FARMS AND FARMERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 October 1933, Page 7

FARMS AND FARMERS

ITEMS OF INTEREST

(By

“Rouseabout” )

J OB THE BEEKEEPER.

CONSIDERATION OF LOCATION.

Perhaps there is no more important question to the -beekeeper than locution. Upon his ability to select a suitable district in which to start beekeeping will depend his future success. There are few districts in the Dominion where bees cannot be kept in small numbers, but the successful establishment of a commercial apiary will largely depend upon knowledge of the nectar-secreting plants. It is generally recognised that the main nectar-flow in New Zealand is produced from white clover and catsear, but it will bo found a distinct advantage if the apiary is established near patches of native bush or where the golden willow is abundant. Most of the indigenous trees and willows flower early, and the nectar from these sources is very valuable, as its provides. stores in the Spring.

In districts where dependence has to be placed entirely upon white clover a careful watch must be kept on the stores, and very often artificial feeding has to be resorted to in the Spring and carried on until the appearance of the clover bloom. This is often expensive, and can bo usually avoided by selecting a site where at least a moderate Spring flow may be anticipated. The rich dairy pastures of both the North and the South Islands, and localities where cattle raising is carried on extensively, provide suitable sites for commercial apiaries. Country which is used for sheep-grazing is not profitable, as the clover pasture is usually eaten bare. Instances have come under my notice where abnormal crops have been secured in purely sheep-country, but they are too infrequent to be taken into consideration, and consequently this class of country should be avoided. Essentially the main requirements are feed and shelter, and if the apiarist is fortunate enough to locate his bees in a position where there is an abundant supply of nectar-secreting plants good shelter can be easily provided.

WATER SUPPLY" In the absence of a natural supply, water should be provided. Bees requite a good deal of water for broodrearing throughout the whole season, and it often happens that, numbers arc lost if water is not close at hand. Moreover, bees often become a nuisance at cattle-troughs and by congregating round domestic supplies. Where a large number of colonies' are kept it is imperative to see that the bees are well supplied. Many contrivances are used. "Simplicity” feeders make excellent vessels for containing water, but they require to be tilled frequently and be occasionally cleansed. Bees prefer to take water from damp situations, and they may often bo noticed in numbers .sucking water from the ground where there has been any overflow. Feeders should be placed in a sheltered spot in the apiary.—E. A. Earp, Senior Apiary Instructor.

CHILDREN WHO MILK

A northern farmer, describing himself as the son of a very successful and prominent country school teacher, states that on the thousands of agricultural and pastoral farms throughout New Zealand (apart from dairy farms) 90 per cent, of the milking is done by the children (of school age) of the farmers. "Thank God that this is so. and that (on dairy farms) dairy farmers’ children also help to milk. In numerous instances I have known farmers to be off their farms through sickness and accidents. Who then is it carries on, the hired man or the farmer's lad or lass (of school age) I The farmer’s son or daughter every time. It. is not work, to the average child, who milks in cowsheds, it is a very important personal matter. Each cow, calf, or pig which receives attention from the child is more or less a very real chum. I know that if my little lad (only four years old) did not bring in Hie cows to the bails as needed, life Io him would be finished, also if my other three lads were stopped in their handling of their especial cows, feeding their calves, and pigs, great sorrow would abound.”

EXCHANGE AND WOOL

Although the raising of the rate of , xcliangi' New Zealand on London was uoi (Mctled until .January 20 of this year it is now realised to have been n'tresi'-'ctive in its benefits in rcla;:cu to wool withheld from sale; in flirt, cid wool held in store to-day emit.,-iins lines shorn four seasons back. This woo) participates in the benefits of high exchange.

Al .June 39. 1931, there were 273,657 bales of greasy wool held back (of which 66 1 3 were destroyed by fire in the Napier disaster). At. June 30, 1932, the greasy wool so held over amounted io 2u9.Mil bales, including 193031 (lip: üb.o 36,476 bales of freezing works wool—in all 246,337 bales'withheld from sale. At June 30 of this year the <:irry-over was reduced and the retiring president of the New Zealand Woclbrokers' Association (Mr. A. E. Mabiiii was able to ainmiiiicii as "a most pldisiiig feature" that ’>63,500 bale'-' had been sold for the .-eiison (hen closed, as against 163.259 for the 19.". i :’.l srason. Even so al June 30 last unsold greasy wool in stores and i'll stations and farm- was estimated Io he 117.390 bales or with slipc wool a total of 160.363 bales. By holding 011 to (his wool—which (•mild have been sold at an unpayable price. 11 is conceded — the owners today hare met a better market and a very considerable quantity of wool, it is reported, Ims been disposed of privately ami shipped, thus reducing the cart'.'-over to. say. 71,000 bales before the 1!'33 :;i sales begin.

SEASONAL NOTES.

SUPPLEMENTING PASTURES

In districts which this year have experienced a favourable Winter and Spring, butterfat production during August is stated to have increased 10 per cent., and even more at times, in comparison with the previous August; sheep and lambs show an improvement, and the incidence of stock disorders apparently shows a falling off (says the N.Z. Journal of Agriculture). These results would seem to be associated intimately with an abnormally bountiful natural supply of feed. It is of practical moment at this season (o bear in mind that nature is not usually so kind. The value of supplies of AVihter and Spring feed greater than are usually provided having been clearly demonstrated this season, it would be against the dictates of prudence not to take definite steps to secure a correspondingly good supply of feed for future seasons, even though they be normal and not unusually favourable ones.

One important means of providing additional Winter and Spring feed is as recommended above, by more fully exploiting ensilage and haymaking. Another important means is the growing of special crops. The greater demand, in districts in which grassfarming is dominant, for horses for general farm work seems a . healthy sign that it is being more fully realized that increased special cropping to supplement pastures is generally advisable.

Apart from their intrinsic worth as a means of augmenting the feed-sup-ply during seasons of scant pasture growth, special crops on the great majority of farms serve as a decidedly useful intermediate step in the economic replacement of swards of a poorer type than could be secured by reasonably efficient management. It seems at times to' be overlooked that relatively recent developments often open up the possibility of permanent pastures superior to those which generally would have been considered satisfactory in the past; that suitable exploitation of improved strains of permanent-pasture plants, which have been made available commercially by the system of official certification of seeds, when associated with judicious top-dressing, tends to beget more productive and profitable pastures, and that on many farms the freer production of special forage crops would hasten desirably the establishment of the better pastures that are possible. Sometimes, but not often, the labour position on a farm makes questionable the advisability of increasing the amount of special cropping. For instance, if the current work on a farm fully occupies those employed on it and additional special cropping would necessitate an additional worker, then the additional cropping may not be economically sound, but it is generally advisable to grow crops such as mangels, carrots, lucerne, chou moellier, etc., when this can be done ■without creating the need for any considerable direct outlay in labour or equipment. And this will be true as a rule even of farms the pastures of which are not badly in need of renewal.

Common and important faults in the practice of ensilage may be. summarized as follow: —

(1) Inadequate consolidation of the green material in pits and trenches, leading to avoidable wastage as a. result of decay at the sides; the more mature and stemmy the green material the greater the need for specific measures to bring about consolidation. The weight of workers and of equipmen can at times be made to serve usefully for effecting suitable consolidation.

(2) Harvesting when the herbage is too mature, which leads to the following undesirable results: (a) unnecessarily woody silage, which as a feed is characterised by all the disadvantages attaching to overmaturity in pasture growth; (b) less likelihood of a heavy leafy aftermath available in the latter part of Summer, when it is usually acutely needed; (c) avoidable injury to the pasture, due to the unnecessarily prolonged shading effect of (lie tall growth. (3) Development of excessive temperatures in the material, leading finally to silage of dark brown to black colour, instead of the greenish to light brown colour which, is indicative of better feeding value. The high temperatures which lead to the dark colour are held to bring about uot only an avoidable wastage in material, but also a substantial falling off in quality due 10. a disproportionately heavy loss of digestible protein. (4) Inadequate covering of the stored silage with material weighty enough to reduce the air in the material as much as possible; Hie covering is specially likely to-be insufficient round the sides.-- R. P. Connell, Fields Division, in the “N.Z. Journal of Agriculture.”

ARTIFICIAL FERTILISERS The top-dressing of pastures with artificial fertilisers, while still viewed by the farming community as one of the main features in pasture production. has been carried out.to a lesser extent than had been expected during the season, almost, entirely on account uf the financial stress which has existed (says the annual report, of the Department of Agriculture). The amount of artificial fertiliser actually delivered at officered railway stations throughout the Dominion shows an in-crea-e of approximately 35.909 tons over that delivered for the 1931-32 season, and it is undoubtedly due to financial stress that this increase was not considerably greater. One knows that towards the end of the year large orders for artificial fertilisers for topdressing purposes had to be reluctantly cancelled by farmers. Nevertheless, it is pleasing to know that the actual quantity used during the season did not show a decline on that used the previous season. The national wealth of the country is so bound up with its primary products that any falling-off in top-dressing is to be deprecated. Ono can only hope that conditions will, improve to such an extent as vill allow of farmers once more taking up whole-heartedly the topdressing el their pastures.