ON THE LAND

Feilding Star, Volume 8, Issue 2508, 22 March 1930, Page 7

ON THE LAND

NEWS, VIEWS AND COMMENTS I'here is usually a good selection of male poultry in the early autumn. Cliooso birds that are from trap nested parents on both sides.

If file pullets are at all backward in beginning to lay give an extra allowance of butcher's scrap, meal meal, or fish tpeal in their mush.

In the North Auckland district alone these are now under tests 40,000 cows. Three seasons a,go the number was -5000.

An Oklahoma farmer in U.S.A., w’ltx euf eft the leg of his gnat while mowing hay also provided this animal with a wooden leg, on which it hobbles about with enjoyment-

A new grain, described as a cross between wheat and rye, having the quality of wheat and the power of rye to resist cold, has been produced by Russian scientists.

Tire United States now lias 3000 chose factories, along with 5000 creameries and 300 candenseries. They make America’s biggest industry, with a five billion dollar turnover.

A farm property near Douglas lia : been abandoned on account of ragwort. The whole farm is in full bloom, and becoming a pest fa the surrounding country.

For a tree the hole should never be deeper than is necessary to take the roofs. A deep hole ill light soil is unnecessary, one in lull'd sojl is dangerous.

There had been a degree of irregularity in the salting during the season and it seemed evident that salttesting apparatus, recently stated Mr E. C. Wood, chief Government dairy produce grader at Auckland.

Blight in cattle is bad in parts of Australia this year. An unfailing remedy in the early stages is a little argyrol dropped into the eye with an eyedropper. A couple of applications should be sufficient.

The old farmer bad been urged by the local agricultural board to collect his stock of every diseription and have them branded. A mouth later he was asked if ho had carried out the order. “Aye,” said he, “but I had the devil o’ a time wi’ the bees.”

At a recent meeting of the committee of the Canterbury A. and P. Association it was decided that Mr 3T. 13. Lyons ,secretary of file associated, should visit the Sydney Royal Shui\’ in April to make himself cognisant of the latest developments in the conduct of the shows and of agriculture in the Commonwealth.

When using a tractor for heavy work ill which the draw bar cannot conveniently bo employed, don’t have the pull higher than the back axle, and don’t take j-our eyes off the front whels. Tractors of the wheel type have a tendency to rear, and this is accentuated by boggy soil and low gear work There is no danger if tbe clutch is put out the moment t- ;e front whels begin to lift.

Cereal crops in the Waimafe district in South Canterbury should be up to expectations, according to some of the threshing tallies received. A particularly good yield is reported from Willow-bridge, where a crop of wheat threshed 70 bushels to the aero. According t° som mil lowners, however, the threshing season, is not expected to last very long, as it is thought there is not so large an area in wheat this year.

A way of propping heavily-laden fruit trees is to place a straight pole a foot or so higher than the tree up against the trunk, about the middle aid attach it o the tree. Tie a few pieces iof small wire a couple of feet long to the pole near its top and radiate the wires down toi the branches all round, using a little paper or rag for wrapping t<* avoid hurting the branches. Wire about No. 16 will mostly be strong enough.

The abundance of grass on Poverty Bay dairy farms is demonstrated in the fact that some of the farmers who had grown maize for teir herds in the autumn, have not jet had to resort to the expedient of feeding :t out, In normal seasons farmers expect to make erosions into their stocks of supplementary feed before the midle of March, but those with maize planted with the intention of having it used as green fodder are now letting it grow on to the cobbing

stage. The threshing of the ryegrass seed harvested this .season in Poverty Bay is now practically complete, and only a, few stacked lots have now to be dealt with. A number of lines have .vet t° he dressed, but it is expected that there willb e attended t° during

the next few weeks, the seed from the ureas contributing t° the department’s scheme of certification being under the supervision, of the department's officer stationed in the district- The crops this season have been only fair, the large amount of rain during the summer contributing to smaller crops than is usually the case in the district.

Quite apart from the fact that systematic thinning of the fruit crop results in better fruit, less picking, handling and nocking are required for a given weight as against fruit from untliimied trees. Not only that (in itself a distinct advantage in cost saving), returns from small fruit are considerably less than from the larger. A striding example of values was.noted in comparing consignments from two neighbouring Victorian orchards. Cases of three-laver peaches containing “40 peaches sold for 3s 4d per case. A consignment of twolayer cases containing SO peaches realised 10s 3d per case. In effect, one consignment required three times as much handling and packing as the other and was worth only one-third of the 'money.