ROOT CROPS—THEIR USES AND CULTURE.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXXII, Issue 5770, 25 March 1876, Page 1 (Supplement)

ROOT CROPS— THEIR USES AND CULTURE.

On t the 7th instant, at a meeting of the Cambridge farmers' Club, held at the National Hotel, Mr. Clark read the following piper upon the cultivation of root crops in the Waikato district. We are indebted to our Waikato coiitepiporaiy for the outline of the discussion which followed the leading of Mr. Clark's paper. Mr. Clark said :— " Mr. President and Gentlemen, — In treating a subject of such vital importance to oui tuture pi usperity, I find myself quite unequal to do justice to the various topics that 1 intend touching on, but trust that my feeble i Ito! ts will be received in the spirit they are olfciod, and, although I may throw very little light on the subject, some light may be thrown on ' the matter in discussion, (ientlunen, I have felt for some time, and still think, that w e need a reformation in the management of our stock. In looking back to last winter and two or three previous wmtcis, Term butfeel that theold system oi ui "i"j ■•> imploded, namely, cramming our cattle and sheep for six months in the year, and failing to make suitable provision for them dining the leinaining &ix mouths. I think that it will !>e generally admitted that the most profitable way to manage cattle or siaep is to keep them always thriving. By siu/i means we shall save a year's keep in boJi, and in almost all classes ot stock. I am biii'i) )imj now any one breeding their own fato.lc. " L am tully convinced that a beaib well Kuyt \vu :i i!ie day it is born until it i two and a h il y ■ iu old, will be equally a& H»i,v- a'i I w ijj'i -.'^Uaily as math as ono Ihrco aii'i a-Ualt icai-» '.nth the usual trcatnieut. In a clii'uLc such as we have in "Waikalu, with sinii l\.lCs^>\l gn/wth in the spring i»' the yeai, and --i\eie lioat in the wjiitc-i, 1 iail to see how wo aie to manage piofil ibly unless mci ive a goodly poi tion ot the summer gi.ws fur \u'itoi i^edi.iL,. I chink thac niojfc of us have di*>co.cud th.it it is not profitable to stock to the full in the spring of the year, as by such mean , if drought seto in we arc unable to fatten oil what was anticipated from lack of food. Hence, often I have known a whole season's beef spoiled through over-stacking. The system that I wish to commend lo your notice ia ono whereby wo can keep an equal quantity of stock during the summer and win er, and keep them thriving and equally well all the year through. It m quite possible to do so, and I trust we shall Hud a system whereby it can be done with profit. It will necessitate our growing roots to a considerable extent, and from my own experience I think that mangolds will occupy a very important position in our winter feeding. With hay and mangolds in ample supply we are well provided, let this winter be as rough as it may. As a matter of courae, to obtain the full benefit from such fcediug good shelter U needed, but we cannot all get sheds, &c, to hojd all oiu cattle, and hence we must be content for awhile with the most sheltered paddocks fur the toughest weather. Some may say this look* veiy well on paper but it will ne\tr piy 1 would ask— does it pay to rear cahes during tlie summer to die uoiu sheer staivatum in the winter .' Again, is it profitable to have your ficsh conditioned cattle ot the autumn reduced to skeletons timing the winter mouths, for the pleasure of showing what the grass will do for them in the spring ? Heuco I ask those that have not tried grow nu; mangolds to try them, if only an acre. You will find so many ways of disposing of them when winter conies that your first thought will bo, I wish I had several acres more. This is not a root for one ehu» of stock, c ittlw, horses, sheep, pigs, and uoultivwill all do well on mangolds. How they shall be most profitably di&posed of must depuid on circumstanced to a certain e\tent. It is possible to fatten cattle at any time during the winter months with hay aiid nnnyoU , but 1 think that double tlie n'Miber could bt kepi, in a thiiviii" condition with th.' -i ime amount of feed that it would lofi' >• to rate. n the lesser number. T<> m . i .ng i-. a pleasurable oocnpatuM, wh n I cml-io\. .to-uuI me aud sco t'liit o\ci v mini il 1 'jXi^o-i I».i5 plenty to eat, whuii Vamld in i-i tl >i\ mj, ; tmlwhen oni' is o.>mj) !l- > t > in . 'ocL th -ti a-uk daily and oi-i- tin. in in a -.Li'i- •>. .s.mi ,ra. \atiou, "ia/ui' r tin ii 1 > ni' '>-' >nh . an ahomiiiatiou To tlu' hri-fli r m ii ■ - .U a..- m\ iln ible ; cow -. do \w 11 o l ill mi, hi.l Vield K^' qumtities oi milk, uli'l ttu \»l 111)14 i 'hui will eat then i.iM'Hi'1-.l,. timii t \ •» mlcIvS old and upn u Is. 1 l» i\ •- hil winter calve-*, witlipi'»per -'iiltei 1 ind led daily o:i ini'igolds, far am pass thy <• lul diiiii^ ti;t> summer mo'itii-i Our yciiiu • t. ok l.-pni; our att"nt^ion as i;mi"!i as m> il,'»\\v lu\^, and t.) k< J;> si/e tu i agi> t' i.c'.liii'.' .it . pial pieo muut Iij well fed I liivch' nl io le mailud, n ! can only Lj<>p t m, ■ aho oi \ ailing .I'lve iinli! the sj.ih> o ' Ihcj will be all ii';liL \i this ereditible toim'n %. l.o. n \.»u iloubif ': th'Mi 1 lv mg t.i umi ,.il) p> atital "would tl..n',v \ >u \v^'. (1 t> 1.1 -lit them: J'ersom.lly I fuul tint wo «l.) Mt.t nur l)U3lll(-.S bll. IICH lit >tllll. ; if JnO tllO 1 calllCS a.endnj hoiii the svue aiv vi" y 'im ill. In my travels last winter I c im« in contact AvitU poor Mri' tched calves, at death's door

troin scouring, which in too i.mij ui-.Uiioi.fl wai brought on by st.u >ati<.u, anfl u1k.ii m this condition and bc>ond all hop< <>i recovery, practical men are seen rushi' to the hay stack and commencing gi\J"k in large quantities to beasts \\h<>,o system 25 thoroughly disorganised, and whose digestive organs are quite incapable of o\h acting nourishment trom the hay ; this to my mind appears like locking the stable dooi w hen the horse is stolen. There is :i propel time to do these things, and he who studies his own interest never allows a bea-it to go backward for lack of food if he possess the food to give. I doubt not that I shall be met by many with " every one knows this." If so, the greater our sin that we all nv it to exist. I will now make a few remaiks a* to the value of mangolds to the owner of breeding ewes. Without some aid beyond the grass we are not in a position to give proper treatment to early lambs, to do justice to either ewe or lamb. Is it not worthy of our consideration whether it is not desirable to ha\ e our lambs earlier than is the present custom in this district, taking into consideration that lambs dropped in August or Xo\ ember, as shearling sheep, all count as the s:ime age, although at such time the late or early lambs generally represent a very different money value. I think that mangolds av ill become generally used to by thoso who arc striving to work up good ilocks of sheep and ai e wishful to keep up the si/ce with a heav} fleece of wool, for a month or two when there is literally no grass, and turnips, if grown, will have lost their nourishment to a very large extent. I think that mangolds will be invaluable between the time when the one shall have become useless and the grass not made its appearance. During that period mangolds given to the ewes and lambs on grass paddocks would be veiy beneficial and would save both ewe and lamb from getting any check and place us in a position that we could get our lambs as early as we choose. To the wheat grower on light land with sheep, mangolds may be made very useful. It is customary in this district with thosf that have sheep to run them over the wheat once or twice at intervals. The method I have pursued in England on loose li^ht land id to fold the she p on the wheat giving 8.iy to two hundred sheep and lambs an acre daily with mangolds to make up deficiency of food and putting lamb hurdles to the front of the fold that the limbs can run in advance of the fold and obfciin fresh giccn wlie it daily. By tint, means the w lieat la bitten oft' once only, the laud 1.1 thoroughly consolidated — heawly manured, and 1 think great good would result from it My rcmaiks 111 loferonce to carrots will be brici I look on them as a moie expensive ciop to cultivate than mangolds? and for some purposes more u-n-iul. For hoi ses they are very valuable as v. ith hay and eaiiots our working horses will woik full dajs and bold Hr&t rate condition if provided -with proper stabling. Tor the dany I know of no more valuable root ; they may yield 1.0 moi e milk than mangolds yit the} will give much more butter and greatly unp^ne the quality, giving richness of colour, dimness of touch, and that nch nutty flavour so desirable in bntter. I shall now offer a few remarks on the culture of roots which remark will apply to the treatment of the light land or this district. There appear to be a dilheultj that applies to uoppniLj generally on this laud when thotoughly well worked, that is in getting the land together again, and I think that one of the most important implements to a farmer is a good heavy roller, \Ve have great advantages in this respect although there is this difficulty — in gettui-, ilie land Again it ein be worked at any time, no matter how wet,— I believe a large portion of our land it would be impossible to make hard by ti Lading whilst w 01 king with horses. There aie two implements that aie lequired for the culture ot mangolds and carrots that reduce the labour in piL-paiing the land, and sowing the seed, namely, a drill plough antl a seed drill, and as they are implements that are not required often two or three fanners living side by side could join together and the expense would not be much. About £1S would buy both implements, and with them one man and pair of horses could either drill up or sow four acres daily. I have grown mangolds the pist five years with \.ined results, the best I ha\e ever seen cither in this country or England I have been grown v, ith artificial manure and salt. In England fish manure and salt three cwt of each. In Waikato three cwt. each of bonedust and salt. Although a great advocate for farmyard manure generally, I do not approve of it applieel directly to either of these crops, it would be ut^rable to apply farm} aid manure to a crop preceding these roots as applied directly it has a tendency to make both mangolds and carrots rooty, which I think is -very objectionable, especially in a country where cost of labour w j, great consideration. To my idea, mangolds should have a tap root only, when so, tiiey draw out of our land tolerably clean so that they can be given to cattle with simply knocking them together when drawing without waste. In a country where everything is comparatively new, with no fixed rules to go by, it is difficult to mark out a course to pursue. Nothing short of time with experience gained as we advance can obtain us this. One point I am tolerably certain is, that wo cannot depend on a crop of mangolds without manure of some kind, and what appears to be most needed is something to give them a quick start that the plants may get beyond the weeds and the grubs, the latter being our worst enemy in their culture. To overcome the latter evil to a certain extent where drilled in, I would recommend an additional pound or two of seed. It is less expensive if you obtain a full plant than the filling up by transplanting. Tho method I have adopted of applying manure, is drilling up the land mixing manure >and ■alt and sowing it between the drills— then splitting the drills shutting manure in the centre. I have been in the habit of sowing two pounds per acre of mangold seed ; should I live to sow again, I shall try four pounds, so that the grubs may have a goodly share, with, I trust, lesi injury to the crops. This treatment will apply equally to carrots or mangolds save the quantity of seed, carrots requiring one pound per acre only. There is a great div ersity of opinion ns to the best sort of mangold ; I am greatly in favonr of the yellow globe for quality. I think it cannot be surpassed for weight per acre. T believe the long red has the advantage. The average weight I grew per acre last yiarof the yellow globo wa"s 23 tons, over an area ot six actes : the largest single root to my knowledge was 28ilbs. We have great advantages in this couutiy compared with colder climates. Here mangolds inay be left in the ground until wanted (last year they weie growing all through the winter) which s-\\ ls Ubour ot cartiug and covering unless the land be required for another purpose eaiher. I believe if u«ed directly from the field for stock that it i3 advisable to draw them a week in advance of your requirements just throwing them in rows on the giound they grew on ; if on the other baud you cart them away to store, no edge tool should be used. The top should never be cut off but wiung off, so that the crown of the mangold is uninjured, and all roots left on the ground, as if cut they are very liable to rot In stacking mangolds it is not desirable to have your sc ick too wide or too high is tUey I'.m seatec-ly be kept too coal ; let them be thatch d only, no earth being put over tbeM 1. \\ ith these few remarks I leave t!i" subnvt m inoto able hands for disL lislOll. [Adi Mi ion ensued, which we hull owi for .1 future issue.]

TlIK OKEVTESr CONVTCRNATIOX Id Said to be atFeoiing the clothes of Auckland, from the f.ict having become known that Samuel (Joombes ha3 purchased the lease of the pieunaos known as the "LevUthau," of the trustees in Mr. Joseph Moses*' estate ; and, al*o, that he intends holding a great sale, anil .19 the public of Auckland know from the business character of tint enterprising person, such is the exception, and not the nilo with him, they may rest ,»3sm eil that, on Saturday first, bargains will be aecured of a character which are seldom to be had 1* Auckland,