AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS

Evening Post, Volume LXXIII, Issue 28, 2 February 1907, Page 12

AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS

Goat's rue is a leguminous perennial, with branching stems 18in to 2ft height. Its chief value lies in its drought-resisting powers, which fit it for dry and elevated situations. The produce makes poor hay, and so is usually fecrgreen or put into the silo, and it is our experience that stock take some little time in becoming used to the taste of the forage. The , dried produce contains 17 per cent, of crude protein, from which it will be seen ttiat it is a nutritive plant. The keeping of sheep, while proving profitable as an industry, has also, a beneficial effect on the soil. The change from cultivation to grazing has caused wild oats and objectionable weeds tb,at \vere_ taking possession of the land to disappear. Land grazed' for" two -or three years., and then followed in the winter, invariably yields returns closely approximating 'those obtained during the first few years of cultivation. Wherever either lucerne or rape, has boon grown as fodder f pr ' stock, the greatest improvement in the land is noticeable, heavy yields of grain always being the result' after these crops. The Weekly News reports a discomforting find at Mangawhai, Northern Auckland — some fine specimens of the Bathurut burr. The matter was brought under the notice of Mr. F". J. Dargaville, county chairman, who at once issued instructions for the noxious weeds' speedy eradication. Some ten years ago the bun 1 made its appearance on the road from Mangawharo to Aoroa, when Mr. A. Ef. Harding, at his own expense, had every root grubbed up and destroyed. So far jt has not flowered or seeded, and the work of its destruction should therefore not be. a heavy oneAn American farmer has invented a machine for ,'onion planting, which is said to closely approach perfection. It is a hand drill which will drop ono' seed in each hill, and can be set to drop it any number of inches apart. It also makes a row free from dry dirt and clods, covers the need the required depth, and rolls the row to make the i earth compact. So regularly does it work that in a test it did not miss a seed or misplace it in 200 hundred seeds dropped. This seeder plant's the seeds by means of a rotary disk which has little cups attached to its circumferenceDifferent sizes of disks can be used, and the machine will plant carrot seed,' beans, peas, and other seeds. Tasmania is in the fore in the protection of farmers against unscrnpulous dealers who seek to supply manures of as inferior quality. The officials of the TasmaniaD Council of Agrlcplt/uro test aLT fertilisers made in or imported lato tho §ta|e. The ' results aro published, and the actual value stated. It sometimes happens that the value is greater than the selling price o fthe manure, and, needless to say, orders rush in on ' the vendor of such a fertiliser. Unfortunately, this is not the general rule, and strict measures require to be' taken to protect the farmer. ' There, is a movement on 'cot to givo power to the inspectors to enter any factory — where fertilisers are made-p-and examine the article, in the process of manufacture. It is commonly supposed in Aus- ! tralia and New Zealand (according to the Pastoralifits' Review) that Great Britain is a small place entirely given, up to big cities, factories, and noblemen's parks and reserves, with little room for' the farmer and stock ' raiser. other than the stud breeder. It will come to many as a snock to read, that in Great Britain there are over seven million head of cattle and twenty-five million sheep — nearly as many cattle as in all Australia, and five million sheep more than there ate in New Zealand ! The Pastoralists' Review says that all the leading societies in New Zealand invariably procure judges from outside to judge their stock. In important classes the best men from Australia are secured, and their decisions carry weight accordingly. In Argentina they go further. It is an unwritten law of the leading society to invite the co-opera-tion of British experts as judges. Three gentlemen of the highest qualifications last year undertook the journey to Buenos Aires. Why (it asks) can not Australia do the same? In New Zea^ land there are numbers of breeders with the highest qualifications who would be glad to come ovor. Great benefit would result, exhibitors would be better satisfied, and there would be fewer complaints. Taking the settled districts of Australia as a whole (says the Pastoralists' Review of the 15th inst.) the season is all that can be desired. !Here and there we have reports of too much rain, but i generally pastoralists are satisfied. Bush fires are becoming too frequent to be pleasant. More particularly is this tho case in Central Queensland and parts of New South Wales. As we go to press, however, news comes to hand of good rains in many parts— from Aramac. with l£in. to Mitchell, with 2£in. ; about an inch over the southern parts of Queensland, and some good falls in the northwestern parts of New South Wales,. Victoria, West Australia, South Australia, and , Tasmania are having a good season, and few complaints are heard. If tho seasons continue drooping, no damage wou|d be done, but a dry spell of a month would mean "Hadps" in many paA'ts. Mr. W. J. Palmer, of Mpmobaki, , writing to the Farmer's Advocate on y aphides and fungoid pests, does not recommend kerosene emulsion. For winter dressing, he says, when the trees are dormant, it is a useful dressing, but dangerous to use when the foliage *s on the trees. If used strong enough to kill the insects, the foliage is likely to be damaged especially tho foliage of the peach. For the aphis. Jatterly, he has used only nicotine. If 'is • expensive, but one bottle will make a hundred gallons. Ho uses it also for vapouring glaeff-hoqses, and in both forms has found it safe and. effective. I have also (he says} in winter used largely water, pumped on to the trees in a boiling state., without doing the slightest injury to the trees. It is sudtten death both to insects and their egga. The black aphis hibernate in the soil, at the root of the trees. A simple remedy ie to take two half bucketfuls of water; one of them boiling and the other cold. Remove & little of the soil from the stem of tho tree, and pour quickly tho boiling water. Then, as quickly throw on me cold water. The boil'ng water wiJl kill all insects instantly, and the cold water will prevent injury to the bark of the tree. A peculiar German institution is the freibanke, or shop, devoted to the public and official sale of condemned meat, which has, QisorcticaJiy, been wade wholesome by sterilisation. Some of these shops are attached to the sanitary department of tho abattoir, and aro t under the control both of the police and of tho inspscsDn service of tho abattoir. The price of the meat is fixed by the local authorities, and the quantity sold to a single purchaser is limited — usually to about 61b. TJiis guards against the use of the meat in restaurants and bcarding-houses. An average of 3,poa,Qoqib pf tn*&t is sold «*ch year in ,tho froibanke pf Betlin.