FARM and DAIRY

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 28 March 1925, Page 11

FARM and DAIRY

NOTES BY THE WAY, An indication of the particularly favourable season just passed was given by a . witness in the. sheep case, who said that last year he had flamed op the whole of his farm, but this year he had so much feed he did not know how to feed it down, and consequently had room and feed for some sheep.

Aiifl this aspect of dairy farming was stressed byf others of long experience, , Who said that ewes in lamb should do better on a dairy farm than anywhere else, because of the good pasture. The cows tppk all the rough pasturage and left the fine grass for the sheep.

‘‘vSonie of the settlers in our district ligve peciiliar views. I heard some say that they did not want a metalled road because they would, have to get their horses shod!” said a J* ilk,Patna settler recently (says the Waipa Post).

Canterbury hqs not in -the past been looked an as strong in dairying, but lecentlv a correspondent to the Press remarked on a run in the neighbourhood of Christchurch, that on some pf the Ellesmere farms one may notice herds of eighty cows, ready to he turned into their pastures after heing milked.

It is of interest to note that. reclaiming of lan.d from the ocean for farming is being carried out in various pafts of England. A design made -by scientists shows that erosion is going on in England and Wales, which are gradually rising, whjle the reverse is the ease in Scotland, The plan shows a submerged forest in the Forth of Clyde.

It has been said,” says a scientist,

'•that the greatest benefactor of mankind is he who makes two blades of grass grow at the place where formerly there grew but one. But [ would like to point out that a greater benefactor of mankind is he who takes measures to prevent any kind of living thing being exterminated.”'

dairy far.mind returns

STRIKING FIGURES

Prom one of the oldest settlers on the Plains come the following details of returns from a farm of 150 acres, all in grass but a few acres for cropping, for the season 1923-24: —75 cows average 00011)$ fat—-a total of 21,5001 b fat. The land was milked on shares, and no calves were sold. About 40 pigs were sold, all ton weight and classed prime. They were bought as stores and wintered on a few mangolds and carrots, being given the run of three acres of grass. They had not a particle of any other food but whey and any milk from cows just calved. Less than an acre was ploughed for mangolds, and three acres for soft turnips—these, however, rotted and were consequently useless. The cows were well fed on hay and ensilage and of these half the stack of hay was left, and a quarter of the ensilage. The total made ok .these two was from 27 acres of grass half of each. No cows were grazed off the farm, and the manure used on the pastures and crops was half a ton. ,One cow'died, end all culls were sold as fats, except two, and these were replaced by heifers and cows averaging .-65. 10s. The cows are not of any special'breed. In addition to the dairy stock and pigs, there are four horses on' the farm. The land is good, as would be expected from the figures quoted, but it has been daii'iecl for thirty years. The figures will, it. is hoped, prove interesting as showing what can be taken off the plains land.

FARM VALUES. Working out the actual value for farming purposes of land, a Southland dairy farmer nuts the question in a very r>lain cpinmpnsepse way. The method is sound, although values sound very low to the average/ Taranaki farmer. The writer sayS:—“-New we can approach the vital question : What is the true value of a farm? I believe that the .answer is: The value pf the living that can be produced op it. The returns from a 101)-acre farm with good pasture, valued at £ls per acre, can be estimated; in the following manner; — Carrying capacity, four acres to the cow. (T am not taking £4O per acre land, which some people expert to -carry a cow to- every two acres, being frequently disappointed.) “Working, then, on the basis of four acres to the cow, you get a carrying capacity of twenty-five cows pro-

ducing 1761 b. of butter-fat (the average for New Zealand), which, at Is 6d per lb.; represents £l3 4s per cow, or a total of £33o' for the season. Add to- that £3O for calves and pigs, and you get a total of £363. "Now take the expenditure side of the business: Interest on £ls per .acre at 6 per cent., £9O; interest on j current account, twenty-five cows at £9 per cow, £225 at 8 per cent,, £18; insurance, rates, and taxes £2O; living expenses for a married man, £125; benzine for machines, £ls; blacksmith, £10; saddles, horse covers, etc., £7, fences, gates, etc., £10; seeds, oats, and manure (seven acres), £10; twenty acres grassed (manure and seed). £4O; twenty acres turnips (manure and seed, etc.), £4O; lime. £10; total, £395. “The farmer’s labour has not. been included. The statement is, nevertheless, 1 consider a fair statement of what an average 100-acre farm produces, . and the expenses attached to it. Anyone of experience can see that the farm would be too dear at £lO. Its true value would have been £5 per acre, and the necessary expenditure of £5 per acre would haye brought the improved value up to £lO. What J have given you is, I believe, a very fair account of the position of many of our dairy farms in Southland to-dav.”

N.Z. BUTTER. AND CHEESE. NEED FOR, GREATE.J PUBLICITY. OPINIONS OF HAWERA RESIDENT. One of the things, that interested members of the All Blacks.’ official party, in the multiplicity of afctnaetioius incident to such a. tour, was that oil' the disposal of the dairy produce" of the Dominion. They were naturally keen to see.—especially those who hailed from Taranaki —whether the butter and cheese \va.s generally and easily available to the people of the Old Country.

Mr, B. O. Bennett was one of those .keenly desirous, of seeing the cornel itiomsi ruling, .and; he- staid, in. reply to a query from a Star representative, that he was disappointed not to see more of it om .sale and easily obtuinlable as New Zealand produce. He said that, in some shopsi it was. displayed, but that it looked as if put up for the occasion and not a.s the general rule.. He wa« convinced much more emild be done apd was nereissiary before the. produce of the Dominion took its. rightfull place. He said he did not know if the Control Rbard would he able to effect the revolution, required, but he hoped that such would be the. ease. There* was an. urgent need for much mo’-e publicity. He hope.d. and indeed was certain, the Visit of the team would have a valuable influence in. that direction. Tt "erbainly had done much more than Wembley. NEW ZEALAND NOT KNOWN ENOUGH.

POPULARISE THE DOMINION. A campus instance of a want of knowledge of New Zealand came to Mr Bennett's personal notice. Just after one of the matches 'in London, the party were on the way to their quarters when their .char-a-banc broke down. While waiting for a, bus, Mr. Bennett heard la question asked about the players, and a policeman give the reply about their being some foreigners. He felt impelled -to take a hand apd went on to tell them something of this, Dominion, and emphasised the fact .that .so much of thei butter, cheese) and meat for the met.roplois came from. New‘Zealand. The result to him. was as. surprising as it was unexpected. No. lets than fiv.e of the bystanders made themselves known to him ,as New Zealanders, and one knew .something of Haw;era.

DAfRY PRODUCE. INTERESTING FIGURES. Output, in tons of dairy companies aroirml Rawera. fop season 1923-24. Company. Butter Cheese A carat a 8 206 Rawera 534 - 1365 Joll 00 3114 Knponga 16 1020 Kauipnkonui SI 2866 Manutahi 31 360 Mel Is 10 640 Melrose 2 216 ' Meremere 0 276 Normanby 12 674 Hi venial e 51 853 Total 553 11,497

FARMERS’ SCIiOOLS. Some few years ago the idea was conceived by the Agricultural Department to institute .courses of lectures and demonstrations by experts, to which an open invitation was given to farmers. It wps felt that this was an excellent scheme by which theory could be combined with practice, to the advantage of all who attended. The scheme was tried out in one or two centres, and proved an outstanding success. It spread to Taranaki, and the request for a school two years ago was granted, a week each year being devoted to classes at Stratfoid. Last year a similar request, was made from the district round Hawera, and though this was sympathetically received by the Department, they aery unable to make arrangements to have the classes because it was very late when the request was received. If this district is anxious to have a school instituted foi this year application must be made without delay. There is no doubt at all farmers gained much knowledge from the classes which they could apply in the course of their daily work, and which would be of undoubted value to them individually, and through them to. the farming industry. -Since the first school wa.s held the scheme has widened much in scope, and last year a. greater variety of subjects was dealt with, 'lhe interest shown by the farmers was very great, and in the north especially the numbers attending increased very materially. The schools are held at the slack period of the year, and therefore every facility to attend is given by the Department. The arrangements are now being made for the year. If this district is still keen to have classes, early application must be made, or they will be shut out as they were last year. The Farmers’ Union are the body to take up the matter. It will be a useful institution for the whole district. We urge then"! to act at once.

PIGS AND LUCERNE. It is a well-known and acknowledged fact that pigs do not do so well in a cheese-making district a.s in a butter area, the reason being of course that whey is no food compared with skim milk. A man of large experience in the pig industry emphasised in some remarks on the subject generally. He said that the whey fed pigs looked wel| and big and had a good coat. But. he added, there is a large amount of shrinkage. In a large number of eases the pigs were not well, finished off. It was a problem for the ’farmer, because with pollard at such a high figure, jt was difficult to make the pig pay at the price ruling. But one fodcle’r of which much more use could he made is lucerne. In America it is used largely, a,s also are green oats and millet. They give excellent- results and give the.pig great condition. The pig is hurdled off on a small area and given as much whey as it can drink. Farmers would he well advised to try one of the fodders mentioned if they have not already done so. 'These fodders have been proved out in the States.

WHANGAREI

FARM LAND RECLAIMED

A special correspondent of the Auckland Herald writing of the Whangarei Harbour Works says inter"alia: —"A feature of the harbour works which specially appealed to me is not directly associated with either navigation or naval interests, it is associated altogether with agriculture, and is concerned with the reclamation of the extensive tidal flats in this district by the simple work of hanking. I visited ,i block of 75 acres between Limeburnars Creek and the Whangnrei-Kioreroa railway which had been surrounded by bapks and kept free from tidal water or some years. About eighteen months ago it • was roughly ploughed, and ' a eiv plots of grasses, clovers, and lucerne sown, without manure. Cow grass, cocksfoot, timothy, and other varieties are growing luxuriantly, and ne lucerne is particularly strong. The soil is a mixture of dried' sea mud and pipi shejls. and is not considered equal ,o some of the other flats in fertility, nit the luxuriant growth suggests that t is fertile enough for first-class dairying pasture, and to my'mind if. fertile enough for heavy farm crop growing, or even for market-gardening, but so new is the use of this class of land that although it has excellent water communication, with Whangarei it- is not. being utilised. 'There are two or.three other areas practically ready -Or occupation, and since their soils consist of the washings from basaltic lavas, c.rystaline limestones’ plus sea rnud and .accumulations of decomposed Crustacea add other marine life, they should he exceedingly fertile. I have during the past years drawn attention frequently to the* great possibilities before the reclamation of tidal flats in North Auckland. No other portion of New Zealand possesses'.such vast areas of land so easily won from .he tide,’ From the upper parts of the \Vai tenia ta on every harbour and estuary, right up to the eastern side o' the peninsula to Houhora, and down the east coast to Manukaii, there arc great flats only covered by a foot or two of water at high tide. By the simple process of banking out the tides and making drains to carry off tail* >.nd other waters during the time when the tide outside the banks is heiow the level of the outlets, this class of land can he easily turned to farming purposes. It grows grasses and most'root crops exceptionally well, and as a general rule is easily worked. In the aggregate there must he some hundreds of thousands of acres of- this class of soil, in North Auckland alone, and a great extent in other parts of the Dominion, and its importance warrants the attention of the State. At the mouth of the Manawatu R.iver, near Eoxton, some of the spartina varieties of grass have been established, and ap pear to be doing well. ■»'This grass produces good stock feed, and will grow even when covered daily with the tide, so that where conditions are favourable no banking is required, and since the grass when established encourages the accumulation of silt, it in time raises the level of tidal flats and- at the same time prevents erosion.’

DANISH METHODS. An Australian returned from a visit to Europe writes to the Sydney Morning Herald his ‘observations and impressions of (among other matters) the Danish method of co-operative dairying. The following are a few extracts from his article: (1) As to standardisation of butter.* the butter of the Danes is standardised. There is no ‘‘cheap,” “middle,” or “dear.” If it is not up to standard it is not put ori the market It is said that a Dane may he slim over a horse deal and may murder his mother-in-.nw, hut he “may not adfilterate, butter.”

(2) As to trading methods, the Danish farmers have long been accustomed to manage their village communities in common and, having learnt to trust one another, it was just a stage further t'o adapt the idea of. co-operation to their buying and selling transactions. While some nations tried to undercut , their neighbours in the world’s iharkets by lowering prices, ihe

Dane succeeded by improving tbe quality. Ibis meant, that'more labour and better-priced labour was used. (3) As to aim in education, the Danes have succeeded in making tbe work of tbe mail and woman on'the and interesting, j There are about 70 high schools, which concern themselves with the teaching of history, music, poetry, art, other countries, and the. lives of the great. Their purpose is not to teach the minds to earn a living, but to' teach them how to live

i life of culture while doing so. One teacher said : “We teach them so : l >f‘ they can lie partners in the highest life.” The teachers say to their pupils, "Honour physical labour; know your rade well, ainj put your brains into it; never neglect your intellectual development.’''

With this conception in mind, the Danish farmer idealises his work, and makes' it both pleasant and profitable.

DAIRYING IX NEW ZEALAND. VIEWS OF DANISH EXTORT. ADVICE TO PRODUCERS. With’ the object of obtaining some expressions of the opinion regarding Die dairy industry in tlie Dominion, an Otago Daily Times reporter had a eh aL recently with Air. Peter Hansen, the well-known dairy expert from Denmark, who is at present on a visit, to Dunedin. TJve opinion of such an'expert, who has practical as well as scientific knowledge of the subject is invaluable to the dairy farmer who is prepared to oenefit bv the advice given. JVJr. Hansen said he was tired of hearing the complaints of farmers, who a ere accustomed to blame the Government, the land laws, taxation, and tire cows for their failure to make a success of the dairy industry. He had come ,co the conclusion that the chief fault lies with the farmers themselves and their method of working the farms, in the first place, lie said, sufficient attention was not being given to the agricultural side of dairying, and the plough was not kept going to ensure that, an adequate amount of feed was raised for the stock. One of the most essential points in connection with the production of milk was a good supply of fodder. On many farms turnips were exclusively used for feeding cattle in the winter. This method was entirely wrong. He would strongly advise farmers on small holdings to grow hay, and instead of putting a brake in the paddock they should cart the turnips to a place where the cows might lie fed on both turnips and hay. The addition of salt to the haystack would ensure that the hay would open out sweet and clean. About 41b nr olb of ordinary salt should be sprinkled on the hay every 4ft or oft as the stack grew. Salt had the effect of making the liny more palatable, and was essential to the health of the cows. v AIr. Hansen .contends that it is onl.v h.V close application to work that the dairy farmer can succeed. He said that in both England and Denmark the clever son in a family was generally taught the higher branches of agriculture, but in New Zealand he usually went to the and was taught atrade or profession, with the result that farming had suffered to a great extent. Drain work was ' required to innke a success of farming, .and, the .farmers should use every endeavour to keep their sons on the farni. Unfortunately in New Zealand too much attention was devoted to football, racing, and other sports, while little or no interest was taken in the matter of farming generally or dairy production. To make a success of dairying the farmers must take it up in a national spirit. Unless this was done New Zealand would certainly lag behind and other countries, such as the Argentine and Siberia, would come to the fore. These countries would in the course of time become' serious competitors jn the production of tjairv produce, and it was essential that the farmers in New Zealand should adopt more intensive methods. From' a climatic point o:. view New Zealand bad every facility, and it rested entirely with the farmers whether the industry’ would he a success or otherwise. |

Let absolute cleanliness he the watch, word of tiie farming communities, said Mr. Hansen, who went on to state that lie had inspected several cheese and butter factories in the Dominion. As the result of his inspection he had come to the conclusion that the factories were doing their utmost to produce a dean and pipe article.. The chief fault lay with the people who handled the material before it reached the factories, and if the success of the industry wSoto be maintained it was absolutely essential. that the milk and cream should be in a pure and wholesome condition when it reached the factories. Mr. Hansen mentioned that he was surprised that more attention was not given to the pig industry, which is a great asset to the dairy industry as a side line, especially where the milk is separated on the farm. CARE AND HANDLING OF THE 1 SEPARATOR. Mr. Hansen went on to refer to the fare and handling of the separator. He said that the separator played .a very important part on the dairy fann or mixed farm troni which cream was sent to the creamery, or where butte.was made at home. He had often come across faimers who did not appear to consider it worth while to look after their machines properly. A farmer could easily Lose a lot of profit if he did not understand the working of ins separator, and did not realise the importance of keeping it thoroughly clean, (here were, of course, several makes ol separator on the market, and which was the -best was not for him to say through the press. /The separator should, if it was convenient, be placed in a room by itself adjoining .the engine room. It might not always be handy to do tbjs,- however, and so’long, as everything was kept clean round the separator no harm was done. Before separating was started hot water should always be put through 'the disc, of the separator, but speed should always be got up first, ‘if there wa s a friction clutch on the shaft where the starting handle should have been the wheel on the clutch should he turned slowly until the separator had attained the correct speed. ‘ When the milk con-, tainer was full the tap leading to the separator should lie turned on slowly. The bowl would become perfectly balanced on the spindle if the 'machine was in proper running order. The skimming of the milk that had been distributed between the discs took plpce in such a manner that the centrirugal force and the inertia were neutralised. The former forced the cream towards the centre, and the bitter made it move in the direction in which the howl was rotating; The effect of these two forces combined was that the cream moved towards the centre of the bowl in adireotjon which forced it to move forward towards the upper hole above the cream screw. Sometimes cream might be found on the skim milk, but that might, be due to the milk being too cold, or it might be caused by the separator not being run at. full speed, Or again jt might be that the bowl wanted raising. The cream exits should be at least 1-Sin above the cream spout. Tt might be found necessary fb, replace some of the old discs frith hew ones,

or add one or two more discs niter a separator hail been working tor a time. ■When discs were being ptaced on the disc holder . they should not be iorced on. They were always made to lit m a certain way before they left the factory where they were made. The best separator oil procurable should be used for lubrication. The separator should be placed on a strong block, made of concrete, if possible, so that there w0..1d be no shaking whatever. In some makes of separator, if thinner cream was desired it was obtained by turning the separator screw in, and if thicker was wanted the screw could Ire turned oul. In other makes the same results might be obtained by the opposite process, in the majority of machines the lubrication was set to give eight or ten drops of oil per minute. It had been proved that it was quite sufficient for the bowl to receive that amount on the spindle during the operation of the machine, ft should be fully recognised that the farmer must know, and care for his separator, as he would for any other machine on the farm. Special emphasis should he laid on the necessity for thoroughly washing the separator every time it was used—not just once a day, as was frequently the practice, ft w:u only by paying strict attention to this important detail that superiine cream could be produced.

THE BREEDING AND SELECTION up dairy cattle.

This is a subject that has been discussed from every angle during the past some hundreds of years that the dairy industry has been considered or importance. Although there are phases of the subject little understood by the average farmer and dairyman, and of no practical value or importance to them, there is room for a great, deal of thought on the factors that effect the everyday rainier, and which, in many cases, are more responsible for his success or lack of success, as the'-ease may be, than the actual fare of the caitle he has, or other farm problems to which a great deal of thought is given. l'or instance, the failure to use good seed, an unwise decision in the planting of a certain field, -improper cultivation of same or failure through neglect to properly combat an insect pest, would not necessarily affect aplarmer from an already estaolished herd, allow, failure to provide a proper sire, the careless purchase of a herd, or failure to weed out the undesirable individuals for an already established herd, allowing them to spread progeny or worthless profit-eaters, could affect the farm income for years and actually mean the difference: between success and failure where, a- fair sized herd is kept. ►Since the purpose of a dairy cow is to produce milk and butter, principal iy from hay, grasses and other forms of rough feeds unfit for human consumption, the most important point to be considered in her selection is an evident ability to consume large amounts ol these feeds, the indication being commonly referred to as feeding capacity. The beef type animal may also possess the quality, but may always be distinguished by the blockiness of the bone structure, the inclination, to distribute a great amount of flesh over the body, and the lack of mammary development and the active,- nervous temperament which generally characterises the dairy animal. The mammary system, which includes the udder and veining, may not always indicate to the casual observer the tall producing- powers of the cow, because of improper developmeiit from lack of ieea or attention, in every life, or because of an inherited quality of compactness. However, a good-sized udder, covered j ov a pliable skin of fine texture, heavy ! tortuous milk veins, accompanied bj thin, widespning thighs,' sharp, thin withers and lean rather long neck, are always unmistakable evidences of heavy productive powers, and never of anything ei.se. Third, and of great importance, come constitution, which, in short words, is capacity plus a strong heart and lungs as indicated by a great depth of hotly just behind the forelegs, plus high circulation, which js reflected in active movements, brightness of eye and a satisfactory condition of skin and hair. Therefore it is well to remember inthe selection of dairy cattle to always be shy of- the rather leggy “pinchwaisted” animal, which lacks capacity and costitution, the dull-eyed, listless droopy animal lacking in dairy temperament, or the thick shouldered, fieavv fleshing one or the beef type, anct most surely, the cow showing no mammary development.

Under the study of breeding comes the quality' known as dairy 'temperament orCthe predisposition to use all feeds above the amount required for body maintenance for the economical production of milk and butter, and generally, a quality carried by inheritance through many generations. The transmission and maintainanee of all the, above mentioned characteristics must necessarily, come through the use of a good sire,* the selection of which is of-the utmost importance. 1 Taking for granted that he carries production, the sire should, first of all he of decided masculine appearance, and bearing -qualities which, always precede the ability to stamp his get. He should also conform as nearly as possible 'to the requirements set forth for the particular breed represented, the first requisite always being individual vigour us reflected in a strong, straight topline, deep heart-girth and heavy, wellsprung ribs, heavy frame and good length from hin to spine bone. Other points of slightly lesser importance are well placed rudi'mentaries, rather short head with prominent eyes, etc. Of very great importance of course, is the inheritance carried for both type and production. Care should always be taken to see that the dam is not only of good lype. but that she has an authenticated record for production, covering no less than ten months of continuous milking, and that there are no less than two generations of good producers on the side of both sire and dam. Study your cows and your herd si.e until you can visualise the cattle you will own to-morrow; feed intebingentl.v ; cull incessantly, and the dairy cow will build your bank account and bless you for the chance to fulfill her destiny.— Jersey Bulletin.

STIEEP FAR,MING

FACTS AND OPINIONS

A great number of points concerning the working of sheep farms, the buying and rearing- of sheep, were given in the sheep-dealing ease last week. It was a case of very considerable interest to’ the farmers, and created quite a lot of discussion.

The, case revolved round the breed of" Southdown rams and the early fat lamb trade, acknowledged •by farmers to lie one of the most profitable, ft, however, makes one wonder whether too many lambs have' not been exported lor the ultimate good of the farmer and the country.

A point emphasised by several experts was that, with the Southdown, more perhaps than with any other breed of stock, the dominant type- is derived from the sire. The features of the breed are very strongly marked in the prog-

eny, no matter what cross of line is used. The close short wool, rotund compact body, in addition to the colour of face and legs, are always very prominent. . They were the ideal type for fattening early for the English trade, and were verv much sought after at Home. Some more interesting points in heredity, were brought out. One witness stated that the three-quarterbred Southdown would still tend to throw the tvpieal feature of. the blnekiace, but might show more of the other breed if the ewe was a crossbred. The purebred Southdown ram was very strong in type. “You can’t get the weight in lambs for the English market unless you use the Southdown ram and get the lambs early,” said a witness. The Southdown have, if well farmed, a higher nereentage of lambing than any other* breed. In lf>23, said one witness, the average on the coast was 1.20 per cent., and that was considered not nearly as good as some years. They often go up to lot) per cent. “Nothing tried gives such a good percentage as the blackface ram,” was the summing up of a farmer of long experience. The crossing with tin* Southdown rains always gave the brown or grey lace and legs, no matter what ewe was used. As a general, rule the purebred was used, but occasionally the threequarter, and practically never the halfbred . .

The reason for the,fact that the Romney is no good for fats is that, according to an expert farmer, the Romney “was always growing instead of putting on condition.” The value of a good mother sheep was stressed strongly. “The Roinney-T-jincoln cross makes the best mother,” said a farmer of many year’s experience, “because for one very good reason she is a better milker than,any other.”

The vagaries of heredity in the animal world came in for notice on several occasions in the remarks of farmers. The throw back to a previous strain or type is well known to men engaged in breeding any type of stockThe difference in the matter of breeding in cattle and sheep was put well by ,the Magistrate, when he said that cows in calf were on a quite different footing to ewes in lamb. The former were dealt with individually, the latter in the flock.

What he described as a curious phenomenon was mentioned by .counsel He said it was reported as having hap. pened in a niimber of places, that rams put in with the ewes had had an idle spell of three weeks in the middle of the time they were in the paddocks. A witness suggested that dipping might have that result, or it might happen in a very dry spell.

FORESTRY AND TAXATION. v Writes a correspondent in the Auckland Star on this subject: —“I made notes recently on a tour through France, England, Australia and New Zealand which may be of value to those interested in forestry. First let me write of the immense pine forests of France near Bordeaux. 1 Here the Maritime pine called by the French the tree of gold, reigns supreme. .Thanks to the genius and patriotism of' Bremontier the sand dunes on the French coast south of the Garonne have been transformed from waste to. a land of health, wealth and beauty. These great forests near Bordeaux, comprising nearly two million acres, are of untold value. They produce timber, resin and turpentine/ England takes 1030 tons of pit prop's per day. Immense quantities of this pine are used by Paris to clothe her streets. Visits to the State forests of England and Australia add proof to the value of the Maritime pine. Obesrvations made at Rotorua and in this country north of Auckland show that no tree 'equals the Maritime pine in its power of regeneration under natural conditions. Compared with pinus insignis and other pines the cones open more freely and thus rapidity of regeneration is secured. At Rotorua can be seen clumps of Maritime pine which have spread by nature and crushed out the thick-growing manuka. The North Auckland peninsula and Coromandel, by reason of accessible harbours, sheltered valleys, cheap land, and climatic conditions are destined to lie the great timber-producing lands of New Zealand. Here on the vast tracks of land Nature calls out:' “These hills grow trees, not grass.” The chief enemies ofi forest are fires and unjust taxation. The open spaces of the North will never regain their wealth of timber and hum with life until further drastic reductions in local taxation on forest lands are made by which now levies on the unimproved legislation Take the Rodney county value a rate of no less than three pennies and one-eighth of a penny in the £. On a block cjf 5000 acres this means an annual tax in county rates of £6o. Pay this tax for, sav 30 years, add interest, and a simple calculation will show the immense-sum claimed bv a county council, whose functions are limited to roads and bridges. Such a rate is an absolute bar to progress.

North Auckland will never come into its own until taxation on lands planted by man is reduced to an amount that will encourage development.”

1L LUSTR ATION FARMS

C A NADIA N S.N TISRPR icSE

•‘lllustration Stations,” as they are termed, have been inaugurated in Canada, by means of which some, 12.5 of the experimental farms are linked up with the farmers of Canada.. They have been established in the various provinces in order to demonstrate the usefulness and'the increased monetary returns accruing from the adoption of those practices recommended by the investigational. divisions and research of the experimental stations. The method of procedure is to rent from a representative farmer a portion of his. land, on which, under the direction of the division in charge, he undertakes to grow the best varieties of crops, and to follow the fertilising and cultural practices as determined by the work of years j on the experimental farms. These stations are visited regularly by a.trained | agriculturist, and frequently by the I superindendent of, the nearest experimental farm. As an illustration, varieties of crops recommended by the nearest experimental farm as * best suited to local conditions of soil and climate are grown on the illustration stations, and the seed thus produced is available to the farmers in the district served, at reasonable prices, During 1823, the operators of stations sold 18,_ J 782 bushels of grain for seed, 712b1b. I of clover and timothy seed, and 2231 j bushels of certified seed potatoes. j In one district of Queliec, where an illustration farm had been established, a clover-seed growers’ club was formed, and during the four years, 1919-1922, the members of this club produced, in addition to seed required for tlieir own use, a surplus which brought in a cash revenue of between fifty and sixty thousand dollars. Again, on illustration farms in, districts where few or no si left are in use, silos have l>een erected, and the value of corn,, sunflowers, of mixed crops, as ensilage, has been demons [rated. Large quantities of disease-

free potatoes are grown on these stations, and tests are conducted on. other parts’ of the farm with selected or unselected seed planted side by side for comparison. It cannot he urged that, in Canada, research is divorced front practice, for everything is being dpne to give the farmer the immediate benefits of scientiac investigation arid, what is more, he seems readily to appreciate their vame. Signs are placed aiong the highway drawing attention to llte varieties of crops being groan, lertilisers used, rotations followed, etc., and held meetings of farmers in tiie district are held on the stations during the growing season, when details telative to the production of the diner, ent crops, the varieties of grain, glasses, and clover being grown, preparation of the soil, rates of seeding, etc., are discussed. In this , way many of the results of the work conducted on the Dominion experimental farms are brought to the attention of the larmers in their own di>;ric(s.