SORGHUM AS A SUMMER CROP.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 56, 7 March 1896, Page 3 (Supplement)

SORGHUM AS A SUMMER CROP.

1-SOILS, AFTER CULTIVATION A1S TD FEEDING.

i jj MH uu does best on free soils, thriving , ujjonrieh sandy loams. Calcareous soils I j,o grow gorghnm well, lb is on stiff \ Aji and lands thab set very hard thafe i 1 iijiosbdifficult to make the crop succeed, pjmore skill and judgmenb are required 1 Introduce anything like adecenberop on I jjjij jojlg than under more suitable condi- | Speaking gronerally, ifc is nob usual ' ijlpply manure direcb to sorghum, but on ? ttftioils id woald be advantageous. Farm- : .yd manure could not be applied with ad. ( nitjga to this crop in spring, as the land -■ iculd be kept too open and would be fouled, I hit dressing of artificial manure .might t \t Drtd with advantage. A mixture of ' nperphOßphate and wood ashes with I \ little nibrate of soda, would pro- | Jibly be best. Chemically, the mixI lira may appear to be injudicious bus I is practice io haa been found to turn out I roy well. One and a-half cwt. of supor--1 ibsspbabe, 3 or 4 cwt. of wood ashes, and \ uj7olb of nitrate of soda per acre will bo I found very beneficial. It is tho after culti. I fjiion which the crop requires which makes ? toni»ny farmers afraid to grow sorghum. IpA aa the afb6r cultivation determines ! kgaly the success of the crop, anyone injiipoied to give the work proper attention lhald not grow it. Shortly after the sluts are above the ground they should be TOhoed with a chiael-tmed horseshoe, led this operation should be repeated later lisa about a foot high. These cultivations, totheyare such rather than hoeings, should it relatively deep ; the first nob so deep as beodanger the plant by covering ib with 4 and the second to four inches deep lilbese cultivations be carefully carried out h will be found that; although the culti ntot is nob fitted with shares, few weeds ymtt the disturbing of the soil in the dry Wthet. After the crop gets over, say, a loobbigb, the cultivation should be shallow, fomequently when the crop is about two fwthieh a third working should be given fait with a light horsesboe or ecuffler. If ' toba fed down, this working will suffice, bod if the crop is to be allowed to mature Mother scuffling will be to its advantage, tad this may be done when io is in ear aod 'fee grain ia filling. Such proposed workin? will seem to some who feel inclined to liiow their sorghum to struggle along as beat jsmny without cultivation work of supererogation, bub in dry summers, too much bportauce cannot readily be attached to icrface cultivation.

When in its early stages of growth sorgho ia not palatable to stock, and in some cjsos when prolonged droughb has dvrarfed ot sickened the crop, ibis even dangerous tofisdit. Aa soon as the flowers begin to appear, stock of any kind may be turned io to graze the crop, only for a short peiod daring the first few days, and later altopither. In connection with the feeding of tbo ctop, ife will bo as well tot give a warning Whon cows or other stook have been wbsieting on non-snecuienb and nonfermentable food for a.considerable time, a wry mull meal of • greeustufi '—green jarghnm clover or lucerne —is likely to prove fatal. Lesson : Never give green lorgbnm or other succulent herbage to ttock which have previouely lived on nonsacealenb food as a full mo&l until you have gradually accustomed them to ifc. A cow would Bnccumb to a feed of young clovor, sorghum, or other juicy green fodder, when she haa previously had dry grass, from eating only one-tenth of the quantity ehe «ould consume with impunity after one w«lc of daily restricted, bub regular, 6«pply. We never hear of deaths from green eorghum when the season is moist »nd pastures good, bub there have often teen cases reported in dry 'season*, when futures were dry and feed scarce. Sorghum offers capital opportunity for 'ttd for lambing ewas. Sheep may be fsbtened on it for market, though cattle fetten on ib movo readily. Horses, at U)8 off-season, will do well on it; and cows Wexcellently. Ib will be found to give batter firm in character, good in colour, \ tod excallent in quality. Ao a .'ate cummer ; ted early autumn dairy foodstuff, it is nob < { wdily aarpaßsed. Grazing the crop is Preferable to cutting it and carting ifc to be I'd off the land, and it ie much the chouper method, and practically aa much loed is Wtained, for by grazing very little indeed is "Mted, and aa the crop is to be recomWnded apecially as a fallow crop, the •seding down does the land pood while, of -line, when ib is cut and fed elaewhore, it »ecoinoa an exhausting crop. Tfiken altoWwet lorghum i* ao excellent crop, and j jar dsitry farmers would do well to grow it I w manner feed.

jiBANAKi Stock Mahkets. — Under ff of Hawera, tho '29bh alt, Messrs Wan, Todks and Co. report) aa follows :--■ "a the 2lat wo held our annual sheep fair, »-n being n largo attendance of buyers, "presenting «]1 places between New Plym& aud Wanjr&nui. The fair was ono of "• largest ever hold on the coast, tho -amber of sboep penned exceeding 30,000. "6 «beep as a whole were a .very good ''•■ nod the general opinion of flock y, 0Br8 we* that they were healthier I'iitH °* *ormer years. Prices wore b*% in advance ot lato rate*. At tho eomi. -.r on 22nfl snßt- thers wa* kee" ""petition for Linuolns, other breeds being n^tat-neglected. In' Lincolns Mr 11. •■toreraan gold 27 from ljr to 2&gs, u°*R'nK- lfea; Mr John Shields, 40 from pg ° %»• ftTeroging ljgs; Mr G. V. J3* r8°i 50, UTeraginu lf-gB ;Mr VY. Pearce, Bro' 0' 31^ ko 21i2s< averAM'nK litre; Jießti At Bii toot''l Kninnoys avorncred I.{j4?. »dv« ! Vrßra ' 00 27cll > more wtock lbw fcr CaiUQ 'orwor.l. Inquiry wa« good JMV ■"* cattle and ghaep, bub grown ;S'e neeleoteci. Wo quote :•— 1\ year .'"". £3 68 6d to £3 7» 6d ; fafc cow». £3 sLi!° W7Bi weanorg, 21b to 26a; mlsed "W'lDgi, 29b 6d to 35a; iB-moa»bd beilers,

34s to 37s ; store cows, 41a to 48s. Sheep : Cull ewes, la 9d to os Id ; store ewes, 4s 4d to 5s 6d ; 2-bootih webhera, 7s ; 2-bpobh ewee, 7a 6d ; Lincoln rame, !Agß.

Buying a Horse.—Horsey amateura aro almost legion. You sill know the wise and knowing look a man puts on when he ' walk a round' a horse J Of course he opens its mouth and trioa to look down its throat (?) well ah its teeth then. The block mark like the eye mark on the end of a broad-bean, is very deep and bold when a horse 13 between three and four years old. After six years of age it will have disap poared almost entirely. That is the sign horsey men profess 'to be guided by' so much in learning a horse's ago. I myself have never been 'had' over that), but I have been properly sold over another point, although I claim to be a 'cube Yorkshireman and ono of a horsey family. It was a jibber that I was bib over—but of that) more Borne other time. In'btlying a horse one wants to make euro of its soundness of wind and limb, its power, true action and activiby. One muse also find out aboub its courage, docility, etc. Let us take form and action into account first. If ib has been taught to trot; and you can let it go free, or have it fairly extended in a trot, you will see it with all its feeb off bhe ground ab the same titna. Let any .of yonr snap • shot camera friends take a shot at> a horso trotting, and you will see it is as I have stated. Alter action and utility, should bo placed form. Form in a horse wins at the shows providing it has no other glaringly bad qualities, and form 13 generally speaking guarantee for truth in every other quality. 1 mean that a properly formed horse will be sure-footed, active, of good courage, strength and endurance, kb euroly as will a narrow-chested, flat-eided, thickhoaded, ewe-necked animal bo a rank duffer. If you.cannob get ' the points 'of a horso you may wish to buy gone over by a judge of. horses, you must prac tice and learn to read for yourself. In looking aba horse always see that ib is standing on ground on 'a level with yourself. See it when fresh from vesb in the stable ; see ib when ib comes home tired. Listen to it taking ids food and look on . while ib ia being groomed and harne«sed. If you cannot be there 60 see all those things, do be sure to have ib on approval simply, to be returned it you do nob like it. Make no conditions as to any one certain point or defect), as there may bo others. I had one oftce that would jtuncl at a train, but would not pa3B a tramcar or a traction engine en the road. Ib took me a fortnight bo nod that oufc, bub it wa« in time to break the bargain I had nearly made.—The ' Yokel.'

High-prickd Bacon.—There are two r!1----important matters connected with thoba'con trade which lire entiroly in the hands of the farmer?, and which ought to receive every attention, viz., the breeding and feeding of pi^c, says an exchange. Different breeds suit ditforenfc localities, and while trying to impress upon farmers the necessity of fresh blood and careful attention to breeding, ib may be well to warn them aguinat altornpbinp; to introduce a new breed of pigs into a district. Ib is much the oafer way for farmers to aim at the improvement 01 pigs which have been long bred in a district than to attompt to introduce new breads. While this is so, care ought to be taken in tho selection and introduction from other districts of high-class mule animals to develop the points essential in good pigs. Speaking genendly, short), dumpy boars aud sows ought to be avoided, as it will be found that extra length of body nob only adds much to the weight of the carcase, but insures ft larger proportion of lean meat to the gross weighb. Every care oughb to be taken to prevent consnnguinity or close breeding. The evil etiecli of cloae brooding shows itself sooner in tho case of pigs than in any other of our domestic animals, and therefore fresh blood ia most essential. In practice ib will be found that a well-shaped pis can be reared, fed and brought in a shorter space of time, to v greater weight upon a emaHer amount of : food than a mongrel-bred one, while the bacon and hams cub from the oarcaae of ft well-bred pig are" superior in quality aud command a higher price in the markeb, Even iv the heavily stocked markets of the presooo day there is still 'room at the top,' and today there is still margin in fcho wholesale and retail markets between the price of ordinary bacon and baaia and bhoso classed as best quality. The fleah of pigs is soft if fed ou brewery and distillery grains. Turnips and maugolds are unsuitable for producing good ■ bacon. The following foods are suirttble :—Potatoes (cooked), milk, barlay meal, oatmeal and crushed oats, pollard, bran, wheat (ground), rye meal, maize (used sparingly), ground and rooked. Ib ia said that one of the principal reafions why Danish bacon has taken such a hold on the English markob, and' has been go profitable to the farmers in Denmark, is tho fact, that they have fed their pigs largely on separated milk. The use of milk has been found to add to the flavour of the meab and also to prevenb waste in cooking. When creamery-sepftrated milk is available it may be used' freah from the separators, but) if ib has to be earned, or kept over, it oughb io be heated to a temperature of lb'o degrees at the creamery immediately after ib ie separated.