JOTTINGS FOR FARMERS.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14246, 8 January 1912, Page 9

JOTTINGS FOR FARMERS.

The' Stratford "Post" refers to a. new method' of protecting a crop from the small birds by lethenug a number of cats on a string, thus enaUing them to wander about in the paddock as occasion arises. The idea, it is stated, works admirably. Mr A. Buchanan, of "Jersey Holme,"' Palint-Wtoti North, has issued a. challenge fer a 1000-guineu champion hospital swcC'iKtaku butter-fat competit.on. I Det-iwcn Jerseys, Holsteins, and IHa- ! warra*. TJie competition is proposed to extend over 12 months, to mart next spring. Entries are to be matured three or four-y©ar-olds, and the trio makiutr tho most butter-fat will Le adjudged the winner. Thero must bo 20 competitors at '2o guineas each, which will carry tho Government subsidy of '24s -in the £1. Tho total amount is to go to the public hospitals. A dairy farmer from America, who is visiting tho Manawatu district at present, states {'at maize, when stored in tho sumo manner as hay, makes a excellent winter fedder for cows. 1 and is largely usc-d in that manner m I tho United States. It should bo cut, he told tho "Standard,* , just when thft covering of tTfe cob is turning yellow, and then nut- in stocks for four or five weeks. * ivfter that it can be either stacked or put into a shed, the- latter for prelc'ronce. If, it is stacked great care must bo taken to see that the stack is properly topped, otherwise the wet will penetrate and spoil the whole crop. Having been treated, in the way mentioned it can bo kept for months and fed to tho stock at any time.

In what is now looked upon as a first essential in the dairying industry —tin"; culling of cows —Xew Zealand farmers and dairymen may learn considerably irom the methods of tho Butch fanners. There are in Holland no less than 98 "milk control" societies, with 2500 members, and 60,000 cows aro tested yearly. For a society of fourteen or fifteen members, the cost of a herd testing association is only £50 per annum, and tho whole cost of the business is borne by the farmers, the Dutch Government not oven supplying one expert or implement. This shows a forward and patriotic spirit, nnd is indicative of the intelligent co-operation and study of ohe methods which have brought dairying in HolL-vricl to that high commercial standing which it enjoys to-day.

Mr A. Caselherg, of Mastortun, who has returned from a lengthy trip to England and the Continent stated to a "Wairarapa Times" reporter that from a rural poiut of view England was the" finest country in tho world. He had travelled through a very large arei of the grain-growing districts, and had found the crops well grown. The methods of cultivation, however, wero ypars behind those of New Zealand. The 'properties were all of small area, subdivided by hedges. The past summer was ono of the hottest ever known in England. In the manufacturing centres "water was very scarce, and works had in consequence to he closed down. In and about Bradford, the great woollen district —thero was such a shortage of water that the supply was cut off at 6 o'clock each day for somo weeks.

Caterpillars have made their appearance iv many oat crops in tho Mastorton district, and havo already done considerable damage. The pest has this season made its appearanco in. some paddocks where- it has not previously been known. In fighting tho caterpillar, the fanner has been considerably handicapped owing to tho wet weather, which has prevented the cutting of the crops when green in order to save them. As a preventive many farrnera are turning over a couple of furrows of land round their crops and placing limo or salt thereon. A Wairarapa farmer, who has had considerable experience in connection with caterpillars, recommends this method being adopted as a check once the pest is discovered in a crop. Tho caterpillar will eat its way through one crop into another, and tbo only way to stay its progress is by the furrow and salt or lime system.

The value of pumpkins for stock-feed-ing purposes is not nearly ko well recognised in Now Zealand as it ought to bo. Apart from the readiness with which they may bo grown upon numerous varieties of soil, thero aro on the farm many odd sholtered patches wliich would veryjiiucli more profitably bft occupied in producing pumpkins than in growing weeds. The reason of tho pumpkin's unpopularity is that it i* sometimes difficult to got animals, especially, sheep and horses, to acquire a taste for them. But those who have given the pumpkin an exhaustive tria' do not hesitato .to pronounce in itvs favour. Mr A. J. Cameron, of Pouparae, Poverty Bay, says that, in his opinion, based on an experience of 12 years, pumpkins are the best thing in the vegetable line for feeding stock. Mr Cameron is a breeder of Lincoln rams, which ho feeds on pumpkins in the winter months, and finds they do better on this feed than on swedo turnips. '"I should be very eorry indeed," ho says, "to allow a winter to find mo without a sufficient supply of pumpkins to feed my sheep, horses, cattle, and pigs during the season. > . .

Most farmers aro complaining of the backward state of root crops, especially swede turnips, which (remarks the "Winton Record") aeo in many cases almost absolutely, a failure, owing t« tho coldness of the ground, which prevented them striking well after sowing. However, tho main turnip crops havo a better chance, as the weather is more congenial to good growth.' The dampness and dearth of sunshine havo also militated against the early ripening of the ryegrass crops, which will be fully a fortnight to threo weeks later this year than was the case last season. Should the weather continue good it is expected that the grass crops will prove fully up to the average, and in many cases excellent yields will be harvested. The grain crops, especially autumnsowri wheat, promise to bo exceptionally heavy, and as is invariably the case in autumn-sown crops, should be harvested, given ■ favourable weather, in about six weeks' time. The spring-sown oats, although looking very healthy and well, will be later than has been the case for the past four or five years. Feed has been very plentiful, but it is questionable whether it contains as much nourishment as has been the case of late years. Still, taking everything into consideration, the season promises to be again a • profitable one to the farmer.