ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14244, 15 December 1909, Page 11

ON THE LAND.

SPANISH MERINOS.

A theory was prevalent in Spain early in the last century that the superiority of the wool of merino sheep was due to their annual migration, and that if they remained stationary for a few generations it would become as coarse as that of tho Andalusian sheep. Mr. Jacobs, M.P., F.R.S., who visited Spain in 1809 and 1810, found this belief to bo general, and says that at that time the merino flocks invariably passed the summer in the northern mountains, returning to the warmer climate and richer pastures of tho south of Spain for tho winters. In April they began the journey northward, and as the time approached they became restless, and if not closely watched would begin th© journey alone; instances have frequently occurred of flocks "proceeding several leagues northwards early in . the morning before the attendant shepherds wero awake. Shearing bogan in th© middle of May, the shearing of eight ewes or five rams being considered a good day's work. As soon as tho flocks arrived at their summer quarters they were allowed as much salt as they would eat—th© quantity allowed for the five summer s months being about 2ilb for each sheep— rock salt was laid on flat stones, and the sheep licked it as they passed from fold to pasture. sAt the end of July the rams wero placed with tho ewes, in th© proportion, of six to 100. Rams wero considered th© more profitable, as, though their wool was not so fine, the fleece was heavier, and they were longer lived. ■■'■> MAINTAINING FERTILITY. Every considerate man realises that a true farmer feeds his soil as well as his cattle. Tho soil feeds th© plants which are grown for the stock, and, of course, it cannot give up its elements year after year without receiving something in return, any more than th© dairy cows can give milk day after day without feed. Land can go no longer without food than the cow, but it will sooner or later require some sort of food, just as the cow needs to bo fed if she lives and remains productive. The good farmer realises this, and is doing everything _in his power to carefully maintain the fertility that is in th© soil. Ho puts back each year on his land as much fertility as his crops take from it. A man that can grow crops year after year from the soil, and still keep the land fertile and productive, as it was when he took it, is a true farmer and a benefit to tho world. We condemn th© rich man's son for carelessly squandering the fortune his father has left him, but he is infinitely bettor than the man who squanders the fertility of the land. . . ■ «•

X THE AGE OF TREES. There are certain yews in England that were stalwart trees when Caesar landed on her shores. More than a century ago Do Candolle proved to the satisfaction of botanists that a certain yew, standing in the churchyard at Portugal, Perthshire, was more than 2500 years old, and ho found another at Hcdoor, in Bucks, which was 3240 years old at that time. Humboldt refers to a gigantic Boabab tree in Central Africa as one of the oldest organic monuments in the world. This tree had a trunk 29ft in diameter, and Adamson, by a series of careful measurements, demonstrated conclusively that it had not lived less than 1500 years —and it lives to-day. '] But even Humboldt was wrong in his premise. It has recently been proved that there is a tree in the New World which, of a verity, has lived to " a green old age," for it antedates the Scriptural flood about 2000 years. This is a cypress tree standing in the province of Chepultepoc, Mexico, with a trunk 118 ft lOin in circumference. This had been shown to be (as conclusively as these things can be shown) about 6260 years of age. Nor is this so remarkable when one stops to think that, given favourable conditions of growth arid sustenance, the average tree will never die of old age. Its death is merely an accident. / .Other younger and more vigorous trees may • spring up near it, and rob its roots-of their proper nourishment; insects may kill it; floods or winds may sweep it away; or the woodman's axe may fell it. If no such accident happens to it, a tree may flourish and .grow for century upon century, and age upon age.

SAVING VEGETABLE MARROW SEED. Marrows intended to yield seed must not be cut off till the very end of the season, and in the meantime put a brick or something under the seed-bearing fruits to lift them up off the ground and hold them up fully exposed to the air and sunshine. On no account let them remain shaded by the foliage. Do not bo partial to very large fruit, but bo sure they are nicely-formed and typical of the variety. The foliage will remain till frost occurs; then it is often cut off in a night, and once this occurs secure the seed fruits, and hang them up in tho kitchen to dry. THE WABTE OF LIQUID MANURE. Tho greatest loss, probably, in tho manure made on a farm is from the loss of liquid voided by the animals when tied up in their houses, and which is allowed to run to waste down drains and into ditches. It has been ascertained that each cow when tied up voids from 2000 to 3000 gallons of urine per. annum, and it has been further calculated that 1000 gallons of cow's urine, if applied skilfully to grass land, would have tho same beneficial effect as would be obtained from the application of 2cwt of the best Peruvian guano, and if the 1000 gallons wero applied to turnip land, it would have a more beneficial effect than would be obtained from the application of 20 loads of good farmyard manure.

SULPHATE OF AMMONIA. What is tho best time to apply sulphate of ammonia for crops on light sandy soils? A set of experiments have been carried out to test this question. The sulphate of ammonia was applied (1) entirely in autumn; (2) one-fourth in autumn and three-fourths in spring; (3) in spring in one dressing; (4) in spring in two equal dressings, th© first just when growth started, and the second three weeks later. , The crop on which the trial was made was rye, and the experiments lasted for two years—l9o7 and 1908. To ensure that the soil was well supplied with phosphate of lime and potash, a dressing was given in the autumn of 1906 of 4cwt of basic slag and 4cwt of kainit, and in the autumn of 1907 with scwt of basic slag and sowt of kainit, calculated per acre, and then in each year sulphate of ammonia at the rat© of 2owt per acre, applied as above stated, with tho following result: — x - Increase by sulphate of ammonia : , Increase per cent. N Corn. Straw. 1. Applied entirely in autumn ... 10.9 12.8 2. i autumn, J spring ... ... 40.0 27.7 3. Early in spring in one dressing 37.2 26.4 4. In spring in two dressings ... 56.1 35.7 According to these results the application of sulphate of ammonia in autumn cannot be recommended, at any rate on light soils. The explanation probably is that a large proportion of the ammonia is converted during the late autumn and winter into nitrates, washed down and thus lost to the plant. In another experiment the increases were:— Per cent. Corn. Straw. 1. Applied 1 autumn, J spring ... 2.8 8.4 2. Applied in spring, early April 16.7 10.9 3. Applied in two dressings, early and end of April , 13.6 9.9 In this case the spring application in one dressing produced the best results; probably in the two dressings the second application at the end of August was applied too late. ■ __ ' ■ '. ■ At any rate, it seems clear, judging from these results, that on light soils sulphate of ammonia should not be applied'in the autumn but in spring, and that the best results can be looked for by the application of tho fertiliser in two dressings of equal quantity, the first anplied just when vegetation awakes, and the second about three weeks later. The second application should not bo postponed beyond three weeks after the first. . . , ', '"■ ' . ' ' ' It may also be mentioned that no one should apply sulphate of ammonia without being sure that the soil contains plenty of lime. Without this • base in the soil the sulphate of ammonia will not produce satisfactory result*, a.-:.., > k

WHAT IS SOIL? Soil is the, part of the ground which can be tilled, and in which plants grow. - It is the upper stratum of decayed rock, which is mixed with vegetable and animal matter; the finely divided portion of the surface, into which plants send their roots, and from which they obtain much of their food; the part of the surface layer which 'has been produced by the disintegration of rocks, and to which has been added more or less of that of vegetables and animals. No matter which definition the student accepts, he must bear in mind —

First, that the part of the • soil which came from the disintegration of rocks must bo finely divided or well pulverised. The rock* quarry and gravel pit contain materials which are found in the most fertile soils, yet the materials • are unfit to becomo part of the soil because they are not well pulverised. " - '!'' : "" ', "..

Second, that there must a proper percentage of pulverised rock, commonly called mineral matter, in the soil. The manure heap, and the peat, lands contain too much vegetable matter for the amount of pulverised rock, and is consequently not the ideal sod.

Third, that there must be a proper amount of decayed vegetable and animal matter, commonly called organic matter or humus, thoroughly mixed with the pulverised rocks. The clay bank is an instance of finefy divided or pulverised rock, but it cannot be called the ideal soil, because it does not contain a sufficient amount of decayed vegetable and animal, matter.

Taking those requirements into consideration, the following definition may be given: Soil is the union of a proper percentage of pulverised rocks and decayed plants and animal matter.

FODDER NUTRIMENT PRINCIPLES. The nutritive substances in stock foodstuffs may bo divided into two classes—flesh formers and fuel or energy producing substances. When the proper amount of these two classes of substances is fed the ration is said to be balanced. If an unbalanced ration is fed, as one containing more fuel or energy producing substances than are needed and less flesh forming material, the ration is partially -wasted, and such unwise feeding will not bring as good results as the feeding of the same amount of a balanced ration. Each class of substances has different offices to perform in the body. I*, n ° enough flesh-forming substance is fed, tho body suffers, because it is absolutely necessary to keep the body in good condition. Plenty of stock are fed all they can eat, yet are poorly nourished because the contains little except fuel substances. Ihe flesh-forming substances are used to replace the waste that goes on in all living tissue. Energy producing substances are used to furnish the energy required for the nervous and muscular activities of the body, and when fed in excess they may to a certain extent be stored up in the form of fat for use later, when needed for either energy or. heat. ~.-■-..: • -- • "'

One of the most important substances in any foodstuff is protein. All nutritive substances which contain nitrogen are claused under the general term of protein. Protein is composed of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, and phosphorus. Protein is the substance which builds up the body. The muscies, tendons, ligaments, connective tissues, skin, hair, hoofs, part of the bone, in fact every part of the body but fat, are made up of protein, together with mineral matter and water. Tho class of t substances which come next to protein are the carbohydrates, which contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but no nitrogen, sulphur, or phosphorous; • they include starch, sugars, etc. These are used for practically the ' same purpose for which coal .or wood is used in the steam engine, namely, to furnish energy and heat. Small quantities of oil are present in all kinds of hay, and these oils serve the same purpose as the carbohydrates. If a concentrated feed lacks protein, tbon the hay- that is high in this substance is more valuable than one which contains little but carbohydrates, and vice versa. There is a range in the amount of the different classes of nutrients in the various kinds of hay, but lucerne hay, stands at the top. ' , ''"'-:■:.. , On an average', in, 1001b of lucerne hay the digestible protein amounts to 10.581b; in cowpea hay, 10.791b, in alsyke clover hay, 8.151b; in red clover, hay, 7.381b; and in ordinary oaten hay, 2.891b. When ■ fed for protein, ordinary oaten or wheaten hay ranks last, but when fed for carbohydrates it stands next to lucerne hay which heads the list. : -

BREVITIES. ) Late lambs produce more wool than early ones, but the following year the early-bred ones give better results.

j Water given to tho horse in large quantities washes the food out of the stomach into the intestines before it is digested. The fermentable nature of the horse's food shows the necessity of its being thoroughly masticated and.properly mixed with saliva. Tho mare needs watching when near foaling, as a little judicious attention may save the foal, and sometimes both mare and foal. The stomach of a horse is small in comparison to the size of the body, and therefore it cannot thrive on bulky, innutritious food. Breeding horses on the farm is not only necessary to keep up the teams, but is also profitable, for good horses are realising high prices. A horse should not bo allowed to grind hay all day or night, for if it continues to oat, some of the food will pass out before it is properly prepared. * . Over-feeding horses with oats makes the blood too hot, and as a consequence boils form on the shoulders, which eventually break, leaving painful sores. Dry ' rot in gate posts, outhouses, joists, and beams may bs checked by equal proportions of salt and chloride ot zinc—luOlo oj each to 3601b of water. A collar should' fit closely into the horse's neck. It should neither bo too long, nor too narrow on top. A collar that is too largo, will rock about and be sure to chafe; ;

" Do it now" is the best motto for the farm. Nowhere else is tho old proverb that "a stitch in time saves nine" more true than here. Do it now, to-morrow may be too late. ~ : Animals, like human beings, prefer the shade in hot days. It is little short of cruelty to allow stock to wander during some of our hot summer days without shelter of some kind. Horses when first put to grass should have some dry food, or only a small quantity of green food, for a few days until the stomach becomes accustomed to it, as a large feed of green food is very dangerous. If culling were carried on— on small placesevery year there would not bo nearly so much work in classing, as the fleeces would be more even in type, not only in tho ewes and wethers, but the rams also. Stock that are depastured in sheltered paddocks keep their condition on a moderate supply of food, while it is difficult for them to maintain their condition on abundance of food on an unsheltered run. If overworked a horse becomes very heated, and on removal of the collar the sudden change of temperature causes tho shoulder to scald. An effective remedy is to bathe the shoulder with warm water immediately the collar is removed. ".'-'" ' . A mob of fat cattle before being trucked at Bourke, on tho Darling River, were weighed, and again weighed on their arrival in Sydney. The exact loss in weight was almost, if not quite, sufficient, to have paid for their railway freight. Good fences make good neighbours. If your fence will keep out your neighbour's stock and poultry it will save a lot of illfeeling and keep you in good humour with each other. Many of the worst feuds among farmers have commenced with a poor fence which a few shillings would have mended. As it is necessary that oaten hay, should contain a full supply of grain, the crop should bo allowed to attain a much more mature condition than is necessary with wheat. Tho best indication of a fit condition is when the upper tips of the heads turn . white, the grain in the lower portion being then in the dough stage. •