JOTTINGS FOR FARMERS.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13342, 6 February 1909, Page 6

JOTTINGS FOR FARMERS.

Australian cattle for some time past have been Tinder an embargo, so far as importation into the Argentine Republic "was concerned, the action of the ivepublic apparently having been prompted by the fear that stock diseases likely" to prove disastrous might oe iiitroduoed within its boundaries. After long-sustained and voluminous correspondence, the Minister for External Affairs (Mr Batchelor) has received from the Argentine authorities an m-

timation that the embargo trill be removed upon receipt- of a declaration. that no rinderpest, foot-oud-mouth disease, contagious pleuro-pneumonia, or other epizootic disease exists in stock exported from-Australia. The Minister has written to tho Premiers of the various States, asking each of them if ho ctm furnish the necessary assurance, and "upon receipt of their replies the matter will be oarried to its final stage.

'"A note of satisfaction which I heard from exhibitors from a distance .rill be welcomed by breeders all over the Dominion," •writes tho Feilding v*>r-n-spontient of the "Post ,, in his nconunt of tho Foildirg Show. ''During a talk with several breeders who were exhibiting at the show, tlfco remark wua passed that the trucks in which the stock lvsd been railed to Fcrilding this week for tho show were remarkably clean. Enquiries elicited tho interesting fact that the trucks had been specially fumigated ami cleansed for tite occasion and breeders naturally expressed their delight at this new fctiuo of things. Tht» great care thut huci been taken in preparing the trucks this time, had emphr.sisctl tho carelessness of the past, and the hope was re Hxpret3e*l that this would not prove a ppusmodic effort on the part of tho depurtment, but rather a duo appreciation oi its resjwnsibLlities. 'I fi'oiw, , said my inlorir.ant, 'that the department will keep this sort of thing np in tho future. We have known good ahrep to become infected simply through travelling to and from shows in dirty trucks that wo had to be content with jin tho past. , "

For tlio last fe.v years the Japanese Government has been eteuc'.ily buying stallions, both thoroughbred and hackney, in England. America, France, and Hungary, although as yet, so far as «l«ipan is concerned, horse-breeding is only in its infancy. The. Government representative recently reported officially that a great improvement hae been made in the. class of young stool' as tho outcome of crossing these imported sires with native mares, which are mostly nondescript ponies. It will bo interesting to witness tho type* of animal eventually produced, and it is und-erstuod tluit the Japanese military authorities are more than satisfied , with the results already obtained. It is contemplated that the exhibits from Japan will 'jo seen nt Olympia ne::t June, and Viscount Fujinami, Master of tho Horse to tho Emperor, has recently been oppointod a director of the English International Horse Show. In accepting a photographic souvenir of tho last show from the director*, tho Mikado has expressed, his keeii interest in ite i>rogroai<.

Mr Peacock, the inve-ntor of the nc-w system cf cultivation (writes the Now Woiitfh Wales eorre«i>ondent of the "Australasian"), has given a highly intoTcstinc description of his methods, albeit it is suro to be subjected to severe criticism on tho ground of impracticability. Tho central idea is tha-t tho fine tilth should ,bo at the bottom, and the ronch cultivation on the surface. Tlio author endeavours to discredit the dust mulch by pointing out that this drains moisture to the surface too quickly, while it acts" as a mulch, and is liable to become closely bound and moisture-resistant, as a result of a smairt downpour of rain. One of Mr Peacock's illustrations is that, when a man desires to make a plaster from soil, he breaks tho partioles down very finely, and mixes them with water, to ensure adhesion, and tho contention is, that by working the surface continually, tho same effect- is brought about. It is difficult to see how an operation on tho surface, except rolling, could have n compressing effect, and Mr Peacock apparently overlooked tho fact that tho man who makes the plaster breaks tho soil down in the first place to cause it to absorb moisture. Howovor, the most interesting part of tho theory is tho proposed revolution in accepted methods. Mr Peacock works tho soil so as to break up tho tower part of the loosened or cultivated portion, and bring tho clods a-nd smaller lumps to the surface. This and also the seeding operations require spec-iaHy-construeted implement!?. The moisture received is supposed to bo scored underneath, while" tho rough surface forms a natural self-acting mulch, which conveys it to tho eurfaoe in a properly regulated manner. It js admitted that tho seed should be packed iK «vi st proper depth, and tho author has invented a special drill and subsurface compressor for this purpose. If tho theory finds followers, we shall presently have a fino controversy going forward between tho advocates of the Carqnbell dry-farming system and tlho Peacock dust sub-soil theory. Doubtless, most hard-headed farmers* will take it for Granted that the same degree of thorough cultivation on cood, sound, simple, lines, as is involved in each process, will produce as good results as either.