FOR THE FARMER.

Franklin Times, Volume XX, Issue 71, 23 June 1930, Page 8

FOR THE FARMER.

AGRICULTURAL TOPICS.

(Conducted by "Agricola.")

! KEEPING WEEDS DOWN.

The most usual way in which manures favour the suppression of weeds is by enabling good smothering crops lo be grown. A well-measured dressing of nitrogenous manure will often enable a good plant so to till out and cover the ground that few weeds can make headway below it.

The "scorching" action of most soluble fertilsers .when left in contact with the loaves of crops observed, for example when lopdressings of nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia have lodged on the tops of mangel or sugar beet, has also been turned to account in combating weeds. The effect consists in the abstraction of water from Ibe leaf cells by the strong solution which is formed when the fertiliser dissolves in a trace of moisture on the I surface of the leaf. If a sufficient I leaf area is damaged in lids way the plant is killed. A special grade of finely divided kainit is used lor this purposed says the British Journal of Agriculture. It is best applied as a dust cloud while the leaves are covered with dew and hot weather is likely to follow. -This can be done even when the weed is growing in corn, for the upright waxy loaves of the cereals suffer little permanent damage I'rom the treatment. A strong solution of sulphate of ammonia has been used to pome extent for the same, purpose, but applied as a liquid spray in bright weather. A further case is the utilisation of the caustic properties of calcium cyananide. The bad effect of this manure on germinating seedlings, guarded against as far as the crop is concerned by applying it a few days before the sowing, no doubt eliminates a number of'weeds whose seeds happen to be at a vulnerable stage. Moreover, the burning effect of this fertiliser on foliage is used against charlock and other weeds in corn by broadcasting dusly eyananidc, by means of a "blower" or dry sprayer, under the same conditions as are required for kainit. In addition to damaging weeds these substancess also exert a good measure of their usual fertilisinjr effect, which may in itself justify their application.

HINTS REGARDING COLIC. There are two kinds of colic —spasmodic and tympanitic. In the first there is spasm ,of Ihe small intestine, without any external manifest,!lion, except symptoms of pain: whereas in the second, in addition to the pain, the belly is greatly distended, and this distension is due to the generation of gas from indigestion, or to the animal (if a horse) swallowing air, as in erib-biltng or wind-sucking. In spasmodic colic Hie attack is sudden, the horse all al once exhibiting uneasiness in pawing, stamping willi his hind feet, or striking with them at the belly, looking round anxiously toward the flank, crouching, switching the tail, throwing himself down, groaning, rolling over on his back, and. if the pain is very acute, appearing distressed and perspiring.

In a few 7 minutes the spasm passes off, the horse or ox appears easy for a longer or shorter period, when there is a relapse, and similar symptoms are again exhibited. Neither the breathing nor pulse is disturbed, except during the spasm.

Rubbing the belly well, applying warmth to it by mean of a hot blanket or hot water, or stimulating liniment, exercise at a slow or fast pace, the excitation of a stimulant. — as alcohol, or an anodyne—usually relieves Ihe animal. H may be necessary lo administer a mild castor oil or linseed oil purgative, when the spasm depends upon some irritation in the intestine, and lo give enemas.

In tympanitic or flatulent colic the symptoms are similar, and there is more or less distension of the belly, with, perhaps, nausea, and laboured breathing, as well as a stupor when the distension is great.

If Ihe tympany is due to cribbiting or wind-sucking, rubbing the belly very hard and giving exercise. wjll often afford relief. If it does not. or if the attack proceeds from indigestion, then a strong stimulant dose must, be fciven. with an oil or other purgative—the treatment beine: something the same as in spasmodic colic.

In attacks of colic—whether spasmodic or flatulent —if the symptoms do not disappear in the. course of an hour or two, the veterinary surgeon should be sent for. as serious consequences may follow.

COW'S USEFUL PERIOD. The question as to what age a cow should be turned out of the herd is one that has suggested itself lo every breeder of cattle, and it must he decided differently (says an English authority). according to the conditions under which' the slock are kept and Ihe purpose for which they are bred. In a herd of beef cattle il is safe lo say that if pays lo keep a cow as Jong as she will breed a calf, as the calf, as soon as it is horn, is worth •as much -or more than I lie cow herself.

There is a general principle Iha I it pays belter lo buy young stock than obi cows. Allowing this to be true as a general rule, there are exceptions which a man must take into consideration, and not go blindly along and say because that, is fin. 1 rule money cannot lie made outside it. Old animals can seldom tie .fattened at a profit even if their flesh was as valuable as that of a. young one, because it requires so much more lime, and feed If rj.-i j-l. But llieir flesh js

net c(]u;d 1m animals in their prime, so

there is a loss both In the quality and in cost of production. Old cows thai have been milked until their life force ~. is exhausted make very poor and low- H priced, as well as expensive beef. <♦ When a cow has reached twelve to fourteen years of age it hardly pays to fatten her if she could be had for nothing. ••-'- •.-., .; .

BUTTERFAT EXPERIMENTS. The question: "'Can the percentage of butterfat in a cow's milk be increased by feed?' is frequently discussed. Here and there men will be found who believe that certain combination of grain will do this, but exhaustive experiments in the United States of America have proved the contrary to be the case.

Results so far obtained indicate that, feed does have a slight effect upon the fat quality of milk, but those in charge Ibf the investigations will not make any definite statement, as the work has not proceeded far enough to eliminate all other factors that causemilk to vary in fat. The percentage of butterfat in milk is very largely controlled by breeding,' and the only known way permanently to increase it is by mating high-test-ing animals. If a certain combination of feed would increase the percentage of fat and keep it there

throughout a cow's lactation' period,' and another food ration would de- s crease the fat. it could then be assumed that fat could be fed into mil.k,. : There is, however, nothing to prove' that this can be done, consequently; we must come to the conclusion thai v ' it is impossible. There have been cows in Australia that would have yielded 10001 bof butterfat and upward in nine months if their owners could have increased their milk test by feeding. If.milk testing 5 per cent, fat is desired it must ■ come ' from animals that through inheritance produced ") per cent milk. In short,' there is no system of [.feeding known up to now that will ! make a 'i per cent cow test 5 per cent, j If it should ever happen that one is I discovered dairying will be a much more profitable undertaking.

EFFECT OF LIMING. The autumn is the best of all seasons for liming. Its principal effects are threefold —mechanical, chemical, and biological. The mechanical effect, was best .seen upon heavy clay soils, where lime improved the tilth. The chemical effect was jjerhaps the most important. The value of lime as a soil sweetener in its work of neutralising the. acidity of sour soils makes. it invaluable to farmers. The third! or biologie.il effect was due largely to the neutralising of the soil acidity. Whether or not lime was necessary tor a soil, how much was necessary and was its application profitable were important questions to which no general answer could be given (says an expert). Whether timing paid was more difficult to answer. v \-^ Where a rotation was being practised and acidity was marked, and where time could be thoroughly worked into .the soil, it undoubtedly did pay to lime, if only for the improved take of grass, which was so much more beneficial for young slock. It was important, however, to remember that over-liming could be dangerous, and also that most crops grew just as well in a soil slightly sour than in a neutral or alkaline soil. Hence linking should always mean the application of slightly less than the lime requirement. The advantage ,of' liming old grass land on the surface was not so obvious. The effect was not noticeable as a rule for three and usually four years, though there could be no'doubt as to the lasting power of a dressing of lime on grass land. Approximately about 10 cwt. of ground or shell lime vas equivalent to about 18 cwt. of ground limestone, and. generally speaking, whichever of these cost least delivered on the farm should be used if the principal object was-to counteract acidity.