FARM TOPICS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9868, 21 October 1897, Page 6

FARM TOPICS.

"Weekly Press and Referee." Sowing ajtd Saving Grass and Clover Seeds. I The same writer describes the sowing and saving of grass and clover seeds at Totara as under :—" The practice is to sow some other plant, snch as barley or rape, usually the latter, with the grass seed mixture, in order to protect the pasture in its young stages. The seeding given generally consists of 301b rye grass, 41b cow grass, and 21b white cloverA spring sowing is found to give better results in all cases, except in connection with Italian ryo grass, of which a good deal is cultivated, and which should always be sown in the autumn. The pastures are lightly stocked for the first year, so as to allow of their firm establishment, but afterwards they will carry from three to five sheep per acre. A good deal of attention will in future be devoted to the saving of grass seed. Last year 107 acres of cove grass yielded 2651b per acre of cleaned and double dressed seed ; ten acres of white clover gave 3001b of seed per acre; and 1609 acres of rye grass yielded twenty-seven bushels per acre. In order to obtain a good crop of cow gras3 seed Mr Macpherson finds that it is desirable to cut the spring growth for hay, and save the seed from the second crop of the season. The hay is cut about the middle of iNovember, and, if the weather is at all favourable, a rapid growth of clover takes place, and is ready, for cutting for seed in March. A side delivery re&per i 3 used for harvesting, and the. clover is stacked tsst>off as it'is" thoroughly" dry. A luxuriant and tall growth of cow grass does not yield as good a crop of seed as a short, bushy cropj having plenty of heads. The white clover paddocks intended for seed are shut up in September, and are ready for harvesting about the first week in January. This crop is also cut with the side delivery reaper, left lying in the field until dry, and then carted direct to the thresher. A ten-acre field of Alsyke clover last year was treated the same an cow grass, a crop of hay being taken off in November, but it never came again, and Mr Macpherson thinks that to obtain seed the alsyke should be treated like white clover. Rye grase is always saved from old pasture, the variety chiefly cultivated being that known as the Poverty Bay. In appearance, this exactly resembles ordinary rye grass, but is said to be harder in the stems and somewhat more deeply rooted« The cost of harvesting, threshing, and cleaning the seed from the 1609 acres was 9s 34 per acre, including all expenses. The value of the seed was 3s 6d per bushel, which, for a yield of 27 bushels per acre, gives a net return for the crop of £4 4s lOd per acre." Palmerston North Show. Intending exhibitors are reminded by advertisement in this issue that entries for the annual show of the Manawatu and West Coast A. and P.* Association, to be held, at Palmerston North on November 17th and 18th, close on October 30th, with the secretaries of all agricultural and pastoral associations. There are 293 classes in horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, dogs, implements, vehicles, farm, dairy and industrial exhibits, and the amount of prize money offered is £1050. Timaru Show. * The second of the agricultural shows in Canterbury for this season will be that to be held by the Timara A. and P. Association on the 26th and 27th inst. she association have acquired a new ground adjoining the railway line and about a mile to the north of the town. This will be a great convenience .not only to exhibitors but also to the public who visit the show, and there is every reason to hope, therefore, that there will be a marked increase in 'the attendance. The entries for cattle, sheep and pigs close on : -the 16th inst., and all other entries on the 19th inst.