THE FARM.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 40, 17 December 1920, Page 11

THE FARM.

(By "Furrow").

THE NEED OF THE DAY. EfSciency — more production per cow and more economy in production to match the high land values and manure and cost of labour and equipment and cost of feed — is the most vital need of the dairy industry to-day. The average production of the average cow expressecl in ternis of milk and but-ter-fat cannot be called good. In fact, it is poor — and what man likes to conduct a poor man's business ? Dairymen may be divided into three elasses — those who fail and eventualiy go out of the business, those who eke out a bare exist-ence, and those who succe.ed. Invariably the success of the prcgressive dairyman is dependent on the quality oi bis cows. He climbs to freedom from financial worry over the hacks of high producing cows. He knov/s that high milk producing ability is an inherited character and that he m.ust carefully select his brceding stock to the end that all animals born in his herd possess that ability. Ihe greatest aid in creating efficiency in the dairy herd is the dairy sire, with a strong milk producing inheritance. Such a sire adds to the milk producing ability of the future herd. A poor sire gets his own kincl and decreased production. An increase in milk production decreases costs, while a decrease in production increases costs.

PROFIT SHARIN" G ON THE FARM. "Mr M. IT. Peake, of High Loxsley Farm, Dunsfold (Surrey); the owner of a hoidmg coveriiig 400 acres, chiefly grassland, adopted a system of profit-sharing with his men on aJnuary 1 this year, and he is enthusiastic concerning the results, ' says the "Telegraph." ''At that time he had the farm valued, and. in conference with his men, it was agreed that he sbould take 6 per cent. on the capital invested in it Employer and employed worfced tcgether, sharing the common tasks of the farm, and each draws a sum which had been agreed upon as a living wr.ge at the end of the week. The farmer at the end of the year takes his six per cent., or the current bank rate on the money he has sunk in the farm, and the remainder of the profits are to he shared amongst thern. "Mr Peake declares that under this system the farm Iabourers have .such a real live interest in the success of the undertaking that they work from daylight until dark, and put the very best into their labour. Two men will, b,e says, do tne Work which six do normal'y. Should a man die before the share-out the profit he has earned will pass to his next-ef-kin." Good-bye old Brindle, bony scrub. The time demands a hetier brced. You eat enough, but there's the rub— You never pay for half your feed. So after all these years wepart, And pray remember as you go, If this should break your bovine heart, You broke my purse long, long ago. — A cow tester in the "Producers' Review. ' ' Produce! Produce! Were it but the pitifulest, iufinitesimal fraction of a product, produce it 'Tis thg utmost thou lia- 1 in th.ee! out with it, then. Up ! Up 1 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy whole might — Carlyle. WATCII THE BULL. It is not uneommon to find a bull that is apparently not a sure breeder. The cause of the trouble should be the fiast thi-ng* to consider. An examination of the bull should be made for injury or deformity. Has the bull been debilitated by too frequent usage? Has provision been made for sufficient exercise, or is he kept in a poorly-lighted filthy stalL? Has the bull served cows promiscuously over the neighbourhood with no attention given to > their physical condition at the time ot service? If so, it might be suspicioned that the bull has became infected with abortion germ from one of the cows brought in. Precaution and systenTatic handling would eliminate much of this trouble. A bull must have' exercise to be in prime breeding condition. The benefit from this will be handed down to the offspring. Cow-s showing- .signs of a discliarge or in any way unhealthy should not be hred from. It is a good practice to irrigate the sheath of a bull after service, especially when a cow that has an unknown history is served. The abortion tabloid dissolved in two qnarters of water should be used. Tbe pn'ncipal cause -of ineffic-iency of the bull is allowing the bull to run with

the cows, more especially if the cows are suffering from a contagious coniplaint which will often bring her in season every three weeks, whether she is in calf or otherwise. M any a time a cow is troubled with vaginal catarrh vvithout the owner being aware of it, and the bull may then pass it on to the whole herd and at tne same time being rendered almost impotent. Do not depend on internal medicine to increase the breeding qualities of any animal. Its effect is only temporary and fails to remove the cause.