AGRICULTURAL

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 78, 1 April 1916, Page 10

AGRICULTURAL

EMERALD RYE AS A FEED,

Emerald rye is coining in for a good deal, of".attention this season," and is highly praised by _ those who. have used it in the past (writes "Rusticus"1 in the Ca-nterbury Times). It' has::been ' well advertised, in severali districts by-' those who have grown it during- the past: season or U;o. ■ Thesesd- is-veTy dear-just now, and rather difficult to procure, showing that it is in demand..* From, my own observations I.know..that it is a : rapid grower, and that it gives a tremendoiis •amouhtof'feed right up into the summer. •There- is nothing of its class that "will give more feed, and the sheep'appear to relish it; and to'do well on it If oppoTtunity;occurs it-would ;pay anyone to-re-tain a 'portion of- a paddock 'for seedi. if only.for one.'s. own use. It may : be-sown, at the rate of-a- bushel and a.half an aqre in tho autumn, and will be" found to be amply; thick enough with ' that seeding. Speaking of forage crops I may also add that' Dun' oats will' give a- tremendous amount of: feed ; during-' the- spring -and • summer-months if put in- '-well. - -'Last year some* paddocks that; failed to grow turnips were, sown in Dun oats early in the autumn', and they gave quantities of feed in the early winter, and. the -spring and. "summer; but' particularly: in - the latte-r seasons. The sheep'seemed to be: always in the paddocks in considerable numbers, and did well both before and after shearing.

A correspondent--writes- to a Southern! journal:—"l have read t the reports inyour. paper>-regarding>the 'diseasein-horses; in Canterburjl. A disease broke out come;. 30 years, back, and, the> symptoms were, very -similar to those -at the-present time. Horses, cattle, and-sheep were affected. The-outbreak was- investigated by-Mr., Hill,' ■ veterinary ' surgeon, and was said: by him to be caused by erg-ot. The pre-' sent complaint, in, my- opinion, is through the same cause. 'The symptoms of horses' -affected are a-' staggering- gait in all four legs ml extreme cases, Tetanic I symptoms, develop protrusion of the membrana. Nie-' •titans over1 the eye, and the brain, spinaL ,oord -and--.'nervous 'System are "'• affected. Sheep,' when, ergotised, stagger: arjout, and when moved, quickly fall down- Calves •aro ■ affectedI'with"- 'violent diarrhoea. Tho treatment'consists in- ? removing.)the stbok: to pasture not affected." .Mr. J. Kerri-i tean, Government Veterinary Sift-geon.who, has investigated.- the) cases,, saya ■ that the .1 trouble is not caused'by .ergot, although.| the symptoms are similar, but. by a toxic; poison _of -which • the origin-; has not yeti been discovered. Owing to the dry season, there is- no. grass in .the- North. Canterbury district where the horses' were- affected, npon-which ergot would'be developed. iHe.'also .recommends a-change of'pasture..

The. opinion- appears to-; be .general amongl sheep-dealers, that fat iarabe' this, season in Southland • are'rnot-quite; so,prime.-:-: as- in - last and- former years. There is not the bloom on the carcase,"1 remarked one dealer to a Mataura Ensignrepresentative.\ "It, neither feels, as -firm nor looks as bright as. last .'year,' It lacksa; little "topping.' " In answer to a question- theJ'dealer said the only 'reaeon hecould givei'ivas (the •'extra grass "feed. The, grass was alwaya. young and. -fresh; and. did,.not'.tend to.top off-the sheep, as could, ba desir,ed. ' •

According to- the. Christchurph Weekly Press, silver beet .as ,a forage plant hasi not proved as successful on large .areas i as it did . on. small' experiment plots. ' The. small patohes ■ were carefully "tended :and, liberally manured, the number of/animals' grazed .per acre' was large, and the. plants seemed immune'to disease;- It was, therefore boomed' > sis> a : substitute'- for :rape, which had suffered ■•from ' blight.' It is always livdtisable for landowners'to. experiment on a small scale before-grow-ing commerciflily any new plant, no'mat-> ter.how--well; recommended. At present, in ' Canterbury, a distinct ■ effort is- being, 'made' to"popularise • lucerne as si, fodder, plant, experiments 'having proved' very. 'succesfnl.

In comparison with the, greenness; of, the. country around Hawera,'. and generally throughout' the -Plains; the pasture 'from Whenuakura' and thence »on southward has a noticeably dried-up appearance ■' (reports 'the Hawera Stir). This, .to some- extent, is; climatic, and: may.- hot be > unpleasing to the sheep' farmor, ■, but to ■ Taranaki peoplel it • seems ; a pity not.-to.-seei green pastures,- dairy, factories,-and -schools id such fine coun-. try. But :before! this country" can ■ carry I a good, population, from, the dairying, point of view,- it looks as if it - will be necessary to change.the pasture to some, extent so as to throve more autumn feed. -

Visitors to Taranaki (says an exchange); frequently remark on the- general use farmers make- of ■ the great' canopy ;of ■Heaven for-the-storage of-their, farm im-. plements. Generally speaking, -ploughs,, harrows, cultivators, hay'rakes, 'and seed, drills and all such stock-in-trade receive tho i same- treatment, and it sebrns a pity to-sco. -valuable -implements half buried up in long - grass and rusting. Dairy farming is, however, a most strenuous business just now, and in most cases the farmer is working 'very short-handed, and has time-to do only- the most: urgent work.- Later - on,- as conditions improve, he .will idoubtless. provide; proper ' shelter for 'his "farm, implements and-.keep- them, iri-good, order

In the matter-'of--realising! high prices for -sheep* New., Zealand ,do,es -not-stand alone. A paragraph in the Sydney Morning Herald recently.stated:— Further evidence of the high price of.sheep in Southern Riverina .was .demonstrated at a' stock sale at Oaklands," when, '8000 sheep* sold at thev remarkably high average of 28s, crossbred ewes selling1 up to-'33s-6d.

'There is a gratifying aSvak'eoing to the value, of .lucerne! for grazing, by-milking stock (says the- New Zealand Farmer). Experience: has - demonstrated that,- when a' well-established lucerne field is properly managed, there; is-, nothing- to take- its place for the. feeding of -the dairy cow; particularly is it valuable in the dry mun- ' mer ~' Green crops are an excellent insurance against drought,. but too often they are -riot • available ■at • the • very»time ■ they are wanted, whereas, lucerne is there the whole time More particularly, is. lucerne valuable to the man working on the semi-intensive 1 system, when. by means of ■lucerne-andi small well-managed, fields! he can carry a .large^number ■of stock. :

-At a' meeting of the'council'of the' New Zealand Sheep Breeders' Association (South Island) held'last" week it was resolved that ail .Corriedale. and half-bred flocks which have been in existence for at least fifteen years, should be separately registered after inspection, with a number allotted' thereto, each-to be•■' specially - described, as Corriedale '■ or half-bred respectively. A- sworn.declarationI'will..be. rociuiredv statingl: the-esfact [brooding! of leach flock, as'to what long-woolled-.-rams of.any breed havo been- used-'.from tho.-founda-tion of the flock up to date.'of registra.tion. .

A' correspondent of. the. Auckland Star champions- the- sparrow. . ''There is no doubt," he writes, '"he ha* hie faultev but I think he has done 'and'is still doing- a jrood:doalMJiore good thaii'-harm.. .Any of the. old'settlers- will remembar the caterpillar pest in the-old days In--(he early seventies I recall vividly- to-mind one. small paddock 'of-about six acres, 'near the Three Kings, being perfectly ! black with them, eating'everything id their :yay, and the sparrows were there also ancf having- a splendid, time. One rarely hears of such- an infliction now, "and T think we- greatly o\ve< this" to out little sparrow as much as to 'the atarlmg—most useful o£ birds. What about the blackbird, the thrush,- and a host of oilier imported pests? ' Ask any spiall fruitgrower what he thinks of ■'them, 'and' tho g'voraßO townsman wilL get a .shock. \Vhat about the Califormori qfuail? Why, in places it is- utterly impossible.to grow cither-tares .or the crimson, cloved because, of' them. Tares'and crimson clover are • invaluable •to the orchardist for ploughing- in' for green' manure,' but where the quails are it is'simply throwing' time and money away. Had 'thei English- bat been imported, .(as leußgested-thirty years ago) it would have been most valuable for keeping down codlin moth' and all night pests. It is a prolific* breeder* 'and-could- ensily .be i imported, -particularly now. with'our cool cbnmbers. We have a bat here, but 'it i« seldom seen now "