DOMINION FARMING

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 50, Issue 130, 14 March 1930, Page 7

DOMINION FARMING

EMPIRE VISITORS' VIEWS. VALUE OF TOP-DRESSING. (Special to the "Guardian."/ CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. The amount of top-dressing of pastures which is carried out in New Zealand is -one of the many things winch have surprised the party of British Empire farmers on their tour ot the Dominion. They state c that they have had a wonderful trip, if a little exhausing owing to the heavy itinerary. 11l- Samuel R. Whitley (leader of the party)? stated in an interview last evening that England had carried out topdressing for fifty years.. New Zealand had apparently been, going in for topdressing to a great extent. Whether it would "be found that the addition of potash to the superphosphate would be more beneficial would be ascertained from experience. The speaker was very meased with the work at the Canterbury Agricultural College at Lincoln which most of the party had inspected that afternoon. There he found that those in. charge the experiments were in touch with scientists in England -There should be a brotherhood of scientists, especially m the British Empire," remarked Mr Whitley. 1 Farming in New Zealand was very different from that carried on in England he added. Still, there were many things seen in New Zealand that might be helpful to ? the visitors on their return to their homes. That morning lie had seen at Pigeon Bay the behc,rning apparatus owned by Mr EHay, an ap naratus which could dehorr? cattle at an amazing rate Dehorning was not carried out in England except in the case of some of the calves, and was done with caustic soda. The trip round ?he Banks Peninsula Bays was wonderful and he paid a tribute to the drivers who had expertly negotiated the many hairpin bends The hospitality which the party had received m New Zealand was unbounded, and the Canterbury Automobile Association was deserving of many thanks for havmg provided "cars for what the shaker thought was the most, difficult and most beautiful motor drive in New Zeaa" I like Taranaki and South Auckland better than I do Canterbury, though there are a great many weeds m the North Island," stated another member of the party. ."Your labour problems, as far as farming is concerned are different from those of England, and you cannot be expected to have the farms looking at their very best all the vear round. New Zealand and South Sweden, I believe, use more fertilisers than any other countries ot the world. ' , . ~,. •-, An instance of the value of artificial fertilisers in the -Dominion was given by Mr J. J. Crigland (Gloucester). He said that on a farm of 130 acres in the North Island 115 cows were milked, and 100 wethers, 200 lambs, seven horses and two bulls were kept. Twenty acres of lucerne was grown. In spite of the heavy demands on the feed the farmer found difficulty in keeping the grass from seeding. These results' were primarily due to favourable climatic conditions. Mr Criglan stated that if the organisers had not included in the tour the week in Australia, the party would have been able to see more ol New Zealand at a less strenuous pace. 11ns country had some very fine scenery, among the best of which was that seen that "dav. The speaker liked the South Island better than the North because Canterbury conditions were more like those in England.- He could not understand why land was so dear here. ~ That New Zealand farmers would do better by hand-feeding lambs while on rape was the contention of Mr Alec Steel, a sheep and dairy farmer from Southend-on-Sea. He said that the cost would be more than repaid in the quicker fattening of the lambs and in the manuring of the ground. The speaker praised the productivity ot Banks Peninsula. He stated that he was farming 1100 acres at the mouth of the Thames, and took £30,000 per annum off the holding. He had 400 acres in vegetables and potatoes, grew wheat and oats, kept 50 cows, obtainea 300 lambs from 200 ewes last year, and supplied to customers 450 gallons ot milk per day. A comparison of conditions in Alberta, Canada, with those in Canterbury was given by Mr D. W. Warner, one' of the four Canadian members of the party, and a former member _ of the Federal Parliament. He said that his farm was on the edge of the wheatgrowing district. He had been a breeder of milking Shorthorns for 35 years, and grew wheat only as a rotation crop. Binders were the usual machines for reaping, as they gave the straw time to dry off. Other machines which laid the straw on the stubble to dry were coming into use. Dairying was a. paying business in Canada, and those farmers prospered who carried stock along with their crops. The land was sealed with frost for five or six months of the year, and hand-feeding had to be undertaken, which increased the cost of production. The Canterbury Plains were much the same as Canadian land, except that the latter was priced at only from 35 to 45 dollars an acre. New Zealand had some advantage in not requiring to shelter her stock indoors. The winter "in Canada, when little work could be done on the farms, was devoted to restj and recreation. Land could still be had from the Canadian Government for an entrance fee. The Peace River country, which was being settled in this way, was going to be a success.