FARM and DAIRY

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 16 January 1926, Page 13

FARM and DAIRY

[I NOTES BY THE WAY. 1 Tlio dry season is said 'to bo suiting I tin; lucerne. No doubt, however, the 1 warm weatlior is favourably, but if the 9 dry weather lasted long it was pretty | certain to deteriorate unless it could 2 get down to ample water. | Referring to the sowing of oats with. | lucerne, Mr. Deem said at Maiiaia yes- | terday that lie had seen Mr. Finlay s eight acres of such a mixture, and it was in great form, 3ft Gin high, and not deteriorated by the oats. It was actually an improvement if ensilage was being made, but the land would require manure. Wisdom is shown by a certain number of farmers in seeing to it that they have ample supplies of winter feed. One farmer near Auroa said ho finished the winter with several stacks of hay in hand. Ninety-nine per cent, of the failures of crops in Taranaki, - said an old farmer who crops a great deal, is duo to insufficient working of the ground. Bracken fern is very noticeable this year and it is said to be a great year for the fern. The season apparentlymakes a great difference to its growth. Farmers who in their prudence laid in what they considered was enough fodder to take them well through the winter and a good deal over, found at the end of the season that they,were still short, and many had to buy fodder. With many it is the first time this had happened. One of the most far seeing had actually to buy three stacks, and he had nearly double whir he had put away before. He consid ored that in many cases cows must have been Jiving on air for they had no winter feed and practically no pastures. Lotus Major is said to have been very good this year oh many farms. In tne back country, reports’Mr. Deem, it has also done well, liking the moisture and especially in the experimental plots on various farms arranged by the department mid for which they supplied seed and manures. It would probub'v turn out that there would be a lot of improvement and the practical value .f the experiments proved. They hud supplied fifty tons of manure with won derfu! success. Another, thing the department are proving out is the value of Nauru phosphate. It is hard to dissolve, and therefore results do not follow for a year or two, but after that they are very apparent. For the first year the phosphate is tightly tied pip and only slowly acid soluble. Sulphur will break down the Nauru quicker. This season paddocks shut up early are said to have done really well. The year has been a great one for white clover and pastures generally are good. "Abundant hay at harvest: a bad winter. Small hay at harvest: ea .y winter" is the experience of a farmer who has farmed for a long time. If there are good autumnal rains, they carry the farm through the worst par" of the winter. It is like, said an experienced farm'er, a car getting a lot of momentum on a down grade and lie - ing carried well up the other side bv its own momentum. Reports from the Stratford Demonstration Farm are that il has never looked better, and that feed is over flowing in quantity. The crops, too, are looking really well and growing fast up to maturity. There was an adverse spring, but the autumn lias made up for this. The country -all round and over the district is in great heart, and in some parts they say they have never had such a season.. The hay crops all over the district are reported .to lie ' very plentiful and to have been taken in perfect condition, but they are somewhat light and short. From Auroa. they are said to be light but in great quantity and all saved well. There has been great growth in the lucerne crops, and farmers have made the utmost use of them. Lucerne cut a week ago, or less, ami then cultivated is showing remarkable growth, fully nine iacl les having been secured. A farmer on the Plains wanted a harvest hand and secured a man who said lie could do all classes of work, including use of the mower. The man took on a long job at 2s per hour, but when something turned up which did not please him he just chucked up tli: job at a. moment ’s notice. • .‘‘Everyone is well satisfied and the old show is going along well" was the concluding remark of the president of the Egmont A. arid P. Association at their meeting of stewards and exhibitors just before. Christmas. There were few complaints and exhibitors appeared well satisfied. Farmers from the hinterland behind Hawera report conditions as being excellent, plenty of feed and the land in wonderful heart. One of the settlers out that way has sent stock pack from his land near the coast and thus secured welcome relief. The coast land generally is feeling the.dry weather mo: - ■ than the bush or .partly bush land. The rain of about New Year’s D iv had a very beneficial effect in checking the downward flow of milk supply, especially in the factories a bit away from the coast. There the supply was fairly well maintained and the lovely warm rain of Sunday and Monday lias caused an improvement in the supply. Just after the New Year the effect was vitiated by drying winds, bill there has been an absence of that liscounting agency during the last few days. The excessive Immid ami nmisf j heat is. a'H im lly an a d van I age arid will'.' ■dimuhile growth very iiiiHi. The rain.' •'a* been god-se.m! to Ihe farmers in I 'dew of ihe need for bringing along! >'ouag crops. Cheep and cattie are being sent our! if Hawke’s Bay, , t is reported, in large j ■limbers. Sheep are said to bo sell- j ng . -- 1 abcul six shillings each. Il is! •e purlin I tint bullocks are being Shi].- | ied , ver to the* freezing works or to, Im oleatii'ui. pastures on Inis cii-vst in j ■II - ". - " ! o "hoi-.;. ’Che dry weather i- j eiisin>; funnels much concern. T- uri r- t!;- 1 - uigli the Waikato report, h-t much of the country is badlvj h'.w’ng the effects of the drv spell.. V'.hei-i ver J here are fern-chid hills they re burnt severely. Blit parts of the i oimtrv mired '.’ambridge, To Awamutu! rid Otorohanga are looking really | veil.

The rain lias been most welcome and lias not only checked the drop iu production but has sent it up in some cases. . The pastures have improv «d materially and have naturally become niore palatable to the stock. Packing meat for export was practised many years ago in Wellington, the firm of ,T. and 11. Barber, some of the earliest butchers in the city, carrying on the industry and with very progressive and enterprising spirit, having in connection with the works a tinmaking plant, and works. THE COW’S APPETITE. PALATABLE FEED ESSENTIAL. - Palatable feeds are those which appeal to a. cow’s appetite because of their good taste, writes Wilbur J. Fraser in Hoard’s Dairyman. Unless the feed is palatable, after the real needs of the body are supplied, the cowwill not be tempted to consume it u large enough quantities to stimulate her to high production. Like humans, sh • will eat more well-seasoned and appetising feed than she will dry, tasteless and repulsive feed. It is the stimulation due to tho eating of good, palatable nutritious food, in largo quantities that keeps tho dairy cow at the peak of production. Her appetite is kept on edge, and she is always eager for more feed, which will stimulate her to higher production, and so on until tho very limit of her economic productive capacity is reached. Any increase we can make in the good dairy cow’s consumption of feed by careful selection, preparation and storage will all go to milk making, and will add greatly to the production, and doubly so to the profit. It is often possible to increase the palatability of a feed by simply changing the form in which ‘it is being fed. Maize stalks, for example, are much ; more palatable in the form of silago than dry fodder, while legumes arc more palatable in the form of good, . well-cured hay than in that of silage. By far tho most important and practical wav to increase palatability after s the best possible selection of crops h.i;* been made with reference t’o palatabJity is to use great care in harvesting, curing and storing crops, so that they I will be qf fine quality when they are feci. This is largely accomplished, as far as I hay is concerned, by cutting it at the : proper stage of maturity, and espo- i chilly by proper curing.’ If it is I

allowed to become over-ripe, too great a proportion of woody libre develops, and some, of 1 lie flavour is lost. To have lucerne hay most palatable, . and to get the best quality it must be cut as soon as possible after tho shoots for the next crop start from the crown; not being allowed to go until it is in full bloom. If the hay becomes wet with rain, or bleaches too long in the sun in curing, the green colour, fine flavour and many of the leaves arc shattered off, rendering it much less palatable. Much attention should bi given to cutting maize at the proper stage. If harvested too early it makes unpalatable silage because of the development of too high a degree of acid. If maize is allowed to become t>o mature it makes unpalatable. silage, lacks succulence, and moulds are likely' to form. Any feed that is likely to mould or decay becomes unpalatable, and it is a bad feed.

SOUTHLAND PUREBREDS. STUD FARMS OF A PROVINCE. COMPREHENSIVE STOCK ALBUM. Southland stock breeders and stu 1masters have made a bold and creditable bid for publicity and recognition by the publication of a pamphlet, entitled "Southland: The Stud Farm of the Dominion." The liandoook, which has been published by the Southland Daily News, deals thoroughly and exhaustively with the great wealth of Southland in respect of purebred sto-Vk of all kinds. In the book can bo found particulars of the stud farms on which arc bred sheep, cattle, horses, and dogs. In this little guide to the province’s resources in this respect, the reader is shown the versatility of the southern district in stock breeding, and ho finishes his perusal of the book with a feeling that Southland is surely the home—or one of the homes—of purebred stock raising. It matters nor what class of cattle, horses, or sheep are mentioned, all are bred and bred successfully in the far-south province, whose fame m this direction deserves the boast which this manual seeks to supply. Southland breeders are to be congratulated upon the work already accomplished in connection with one of the Dominion’s greatest problems—the improvement of the country’s standard of Jive stock of ail descriptions. Ail interested in purebred stock breeding will find much valuable information and a. hearty welcome to inspect -Southland’s stud farms within its pages. It. is more, than surprising tlm wide held which Southland’s breeding activities cover, and North Island and many southern visitors also will find in this well made up advertisement a convincing statement, of tfic position of live-stock breeding iu| Southland. I

SIMPLE PIG RATIONS.

The diversity of pig rations is apt to confuse the beginner. But pig feeding is a fairly simple process once you get accustomed to it. Potatoes, turnips and swedes, etc., milling offals and cheap grain and meals, separated' milk, whey and household scrajos make up the average bill of

fare for the pigs. A very common ration, and one whi -b seems to pay well for a growing pig, is one gallon of separated milk, 31b of potatoes, 41b of barley or maize meal, and a little sharps or bran. Divided into three meals and fed to pigs of about 801 b in weight, it is calculated that a dietary -ko this should bring about 21b a day of an increase in the

weight of the pigs. No hard-and-fast rule as to the constituents of the ration can be adopted, for meals will be found to vary m price per food unit from time to time. Ground oats may partly replace barley or maize meal, and they improve the quality of the pork, more es'peciaPv when potatoes are fed as part of the 'dietary.

Nothing is gained by cooking meals for pigs. Potatoes and roots may, how. ever, be boiled; but they should be washed and scrubbed. Cooking makes the food a little more palatable; and there is no doubt that the growing pig assimilates cooked or moistened food more easily than dried material; but roots, if pulped, can be fed raw, and meals soaked in hot water arc quite as good as boiled foods. Dry feeding in cold weather would be preferable to the feeding of ice-cold | slops. Meals may be soaked in cold water 12 to 24 hours, but in cold weather the chill should be taken off by the addition of hot water. KAIPARA DAIRYING. Satisfactory improvement in tho ■ dairy herds of the Kaipara is indicated by the returns of the Kaipara Dairy Company’s Cow-testing Association for December. During last month the average return from the 14G9 cows 'tested was 8271 b of milk, giving an average return of 34.081 b of butter-fat, compared with an average butter-fat return of 3?.041b from 1344 cows tested during December, 1924. The highest' herd return was from 41 cows, which averaged 87Glb of milk, giving an average return of 45.7611 b of butter-fat. The lowest herd return was from 44 cows, which averaged 6151 b of milk for an average butter-fat return of 21.401 b.

'riie highest individual return was 1.7151 b of milk with a test of 5.4, gi ing a. return of 93.34J6 of butter-fat. 'l’lie lowest individual return was 345 lb of milk, which gave 1.1.381 bof butter-fat.

THE COUNTRY IN CANTERBURY.

A country correspondent of the Press writes: The year 1925 was a very difficult one for the farming community, and the results have -yet to be faced. Crops were put in with the greatest difficulty, and under bad conditions aw-

ing to the unusually long spell of heavy rain. Worst of all, the wet weather was followed by inonths of dry weather, which caked the soil, and checked all development. November and December were especially bad in this re-

spect, and it is on these months that so much depends in cropping. The results are evident on all sides, in light if not extremely poor crops. One farmer in this district went into a crop of Algerian oat? last week, and after cutting for a whole day with a seven-foot binder found that he had used only two balls of twine. This speaks for itself as to the -.igiitness of the crop, and although it may be an exceptional case, still, on an average, it is estimated 'that only about one-third of last year's crop wnl be harvested. Some fair wheat,crops are to be seen, but they need rain' badly. It was unfortunate that this district did not'ge* the heavy rain that was fairly general at New Year time. The weather st present is good for- stripping, and although the crops are not heavy, the quality of the seed seems good. Grass - pad docks are simply burnt up, and rape, too, is suffering from drought. Killing lias at last begun at the works, but there is a great rush for space, and it will be impossible to kill immediately the great number of lambs that are now ready. Many farmers are dissatisfied with the prices offered fer lamb this season, apd in this district there is an inclination on tne part of many to ship on their own account. The rainfall for December, 1925, was 1 inch 92 points, against 3 inches S(J points for December of 1924. Rain fell on seven days, the highest being on the 1 -night of December 30, when 70 points fell. The rainfall for the year 192 j was 37 inches 83 points, while for 1924 it was 27 inches io points. The maximum fall during 1925 was on April 16, when 4 inches 55 points fell. ' LLOYD GEORGE’S LAND CAMPAIGN ' -Y Recent .cables'-' Stated that an acute position had arisen in the Liberal party over Mr. Lloyd George’s landproposals, which are largely those of Sir Alfred Mond. The Centri Prcvs show a picture of Mr. Lloyd George and Sir Alfred leaving for London to open the campaign for land reform.