FARMS AND FARMERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 January 1939, Page 9

FARMS AND FARMERS

ITEMS OE INTEREST

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RYEGRASS SEED.

S. CANTERBURY OPERATIONS

A start has been made with the harvesting of grass seed crops in South Canterbury and providing the weather remains favourable some good yields should be recorded. It is too early to say, after the very wet December, what the germination percentage of the seed will be, but if it is somewhat lower than usual this should be compensated by the higher yields expected. In some cases crops have been beaten down and injured by heavy rain and hail. In other cases excessive growth of clovers have mitigated against returns, in tact so great has been the growth of clovers that paddocks closed for rye seed will now be made into hay.

Different methods are being adoptin handling the rye crop. Direct heading by modern tractor-driven machinery is now being favoured and recently a start was made with a harvesting machine in a. 40-acre paddock of perrenial rye at Saltwater Creek, Timaru. As rye grass shakes easily, time is an important factor in dealing with the crop. Another method is mowing the grass, allowing it to thoroughly ripen on the ground for a few days, and then picking it up and thrashing it with a header harvester. Some farmers prefer to cut their crop with the reaper and binder, stock it, and thresh with the mill. They contend that the best sample is obtained under these conditions. Another method of saving the seed is by means of the stripper but this is mostly done where the crops are light and free of undergrowth. The manner of dealing with the crop depends on its condition. It is impossible to get satisfactory results by direct heading a crop that is ripening unevenly and has a super-abundance of clover growing up through it. This is better mown and the clover allowed to wile before being picked up and threshed. In cutting such crops with the binder there is the risk of the butt of the sheaves remaining sodden if bad weather eventuates,. However, the farmer is dependent on the weather in the successful saving of the crop. WORLD’S WHEAT SUPPLY. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics estimate of the 1938-39 world wheat supply is 4.940,000,000 bushels, probable disappearance of wheat during the current marketing year is placed at 3,795,000,000 bushels. This would leave a carry-over of about 1,145,000,000 bushels next July, which compares with the record carry-over of 1,193.000,000 bushels in 1934.

World supply, excluding Soviet Russia. and China, is reported the second largest on record, consisting of 4,345,000,000 bushels estimated production this year, plus carry-over stocks on July 1, estimated at 595,000,000 bushels. The total supply was reported to be 585,000,000 bushels were the second smallest since 1927. Heat and drough have affected severely all Spring grain, aand, to a lesser extent, Winter grain in a large area of the Soviet Union. The combined 1938 wheat crop of China, Manchuria, and Japan is now estimated at 696,000,000, or about 5 per cent, less than the small 1937 crop, and 23 per cent below average. DIAMOND BACK MOTH. A study is being made of a parasite from Europe with a view to controlling the diamond back moth which causes considerable damage to cruciferous crops.

The Minister of Industrial and Scientific Research, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, made this announcement when he reviewed the steps taken in this respect. “Mr. John Muggeridge. associate director of the Entomology Division returned recently from a visit to Great Britain and Europe, -where he was sent, by the Government to inquire into the possibilities of securing parasites which would control the ravages of the. diamond back moth and the white butterfly, which constitute serious pests of turnip, rape and cabbage crops in New' Zealand,” the Minister said. “While it is a little difficult for New Zealanders to comprehend a state of affairs where turnips and cabbages are not infested with the diamond back moth, yet this is what actually prevails in Europe, where Mr. Muggeridge had difficulty in finding diamond back moths at all, and farmers there do not appear to regard this insect as a serious pest. All specimens found appear to be heavily parasitised, so it would appear that the moth is kept in cheek by parasites.” RAGWORT PARASITE.

Three years of experiments with the ragwort seed fly on the property of Mr. A. A. Riggir at Putaruru have been watched with considerable interest by officers of the Cawthron Institute and by farmers on weed-infested areas. This season was regarded as the most important in the experiment, as it was expected to witness the first natural emergence of the fly, synchronising with the appearance of the buds of the ragwort plant. Dr. Miller, of the Cawthron Institute, visited Mr. Riggir’s property and it is understood he was highly pleased with what he saw. The fly has emerged at the appropriate period, and those who have followed the experiment ha'.e- strong hopes that it will be a powerful weapon m the tight against, a damaging pest. The immediate intentions of the Cawthron Institute are not known, but it is understood steps will be taken to distribute the fly from the Putaruru property. The fly naturally spreads very' slowly' and its successful distribution is a matter for exports.

THREAT TO WOOL.

SYNTHETIC FIBRES DEVELOP.

Opinions vary on the question of synthetic fibres as friends or foes of the wool industry. For every pound of natural wool displaced by a pound of synthetic in flic manufacture of textile goods particularly for clothing it would seem obvious that wool-grow-ing as an industry must suffer to that extent. But there are those engaged in the textile industries who profess to see in certain synthetic materials that can be successfully combined with pure wool in producting something that by its cheapness will increase the demand for wool and even enhance its value. The “Financial Timet.’’ London, however, points out that the threat, to (lie wool-growing industry offered by the manufactured substitute is in fair way to being brought into perspective. It is no longer a question of a sudden menace like the water from a dam-burst unprovided for and irresistible. “Pastoral countries depending on wool exports for a large part of their income have had full warning and are taking measures to cope with the new’ competition which, in all human probability, will restore a feeling of stability to the industry. If at the same time an enhanced standard of comfort to a greater number of people should result, the threat to wool will not have been an innnixcd evil.’’

The 25 per cent, drop in wool prices compared with a year ago and the expansion in the use of substitute materials are considered and account taken of the comparative stability of sheep population and wool output, vis-a-vis a growing human family or, at any rate, an expanding number coming within the influence of Western civilisation and adopting European dress.

Both sheep totals and wool clips are subject to seasonal influences, and vary considerably from year to year. The production of wool in 1937-38 is about the same as that for each of the two years 1931-32 and 1932-33, though there was a drop to 3,621,000,000 pounds in 1934-35. Flocks are 23,000,000 below 1930-31 at a grand total of 736,500,000. But. it is remarked, .in the United Kingdom no less than in Germany, Italy, and Japan, artificial fibres are being made and used on an ever-grow-ing scale. With important stakes in both fields, the efforts of the wool growers to improve their product, re> duce its cost, and make known its merits are of special interest to Great Britain.

Admitting that the chemical product is cheaper and is being improved by constant research, the pastoralists of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are pursuing two main lines of action. They advocate, in the first place, the conclusion without delay of trading agreements with “anti-im-port’’ countries such as Germany and Italy, to ensure the sale of a minimum quantity of wool on a reciprocity basis, so as to keep the competition of synthetic material within bounds. South Africa has already made such an arrangement with Germany, and Australia. with Japan.

Defensive measures are directed to the retention of a fair share of the textile trade for th natural article in both totalitarian and “free" countries. Research and sales propaganda campaigns in conjunction with the manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, are being undertaken with the object of improving the competitive qualities of wool for all purposes, and keeping its claims constantly before the consumer. So great is the confidence of those concerned in the success of their efforts, that qualified opinion upholds the view that wool may eventually benefit, rather than suffer, from being compelled to joiin forces with synthetic fibres in the make-up of much of the cloth of the future.

Special attention is being devoted to sales promotion. By spreading knowledge of the qualities and possibilities of the qualities of wool among wholesalers and retailers, and holding fashion shows to prove that the claims are well founded, it is hoped to maintain public support and at the same time keep growers and manufacturers in touch with popular taste. If, as has been estimated, an admixture of 25 per cent, artificial fibre enables a 10 per cent, reduction to be made in the price of cloth, the prospect of increased consumption is opened up—in so far as it is governed by cost. The prime necessity in this, us in so many other directions, is an end to the era of disturbed political relations and artificial barrier to trade interchange. On the educational side, the Wool Secretariat is preparing material suitable for lectures to schools, women’s institutes, and so on, describing the staple from its origin on the farms and ranches to the finished stages. Lectures and instructions will be given in knitting, rug-making; and films will be produced covering the subject In its various aspects in ancient and modern times. DRY ING SHEEPSKINS In order to get the bc.n. return from sheepskins they should be properly dried, after painting with an antiweevil wash. Skins should always be dried in the shade and, if possible, under cover from the weather. All that is required is to fold them lengthwise —from head to tail down the middle —and hang them over a rail Do not pack them in a bale berore they are thoroughly dried, as they are liable, when dump, to become milaev.-| ed, green and sometimes rotten. In i packing in the bale skins shoo’d be folded skin to skin, the wool being on I the outside. The bales should not ox-1 ceed 2cwl. in weight and should al-j ways be securely bound, commonly i with id-gauge black wire us used for: ' hay bales. . I i Ou most farms and many stations considerable loss is siifl<-red from , sheepskins being improperly dried. or| through their being allowed to become , infested with weevils. Weevil-eaten I skins are of even less value than those ‘ which have been cut in skinning, tornot only is the pelt destroyed, but the] wool is also damaged, for in order to free it from the pelt it must be "pied” —that is, thrown on a heap to be sweated, with the result that the wool generally becomes discoloured. A good weevil paint or wash can be made as follows- Put eight gallons of

■- — === | water into .i copper with Wil’ of feda j ash Lib P.urh.’does aloes, stir well un-l to baling, then add 151 b ar. uni". The! mixture will boil over like milk feu it I if? advisaiile to have bucket of cold, waor to pour into the copper. one part of this mixture io live oi water is about the right proportion for painting, and care should bo taken to get it. on to all parts of the pelt, aspect; By tin: points and about the neck. 'This mixtio’o is strongly poisonous and heme should bo handled and stored with care. FODDER FROM WOOL' A factory is io be constructed at Regensburg. Bavaria, for the production r.r ea’lle fodder from wood, it | is proposed to deal yearly with laO.uOu ! tors u’f waste wood from sawmills ami ' forests, from which 20,00” tons of carI bo hydrate ; nncentrate will be extract ; ed and converted into in,ooo tons ml ■ eat th- fodder.