in all -| the essential elements, namely, nitroxgen, phosphorus and potash, and still i he worthless for agricultural purposes ' if it does not contain a sumcient zj amount of lime. Lime acts both chemifrnlly and physically. Chemically it is l the most powerful agent known to ; sweeten sour soil. It unites with the ; organic matter forming humate ot . lime, thus preventing the formation of ,‘ any harmful acidnLime hastens the de‘cay of all organic substances which :1 may be in the soil. Farmyard and green .l iuanures are of little use the first year ,l or two if a sufiicient amount of lime ‘ ' s not exist in the soil to promote _ldecomposition. All soils,, except those ,i of a light sandy nature, are made melv ,1 low and friable by the use of lime. l Dense clay soils are especially improved . by being treated with lime. Sandy soils become more compact, and hold humus better-ythereby absorbing and retain‘ing moisture longer if they are well limed. , a n o “' E In selecting a bull, which should be , purebred, the first care should be to -, make certain that he comes from stouh l'with a strong and vigorous constitu . tiou. Next, full particulars of his male l and female antecedents should be obtained. Unless heifers by his sire have ' proved good milkers, he will be 01 , " little use, as milking qualities are pass- l ed on by the male. The record of the bull’s dam shoald disclose deep milking qualities, but not necessarily or advisedly so to an extreme degree, otherwise the constitution of her calf will {have been liable to suffer under the ’strain of milk production; she should ‘also have a well-shaped udder. A few of the points of a good dairy bull am as follow:—Robust constitution and virility, head full of character, forchead broad, eye prominent, nostrils well developed, head well set on to strong neck, throat clean and free from coarseness, false milk veins large, rudimentary teats well developed and well placed. The spine should show great strength, and the back should be level. I a so a Criticism of the type of cattle bred lin Australia for the export trade was made by Mr E. Mowbray Alexander, of cmn‘, Perthshire. Scotland, who arrived aboard ILMS. Orsova, en route ‘to Sydney, where he Judged the Shorthorn rattle at the Royal Sydney Show. Mr Alexander said Australian cattle »were “too high in the air.” It would fbe better to conceutate on the breed ,ing of the Argentine type, which were I“thick and low to the ground.“ A]:thouizh Australia still had a long way lto go before she could seriously chair l lenge the Argentine chilled beef trade, ' iArgeutine interests were watching the ‘development of the Australian meat industry, particularly as the agreement | between the Argentine and Great Brit--1 sin terminated at the end of the year. Should a preferential tarih‘; come into l operation, the Argentine would still be lablo to compete in the British market, l but if a quota were granted to Empire : produce in addition to the tax, the out l pug from the Argentine would be re- , stricted and her trade would be killed. l a «- so i Following the enthusiastic praise , given by responsible authorities to the ‘quality of synthetic wool, some little 5 fear was entertained by the woolgrowers of the world that there was a ldistinrt possibility of the synthetic [ product displacing altogether the I natural product. However, reports from experts recently. show that the synl thullc product is not all that Its mnnu‘t'ncturera would have us lieliove 'T‘lw , opinion that the meeting of fundamen- ' tnl requirements of a structure might lye expected to reproduce all the properties of wool has not been fulfilled i by the new Italian librs made from , ('nstriu is contained in a report by the Wool Industries Research Association of Leeds, which applied scientific tests to the product. Although it could not ' he considered a competitor of the l natural product, this would not prevent scientific attempts to overcome the (lifliculties. The experts agreed that iL “as extremely unlikely that milk wool could be made into compact, warm , clothing, and such articles as blankets, i as the Italians apparently believed. l as -x- is i A fact that is not sufilciently approciutcd is that a tlock of sheep, properly used, are invaluable on a dairy inrni. Such u. tiock would pay even if money “on: lost on them, that, Is, if they had t.) he sold at less lhnn was given for them. l'scil to tollow after I l mun», they do'flmuiy with the ncrcsSity lrt' topping p:lsllll'l::l, uliilo tlu‘)‘ lune! ; :in Impm’lnul inlluunco in controlling i “owls. Aml, i'\(>u nmrc uupm'tnnl. tlmu l lhnm ill_l\llill:l:,jl'5, llu'y lvuild up pas-j tun-. 4 :is unllliu‘,‘V vlw, \\'ill (10, Find this l at in minimum u! iml. Una lhingl ..lmut .\lll‘l'lv on lllt‘ dairy l‘urm is lli:rl. l the in lnuili cum \\nut little food in : l‘m \\‘l'ill-r hwvmhs, nml .\l) tlit'y “ark " ll| \\i‘ll \\illi lluii) l'zlrm lirnviii'o. } F.“— l l