"NINETY DAY WHEAT"

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22491, 27 August 1938, Page 9

"NINETY DAY WHEAT"

CLAIMS OF MARQUIS

VARIETY

SPECIALLY SUITABLE FOR

SPRING SOWING

There is good reason to believe that much of the leeway in wheat sowings this season will be recovered by the use of the famous Canadian variety—the Marquis. It is a matter of history that no variety has had such an influence in the wheat industry in any country as Marquis has had in the country of its origin. Millions of acres in the North-Western provinces of Canada were unsuitable for growing the varieties in use on account of the short spring and summer seasons, but the evolution of the Marquis variety—the "90 day wheat," as it was described at the time—completely altered that position. The result is that to-day these millions of acres of Marquis wheat have made Canada the chi6f wheat exporting country of the world. Suitability in New Zealand

A crop sown and come to maturity in 90 days would mean that planted in September harvesting would be possible before the New Year, but although such a period is possible in Canada as a result of the sudden spring thaws and the quick response of the new crop it would not be wise to base calculations so favourably—neither is it necessary—in New Zealand. Marquis has been sown here now for some years as a spring wheat, and from the experience available it is a safe claim that sown in ordinary circumstances in September it should be ready to harvest as early as any of the ordinary varieties sown a full month earlier.

Tests made by the Wheat Research Institute show that wheat which can secure an unchecked growth from germinating to harvesting makes the best baking flour available. This quality is not necessarily a virtue that can bo claimed for any particular variety, and in any case the influences in this direction depend largely on the season, but it is a virtue which the quick growing capacity of Marquis specially fits that variety to meet. The classification of Marquis with Pearl in the matter of price—4d a bushel more than Tuscan—shows that the baking quality of Marquis stand's high. In a favourable spring season Marquis has been known in New Zealand to yield CO bushels to the acre. In cannot be claimed from experience here, however, that Marquis is a better yielder than the other varieties, but it stands up to the wind better that Jumbuck, and its liability to wind effects is naturally reduced according to the speedier ripening period. North Canterbury Experience

The suitability of Marquis for late sowing was stressed during the week by Rangiora farmers and millers. In an interview, Mr R. Peach, who crops medium downs, expressed the opinion fiat Marquis wheat should be especially suitable this season because of its early maturity. Last season he had had great success with Marquis. He sowed a paddock in October, the seed making a wonderful response. He thought it was specially suitable for North Canterbury. Mr J. Tutton, a prominent miller and farmer in the Rangiora district, expressed the opinion, in an interview, that farmers were making a very wise investment in sowing Marquis wheat this spring. From his own experience he had every faith in Marquis wheat and if more of it were grown in the Dominion, New Zealand would be able to produce the best bread in the world. In addition to Marquis wheat being worth 4d a bushel more than Tuscan or Cross 7 it could be relied on to mature early, Mr Tutton said. He cited an instance of a farmer who last year drilled Marquis wheat in the second week of November and who obtained a satisfactory yield. Growers who were unable to sow crops in the early spring through the saturated condition of the ground this year could be confident of obtaining good results from Marquis wheat if they sowed it later.

Mr Tutton added that although the advantage of cultivating Marquis wheat was sometimes questioned because of its being subject to shelling with strong wind, Marquis wheat stood wind better than Jumbuck. His area of 400 acres sown in Marquis wheat last season convinced him if its dependability. That North Canterbury land was ideally suited for the cultivation of Marquis wheat was the opinion of Mr H. Archer, another miller in the Rangiora district. He agreed with Mr Tutton that it was a good crop for late sowing, and farmers would be wise to put down Marquis wheat rather than Tuscan. Marquis wheat was grown extensively in Canada, and he saw no reason why it should not be grown with equal success in the Dominion. From inquiries made it is satisfactory to learn that there is a fair supply of Marquis seed in merchants' hands.

LAMB LOSSES

VARIOUS CAUSES

BACKWARD FEED CONDITIONS

There are reports of lamb losses in the comparatively small amount of lambing that has taken place to date. In view of the ideal lambing weather that has prevailed during the month, the losses are particularly unfortunate. Had the usual weather bursts occurred it is possible that losses would have been very heavy, for it would seem from the evidence available that most of the deaths have occurred through weakness. In one case in North Canterbury, a bunch of two-tooths lost about 15 per cent, of lambs within the 24 hours. The lambs were small and weedy and the trouble with them appeared to be that the ewes had insufficient milk. The season is quite three weeks later than usual, as far as growth is concerned. The warm days have been helping growth to some extent, but frosts have been frequent and fairly severe during the week, and this has retarded the growth which might have been expected. In another case, a farmer lost about a dozen lambs, but there appeared to be no lack of milk in the ewes in this case, the lambs living for a week or 10 days. The lambs' stomachs, as well as the ewes' udders, showed that the milk supply was normal. The ewes had been fed on hay and mangels up till near lambing, and had then been put on fresh Italian ryegrass, so that there appears to have been no departure in this case frosn correct practice. According to one authority, the frosted feed may have affected the milk of the ewes, and so set up some digestive disturbance in the lambs.

The experience of the last two years indicates that the tendency towards early lambing may be overdone to some extent. Fresh grass in early August cannot be depended updn.