THE FARMERS' COLUMN.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume II, Issue 115, 21 May 1881, Page 4

THE FARMERS' COLUMN.

A correspondent of the Otago Witness writes :—": — " In reading your notes on farming I notice that your correspondents when giving their opinions on the different ways of sowing down grass always do so in favor of sowing without a white crop. As I am of the opposite opinion, and having sown down several ways, I would like to hear a little more on the subject, and, for that purpose, I will venture a few of my reasons for adhering to the old plan of sowing down with a white crop, always supposing that the ground is in a proper condition to sow down. My first is, it is a saving of time and expense, and does not interfere with the leading, threshing, or ploughing, for the next season's crops, as it would by ploughing the stubble and sowing down. No. 2is that it is not so ready to be choked with weeds if sown with the crop. By ploughing the stubble immediately after harvest the seeds of that season's weeds have not had time to germinate ; the ploughing does not destroy them, and they grow just as fast as the grass seed, and are very apt to choke the grass out. No. 3 is that the white crop nurses the young grass until it has got a hold of the ground, and when it is being cut, the tops of the grass are also cut and its upward growth slightly checked, its roots meantime extending in the ground; tben the stubble is a great protection from f rost through the winter ; then the roots not only make way for the tender grass roots, but become food for them. No. 4 (and last). — Grass sown with a white crop is fit to turn stock on to earlier than grass sown after harvest. I have seen grass sown at harvest run to seed before the ground was firm enough to put stock on to it, and was thus ruined, as grass should not be allowed to run to seed. If these reasons of mine are wrong, I hope some of your readers will be kind enough to put me right." "A Southern Farmer," writing in a Canterbury contemporary, says: — "Last winter I supplied oats regularly to a portion of my flock. I carted out sheaves and spread them thinly over the grass, selecting the driest places, and I found that the sheep picked up almost every head o£ oats, the loss o£ grain being very small indeed. Most of the straw was left, but it served the purpose of protecting the grass and enriching the soil, and was therefore far from being wasted. In this way I fed about 1500 ewes and hoggets, and lam satisfied that the increased growth of wool and carcase well repaid me for the outlay. My plan will, perhaps, be condemned as unscientific and colonial, but I have faith enough in it to recommend it to others, and I intend to repeat the experiment during the cominsr winter. I found that Tartarian oats, cut a little green, were the most suitable for carting out. It is probable that turnips can be grown cheaper than oats for sheep feed, but there is generally a good deal of uncertainty about the turnip crop, and in case of failure, it is well to have some oats to fall back on." The " finest ox in one world " has turned up in America. A Scotch farmer travelling in America writes to the Live Stock Journal that he was present at the Chicago fat stock show. The competition was restricted to animals not exceeding four years old. The first prize ox was one of Booth blood, weighing 23501b5., but a seven-year-old animal, excluded from competition because of his age, nearly pure bred, and named " Nelson Morris," weighed 32151bs.~ almost 1 ton Bcwt.