A RUN THROUGH LINCOLN COLLEGE FARM.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue XLIX, 9 December 1892, Page 3

A RUN THROUGH LINCOLN COLLEGE FARM.

Bt Mr Murphy, Secretary Canterbury A. and P. Association. Having recently heard conflicting reports regarding the condition of the School of Agriculture, and the work carried on on that farm under the direction of the Board of Advice, I determined to pay that institution a visit, and see how far the reports were reliable—either for good or for evil. It is of the utmost importance that such an institution as Lincoln College should be able to bear the strongest "search light" which can be turned upon it. Accordingly I proceeded on my tour of inspection, and arriving at the college, was met by Mr G. Gray, the acting director, who at once placed every facility within his power at my disposal for accomplishing my purpose. My concern was more with the farm and its management than with the internal arrangements, which, however, from all we could gather, are conducted with credit to the management, not always an easy task, considering the diversity of characters which have bo be controlled and directed. I spent a few very pleasant hours inspecting the crops and the stock &c. Proceeding direct to the shearing shed, 1 was pleased to find a set of students busily engaged in shearing—some with the Wolseiey machine, others with the ordinary; shears. Mr Over ton, the indefatigable chairman of the Board of Advice, iiwas present in shearing regalia, supervising and instructing the several operators, some of whom were doing excellent work, and showed considerable aptitude for the business in hand. . It was pleasant to see the animals turned off the shears free from scars. The breeds of sheep being operated upon were. Border Leicesters and crossbred s, most of which were well woolled sheep, and fairly good types of the breeds represented. There is room, however, for improvement in the way of culling, which l was informed would be carried out rigorously afcer shearing, the Board of Advice unanimously agreeing that all the j stock kept on the farm should be of the : best quality. Alter partaking of Mr Gray's hospitality In the way of a substantial lunch, I was kindly driven over the farm by Mr Dvertoa, accompanied by Mr Gray, Mr McClean, the Government veterinary suraceon, and Mr Holdernesa, the Inspector of Stock for the Canterbury district. The [arm consists of 660 acres of land, which may be classed as medium, good, and rery good. It is divided into convenient sized paddocks, each of which is provided with gates, chiefly of wood painted red, many of which have been made on the premises and numbered, the number standing for its name in the farm register, a great deal of confusion being thereby saved in the moving of stock and the settine of work, the crons of the farm consist of 57 acres of oats, 77 acres of wheat, 25 acres jf barley, 16 acres of peas, 47 acres of sotatoee, 9 acres of mangels, 3 acres of •arrots, 67 acres of turnips, and 26 acres lader rape, which latter crop is intended \t help the sheep stock through the dryeafc mt'6 of the season, till the turnip crop Is Available. The total area under crop is he*efore 284 acres, leaving 376 acres for nrasß> homestead, orchards and grounds. ' jexpkrimknts Wrra "Whbat. There ate some interesting, and what ihould prove valuable experiments betas riei on the farm. Perhaps the most important is that instituted to test the action if different manures on wheat. Field No. 16 (area 22J acres) was ploughed ,nd prepared in the ordinary way. It was hen marked off into 4J acre blocks and own with 11 bushels per acre of white tascan wheat dressed with IJ ounces blue touTper busheL The land, it should be oentloned. was out of two years grass. i!be plots were dressed asfollowe :— No I—Blood manure, 2cwt per acre. jj o | 2—MounS Somera lime, 1 ton per tcr© Mo. 3—Goulding's superphosphate, 2cwt *r acre. . . . 2J O> 4_No manure of any kind. No. s—Berne meal (Croft's Indian), 2cwt ah tiuae manures were apnlied bread-

cast with the strawsooizer previous to drillinstin the seed. A atrip of unsown land, two feet wide, divides the plots, a headland wide enough for a person to drive roood the paddock is under grass whiob will soon be cut for hay, leaving a clear passage whence the progress of the crop may be watched and noted. At present there is little or no difference in any" o? the plots, that which received no manure looking quite as forward and healthy as any of the others. If there is aoy difference, which we very much doubt, it is in favour of that dressed with li ace. This apparent want of result may be indeed, it must be considered remarkable when we consider the favourable season which has prevailed for the use of artificial manure*. The yield of the different plots wHlbe ascertained, samples of the grain will be tested in the chemical laboratory by Mr Gray la order to find oat the influence of the various manures, more particularly with regard to the "strength" of the wheat. We look upon the result of these and similar experiments as of the utmost importance to the colony. The time is nob far distant when artificial manures will probably be largely uead with grain crops, if !by experiment it can be shown that it will pay to do so. And, therefore, iC is that experiments similar to those under consideration should be of such value to farmers who themselves cannot well afford to test such questions. Of course one experiment cannot be expected to furnish conclusive evidence of the value of manures as applied to corn crops. Grass Experiments. In field No. 17 (embracing 24 acres) a series of experiments as under are in course with various kinds of grasses and lucerne. The land was first sown with Chevalier barley, 14 bushels per acre, which looks well and thick enough. The paddock is divided and sown as follows: — No. I Plot.—7 acres sown with 1121b of lucerne and 551b of sheep's fescue. No. 2 Plot.—s acres sown with 1151b of meadow fescue. No. 3 Plot. — 4 acres sown with 921b o£ Italian ryegrass. No. 4 Plot.—4 acrea sown with 1001b of old ryegrass— that is seed saved from old pastures. An opinion prevails, whether correct or not, that seed saved from first year's plants has a tendency to run out or become annual. No. 5 Lot.— i acres sown with 921b of cocksfoot. The land was under turnips last season and fed off by sheep. The Aftsr Treatment. The 'paddock will be divided across the centre next season, one half being fed off by sheep, the other half will be mown for hay, the produce of each plot being weighed and a sample of each analysed. This, again, will be a valuable experiment, tending to determine the feeding value of each variety of grass under notice. On the other side of the fence information will be gained by observing the partiality or otherwise Of the sheep for each particular grass. The value of such experiments a« ' I have been describing lies' In the accuracy and care with which they are carried out. Mr Gray's reputation as a painstaking analyist is too well known to leave any doubt on this score. And Mr Overtoil's enthusiasm and desire to promote the well being of the institution—both as a practical farm, and an experimental station, will ensure the careful manipulation of the various lots from the inception of the experiments till their conclusion. Or it may be till he has the pleasure of handing them over to the newly appointed director, if that gentleman should arrive before harvest time. - The Stock. Having inspected the crops, my afton? tion was next turned to the stock, composed of 1019 sheep, 66 head of horned cattle, Iβ horses and 70 pigs. The sheep stock is made up as follows:—l 29 Border Leiceeters, 66 three-quarter-breds, 63 halfbreds,and293croßsbreda. t0ta1549 breading ewes, together with 400 hoggets, and 11 rams, also 100 per cent of lambs. The horned stock consists of flf ty-three well-bred shorthorns and thirteen Ayrshire cattle, of which twenty-four are dairy cows in milk. There is a pure-bred shorthorn bull obtained from the wellknown Riccarton breed. Thb Dairy. A record is kept of every cow's milk morning and evening. This book was opened for my in spection .from which I made a few notes of yields. They are, however, some of the best returns, and are therefore above the general average. The dairy stock having recentlyundergonea severe culling, it may be expected that the averages will increase. The finest cow in the herd is a Shorthorn showing every indication of being a deep milker; her record now is 371b per milking. The following figures are those selected from the milk book, being some of the yields for each cow for the milking season, which extends over forty-four weeks. They are—665,722, 676, 663, 665, 669 gallons each for 44 weeks. The cow yielding 722a;als is a beautiful animal, every inch a milker; she is out of a purebred Shorthorn cow of a good milking strain and by an Ayrshire bull. There are, as 1 have stated, twenty-four cowa in milk, leaving forty-nine head to be accounted for. These are made up of calves, yearlings, two-year-olds and heifers coming forward to replenish the dairy, a few dry cows and steers for beef. The milk U treated by a set of Jersey creamers, which system appears to be in much favour at the farm. There is a separator in the dairy, which is sometimes used for educational purposes. Cheese is also made. Most, if not all the cheese and butter made is consumed in the Institution or supplied at market value to the people employed in connection with the same. There are twelve good working horses of the Clydesdale type, not too large, and not encumbered I with great mops of hair on their fetlocks. I In addition there are two kept for light harness work. Pigs. There are eight breeding sows and sixtyseven young pigs <all Berkshire) coming on for breeding purposes and for slaughter for home use. New blood is wanted in this department, is I noticed several animals showing signs of degeneracy, probably the result of in-and-in-breeding, .many of them being deficient in the orthodox markings. The Carrying Capacity of the Farm. Referring to the figures above, where ib will be seen that there are 660 acres within the farm boundaries; that there are 284 nnder the plough and cropped, leaving only 376 acres, from which must be deducted 12 acres for orchards, plantations and grounds. The total area, therefore, under grass is 367 acres, including hay, which carries 1019 sheep and 530 lambs, 69 head of cattle. 14 horses, and 70 pigs. This is during the summer months. The sheep are largely maintained on turnips and chaff in winter. It will be admitted that the management; must be good to maintain so heavy a stock on so small anarea. The Students. A good deal of the routine work on the ' farm is performed by the students, who i work under the efficient supervision of Mr John Hay, the farm overseer, and his assistants, and appear to handle their teams with ease. I saw grubbers, ploughs, and disc harrows at work preparing for the turnip crop. Others, as I have already stated, were engaged in shearing and various occupations. The balance of the students were attending chemistry and science lectures. The Orchard. I next visited the orchard, which covers three acres, with a view to examine the apple trees, which had been dressed by Mr Hanlon, the Government fruit expert, in August last. Mr E. Wilkinson, the science master.kindlyaccotnpaniedme, and pointed out the trees which had been treated for apple scale, woolly aphis, and red spider. Twenty-three trees In all were dressed with the following materials:— Caustic soda in various strengths, applied on the 20th August, most of these trees being again sprayed on 30th August by kerosene emulsion of various strengths, the idea being tbac the caustic application would render the scale more susceptible to the dressing applied later on. The other dressings used were kerosene emulsion of various strengtns, lime sulphur and salt wash—both alone and.followed by kerosene emulsion —resin compound and linseed oil with kerosene and sifted lime applied with a brush. The results have been mostly negative, but it may observed that the weather for the last week in August and first in September was anything but favourable for the work. The caustic soda was to some extent effective only in the case ot the strongest dressings (ljlbs to the Weaker dressings followed by kerosene emulsion did not answer expectations ; and the emulsion alone was not a success. The lime, sulphur, and salt had not given the favourable results I had been Ted to expeefc from what I had seen of it* nee elsewhere, and I would like to see further experiments made. The resin compound was a perfect success when aoßlied for the woolly aohis. only the one

dressing is nob sufficient to wholly eradicate this blight and it should be repeated as need is shown. It is satisfactory that we have in this wash an easily prepared and efficient remedy for this so injurious and unsightly blight. The linseed oil dressing had not succeeded; this Is surprising, as castor oil eimilarly applied is an undoubted remedy, though tedious, and it must be added not always safe in its application. It may be noted that the trees experimented with were two rows adjoining a high plantation of Pinus in3ignis, and being much shaded, gave the best conditions for the healthy growth of the various pests. A. striking indication of this waa shown when on lifting up a label rolled round a branch, it was seen that the young scale insects bad collected under it, whilst the stem above and below was comparatively clear. The expert was to revisit the College, just as the scale hatched out, to make further experiments, but found It was impossible to do so, being busy at Wangarei. Mr Adams, of Greendale, informed mereceutly that he has been using Little's Dip—l in 125—for spraying the trees just as the scale was on the move, with the best results. Thb Grounds. Where -the Collage now stands surrounded by well-grown plantations, was 15 years ago an open paddock exposed to every blase that swept the plains. It is reaily-wonderful what ihay be done in this colony in a very few years by judicious planting. The laying out of the grounds of the College and the planting are the handiwork of the late lamented director, and must ever remain a monument to Mr Ivey's good taste and skill in such matters. If, however, the beauty of the plantations is to be preserved the work of thinning, which, by the way, I notice has been commenced with fjreafc advantage, will h&ve to be continued without delay, as at present, in many cases the rampant piuus insignia has been allowed to grow at will to the detriment of valuable deciduous British and other trees, which were evidently intended to become specimen trees. The orchard too i* suffering from being overshadowed by plundering pines and great judgment will he, required in carrying out the necessary thinnings without impairing the beauty of the plautations. Summary. To summarise the impressions produced by my visit:—l have no hesitation in asserting that tho Board of Governors may be congratulated on the excellent work done by the Board of Advice, bub more especially by Mr Henry Overton, the chairman, who has been unremitting in bis eudeavours to place the Institution on the beat footing, also upon the general improvement observable in the appearance of the farm. Mr Overton informed mc that a sufficient sum of money has now been , voted for the pavement of the cow yard, pig yards, and for the proper storage and utilisation of all manure resulting therefrom, a work moat urgently needed. «> I see no reason to alter the opinion which I, in common with many others, have all along held regurdiag the School of Agriculture and the facilities it offers to young men to acquire a thorough knowledge o? the science and practice of agriculture, provided, of course, that they are in earnest and are desirous of improving themselves. They are as good as could be found in any similar institution. Oα the other hand., there are those in every institution who, from their idle habits, do no good to themselves, and only bring,discredit upon the place. These drones should, however, be cleared out as quickly as they develop and their places filled by honest workers. .'The building should be fully tenanted, especially with a good percent, age of the sons of New Zealand farmers. Doubtless this will be so, as soon as the proposed scholarships are available. The present fees, low as they may be considered for the value received, are still beyond the reach of many of the farming community who would be induced to forego the temporary advantage of their ■on* labour, could they by securing a scholarship proceed to Lincoln College, where they could with industry acquire a knowledge of agricultural chemistry, botany and land surveying; the practical working of the soil and the treatment of domestic animals; how to buy and how to sell, and how to judge, subjects which' are imparted periodically by visiting members of the Board of Advice', and other competent gentlemen who have kindly given their assistance.

Our verdict then is: That Lincoln College is good enough for those who like it, and far too good for those-who don't,