LAND STOCK & CROPS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLIV, Issue 9875, 24 July 1923, Page 2

LAND STOCK & CROPS

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

(By “ The Tramp.”)

Quite recently the question of testing f dairy cows has been brought home to South Islanders through our northern friends making rather startling comparisons of figures —comparisons which are not at all to our credit. The position for the whole Dominion could not be described as good, but in the South Island we are hopelessly behind. There are approximately 1$ million dairy cows in New Zealand, 900,000 being in the North Island and 300,000 in the South Island. The total number of cows being tested represents about 7 per cent, of the Dominion’s total.

For the average dairyman the Herdtesting Association is the only practicable means of ascertaining the individual performances of the herd, yet, as we would point out, there is so much apathy over this question amongst the men who should really be clamouring for it, that herd-testing here is almost a negligible quantity. It is said, and perhaps is offered as an excuse; that association testing results do not correspond with factory returns, and therefore are not reliable. It is perhaps quite, true that factory returns fail to come up to the association tests, but that need not deprive herd-testing of any of its value as a guide to performances. There are many avenues of leakage between the cowbyre and the factory stage, any or all of which might account for the variation betwen the so-called “test” performance and the actual amount of butter-fat supplied; but there is no possible loss between the individual cows in the byre when the test bottles are being filled. Herd-testing is a dairy-farmer's stock-taking, and if he is going to make a success of his business he must not work away with the blinds down on the windows of his business world. There is only one way to ascertain which are the “passengers” in the herd and that is by testing on systematic lines. The test points out very definitely which cows are the most profitable to keep.

There are not many men dairying for the mere pleasure of it, at least intentionally, but there are hundreds "who are doing it to a more or less degree and not realising it. One has only to listen to the doubtful testimonials in reference to dairy cattle offered, at times, at auction sales, and compare them with the plain, bald statement of butter-fat produced, supported by certificates, in the case of some purebreds, to realise how slender and vague is the information regarding the performances of ordinary dairy cows.

The Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture has brought the herd-testing business to a very effective stage, and there ned bo no hesitation on the part of dairy factory companies of Farmers’ Union branches to approach the Department with arequest to have herd-testing associations established here, ft is a certainty that, if we had the testing system applied in this district. Iheie ate hundreds of cows that must go by the board as far as butter-fat production is concerned; the dairyman would be shocked to find hmv many “boarders he was keeping. Never mind how many cows have to go out, the moie boarders there are the more need to have them detected, and no mattei how great the shock to the owner, lie must be made aware of the real position. It would be impossible to replace all the low producers within a time limit, but the mere fact of knowing definitely, which was which, places in the hands of the dairyman knowledge that will permit of his woiking for the progress which each must keep rigidly in view.

New Zealand Cocksfoot. An article of considerable interest to New Zealand farmers, is that from the pen of Professor It. G. Stapleton, M.A., appearing in a recent number of an English agricultural journal. Professor 'Stapleton is writing on the subject of seed mixtures for grass land, and is probably one of the world’s best authorities on this subject. The whole matter is written up very completely, but the references of particular interest to New Zealand are those in regard to “cocksfoot.” Of “cocksfoot,” states Professor Stapleton, New Zealand seed, in trials both at Cockle Park and Aberystwyth, has proved decidedly superior to Danish and American, particularly for long duration leys. French seed, as was shown some time agp in Denmark, and more recently in Wales, is inferior for the longer leys. There is not much New Zealand cocksfoot on the market, but if its merit were more fully recognised by farmers, larger supplies would no doubt be forthcoming. Professor Stapleton goes on to point out the special advantages of New Zealand cocksfoot in conjunction with red clover as as excellent combination for hay where it is desirable to have all the species flowering at one time. The following mixture, designed to give hay and pasture, advocated by Professor Gilchrist, has been found over a wide range of country, equally suitable for a three-year ley or for permanent grass, ft may be taken as an example of the simple mixture, although the seedings are rather heavy and may he altered to suit various districts and conditions. Perennial ryegrass 16lbs. Cocksfoot (New Zealand) lOlhs. Timothy 4lbs. 'Late flowering red clover 4lhs. Trefoil (Lotus Major) llh. White Clover Ijlbs.

Checking Smut in Oats.

The dry method of testing oat.s for smut—dusting with formaldehyde—has been tested with success for four successive years at the Government Experimental Farm, Ontario. In all 35 field trials under ordinary farm conditions have been made and 2122 bushels of oats treated. Several varieties of oats have been treated, with the following results:—ln 1918, number of bushels of oats treated, 61; percentage of smut which developed in crop from treated seed,6.s. In 1919, number of bushels of oats treated, 630; percentage of smut in crop from treated seed, 0; percentage of smut which developed in crop from untreated seed, 2.26. In 1920, number of bushels of oats treated, 1016, percentage of smut in crop from treated seed;

0; percentage of smut in crop from untreated seed, ’2.3(1. In 1921, number of bushels of oats treated, 415; percentage of smut in .-crop from treated seed, 0; percentage of smut in crop from untreated seed 5.8. The average for the four years shows no smut in crops from treated seed, and 4.2 S per cent, of smut in crop from untreated seed. Tests were also made of whether this treatment injured the vitality of the seed. In the four years’ experiments the average percentage of germination of treated and untreated seed was found to be exactly the same, 97.5 per cent. It is thus seen that the results have been uniformly satisfactory throughout the four years’ experiments. No injury to the vitality of the seed has resulted, and the control of the smut has been almost perfect. In no case has there been more than a trace of smut in any of the fields sown with treated seed, while the amount of smut in the fields sown with untreated seed for check averaged 4.32 per cent. In some of the checks there was over 15 per cent, of smut present. The advantages of this method over those which have l>een in general use heretofore are simplicity, rapidity and ease of application. In these experiments it was found that 10 bushels of oats could be treated in 50 minutes by this method, and that there was no waiting for the seed to dry after treatment or danger of the grain sprouting or moulding or being swollen so tli&t it would not urn freely through the drill.