AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 71, 26 March 1910, Page 12

AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

A VERY VALUABLE PLANT. A good deal has been heard of late of the new and distinct farm plant known as heiianti, and it seems Kkely that we will soon have practical demonstration of its efficiency as a food plant, for the WairaTapa Age states that crops of it are to be grown at an early date in the Wairarapa district. It is said that the plant combines qualities of the highest importance to a degree never previously approached by any f arm plant. Heiianti, it is stated, was originally obtained from North America, and after years of careful cultivation has been so developed and improved that its cultivation now stands assured as one of the very best food plants of the future for agriculture. It has an enormous growth above ground attaining to a height of six to twelve feet; it is of branching habit, with large leaves, the flowers being of the sunflower type, though on a smaller scale. It makes excellent greeu fodder, ensilage, or hay, and exceeds both ia green and dry weight and animal food the best known forage plants, such as clover, sanfoin, etc. The percentage of dry weight in the green growth is exceeded by lucerne alone, the proportion being 24 per cent, in heiianti to 26 per cent, in lucerne, but heiianti produces no less than three times the weight of growth per acre, and according to analysis contains the extraordinary amount of over 7 per cent, of sugar in the green growth. At the same time heiianti grows a huge crop of tubers the first year, in weight exceeding that per acre of potatoes, and, indeed, rivalling that of the mangold. Horses, cattle, pigs, and sheep all eat them greedily, and do well upon them, while horses prefer them even to mangolds, when fresh raised. Cows do well and give more mHk and butter when fed on heiianti, either as tubers, hay, or ensilage, and the butter possesses the very best of flavour, even better than that produced by feeding lucerne. Pigs fed upon the tubers make the best flavoured pork on th« market, and poultry feed well and fatten quickly upon a mixture of half cooked tubers and bran. Tho plant, which grows to six feet, can be cut twice in the year. It will boar as much as fifty tons to the acre of roots. It is stated that heiianti will be proved to be the most valuable green food for the dairy cow ever introduced. The experiment in its growth in the Wairarapa will be watched with interest, for anything that will tend to aid our staple industry— and the matter of food is of the greatest importance in this respect — should demand the intelligent interest of every dairy farmer who has his own and the country's welfare at heart. j A stem of maize exhibited at the Stratford Horticultural Society's show measured no less than 13ft 2in in height. Turnip blight is very prevalent throughout Taranaki, and farmers who were relying on this crop for the winter will be very short of feed. Two horticulturists at Mataura have been experimenting with a new American variety of tomato, of the bottle or pear shape. The seed .was procuregl from the United States fast year, and the growers have so far had a fair measure of success. It is surprising (remarks a Southern journal) that more of the young people on farms do not take up what might be called in the commercial sense "side lines," and try to make them pay. Orchards and bees are both useful on a farm. A young farmer on the Fairlie line had twenty hives of black bees last year, and obtained 9001b of marketable honey from them. On learning that Italian bees were more profitable, he raised a stock, and this year, from the same number* of hives of Italian bees, he got two tons of honey. One of the twenty hives yielded 4001b. Writing to the Pangitikei Advocate, Mr. W. A. Ellis says .-—"The turnip blight is what is engaging the attention of and puzzling most farmers just at present. I think no one seems to know the cause of it, or whether the recent rain will check or favour it. Now it has occurred to me that possibly I have a clue. I have fifteen acres consisting of seven and a half acres each of Imperial Green Globe and White Pomeraniat. Both have had the same amount of manure and cultivation, and were drilled within a day of one another, 7th and Bth January. So far the latteT are not affected by tho blight, and are doing well, while the former have it, though not very bad. My idea is that the Imperial Green Globes, being a winter turnip, were sown a bit too early, and could not stand the two little spells of dry weather we had. This theory may, of course, be quite upset by some other person's experience. I may say that I ha-ve had good crops of the I.G.G. when drilled very late up to 4th April last year. The White Pomeranian is a quick grower of better quality than the Mammoth purple top and suitable for early sowing." The Lyttelton Times states that Mr. J. E. Davenport, of Governor's Bay, is about to leave for the Argentine with a consignment of about twenty entire horses and upwards of two hundred stud sheep. He will arrive in time for the international cattle show, to be held during May and June. He does not intend to compete for prizes, but will make a special New Zealand exhibit that will be sold at the end of the show. Interviewed in Ashburton, Mr. R. H. Boyle, manager of the Eltham Co-op-erative Dairy Factory Company, stated that the question of the breed of cattle had a most important bearing on the success of dairy farming, and a number of farmers, who had not done so well as they should have done, could trace •their non-success to failure to cull their herds and to keep the right breed of cattle. The Jersey- Shorthorn cross was the most popular in the district/ while the purebred Ayrskires also came in for much favour. Personally, he favoured the Jersey-Shorthorn cross, because they were cattle that milked well, were easily kept and were invariably the highest testers. In reply to a further question, Mr. Beyle satd that suppliers' herds ranged from 12 to 120 cows each, and the total number of cows milked was approximately 7500. The land in the Eltham district varied considerably, much of it being able to support at the rate. of one cow per acre, but the greater part successfully depastured cattle the whole year round at the rate of 2£ acres per cow. In the spring of the year a good all-round dairy herd commanded a value of at least £7 10s per cow on a selling basis. News of a gaHant rescue in the China Soa by tho steamer Pembrokeshire is brought by the Nikko Maru, which arrived in Melbourne a, few dxyi ago. The Pembrokeshire waa two days out from Hongkong when she came across a, Japanese steamer standing by a water-logged junk, to which three mon wero clinging. It was blowing a hurricane at tho time, and the Japanese steamer, being very deep in tha water, was almost uubnoerged tho whole time. When the Pembrokeshire put in an appeara-nce tho Japanese vessel proceeded on her way. I^o boats could be lowered from tho BrititJi vessel in such a sea, but the captain took tho risk of running alongside the junk. Ono man was washed away before the eyes of all aboard the steamer, but the other two were rescued after conspicuous acts of bra.very r -b>L-SMB*-of the Feasteokesktre't crew.