AROUND HAWKE'S BAY

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 121, 24 June 1930, Page 5

AROUND HAWKE'S BAY

PARAGRAPHS OF INTEREST TO THE FARMER. Tliere appears likely to be a fairly large yarding of store sheep at Stortford. Lodge to-niorrow, including 1300 breeding ewcs in lamb to Romney rams and 275 -vvetlier lioggets. The ewes will be offered by Alessrs Williams and Kettle, Ltd., on behalf of tbe Te Apiti and Waipoapoa Estates. * * * An unreserved dispersal sale of liighclass Jersey oows and heifers will be b.eld at tlie Woodville saleyards tomorrow morning at 11.30 bv Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Co. Ltd., acting under iustrnctions from Dlr J. C. Bolton, of "Waipuna," Woodville. Tbe herd compnses 60 liigh-grade Jersey cows, 50 higli-grade Jersey heifers, 3 pedigree Jersey bulls and 1 grade Jersey bull. During tbe 1928-29 season tliis herd averaged 3241 bs. fat O.H.T. and during tlie 1920-30 season 3201bs. fat. Individual record of each coav will be given out at the sale. Further details in our stock saies ad vertising column on page 12. Blackberry is gettiug a strong, hold on sonie properties out Puketapu way and tbe owners eoneerned shouid make a ckan-up before the wjeed becomes too strongly estabhshed. * * * - Killling of sheep and lambs at tbe Whakatu 1 reezing Works ceases on Monday next, June 30. * * » A Puketapu farmer tells me that he is experimenting with iodised salt •licks, placed in boxes in paddocks where his breeding ewes ax-e running this season. Tbe sheep apparently lilce the licks and he is lioping fox- good resxxlts in the form of increased health and condition. * t? * A regxxlar supply of salt has an important bearing oxx the health of sheep. The aslx of slxeep' s blood contains fx*om 70 per cent. to 90 per cent. of sodium chloride. Animals that are unable to obtaixx a sufficient axxd regxilar sxxpply of this element soon exhibit signs of digestive disturbances. * * The Nox-th Auckland farnxers who are at present toxiring the North Island under the leadership of C'olonel Allan Bell, wexe dxxe to axu'ive in Hastings on the express train this eycning. Some of the visitors will be quartered iix Hastings and a few ixx Napier. To-morrow morxxixxg they will _ be takeix for a toxxr of tlxe inxmediate distriet in buses supplied by the Raihvay Depax-tnxexxt, and in tlie aftex'noon will be tlxe guests of xxxembers of the Hawke's Bay branch of the Nexv Zealand- Farmers' Union, ixx visits to vax-ious farms in the distriet. TTiey leave Hastings again iu^ continuatioix of their trip by the express train on Thursday morning. Tlie aiTangements for the tour are in the capable hands of Slr A. McNeill, business representative of the Railway Department. ♦ ♦ » The comnxon oi- so-called Jex-usalem artxchoke, xvhich is a member of tlxe sunflower family, is one of the most xiseful plants to grow foa- pig feeding. Its value, according to aualysis, is about equal to that of boiled potatoes and ]ugs are found of it. In view of this it is rather surprising that this vegetable is not grown on a more extensive scale hx Hawke's Bay. If we talke 41b. of cooked potatoes to be equal to 11b. bax-ley xneal, which is tlxe necepted calculation, we have in the artichoke an even more valuable suhstitute for concentrated foods, because we can feed artichokes in tlieir natux-al state and so do away witlx tbe lahour axxd espense of boiling, as is necessary xvxth the potato. ( * ** * Although all sorts of pig n'ngs have been iuvented from tinxe to time, some 01 tliem of the most ingenious and elaborate description. it is doubtful wbetlier the old _ pattern, fashioxxed from a horseshoe nail. can be beaten isavs a ooiTespondent in tbe Live Stock Journal). The nail is simply fiattened out in the blacksmith's anvil axul then used as a rixxg, tlxe sliarp point, after being put tbrouglx tlxe pig's snout, being curled round beliind tlxe flatterned head. These rings are xnore effective and stay in better tlian the otlier popular pattern, .jvhicb is simply a round split x-ing. "Foot-rot is becoining sei'ious in tlxe Wairarapa," said Mr R. J. Barton at a meeting of tbe general committee of tbe Masterton A. and P. Assoeiation. He instaneed a fanu xvbere men xveie kept alnxost continually footrotting. In view of tlxe position lie suggested tlxat it ivoald reo«i be necessary to issue leaflets setting out the metbod of preventing and cnriug the disease, as had been necessary previously. According to an authority on slieep diseases, foot-rot was xxot tx-aced to the ground, but to contagion. A foot-batlx of hot water and blue vitriol was recomxnended as one cure. * * * Starlings are particxxlaxTy plentitul in tliis distriet just as present. Tlxe birds are a decided nuisance at seeding time in spreading blackberry and other noxious weeds. I am convinced that a large pvoportion of the blame for the abnormal spread of blackberry in Hawke's Bay during tbe past few years could be laid at their door axxd have actually seen examples of xiesting jdaces wlxich liave become blackberry iufested. * « * Accox-ding to a depax-tuxental expert, it mav be jthat tlxe blowfly parasite x-ecent!y provided to a number of farnxers in tlxe Gisborne distriet will act in much the same xvay as the cinnabar nxoth, in that the effect of its attaeks on the blowfly maggots may not be noticed a great deal xxntil the nxxmbers have increased sufficiently. Each flock owner had been supplied with only small tins of tlxe parasitised puparia, and these doubtless will have to increase greatly in numhers befoi-e success will be abundantly denionstrated-

It is cheering to read tlxat there are some districts little affected by sluxnp and kindx-ed ills. A Southland paper of last week states that in tbe eastern distriet at tlxe present time tliere is a steady denxand for farms, but little desire to sell. One agent claimed that there was a persistent dexnand for farms, particulax-ly from outside centres, some of these coxning from Dunedin and Chri.stchurch. This, 110 doubt, was pavtly due to the fact that stock was cheap. There were few properties offering, hoxvever. He expi'essed the opinion that there was a noticeable dx-ift baclc to the land. With the introduction of more scientific metlxods of farming, and capable instruction available, farming bad takeix a new lease of life, and faivmers were not willing to sell to-day as veadily as •some years ago. Tlie fact that Southland liad experienced sucb a suecessful season in crops and pastures had attracted attention to tlie great possibilities of the distriet. * % * Speaking .on liex-d testing at the Wairarapa Winter Show, Mr A. H. Humphrey said that some farmers had been known to put cows into a specially rich paddock for a few days before ^ they were tested. Farmers who. dxd that dec'eived thenxselves as well as those b-y whom the testing xvas carried out. Often those who adopted such questionable tactiqe did not attain their immediate ob.ject, because a cow sbifted from relatively poor feed to rich feed was apt to be affected in health slightly and xnight not do as well under test as if it had been left in its ox-dinax-y paddock.