200 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. — Sept., 1922. 



A Sire of Good Milk Strain for the Dairy Herd. 



The effect of a sire of good milk strain on liis progeny is borne 

 out by the Ayrshire dairy herd at the School of Agriculture and 

 Experiment Station, Potchefstroom. The sire, in the present instance, 

 is the bull South Craig Ilentpayer. The lactation periods, milk 

 yields, and total butter-fat content for his progeny, as heifers, 

 compared with those of their dams, also as heifers, show a marked 

 and in some instances a very remarkable improvement over the dams. 

 As an example. Cow No. 127 shows a lactation period of 276 days, 

 against 248 days for the dam, the milk yields for these periods being 

 5243 lb. and 3277 lb. respectively, whereas the total butter-fat yields 

 in pounds were 225.8 and 134.1. Cow No. 128 improved her lactation 

 period over that of her dam by 248 days to 196, the total milk yields 

 by 4151 lb. to 2627 lb., and the butter-fat content by 156.4 lb. to 

 110.7 lb. In the case of Cow No. 129, with a shorter lactation period 

 of 304 days, as against 330 days for the dam, she nevertheless yielded 

 during the lesser period 5638 lb. of milk, against 5761 lb. for the 

 dam with the longer lactation period. As a final example, Cow No. 

 125 yielded 4987 lb. of milk with a total butter-fat content of 197.8 

 lb. iu 281 days, against 5064 lb. milk, with a total butter-fat content 

 of 202.9 lb. during 328 days for the dam. 



Results like those enumerated above form an eloquent appeal to 

 those interested in the grading up of their dairy herds to procure 

 only the very best stock money can buy in the way of good sires, and, 

 with this ideal before them, dairy farmers will, as a natural course, 

 rigidly avoid also the inferior and scrub cow. 



The Control of Codling-moth. 



Codling-moth is undoubtedly the worst pest of pears and apples 

 in South Africa, causing considerable damage in some orchards, where 

 25 per cent, or more of the harvest during seasons of good crops have 

 contained wormy fruits. Such loss, however, is avoidable, for by 

 carrying out proper methods of control it can be greatly minimized, 

 so that in seasons of normal crops 85 per cent, to 93 per cent, of the 

 fruits can be rendered free from codling-moth. In an article that 

 appeared in the October, 1921, issue of the Journal, Dr. Pettey, the 

 Entomologist at the Elsenburg School of Agriculture, pointed out very 

 clearly how the pest could be controlled by careful and thorough 

 spraying, correctly timed, and composed of the right materials of the 

 correct strength. To the present issue, he contributes a further article 

 dealing with a simple device, easily constructed, by means of which 

 larvae leaving infested fruit are captured, and the great number of 

 moths that would otherwise have eventually found their way to the 

 adjacent orchard, considerably reduced. Many owners of large 

 orchards who have carried out the Department's advice in regard to 

 spraying, state that, notwithstanding, codling-moth infestation has 

 increased alarmingly in recent years, and Dr. Pettey, who has given 

 the problem much study, states that the longer his experience the 

 more he is convinced that fruit growers must adopt those measures of 

 control supplementary to spraying referred to in the articles above 

 mentioned, chiefly because native sprayers cannot be relied upon to 

 spray efficiently. 



