CAPITAL IN FARMING.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 19, 23 January 1897, Page 3 (Supplement)

CAPITAL IN FARMING.

Iv taking up land, and following farming •,. tbe main question which obtrudes S"is that of capital, and i 6 is hera 'that c- nlswy people make a mistake d afisfffards are forced fco borrow 1,1 h'eli rate's of interest, and in this li "bßrdan themselves fco such an ?__» as WBavo a big light to geb properly their feat again. It ia nob with our L Zaaland farms merely a matter of Site outlay, for wo have, when bush Tern land ia taken up, a very conderable expease in getting it, or portion of it, under grass, and titb land which mighb como under __ heading of improved, there ia olmm considerable outlay necessary on the Lid itself. Tn9D wnen takin S UP land iri hs-ucbl*"!*- province ib is seldom we are He to gr off a corn crop which can be realised a: few monbhs afber sowing. Ibis he live. Stock from which we look for ™ r principal return, and to purchase L net only means considerable original outlay, bub we have fco wait for some coajiderable time, unless tho animals are eimply for supplying acreamery, before any return on tbe outlay can bo looked for. These are the things which bavo to be looked to, • and in taking up land the objects musb nob be to geb a. large a holding as possible, bub bo get a farm of good land nob larger than yoahavo sufficient capital to thoroughly wotk. too aiany run away wifch bhe idea thsUfarm will pay in proportion to its lize failing to recognise that it i 8 nob the extent oi their farming so much as its iatemenesß in which lies tho profib. Land can only be fanned boa profit by thorough Ullage, liberal manuring, and first rata seed, all of which point to a large capital. There'is, perhaps, room fpr an almost entirely opposite view, viz., thab land should bo worked at a minimum cosb, id. that we'should be contenb with whab .as been called tbe natural produce of bhe land, in contradistinction bo a forced yield of large amount. The idea is depressing, and inconsistent wibh anobher principle now prevalent, namely, that the man ia most likely to make his farm pay who consumes hi. produce oh the land, and is a buyer in those cheap food markets which are the bane of corn-growing farmers. The fcwe ideas are inconsistent with each other. In tbe one Cass the land is starved, and scanty crops grown at little expense is tbe result; !o it. Other, tbo live stock is the object, and good crops corns as a corollary without direcb expense. Of the two views the latter appears to be much the more commendable and practical, aad ii according to bhe best tradition of English farming. Whether, however, as big an outlay in working is to bo recommended afc a time when depression exiata in agricultural matters as when things are buoyant is hard to say, bub thab it is only good farming will pay ia evident, and sapplementing this, good stock. It is very hard to say what would be a reasonable* amount for equipping a farm per acre, the surrounding conditions being of such a varying nature, but ono thing ib certain, thab ib ia much bebber to set up thoroughly eqnipped on a smail scale than badly equipped on a large. Descie.nb capital is always patent fco fche eye ma hundred ways. The land ia imperfectly cultivated and starved, while labour ia reduced to a miaimum. The farm is nnderhorsed, and the team is eld, lean and underfed. Tho herd of cows is of poor quality and miserably loan. The sheep are few and of poor quality, while thopigs are mongrels. Tha implements are unfitted for tbe work, tbe harness is fcied with string, and everything beara stamped on it the one word, unprolitable..

toss, is Summer Fallowing.—lb ia generally believed that the soil ia kepb in a fertile condition by a simple .ummor fallow, aaya a, writer in bbc ' American Agricultural...,' I dififeir from a large majority of farmers on this subject, and d. mthat summer fallowing as generally practised is not a, benefit to the soil. It will give mora bushels per acre for a few years, bub in a sh,ort time the soil wiil fail to respond to the? treatment. A large percentage of farmers have an idea thab soil, it f. (timer tallowed every few years, can D«-l 0 i 6xhaQßt6<_. This is:a fallacy WMC- odghb.bo be corrected, and the sooner the better; fbr.it could be said with equal Propriety thab a lake would never become *? "[ere its waters continuously drawn Z\ tberf being no stream or spring to ™ Which was removed. Erery ! i _£;.■&... ""eiled has taken a portion of the fertility from the land, and bo keep ?- I „B °we6l»D S mwt be reburned. lb ia 8 W^n fact that there is continuous I "™V Milan's body, and thab nourishnt£ tl_ xV*, m * fco BuppJythis _________ ■ -huiet he w°rks the greater "SfPlj of food. Our present Befi* &mm&r lowing is too much fa££g?> .Thew 18 » method of summer JSl^. which will enrich bhe ___r,i._ . UQB BOod cr °P 8 for aa in ' man. L 6P*_^ 0f time- "there is any SSlT^^^" on land to ba ES-Shda^P'o^h ib under. Some Euf '. ,beCause n° is received Ittof mT l!^r unfcil th° following year. under i„T UBe ' h °'*ever' wben P!°u* hed 5! Kft! T ncr if permitted to lure is 8 b."_ and y«dß' If no oats or , v BTailab-e. sow buckwheat, »Wa »*»_?., ,b has mads consider reqoirl, o'''-_ plo^h lt> ™der. This xS\ n Cl nß,tJerabl *s labour, bub if one *srtbSb_lttor^ One of bha beat istoße_d.n P? B up ar,d "storing fertility chaouoh S» VbSOll and form innumerable w the ernnn- P6rmifc! t*he dissolved salts face..!!°, UC ffater to be curried to the sur«»MmSS d<s.oßited *« Pl™« food. The material W hi! _ cc amo"llt' of fertilising •**>• and 'tha i been was.cd down into ploagb In ier ro°tß act'as a subsoil bM.lti..r.-« " UP tho soil and bring «* twS_ c.Btothe Plantroots. One Teßetable and portai'fc elements in all CW t.U. V- S a,l lraal lifo '*» nitrogen, and iMntheeoil t fr °™the Qir a"d dePoai.9to "l»nb lift. .8. ree minoral essentials 6omewhat of eh thoro i 8 generally Potaßh, 8k 0 ,L%„ ?carcity in the soil, are •W_Te?_. .^ M *»d nitrogen. If l6»We4L H ,^from *««• soil, and fche •^» »ad old stubble that we plough

under in Bummer fallowing do nob conbain sufficient of bhese to keep up the fertility, I can see no lasting bonofib from this practice. Wo will find ib to our advantage to keep more stock, cultivate fewer acres, and apply all bho manure available.