SILVER BEET FOR SHEEP.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1194, 1 August 1911, Page 8

SILVER BEET FOR SHEEP.

LINCOLN COLLEGE EXPERIMENTS Eeplying to an inquiry as to the value of bilver beet as a forage plant, Dr. Jlil(•aatlorf, of Canterbury.Agricultural Collego, says they have had a small plot of silver beet among tho grass plots, nnd found that it produced a considerable amount of feed from December to June. It needs to be fed oft ns soon os it has grown to a height of about nine inches, .brcnuse it grows much more rapidly nfiter feeding off than it does before. Bhe?p .ire particularly fond of it, for they ate it 'down first of all when they had a selection of 50 grasses' and clovers in plots to choose fronv* and it was tho most, clossly eaten down of all the crops. Tt i?, of cour«, quite immune from the attacks of grass grub, because it is not fov.'n until October,, when tho grass grublias ceased its ravages, isnd towards Alny of next year it will probably be so firmly established that tlio grass grub will hnvo no effect upon it. Tt is, moreover, iininnno from the attacks of turnip blight (aphis), as well as the diamond black ifloth, which so seriously affected tho rape fl.nd turnip crop*. 'Tho o'.ily disease by vhk'h it is affected, as far as Dr. JT.ilgentlorf's observation goes, is rust, but this xn\l probably not lie at all troubiesomo if the crop is fed olf sufficiently frequently. The college had a row of it in last year with rapo. and also a row with kale, but it .grows so much mare slowly than these plants that they had no chance of comparing it with them, excepting to ob.serve that the sheep ate it at once when tlier found it. This year' they had had .a few rows in with turnips, but owing to tho sheop not being turned on to tho turnips until May. the silver beet did not secure favourable treatment. "When growa by itself, however. Dr. Hilgendorf 'thinks it will prove quite satisfactory as a substitute for rape, and aljo partially for turnips.

Wo eive a final reminder to our readers of the annual sale of Jersey cows and heifer? ti> he held on Wednesday next at Fitzherbert. by Abraham and Williams, Ltd., on account of Mr. S. H. Lancaster. This annual pa'.o is bocominc nuite an imnortant event m tho district, ar.d h looked forward to with irreat iplcrcst by dairymen from far nnd near. Over fifty of tho cows have a'.reatlv calved, and are milking exccni.ion.illy well, the majority beine fit to p'ace in any show rius. the herd makins .1 fine sfcht when yarded. The srrLiiKors yenr consist of Jersey ond yrndo jersevs onlv, no shorthorns beins offere<l. The pale starts at 11.30 a.m. sharp, Tvith tho cows in milk, and buyers are advised to be in attendance early, as the sate is absolutely without reserve.