ON THE LAND.

Feilding Star, Volume 4, Issue 676, 7 January 1926, Page 7

ON THE LAND.

NEWS,, VIEWS AND COMMENTS

A record -killing of lambs took place at Imkiy works oil "Wednesday last, 5720 being put through.

Tobacco seeds are so minute that a thimbleful will furnish enough plants for an acre of ground.

The Ontario Department of Agriculture is buying 25.000 bait els of apples for. sale in Great Britain.

A larger area is being sown in mangolds in the Oamuru district this rear than ever before.

Herd testing in New Zealand shows a. marked development, the number of cows under test last esason being close on 200,000. y

Where roots, especially mangels, arc grown in abundance, and fed in conjunction with hay, the dairy herd invairiably givos profifcoWie returns for the outlay. -

■‘Germany, at the present time, has 140 dairy cows for every 1000 inhabitants .In 1913, before" the World War, the number was 173 per 1000 population.

Ideal weather prevails for harvesting up at Te .Puke in the AN aitnko. There arc several excellent yields of oats and the maize crops look promising.

Top-dressed areas remain green for a longer period than those that are unmanured thus providing succulent feed for a longer period and diminishing the danger of fire.

The disease known as take-all which was se prevalent in the wheat crops in North Otago last year does not appear to be causing much trouble this season.

The freezing works in Canterbury opened lor the season this week Stock is offering freely, although there has been no great rush to get it into the works.

A good milk cow nil! drink 100 pounds of water in a day. Jt is a pity that the milk-flow of many cows is held in check by a. lack of good drinking water. .

The recent rains have freshened-.up the pasture in this district, particularly the white clover, which is responding freely. It is many years since the country was so dry at this season of. the year along the coast.

There is at the present time some 200 acres at Kuku, Levin, in the occupation of Chinese market gardeners who daily supply truck loads of fresh vegetables to the Wellington market.

There is only a slight variation in fat-percentago due to different ages of cows. Tile younger the cow the higher the test. The difference is ony slight, however,, and is of no significant value.

Those who thought the bottom had dropped out of the fat lamb market .will (-says Hie Timaru Herald) be agreeably surprised to learn Unit this is far from being the ease, and that for first quality lamb up to per Ifi is now offered.

-Succulence in the ration of a dairy cow usually makes a feed more palatable, appetising and digestible. Jn addition, succulent, feeds tend to increase the appetite of the cow for other feeds, and thus stimulate her to increased milk production.

The next Wanganui wool sale is fixed for Tuesday next, and Wei lington’s is to be held on the 22nd inst. The first three series of the London sales have been arranged to commence on January 19, March,9, and April 27.

According to particulars issued by Mr I*l. J< \Y ilde, “Merfield,” Marten, the rainfall in ,Marton, for the twelve mouths ending December 91, totalled IldjCl inches. This figure is well below the average which is stated to be 10.00 indies.

Taranaki is the only province in tlie North island in which rural population predominates. Jt-s urban population is 90,700, and ru.*fil 35.370 exclusive iof Maoris, who ‘number about 7-XIO

Ju Denmark, where Die co-opera-tive system bus been brought to a

high state of perfection, it is customary to have each cow's pedigree and milk and butteriat record hung i;i its byre.

The long spoil of line weather has enabled sheaving operations throughout the Poverty Bay district to proceed without interruption, and in consequence farmers have been able to send: their dips into town without- delay. Much of the' Poverty Bay wool however, will not bo offered at New Zealand sales. The drop in prices lias caused many growers to abandon their intentions of selling in Now Zealand and to revert to the former practice of shipping to England, and. agents generally have received instruction to cancel prior commitments.