THE FARM INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 399, 7 January 1909, Page 2

THE FARM INDUSTRY.

SEWS AND NOTES FOE THE MAN 0& THE LANS.

RAINING IN SOVEREIGNS. . . FAVOURED FARMERS. TRADE CANNOT HELP - REVIVING. A fine pejietrating .rain—a rain of the.sort of whioh every flake goes down, and none floods away—appears to have beon general oyer a large area of-tho country. The.rain is welcome. Though Bome people see the stooked corn bedraggled • anu oomment on tho (to them) deplorable loss of crop, the' growl is none of the farmer's.. He is ' as pleased over this shower as a boy with a new stick of lollie, and he will make money over it. Especially will the hill . sheep-farmers benefit. Already the prices paid to these hill graziers for store sheep and lambs have, owing to the overflowing abundance of feed in the valleys,'/been gradually improving, and that tendency will now'become accentuated. Although prudence in these purchases is' dictated to the' lowland 'fatteriers by . the tendency of tho buyers of.'! fat stock to restrict their prices,- yet the general net outlook is. bright. : > Cupfuls of Blessings. _ The dairy farmers will be in a heaven-of joy. Although the pastures so far had been well nursed by the-weather, there was beginning to be a feeling that it was just time for' another .shower. - That has been the position this season on quite numerous occasions, and, singularly enOugh, just at that moment, every time, the rain has come.. The season has been a curious .cupful of .. blessings; Dearer wool, great prices for dairy produce, fair prices V for meat; and bumper crops of overythingl What more could any sweet angel of destiny.pour out? There are no ominous signs of disaster ;.anywhere;- even butter and cheese prices are firmer. In'fact, disasters seem to -turn to blessings in this wonderful season. See what happened out'of the fire in- whioh the Paparoa's butter "and cheese, was. burned;' The loss fell, not upon the owners of this produce, but upon the fat reserves of the wealthy (of course), insurance companies. They will .pay. out. handsomely. 'And now'tho only way in. which-the disaster | touches the dairy farnieri. is that,', owing to -the scarcity caused by the fire, the'price of all New Zealarid;;butter has gone up by two shillings.. per' hundredweight. •' The • -farmer hasn't had a pang of'anxiety all the season. What prudence-Says.-, But good seasons do not. last for ever, and with the fruits of the present-year it will bo the plan- of every prudent farmer to make His, position good,' to strengthen and make sanitary his buildings, to reduce his_ mortgage, to buy; a better bull or better heifers,. .to - introduce better -blood - into -.the-:, sheep; flocks, to. undcr-drain the wet paddocks, and. to;improve equipment generally. The extra rains: of' this. season will add perhaps over a -million sovereigns to the country s clear ; profits, and thus 'cover with.,a gOlden cloud ,a year that threatened at one time" to be one of retrenchment and crashes. Howtrade, can possibly - remain bad _ under the. general improvement in industries .that are the very vitals of the Dominion it is hard to imagine. ■-. ...

WET, BUT HAPPY.

AS FARMERS VIEW THE WEATHER.

Though the deposed spirits of agricul-turists'-on account o"f the persistent ram is noticeable (says', bur special Palmerston .correspondent), some members of tho farming oommunity state that the warm rains that have fallen will do a certain &mount_of good, and, takcii;pn the whole, .will probably more than counterbalance '.the, reported losseo. One farmer , became quite enthusiastic, in an . in--terview with a local pressman, state, of-affairs he . stated,' :i"thihgs were' getting' decidedly ;dry.; Now- yo'li; can almost ;sO6 tho grass - and; rape '. . . be. continued, ;' l -'fat laftibs and sheep'are; topped off _eVery!where, ready'for the';fre'eziiig - ■•• >•. •' Inquiries • made elsewhere' elicited'. the - ' "fact 5 thfct this was .iridted''tor Bujeis from mious meat and freezing.• companies.;are ; .reported to' havo purchased 30,000 -fat; lambsm;the l Pahiatua district-atone.- Indeed, the' supply is' : almost greater'than the demand, and- one' operator,''closely-, toucU' with the; sheep market, 'states .that in • consequence tlitere is every probability of fat lambs dropping slightly, in.' is, as far. as freezing companies 'are "concerned. On the other Hand, the inorease in feed that promises has already occasioned much'keener demand for all kinds of* store stock than,existed a few weeks ago, and prices generally are hardening. Dairy farmers, .too, are likely to feel the- benefit of the ram. Ihe yields of the cows were in some instances'; commencing to fall off to an extent that might have.been serious cnou'gh'.;-Now;.:howr- ' ever, with warm tnoisturo in the ground, the grass will grow afresh and they should read : ily recover.

FOR ACRICULTURE,

Mr. J. D. Ritchie, Secretary for Agrioul turo, returned from, the south yesterday...

A HOLE IN THE POCKET.

LUCERNE WILL MEND IT.

WEALTH FOR WEST COAST- MEN.

When, one speaks of-"West Coast men, one usually. interests" the .. New: ' Zealand dairy farmers as a whole. : Luccriio for theso men ought surely to bring wealth. It is true that lucorno (or alfalfa, as somo people oall it) has been, tried on the West Coast and has (often)" failed. But one sue-, cess proves more, in. such' a .matter as this, than a hundred failures. And that one suc-cess-has-already happened at .Porirua Men-: tal Hospital. There, have, been other successes too. At least two 'instances occur. to one's mind of successes with lucerne on. the West Coast,, one on rich soil , and ; the other an light Sand. .These successes are. still' young,, but :with the example of Porir rua before them'the. two. farmers, m question do not.intend to let any accident interfere with ' the, proper development ol their experiment.' It. may. be taken: as;.a practically proved fact that lucerne, -cprrectly treated, 'will flourish, in New Zealand. . .. ~ ~-.■ Lucerno Laughs at Droughts.) Lucerne is a drought-fighter, •It sends, itsroots for a depth of many, yards down .into the soil, and with this . firm, anchorage— "these great' long": roots like.-artesian'-;-wells sucking Up- the low-depth .waters-it can laudi at this droughts which wither the mere surface feeders. Some parts, of America, some parts of Queensland and' other, territories in . that parched land of : Australia are building themselves up on lucerne. Senator Hoard, the great. American dairy farmer' (proprietor of .Hoard's Dairyman"), is greatly taken with; it. New Zealand cannot longer ignore' this source of wealth now lying undeveloped.- Those of our farmers who went to inspect the' Darling, Downs marvelled at the way in-which, the; farmers of that country weather'the droughts. They do it by lucerne.. ....

It Has Dripped the Americans. : Lucerne is nov faddists' cropr-ft crop to be boomed tb-tky and execrated to-morrow. It is ft crop that has griped, the - hardheaded farmers! of America, by its, cheer marvellous virtues, in a grip' that will never let go. Read what, the Director-of/Experi-ment Farms ofKansas says about altalfa (luoerne)' in that Statew-. : ' : : "Alfalfa is tho imperial forago- crop of Kansas. While oilier- field erops-sur-pass in acreage fthd total yield, in net returns per . acre alfalfa is clearly m the lead. ■■■' ■■( v-"' ■• "The empire over which alfalfa, rules, ' while not as large as that ofcoru-ar wheat, it ,vet the! most, remarkable •be*. eMtsfe of tH6 quality dn'd nehea thatfollow ill ltd wake wceteVCr'this hioa-

arch goes. The time is not far distant"' 1 ' when alfalfa will occupy every avail-'"' i able acre in every "congenial area in; the. ' State; when the demand" for tho crop :and for its products for seed- and . hay. at home and for meal abroad will bo* : even greater than', the'supply. I ' . :.,.,; : "It has been estimated that the impetus given to the raising of alfalfa'by : circulating the praotical facts about the'' seeding, growing, curing, and using of . < the crop; if given in figures,' would pay "-V ■in a single year the entire expense not only of the Kansas Station, but of all departments of the Kansas Agricultural ' ■ . polege from the time when first'.; es-:.-, „ ; tabhslied to the present.. ;•••>. .... has added millions of dollars :to ifaie wealth of the State." y'New'Zealand's Turn: why we Failed." ' "\Vhat.lucerne has done for. Kansas it\can'', do for New Zealand. The failures of the OC-' casional West Coast .trials of. tho past'Jiaye r been due largely to failure to realise' the' special of the plant.; Boing,a' plant that'will thrive and. improve for-.very. " many, years, alfalfa deserves careful- treat - ment to carry it through its first year-or twp 1 years. After that time its success should *bo irresistible. ' Several "New Zealand failures 1 have been due' to' the mistake of-sowing lucerne as part;of a mixture. .Under/such- : treatment lucerne will not survive/ and eveiv tho ordinary weeds of the farm, if not. well suppressed, will ruin it during "its early stages. A nurse- crop 'is not " recommended,' ..' but of them all, oats, sown thinly' and '■ cqt early, aire: perhaps the best. soil will' not suit lucerne. The roots require ; ■ a. reasonable depth of healthy soil ;above the water level. - But poor'land as well ae;rioh • land—light as well as heavy—-will grow - -lucerne abundantly, provided tliq soil. IB healthy. ' "• ; .' Just In Time for Seeding. : '. Lucerne may be sown' either in spring -or in early autumn. Fall seeding usually returns : : a fair yield of hay in the following , summer. Farmers who have land ready can- ■ not do better than: seed it v.ith -lucerno at the end of this month or ill February. , It ma,y bo broad-casted or drilled. About 121b, or iolb.; of seed per acre is the quantity-usu—■ ally-sown, and it should be sown on a firjn . .fine seed-bed, .and only .lightly covered. ..Tha>:' . top inoh of. the seed-bed . should be harrowed ; - into a- fine :earth mulch.. These precautions. ;j will: provide for -a /good .moisture ''supply-.-"in" the soil and encourage .steady growth-'of • the .young seedlings. Half a ton of lime, to the :,- acre will be a manuring likelv to assist .the crop. After that, superphosphate .may pro-..--.bably ber.applied-eaoh, season with advan--, ■ tage. . /. ■ ■■■ Soed Fodder, Hay, or Silage. . Lucerne is grown either for. seed or. for■» fodder, hay, or silage.. The seed is usually saved from about the third-growth of the - season,'and the yield is about 6 .; weighing 601b. per bushel. 1 --<■■■ : ' For hay the crop is-cut when it begins to bloom. At this, stage'young shoots of a newr C cr6ps appear at tho bases .of the stoma. :The . hay- must be cut before these are long enough to bo cut off with it. . Three .or :four.'cut- -' tings per season-are: obtained." ;V'-,v

Lucerne Beats Them All. 1 ■* , Tho relative yields of lucerne m cofiipjtft- .- son with' other -crops, as tested; in •EanSks,": . .are here shown:—' ' i Name of hay. ■ ■ ■ Pounds per acre. Common, lucerne ,7,345 " Turkestan, lucerne ....• i...,.- 6,080 • Medium red clover i 5,490 ■•>(.••■ - Bromus inermis and:,- 1ucern0,.:5,473 m •/. Timothy :■ ......... - 4,779, ■. !V Timothy, '• •• v "Mammotlst^Wi''4,l4B'.B- inermis and red clovor ....,,4,183^!.,;■ ; v > ■ • •.'Bromus .jnermis-.......- .. ;2,892 Tall oat grass , 1,707 j l§scuev,, ; Oichard grass 1,414

It guilds' Up. -Lucerne as fodder is so noh. in.,protein thit it wis declared to 'be really wasteful to feed, cattle on lucerne alone for maintenance, pun ■pokes only, but it .is. splendidly . suited for growing cattle and cows ixl calf and milk-: It isithe best of aU; forage .fqr.pigs.and.makes , . the best;of meat.. .It .is held to .bp the best ~ pasture for carr^igl'moro, per > arra, ; and' producing' Jmore,..weight,: greater.: bqii&<.;. arid'' stronger muscle than any other -feed. -It . •makes a powerful'pasture, for sheep. For. silage", lucerne needs to be; cut....when,, in full bloom and put 4ri quickly, neither too .. dry nor'over .wet.,,-If cut too gtecu it- makesa -sour .silage ..that may not. keep,well. -For =, ■ "soiling'.' purposes, lucerne is the best :0t fill ■- crops; ana makes; good the > defioiencicß -of late | summer pastures..... Tho.exact -amount' of . pasturing . that' is .;s«e;.q|. : lucerno is, however, still undetermined, and a changel,of .food.every few weeks is . strongly - , advised. "Moreover,, teerest is pecessary/foj the good of the plants: . . : ■The Americans are now busily breeding up ■ new- strains .of lucerne, aiming to get plants.. - that" possess many ; 'and ' 'large leaye? along each stem, or givo largo seed, yields, m. Lucerne, though-.very variable,' is . very., amenable" to' selection and -fixation-of.v improved , points. With some of "those improved types : West Coast dairy farming may yet- be . made , 50 per .cent. more, profitable. :.- - v.:: :,>• -S :