FARM and DAIRY

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 17 April 1926, Page 14

FARM and DAIRY

NOTES BY THE WAY. This year appears to have been an unusually favourable season for noxious weedfe, and the giowth and spread of them, not only on the poorer land held in large areas, but on the good, rich lands, such as make up the bulk of South Taranaki. Men cognisant of the conditions generally affirm that the season has seen a prolific growth of the tern which, when the land was in its primitive state, was one of the natural growths. This is seen very markedly in the boxthorn hedges in many parts, where the grow th has been' so great during the fast year or two that the boxthorn has been completely overgrown. In one place the owner has set fire to it — very unwisely, one would think, for the result is a blackened mass of tangled ,rrowtli, good for nothing, and probably n°edino a replanting of the boxthorn.

During the. present month there are many important items on the farm that should receive careful attention, one of the. principal ones being the. autumn grass sowing. Those anticipating laying down, pastures should study the position in the rotation, tlie nature or the land and climatic conditions, an 1 the kind of seed sown, whether for a short period, or for a permanent pas t.ure, or whether it. is to be sown with a catch crop or sown by itself. When the grass is to follow a succession of exhaustive crops, such as cereals, it is advisable, if not essential, to add a liberal dressing of artificial manure, otherwise, unless the land is of a very strong nature, the grass will grow more or less stunted.

Entomology experiments 1 are being conducted on the control of blackberry and ragwort, mealy bug, pear slug, cot tony cushion scale, and oak. scale at the Can-thorn Institute by means of their natural enemies. A large consignment, of Canadian green lacewings has been received, and! from their eggs a. number of adults have been reared. If this laeewing can be established it will be a valuable check to many kinds of aphis, including the- aphides of the pine plantations. -This type of work is beset with difficulties,' and it seems certain that some of the most valuable insects will only be successfully established after repeated trials. Letters of appreciation of the excellent work accomplished by aphelions mali continue to be received.

Though the cultivation of the soil for oats is simple to those who understand practical farming, there are unfortunately large areas of crops sown each season in a more or less rough-and-ready way, resulting in a disappointing yield, while the land, after the crop is taken off, is left, in a bad state for the following crop. On the other hand, land: that is properly prepared for a crop will’ not only produce a higher yield, but- will be left cleaner and. more fertile, and in every way in a better state for the, crop to follow. The first essential in the preparation of the land for. any crops is to have the soil well tilled, as tillage encourages the. right kind of bacteria, and- the fertility of a soil depends largely upon its bacteria population. The more the land is cultivated the more this microbic. life is encouraged to multiply and’ work, and the greater will be the fertility of the soil.

The application of a dressing of basic slag has the valuable effect of increasing not only the bulk of the yield- and the quality of the grass, the latter being of really more import aiice than the former.- It has beer shown that one ton of hay from u slagged, plot has a considerably higher feeding value than one ton of hay from an unslagged' plot, and it follows that the feeding value of herbage on a slagged, field has -a. substantially higher value than the same weight of hay from a field which has not received l a dressing.

Correctly speaking, the tilling of the soil isi an art rather than a science.

Potatoes are somewhat greedy, but seldom take out of the ground so much, of the preparatory manuring as is put in. To attempt to grow good, clean fruit, unless the most stringent means are takep to control, and, if possible, eradicate all diseases, is futile.

Maize meal is a splendid fattener of pigs, but it should not exceed 30 per cent, of the ration, otherwise the quality of the pork will be inferior.

The farmer must start with a good pig, so bred as to be capable of rapid growth and of the right type required by the bacon curer. Management comes next in order of importance.

Meat buyers for export have been busy, though hardly so adventurous as last season, and each of the freezing works hhs 1 been putting through from 2000 to 3000 sheep and lambs a day.

A fact that every reader may not be aware of is that herbs after being cut should be dried quickly in order to preserve the green colours of the leaves, and to retain their freshness and flavour.

The best fat in this land is good butter. and it is good sense, good business, and good judgment' for us to eat plenty of it. Butter is nature’s best food, - especially for the young and growing human being.

The, farmer must study the climate and the nature of the soil, and plan out his scheme of cropping in cuch a way that suitable feed will come in at the proper season, particularly the different fodder crops, as they are most needed.

There are in Canada to-dav only about 2,500,000 sheep, practically the same number as in 1897. In Great Britain they maintain 24,000.000 sheen. New Zealand flocks are of similar dimensions. Canada produces only 15,000,0001 b. of wool.

The rat is often quoted as the west exnensO'o thief levying tribute in either the old or the new world. Generally considered, this is the case. But insects also cause an immense loss, esneciallv among tropical and semitropical crops. '

According to the' estima+e of the United States. Department of Agriculture. theup will nrobnhly he about 250.000 head less of cattle marketed from Ihe ranee eountw this fall than were marketed last fall, with the principal reduction in the south-west.

In dairy fanning it is of great importance to keep records of the -wield of each individual cow. "Kooning records of tlm amount of milk vielded In’ each cow has. on the farms, been a practice in Denmark for nearly a hundred years.

In the North of Auckland the climatic conditions are so favourable that varieties of grasses and crops unknown in other parts can flourish, anil the abundant rainfall and mild winter conditions enable most common grasses and fodders to succeed.

At no other period in the history of New Zealand except, perhaps, in the days when wool and wheat were the onlv nroducts that could be exported and both were at a low price, has land settlement been so- utterly dead as during the past few years.

The farrowing pen should be provided with guard rails all around the walls to enable the pigs to- escape being lain on bv the sow. These rails may be made of wocid or piping, strongly braced, and should be nlaced about six inches from the wall and seven inches higher than the floor.

AMERICAN CALF CLUBS. ROTARY MEMBERS’ SUPPORT. Calf and pig clubs for boys and girls have became quite a feature in, many pants of the United, States. Each member is. provided with a young stud animal to feed and care for, and exhibitions of such live, stock arei held at the .annual county fair (or agricultural show). According, to a recent issue of “Hoard’s Dairyman,” community interest in dairy cattle is so general in Boone County, Indiana., that the Rotary Club, of Lebanon, .the county seat, actively co-operated with a. local dairy company in the organisation of a Boone Go duty Calf Club. There are--34 members of the Rotary Club, and; there are also 34 members of the Boone County Calf Club. Elach member of the Rotary Club .agreed to- become the ' individual partner of some boy or girl in the calf club project. The calf club recently held a - show, at which all the members’ calves we re arrayed in their “best bib and tucker. ’ In celebration of the splendid record made by the boys and girls, the Rotary Cllub gave .a dinner for. the memibei-s of the calf club, and a half-page illustration of this * pleasant function is given in “Hoard’s Dairyman.” It is stated that the Efofcaria-ns are so interested in calf club work that they have agreed to sponsor the club for another year.

THE IDEAL UDDER. POINTS TO BE REMEMBERED WHEN BUYING A COW, Always prefer the cow that has a large udder carried well forward without hanging in tour prominent pouches, and that is covered with fine silky skin and characterised by four sufficiently large and long teats properly placed to balance the udder nicely. Extra large teats and those that are close together are objectionable, while the presence of several additional or supernumerary teats also is objectionable. The udder should be of normal colour, and one quarter should correspond with its mate in shape, size, and colour. Be w-a re of the udder that is dark red or has a purplish hue in part or whole, of that shows one quarter or more greatly enlarged. Be also much afraid of the udder that is “hard as stone and cold.” That is a combination that generally spells tuberculosis, and so does the presence of a hard, large mass high up at the hack of the udder. But do not be satisfied with a visual examination of the udder. Sit down and handle every part of it carefully, for hardened masses mean that garget has been present, that milking abilities have been injured, that other attacks may be expected, or that a quarter has been lost through disease. Strip away some milk from each teat in turn. Look at the milk, smell it. taste it, and so make sure that it is -normally rich in butter-fat, correct in consistency, and free from all evidence of disease. It lvould also be well to see the cow milked clean, if possible, and the milk weighed, and to have a butter-fat test made.

NOXIOUS WEEDS CONTROL. The meeting of a committee sot up by the Counties’ Association Conference. was duly held, but not. a great deal was done. Mr R. Wright, district inspector from Wellington, was 'present, and the matter was fully discussed. The feeling appeared: to bo that boards should be formed and amendments to the Act secured. The matter is very urgent, as is shown by the statements of leading farmers in all districts,' and it is agreed! that drastic steps are essential.

OVERSEAS MIGRATION. THE CHURCH AND EMPIRE SETTLEMENT. At the Church Assembly in session at Westminster, the Bishop of London moved a resolution urging that the Church of England Council for Empire Emigration should he encouraged' by the Assembly to continue its work. The Assembly had, he said, established the organisation nine months ago, in the interests of the men who were “rotting on the dole.,’’ There were a million more people in this country than we could really do with, and our Dominions were crying out for people. The, King, the Prince of Wales, and Mr Amery have encouraged the. church ’s effort, and the. Government had given them a grant of £SOOO. The- greatest difficulty wafc to get people to go. The council had organisations in every State of Australia and the other Dominions and young men and women could be sent direct t-' people who would receiye them. The council had received some 35.000 nominations. It was ready to lend suitable emigrants their passage money. H urged the clergy to send those'in their parish for whom there way little hope of employment to the office of the council at 93 Victoria Street, Westminster.

The Bishop mentioned that he was going to Canada and America, and possibly to Australia 1 and New Zealand, in connection with the. project, and 1: begged, the Assembly to assist it. and to give their encouragement. “When I go and see some of my sixty-one nephews and great nephews.’’ added the Bishop, “it is no good my morel’ patting them on the back. If I don't give them a tip of ten, bob or so they don’t think much of me.” (Laughter.)

A motion that, the Church Assembly should vote £ISOO a year to the council 'was- withdrawn, and a motion carried inviting the dioceses to meet the expenses.

.NOT SO TOOK. THE AMERICAN INDIANS. THRIVING CANADIAN FARMERS. The North American, Indian, as a romantic and historic figure, is gradually passing from the stage in Western Canada. In his, place is a. self-support-ing, independent Indian who is reaping more success as a grain grower and cattle raiser as the years pass by. The steady assimilation to modern economic conditions of the growing generation of Indians is stressed by interested observers, such as the Mounted Police and officials, as an indication that the,' days of their primitive existence in the backwoods, the log .p.gbin, and the tepee are gone for ever. W ith the change of venue lias come a change of habit. s To-day. many Indian farms ran a among the most productive in the West. Successes at agricultural shows have proved that the Indians are ex.pert farmers. Pride of race is expressed in good Western clothes as effectively as in the paint and feathers of a generation ago. . Some of the details of the success of flie Indians are informative. Tile Indians of the three prairie provinces, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, reaped over a million bushels of grain in the season just closed. They had or. their farms l 50,000 head of stock. The crop harvested was made up of 552.586 bushels of wheat, 495,779 bushels of oats, and 94, 1'53 bushels of barley. The average yield of wheat was 1.7 bushels to tlie acre. Of about 110,000 Indians in Canada; 30,934 are in the prairie, provinces, divided as follows: Manitoba 11.673, Saskatchewan 10.271, Alberta 8900.

Their reserves aggregate about- 1,250,000 acres each in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and 500,000 acres in. Manitoba. Each year a greater amount of improvement is done on Indian farms. The cultivated area was increased by 11,239 acres last season, bringing the total up to 105,000 acres, more, than half of which was sown for grain. § In stock raising the Indians have been equally successful. Their herds have greatly increased during the past ten years, and they now own 23,475 head' of cattle and 22,000 horses.. Careful selection of sires by the Department of Indian Affairs has given them some of the best range cattle in the West, as was illustrated, among other "-wavs’ in the number of prizes won by them in recent years at the shows of Winnipeg and . Chicago.

DOG TRIALS. The trials of dogs with sheep, in heading, bringing back, yarding and contrariwise in hunting away, are very popular in the Dominion, but in no part more so than in South, Taranaki. Several good meetings with strong entries and a high standard of -work arc held l every year within easy reach of Hawera. All arc well attended. This month at Taiporolienui, near Hawera, will be held the annual trials of tliei Hawera Club. They are creating, as usual, keen, interest and bringing good entries. The date for closing it may be added, is Monday next, and the committee are anxious, to get. all possible competitors. The entries will be received by Mr C. E. Morrissey, c/o Newton King, Ltd., Hawera, ’phone 201, from, whom programmes and all information may be received. Mr C. Davis, Tara dale (Hawke's Bay), a well known expert, will officiate. All who have not read a real classic on the sport of sheep" dog trials and, indeed, all who enjoy a real human story, full of adventure and incident, should' not fail to read ‘ ‘ Owd Bob.” It is a story of the Border country between England and Scotland, and centres round the rivalry of the white “Owd Bob” and) the black dog. Get it and enjoy a capital story.

HORSE ’S MEMORIAL. “FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH.” . A.' A touch of infinite pathos is given by the news of the dedication, of a memorial statuette to 375,000 of the Empire’s' horses who fell in the War a.t the Hampstead Garden Suburb Church, inscribed' “Faithful unto death; not one of them is forgotten before God.” It is a -reminder of the wonderful work done for the nation bv these faithful dumb servants. AMERICAN DAIRYING. Statistics show that the products of the American dairy cow now exceed 2,500,000,000 dollars farm value. She employs an army of men to produce and distribute her products, and in factories, plants, machinery, horses, 'ami waggons necessary to conduct the- business she creates fabulous wealth is invested. Her welfare and the interest of her owner, therefore, constitute* a. paramount issue in the industry of dairy agriculture., Upon her depends the successful operation of all business directly related thereto. *Tlie mail who owns a factory and equips it with modern machinery has little value to show for his l investment should the cow go out of business. Yet our progress with her is not in keeping with the usual sagacity of America’s big business interests (says an exchange), and it is possible that we. have: been kept so busy building for and keeping up with the requirements of our individual interests that the dairy cow has built for us that we have lost sight of the fundamental upon which our business rests.