FREE SOIL ANALYSIS.

Northern Advocate, 2 August 1919, Page 4

FREE SOIL ANALYSIS.

In response to a communication regarding , free analysis of soils, the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce has received from the 'Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. \V. D. S. MaeDonald) a reply, in the course of which he says "I regret to hear that vii opinion exists that farmers have (lifliculty in securing advice regarding the treatment of soils. This ie certainly not in accordance with the established practice of the Department, the officers of which are al•rt]fiys only too glad to advise farmers in every way possible as to the treatment of their soil, and, further, to carry out analyses of soils when necessary. These analyses are carried out for farmers free of charge, and farmers are encouraged to seek advice from the Department in all matters bearing on their farming operations, Tihere is nothing , to be gained by indiscriminate sending of soil samples from farmers without these samples having been collected in a proper way and being representative of the general soil conditions of the farms from which they are derived, but the officers of the Fields Instruction branch, which is now being organised as a new section of the Department, will give special attention to this matter in order to aid farmers on practical lines by personal advice and assistance." E\SILAOI<; A CHEAP FOOD. Among the cheap modern foods that go to malic up a ration, none, when properly fed, surpasses ensilage. It is a succulent food that aids in the digestion of other foods materially increasing their value for the

production oT n>iix ami hulter and href. The partial i'--nneii:.itloii which Takes place in silage after i! is cut, and s;orc(i starts 1 lie process of diges];w.. and lenders it the most va!u- ---: hie of succulent, foods. Many feeders depend too much upon ensilage as a balanced food, and feed from 40lb to ">Olb a day. An ample ration is .from :Solb to :Jslb daily for the. milk-producing cohv. If Sib to 1;ilb of hay or wheat, oats or buckwheat straw are added to the grain food, a complete ration ; will be ' formed. '■ .' It is the greatest mistake to keep : the manger filled with hay or straw. The cow should only be given what ; s! , ; , will eat, and if any should happen *to be left over It should be removed. Most skilled men agree mar two feeds a day are better than feed- j 511£_;- oftener. BucMiv.heat straw pro- j perly cured contains more food value j lhan good oat straw. It has about | 3."> jjer cent, more protein than oat sira-y.—'"South African Dairyman," | March, 1819. j

HIOE-KEBPIX'G. i WILL IT A-FTORD A LIVfNO. • To those who are unacquainted wiih the lMuiey-raisiug .industry, there seems to be a continual.impression thai bee-keeping , is a business tilint must be looked upon -merely fis j a side-line, which may be a more or j less pjeajsant. hobby for such as are ; not afraid of bees, but that it could j never be relied upon for a total menus ' ■of livelihod. ' { A-s a matter of fact, the very re- | verse is the. case. To tack anything : nowadays on to bee-keeping is to lose ; money at the bees, ami, as. has" before been observed in this pa μ-e, the best, i oi' all tiling's to go wiih bee-keeping-is some more bees. In fact, the term bee-keeping , is rapidly becoming ob-

solete. The idea to-day is not That a person keeps hoes, but that 1 he bees keep the person, ami the term honey - producer is superseding rapidly the old form of bee-keeper, for it l< 'honey-production in the commercial sense of the term that one has in mind when using- either the newer or the older of the two appellations. The day of tiie small bee-keeper or' Iwenty or so colonies is being made so rugged, by the .strict enforcement of the Apiaries Act. !thn-t he (or she) either lias t<o grapple with the industry 'iv.iHh iip-10-daie methods that take quite a deal of application, or get out of the hobby entirely. [JsualIγ such persons have the good "sense to realise how much there is in. the occupation, and rather than obliterate "tiheir fancied possession, they reconstruct it and launch out as at least a commercial producer, however small. Again, there are far too itna-ny of the. gentler sex both in our own. Dominion and throughout the world, who are making a handsome return as a sole means of subsistence out of honey production to need any further assurance a>s to the reliability of the industry as a means of making a living—and a very handsome living at that. —"N.Z. Dairyman." •