FARMERS’ CORNER.

Franklin Times, Volume XIX, Issue 38, 3 April 1929, Page 5

FARMERS’ CORNER.

| A COLUMN FOR THE MAN ON THE LAND. j BAD WEEDS. | RIB GRASS. I 1 . | One of the most troublesome weeds • in our pastures is rib-grass, a species of plantain, known sometimes as lamb’s tongue. Its botanical name is

Plantago lanceolata. It gets the name rib-grass from the veins which run down the leaves.

Though stock will eat rib-grass it does not produce very much, or very nourishing feed. Its habit of growing like a rosette, with the leaves nearly flat on the ground gives it the habit ol taking up an amount of ground altogether out of proportion to the quantity of herbage it throws up. It has a cousin the broad-leaved plaintain (plantago major), which has the same habit of growth, but is much less persistent in its efforts to monopolise ali the growing-room there is. On second rate pastures rib-grass is a serious thing, because it crowds out the other grasses. On rich land where the pastures are well-managed and manured, it usually gets crowded out itself. It seeds profusely and the seeds seem to preserve their germinating powers in the ground indefinitely. Rib grass is one of the commonest impurities in grass seeds, and should be carefully looked for when buying seeds. Some merchants list it for sale, but the sale of it should be stopped by law, as ignorant people are sometimes induced to sow 7 it to the great detriment of their land. It is doubtful whether it is ever deliberately cut for seed, and what is sold is simply cleaned out of grass-seed to render it fit for sowing, and really ought to be carefully burned. In pastures where rib-grass is prevalent heavy harrowing and generous manuring is the best wavy of getting rid of it. Sulphate of amonium will kill it without injuring grasses, but is too expensive except for use on lawns.

THE WILD ONION. The wild onion, often called garlic, or crow-onion is one of the very worst weeds that can invade a dairy farm. In many places in the North Auckland Peninsula it. is rampant, and as it taints milk and butter so as to make them unsaleable it is naturally a ruinous enemy to the dairy-man when it gets a hold on his land. It is not uncommon in the neighbourhood o? Auckland, and is to be found in one or two places in Franklin, and is doing great injury in parts of the Manawatu district. It closely resembles a young onion in it?, early stages,, and is then not very easy to detect among grass' until its head grows, and as these contain tiny bulbs about the size of grains of wheat, each capable of producing another plant, there is a very short interval of time when .hand-weeding is possible. Consequently it is extremely troublesome to eradicate. The best way of getting rid of it is to collect every plant, bulb and all, by hand, and burn them, but on large areas this is naturally impossible. If it is confined to a smal patch the best treatment is to dig up the top-soil carefully and burn it, even if it injures the area

so treated permanently. If not got rid of it will destroy the value of the land for milking purposes, and greatly reduce its value for any other purpose. It appears to spread from any infected spot with great, rapidity, and farmers who know their neighbours have it should watch the boundary lines most carefully so as to be able to repel any attempted invasion.

CONCLUSION. At this stage it is proposed to bring this series of articles to an end. There are a -great many more troublesome pasture weeds which could be mentioned, such as rats-tail, the common daisy, etc.., etc., but the commonly adopted measures of improving pastures by top dressing and harrowing will ultimately, by inducing the stronger growth of grasses get rid of most of them. With regard to the weeds that infest arable land their name is legion,

and many of them are most injurious. The majority of them disappear when the land is laid down in grass. If the land is to be kept in cultivation there is only one way of keeping it clear of them, and that is by preventin them seeding. Most of them are annuals, or at most biennials, and consequently it does not talfife long to g'*t rid of them. It is therefore not proposed to deal With them in this column.

One exception may be made, however, and that is the common pinkflowered eonvolvolus. and the larger white-flowered variety, which the Maoris call pohue. When this once becomes thoroughly established in arable land it is practically ineradicable, and the only cure is to lay down grass for two or three years, when the stock, which are very fond of it, will exterminate it.

In conclusion a word may be said about a practise that is unfortunately all too common, and that cannot be too greatly condemned. It is not unusual for farmers to gather the weeds in their arable lands and dump them oul in the roads, which may lead to the seeds being carried to almost any distance by the wheels of vehicles and the feet of horses and cattle. It is of course a punishable offence, and the law with regard to it should be carried out.

FESCUE LAND.

NEW t SETTLER’S EXPERIMENT,

INTERESTING METHOD. Fescue is becoming a serious question in some parts of the Otaua' and Aka Aka Plains, as well as elsewhere in Franklin and the following, from the Matamata Record) may prove of interest.

Over 400 acres of the dense,, tall fescue-affected land at Orongo : has been taken up by. Mr R. H.i Findlayson, a North Auckland farmer, and an interesting method of working it is being tried. The land, which borders the Hauraki Gulf, is at the end of the Opanae Road, where the metal is overgrown with fescue, and presumably part of that which the South Auckland Land Roard has-had available -for some time at £4 per acre. - ,

Mr Finlayson (says the Hauraki Plains Gazette) burned the fescue last month when strong winds prevailed. The dense mat of dead grass was thus removed and the clumps of fescue left. An ordinary road grader drawn by a tractor was used to turn over a furrow about two feet wide,- and. just )deep enough to ensure moving the Clumps without turning up the clay. By, employing an assistant for a second shift,' Mr Finlayson was able to treat twenty acres a day, speed being essential owing to the lateness in the season; and the fact that clumps of fescue apparently burned, put out a strong growth which grows at the rate of an inch' a day. When the fescue,thus ploughed becomes sufficiently dry it is burned. ; It is acknowledged that it is a pity to have to burn it, as the few inches .of . humus above the sea clay is not improved by the process, but burning it is the cheapest and quickest'way of disposing of the grass.. ,It is this burning which is causing much of the smoke which now enshrouds the* Hauraki Plains. The burning is proving thorough and in a few days when it is completed the land will be harrowed smooth. - After the first shower of rain ; in-" numerable fescue seeds will germinate, and it is proposed to repeat the process again and then let the land fallow during the winter. Its condition will determine the programme for next summer, but it is hoped to be able to get a catch crop before repeating the grading and burning process to deal with what fescue there may be.

A NOVEL THATCH.

WIRE-NETTING AS A ROOF COVER. ALSO AFFORDS PROTECTION FROM STOCK. A Mauku farmer, who is tired of building the strong fences necessary to protect his stacks from marauding stock has hit upon an ingenious device for baffling them. Insead of fencing them he simply passes a piece of six-foot wire netting round them, pulling it tight and pegging it top and bottom here and there. Cattle soon And it impossible to pull out any hay, and give up the idea. It may not be generally known that wire-netting also acts as an excellent thatch for haystacks. Lengths six feet wide are passed over the roof and weighted. The pull on the meshes downward all the time drags the hay

in the proper direction to turn the rain and stacks thus covered will stand the winter’s rain and even the rain of a second winter without taking in any water. Of course a stack must be well-built and the roof raked thoroughly down before this novel thatch is trusted to, but if these conditions are .fulfilled it meets all requirements.

FEEDING DAIRY STOCKA local farmer mentioned on Thursday, during a discussion on dairy stock ailments, that his observation in recent lears had led him to the opinion that the. trouble in herds can be minimised by farmers feeding their stock judiciously during the next few months (says the Waipa Post). “Some have the idea that cows are allright during the winter months, if fed on hay. I know from experience,” he said, “that cows fed on hay alone, and often on inferior-quality .hay at that ,are more prone to contract 'maladies than those kept in good condition by means of a mixed diet. There is very little grass feed for them for six or eight weeks on end, and that is just the time whe.i they should not be fed exclusively on hay, or even ensilage, which certainly is better than hay. I asked the stock inspector if feeding has any relation to the incidence of cow troubles, and he confirms my opinon, though admitting that the definite cause and definite remedy have not been determined ye*. Any how, the wise farmer will keep his cows off an exclusive hay diet, even if he has to feed concentrates for a change.” Of course, though this does not apply so urgently in the Franklin district, where there is always more or less grass for the stock, even in the worst winters, there is now doubt that many cows get digestive ailments even here by too exclusive a diet of hay. These animals can usually be detected after hay has been fed to them for a week or two, and should be removed from the herd and placed in a paddock in which there is a good bite of grass, and they will soon recover. We take it that feeding on hay does not induce the cow troubles mentioned, but that the weakness induced by an unsuitable diet renders the animal less capable of throwing off disease acquired in other ways.