FARMS AND FARMERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 February 1929, Page 8

FARMS AND FARMERS

items of; interest

(By

"Rouseabout”)

WARFARE ON WEED. RAGWORT ENEMY RELEASED. After stringent tests at the. GaWthroii institute at Nelson, the Minister in charge of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, thri Hon. H. Atmore, has announced that the ragworth moth is to be released in selected places in the Auckland, Taranaki arid Southland districts without further delay. That i? the first Step in the real warfare against existence and spread of the weed, and it is the outcome of advice from Dr. D. Miller, that much success in the tests has been achieved and that the requirements under the Noxious Weeds Control Research Committee, at the head of which is Professor H. D. Kirk, have been fully complied with. Tests? with the ragwort moth have extended oyfei., a period of sixteen months and have shown that in all cases moth arid larvae die when placed on any economic plant. On ragwort weed the destructive effects of 'the moth have been established beyond doubt. It is not anticipated by the Department that the moth will clear ragwort this year, but a good beginning Will ho made. Some millions of eggs will be distributed and the first generation will he acclimatised and will breed large supplies in the field next year. The moth is a cinabar moth with black and red stripes. The experiments carried out precedent to the ordfer for release of the moths is another indication of the great value df the work done at the Cawthron Institute. Under the methods of investigation the moths were allowed to sample plants of all kinds in the iffsectary at Cawthron, and there was no danger of their escape until it was fully established that no dairiagb resulted to plants of econoinic value. The glfiss walls and roof and the lining of phosphor gauze with which the was provided were a complete barrier to the escape of any insects. The insectary was established by a grant of £l3OO from the Imperial Marketing Boafd of Great Britain, and a subsidy of £7OO was received froin the Government. The remainder of the money necessary was found by the Cawthron authorities. USEFUL IMPLEMENTS.

Amongst the modern implements used at Messrs Baty Bros’ 400 acres dairy farm at Coal Creek Flat is a single disc stump plough of American manufacture. It is much like a swamp plough of that variety, and its chief peculiarity is the facility with which it can be operated by one man driving a tractor arid the way in which it will ride over such obstructions as old stumps and boulders, and yet work the ground to within inches of the obstructions. The proprietors of the farm also use a patent scdop for levelling purposes after rough country has been ploughed, and this implement is well worthy of enquiry and inspection by farmers who wish to level off the surface of paddocks, either for crops or for sowing down in permanent -pastures. POTATOES AND ONIONS. Marshland is the district from which is drawn a considerable part of the supply of potatoes and onions for Christchurch. Latest reports from there state that the potato crops are fair, but in some cases the tubers are blighted. The autumn onions are nearly all dug and the spring crops will not be ready for two or three weeks. Onion crops generally, however, are only fair. Growers of potatoes and ohibns in Canterbury are fidt finding; easy markets beyond the province nowadays, largely owing to tho development, nearer at hand, of areas to meet the requirements of. Auckland city. THOROUGH STRAINING OF MILK. When a mail or a firm goes in for dairying on straight out modern principles it is riot unexpected that his plant should include apparatus which others less enterprising have not got. This is so at Messrs Baty Bros farm at Coal Creek Flat, simply because there is located now the inost up-to-date pasteurisation factory. in Westland. But it is not only in regard to the new venture that Messrs Baty Bros reflect adherence to their intention to adopt proved reforms and to run their fine farm on as scientific lilies aii possible, ’this is shown even in the 32 bail cowshed, where all the appliances and fittings are obviously intended td etistife the utmost cleanliness in handling milk, which is the principal production of the farm, and is for their owh milk delivery business as distinct from butter-fat production. A visitor cannot help being strufck by the paihs taken to ensure that the shed is kept sanitary, but he will also note how scientifically constructed receptacles are utilised in fiirtheraiice bl determination to keep the ihilk free from contamination by harmful parasites. Activity of the majority of these is dtie to the absence of cleanliness, and to counteract it Mbssrs fiaty have evolved a good system Of protection for the milk from the time it Is drawn from the teats until it undergoes the purifying operation of pasterisation at the factory. It is noticeable that the milkers use the splendid water supply to wash the teats arid udder before milking is commenced. When a cow has been strip; ped , the milk is immediately tipped through a Ulax strdiner into a large receptacle in which it is conveyed to the pasteuriser. The spepial strained is such that it should commend itself to ail fnilkers anxious to. preserve a supply pf pure clean milk. It is of nickel t.o avoid tainting. The milk passes first through a gauae designed to. retain hair, and any large foreign substances; Then it spreads over a bell-shaped dome and percolates through two Sieves; between which is stretched a. disc of fine miisliri, 4hto the large can which is clbsed in from the geheral. atmosphere of the shed. This procedure comhifends itself as being the acriie of perfection of known methods of strriifiiiig iriilk afid Messrs Baty are to be congratulated dpbn havihg adopted it.

WORKING AMONG PESTS CAWTHRON INSTITUTE. What Bas been terfhed stock breeding on microscopic lines is part of the business at the Cawthron Institute at Nelson, where strange .inSects are bred and aftervvards let loose ori pests that b'feset orchards or grovving crops. For instance, there is an interesting little thing called thri which has been at work in New Zealrind orchards for sortie tirtie now, cleaning up that objectionable C*|beastie,” the woolly aphis. It was ah easy win for the ilpheiirius,. which, though only about the size of a flea, is a deriiori to work. Of this engaging little immigrant the Cawthron Institute bred and distributed 250,000 in tubes coiitairiirig 50 each. I’o-day the iristitute is busy on many other problems affecting agricultural industries.

“The man object of the work,” said Professor T. H. Easterfield, director of the Institute in the course of an interview, “is to carry out investigations oh problems relating to' agriculture in its widest sense, and since fruit growing and market gardening, are of outstanding importance to the district in which the institute is situated, it is natural that these industries have received great attention. Thus Nelson produces more thah £50,000 worth of tomatoes annually, and the tomato growers have placed before the officers of the institute many problems in connection with the manuring of tomatoes, with the selection of tomato varieties, and with thb control of fungal pests. The Tomato Growers’ Association has expressed enthusiastic thankfulness for the benefits which the industry has received. “Then there is the apple industry which is increasing by leaps and bounds, and at least two-thirds of the export, apples which leave New Zealand are grown in the Nelson area. Most of these apples, again, are produced on the Moutere Hills laiid, which at the beginning of the century would have been considered dear at 10/ an acre. A shitable fiiafiurial scheriie has been evolved for the orchards, and now for general agriculture, for each type of soil in the AVaimea County, and the work is extended into the Colliiigwbod and Buller Counties. I ihay say that the work on the soils is in charge of Mr T. Rigg. The Marketing Board arid the Goverriinerit are subsidising certain researches at the ihstitrite on the manui-ial conterit of pastures and bri tlie control of noxious weeds by iiv sects.

•’’Diseases pf plants are mostly due to fungi and in the mycplogiciil department, in charge of Dr Kathleen Curtis, a large amount of attention is being paid io the control of fungi diseases of apples, pears, stone-fruit, tomatoes arid tobacco. One result has been that there is every probability that the area devoted to stbne-lruit will largely increase; whereas the tendency for a good many years has been to cut out peaches and, other valuable stone-fruit, because of the extent to which these fruits have been attacked by brown rot. INSECT PARASITES. “Of the entomological work that is being done at the institute, the control of the woolly aphis by the introduction of the irisect aphelihus is an old story, practically eveiy applegrower in New Zealand now benefiting by the useful work of this insect. Again, the insect introduced with the object of coritrolling the oak-scale on the Canterbury oaks, though much slower in becoming -properly established, is now settling down, ‘arid the reports from Hagley Park, Christchurch, indicate that the irisect is proving of extraordinary benefit. At one time it was thought down there that they were going to lose all their oaks, but I am told that each tree is having a new lease of life. “One more irisect should be mentioned —the alysia, the insect that parasitises the maggot of the blow-fly, arid prevents it from developing into a fly. This work was bfegun by Di- Miller at the time when lie was Government entomologist, arid he has continued it at the Cawthron Institute, with the result that the insect is now being distributed throughout New Zealand and also has been supplied to the Commonwealth Bureau of Science and Industry. . “tn the control of noxious weeds, by insects great attention is being paid to the gorse and to ragwort, the reduction of which in all the warmer parts of New Zealand is a matter of urgent necessity. “The question has sometimes been raised whether the introduction of insects of economic value is riot likely to be fraught with danger. No insect, however, is introduced into the .Cawthron Institute insectaries until a special permit is isstifed by the Government, on the recommendation Of a special committee set up by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research; and even after the insects have been introduced into the ihsectaries, they are hot liberated until their life-history arid feeding habits have beeri most carefully studied, and it report submitted to the Minister of Agriculture by the above-jneiitioried special committee recommending that a permit fol- liberation be given.” Professor Easterfield gave other instances of the sort of work that is being done at the institute. Much of it is so technical that the layman would find it difficult to follow, but everyone can appreciate the yesplts of woolly aphis. To-day a defective apple in a Shop would be unthinkable; a few years ago one accepted damaged fruit because there was none other. That is where the man in the strete reaps the benefits of weeks, months, and sometimes years, of research such as is conducted at the Cawthron Institute.

NELSON FRUIT HARVEST. Picking of 7 friiit for exportation from (he Nelsofi flistHOt Waii in earnest last week, and it is piedsihg to note expressed opinions that the fruit will be as clean arid freb from bliglits as evOi- it hd§ hben, arid the indications that the export quantities will be within easy beach of last year’s record shipment. ThO ripple growing industry in New Zealand is ihei-easihg in a wonderful why, arid fit Idaflt twO-tliirds

of the export apples which leave the Dominion are grown in the Nelson area. Most of these applds, are produced on the Moutere Hills land, which at the beginriirig of the century would have been considered dear at 10/- an acre. A suitable iriahurial scheme has been evolved as ari outcome of investigations at the Cawthron Institute, for the orchards, and now for general agriculture, for each type of soil in the Waimea County, hjid the work is ekthndirig into the Collingwood arid Buller Counties.

CANTERBURY’S WINTER FEED, i Canterbury has enjoyed ideal weath- < qr during the past fortnight, rind re- j ports from various parts of the pro- i vlnce make cheery reading. It is es- ' tafilishefl thrit liriy has nearly all beeii - harvested and stacked in spleiidid j condition. It is a great ariuour Should 1 there be an itnexpectbdly rigorous vviliter. Slock is Ibbkirig well rind in * good ebliflitibn to stand the winter 1 wen. 1