AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 29, 3 February 1912, Page 12

AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

ROTATION SYSTEM OF FARMING. The rotation system of farming odvooated for some time by Mr. R. W. Pea. oock, manager, seems to have proved successful at tfio Bathurst Experiment Farm (say B the Sydney Mail). Mr. Peacock states, that the highest yields of wheat so far obtained average slightly ovor 10 bushels to the acra. Cleveland— tho standard variety at tho farm- ha* givoti excellent results for many years. It , should, Mr. Peacock advwes. bo sown early. - One largo paddock is estimated to average 36 bushels, whilst it, is ealoulated that the average yield upon tlio in? ii demonstration arou will bo 30 bushels to the acre. Such an averi^o wouid be the higlmst via harvested at tho Jinn. Ine four wheats sown on this ar «a were Cleveland, Federation, Bnyuh and Bobs— Cleveland for tho early season, Federation and Bayah for tho nnd-eeusou •owing, and Bobs for the late. Hay yields have ranged as, high n* 3A por cent., Cleveland being the variety. Mr. l'eucock claims that the results of good mGthods have again been strikingly apparent throughout the farm. Yields of trom 30 to 40 bushel* of wheat por aero ai-e common upon tho areas worked under tho crop rotation syslutn, whereas wheat grown niter wheat or oak«, the uroceding season" only ranged from 20 to 26 bushel*. Wheat grown after mauo, winch was harvested in tho autumn for ensilage, only returned 7to 10 bushels. Concern, ing hay, 3A tons have been taken off tho best worked areas. That from the "Wheat after wheat" plots has only resuited in from \ ton to 30 cwt. The method whioh gives the best re. eulte, says Mr. Peacock, is the t«c~ oolirse system of rotation, allowing of a wheat or cereal crop one in two years, and a fodder for sheep during the alternative years. This differs from the long, bare fallow system of one crop iti two yeare, and round* of short summer fallow of five or six months preceding the sowing of the wheat crop. The land is ploughed during October a-rfd November, after the fodder crop, and lies h» the ploughed conditions until the following April. During this period weeds are destroyed by "ekitn" ploughing, if necessary. This practice has always given maximum returns. Over six and a half inches of rain fell at the farm during the first two months ot the pasr year, and mode it possible to obtain 20 to 25 bushels per aore from the land treated by the system advocated. Without the oxtra ploughing in Januarj much of these beneficial rains would havo been absorbed by the weeds. Farmers, j Mr. Peacock points out, should consider the question of getting their ploughs in as boon as possible, but preferably they should follow a two-courst> rotation and five to six months of summer fallow. A farm in tho Tokomaru district ie said to have- the extraordinary carrying capacity of ten sheep to the acre. This splendid result has been gained chiefly by the aid of a top-dressing of dried flax, ' which gives such a prolifio growth of grass that even with ten sheep to tho acre it is almost impossible to cope with the fact-growing pastures. Californian thistle is being treated for ensilage in the South Island by way of experiment. The experiment is being oarnod out by Mr. Dibble, of the Fields Instruction Staff of tho Agricultural Department, on the farm. of Mr. C. Andereon, at Balclutha. The stack is being built entirely of the thistle, which had grown so large and heavy that it was cut with a reaper and binder. Arrangements have been made for several more stacks about the district. In another stack wheat, oats, and Califor"nian thistlo have been used. The Berrigan Advocate recently stated — What nfay bo termed a record in harvesting operations wae completed on the farm of Messrs. Baxter Bros., Cultowa, Berrigan, during thct. week, with v sixfoot Sunshine Harvester and Itwo1 two teams nc^f horses eacll > 946 bags of grain welrfilled and sewn were garnered in six consecutive working days. Originally it was intended that the trial would commence on Wednesday, 6th Doc., but as heavy ram fell on the night of the second last day, a previous day'e total, which was on a lower soale, was added, and it must also b& taken into consideration that Thursday, 7th Dec— one of the worst days ever experienced in the districtwas included. The plot worked in was a 160-aore paddock of Federation, yielding nine bags to the acre, and the teams were changed every three hours. The first thiee gavo a daily average of 152 bags, and the concluding three, finishing on Monday last, a fraction over .163 bags. There was 0116 assistant attending to the bags, but as the grain was supplied at each corner of the field, it necessitated the driver handling by far tht» greater proportion. ' - A most unusual oceurrenoe, and at the same time unfortunate for the party concerned, took place at Caroline some ten days ago (says the Southland News), when a crop of some 300 acres of oats and wheat growing )n Some shingly land was completely shrivelled' up by the hot nor'wester whioh was. experienced throughout the whole ot Southland. Tho crop, which was an average ono, being on light land, appeared to be affected by the dry weather which prevailed, and the scorching wind put the finishing touches to what promised to be a fair-yielding orop. Amerioan Holsteins purchased for Ihe New Zealand Government woro the subjeot of notice in a recent issue of Hoard's Dairyman. The paper montions that its senior editor had bought for tho New Zealand Government from S. B. Jones and Son, of WatertOwn, Wis., a two-year-old Holstein bull for 1200 i dollars (£240), and two two year-old heifers for 1000 dollars (£2oo)^ eaoh; also from Mr. John Hetts one heifer, 11 months old, for 600 dollars (£100;. Tho paper adds:— "These aro long pnoes, but the Scorotary for Agriculture for New Zealand, who sent nearly 6000 dollars to invest in such cattlo, said : 'Buy the best you can. 1 " It will cost an additional 80 dollars p.aoh to bring the cattle uut and pay the attendant's expenses. A remarkable defenoe was put forward by an Eastbourne dairyman who was summoned for selling: milk containing added water. It wa» urged that owing to tho drought- there was it great goaroity ot milk, and tho defendant, in common with hundreds of other dairymen in tho country, purchased a quantity of milk powder, which he usod. The defendant said he faithfully followed tho instruction* given with* the milk powder, each tinful of which had to be mixed with mx gallons of »vat.or. Tho sample taken by tho inspector had been made_ from tho preparation, lie did not tell his customers ho ntts using the powder* but ho previously told some of them that ho expected bo would havo to iso it. The Benuh imposed a fine of £3. "It may como as & furprise to_ many readers to knpw the difficulties which boftet tho Irish fanner iv reporting Imh bacon via Liverpool to Now York (says a Liverpool paper). At this period of the .rear there ore always plenty of orders from America for this delectable article of food, but before the transit can bo efI fectod tho farmer mu*t produce a certificate of health of the farm, then tha | Liverpool medical officer of healrli must certify that it has been warehoused under healthy conditions, then tllp'o certificates ; must be authenticated by tho Consul at this port, and finally, there is a heavy tax on the commodity whon it arrives across "the herring pond." Clearly in the matter of bacon tho Amoricans are determined to keep us out."

L, " 1..'. !...".'"■■ ..' ■ • For the past twenty-three years tho London Cannon's Trade Union hass done its utmost on behalf of the London car'tnen, and since- thorocont transport workurn' strike tho union has added over 20,000 new members to its ranks. At a recent dinner Councillor S. March, genei al nboretary of tho L.0.T.U., stated tW he considered it was a wise action on tho pnrb of the exocutivo council of tho union to join tho Transport Workers' Federa-' tion. Mr. Harry Gosling, in respoiiße, stated that tho TrftUßpoH Workers' Federation had v membership of over 200,000, and that body would have to be reckoned with iv all future disputes,