THE FARM

Northern Advocate, 20 July 1935, Page 14

THE FARM

The British. Market. The most cheerful information we have had-Tor. some time in regard to the British--market •is the reported statement by the British Minister for Agriculture,that while increased quotas for bacon are to be given to Continental countries next year, There is to be a small levy on “foreign supplies." This means that while there is a quota against New Zealand imports (but a very liberal one and which we are a • long way off attaining) there is to be rio levy. This notwithstanding that the Pigs and Bacon Marketing Boards ' have bgen-pressing the Home Govern--1 ment to "tak -all bacon imports, but -yvith a 'to the Dominions, the suggested tax being Id a pound against foreign bacon and £d a pound against Empire bacon. That the Government has decided to tax foreign bacon and put no tax on Empire bacon is splendid news. And it would be still better news if the same principle is applied to beef and other Empire produce; - . Chined Beef Trade.

A visiting ■'South - American has remarked that New Zealand- wilT not be able to compete. With .the South American republics-in the chilled beef trade. This because'of the superior type of cattle .being"'raised-in, South America. He " was not at all impressed with the type of beef cattle he had seen in this dojftitry., • This view, is a common one, but is it correct? There are many strains of good beef stock in this country) ■■ If South'America has been a liberal’ buyer of the best pedigree types of beef eattle in Britain, New Zealand has-; -also* - purchased foundation blood from some Of the best herds of Britaih;; - o-r ;thh Shortho/n, Hereford and Aberdeen Angus ' breeds. , At one time thei display^.,of beef Shorthorns. at the Hastings Show was declared to be the best exhibition of the breed to be seen'south of .the Line; since then no country ~has . been, a more generous buyer in years gone by of outstanding animals from English Hereford herds, and some of the very finest animals that have been sold by Scottish Aberdeen Angus studmastersi have come to this country- The other day we had the pleasure of inspecting a line of two-year-old' Aberdeen Angus steers, pure and ■‘crossed with the Hereford, -collected by Mr F. H. Anderson, of the Farmers’ Freezing Company, for a chilled beef shipment. Many of these prime -young stgers will give Smithfield carcases of'beef that will rival anything that South America can supply.' ■We certainly have the quality beef *hr ‘ the : Country, ; but not iin the quantity one would like.

In saying' :.£.£alaha has imported some’'of- the best animals that Britain can supply, it is not claimed that many importations have been made of recent years. When the importations'"Were principally made was in the days of the big estates and the importers were men of money. . In more recent years the foot-and-mouth embargo has naturally checked importations, and the weahhy importers have passed away. But there is the blood in the rccuntry, v and the keen breeder should:, .be able to get the blood he wapts from some of the good studs remaining. Quality. , It is generally agreed and the fact is being repeatedly emphasised, that in these days' of fierce, competition and lowe>r prices, the matter of quality in export produce is becoming increasingly necessary. One of the most useful contributions to a solution of the problem is the provision of cheap finance by the Government for farm improvements, the objective of which is, no doubt,'the prevision of a good water supply, and concrete floors and gangways. Speaking at the annual meeting of his company the other day, the chairman of directors said that farm instruction was necessary. No doubt this is very desirable, but it is no use providing the necessary knowledge unless there is some means of encouraging its-adoption. All such efforts will be of little -avail unless a keen system

of cream grading is made general, and for this to be strictly carried out. competition for cream and milk supplies j will have to stop. This is the big problem. And until it is solved no big advance in quality will take place. The Dairy Produce Board is attempting to do something by endeavouring to bring about voluntary agreements between neighbouring factories to establish zones to which they must confine their operations. It is sincerely to be hoped that dairy companies in general will take a new view of co-opera-tion and be content with the supplies of raw material produced in their rightful territory. If they fail to do this and decide to forget that they are co-operative -organisations and continue to fight for quantity irrespective of quality, it will then be necessary for the Government to take drastic steps to put an end to a bad evil. 1 Potash for Peat Soils. The most successful farmers on peat ■ soils in this country fully realise that potash fertiliser is -essential for satisfactory results. Lime and phosphate are also necessary, but the peat soils are invariably deficient in potash, and therefore the best results will not be f obtained unless the natural potash shortage has been made good. In a long-term experiment in Germany, meadows on peat land appeared to be much more sensitive to the harmful effect of inadequate potash manuring than to reductions in the amount’ of phosphoric acid supplied. This finding was confirmed in other experiments in which potash manuring was omitted for three years on plots whigh up to then had received liberal applications of this plant food. The result was a complete deterioration of the character of the flora on these plots. By the third year all the clover and almost all of the more valuable grasses had disappeared. , Basic Slag. 1 With the superseding of the Bessemer process by the “open hearth” process in steel production in recent years, the quality of the resulting slag has been reduced considerably in value from a fertilising viewpoint. Now it is announced that gigantic steel works have been established in England, at Northamptonshire, where the steel will be produced by the Bessemer process. ■ This process, it. will be remembered, gives as a by-product the highly soluble basic slag of 40 to 44 per cent, phosphate which was once obtainable for many years. It is estimated that the new works will be able, to supply 50,000 tons of the slag in the year. Dried Grass. - A correspondent who has read of the great possibilities of dried grass, and says the immediate conversion of gpass at any time of the year into a safe and valuable preserved fodder, appeals to him, contends that the drying plants he has read’ about would be useless in this country in view of the large amounts of grass we handle at the one time. He says the small farm plants talked about would be useless. We incline to the view that what is wrong is the scale on which we work. The farmer should accept the view that drying grass when it comes will be the repeated drying of small dots which the farm staff can handle, instead of the lightening process as at present, in the haste to do the whole of the grass harvesting in a few days by means of community action, which is not always too satisfactory, especially to the willing ones. The establishment of local air services, and the consequent provision of adequate landing grounds, may mean that the farmer will have others to experiment in the drying of grasses, for to keep landing grounds in goo'd order there is nothing to equal the mowing of them and the immediate conversion of the grass into a commer- , cial commodity. At least this is being the experience in England. At present sheep are being used to keep flying grounds in this country in order, but mowing would be preferable in every way. A man in the Soiflh Island who gets the grass cut from the lawns of several domains puts it in old corrugated iron tanks for ensilage, and apart from a little waste on top he declares it is excellent ensilage. If he used seme mclasses and provided covers, the ensilage would be probably much better and there would be no waste.

Great attention is being directed in both England and America to the important question of hay quality. It is being emphasised that as the grass advances towards the ripening stage there is a falling-off in the percentage of protein and minerals. Hay spoiled by wet and unfavourable conditions in the process of making is less palatable and less nutritious than well-made hay, due to the washing out of valuable soluble cons'ituents and the consequent increase in the percentage of hard and indigestible fibre. It can be

taken that excessive wetting and excessive drying are the two most common causes of inferior quality hay.

,It is well to understand the reason for the excessive heating of hay and the consequent spontaneous combustion. During the chemical changes the starch in the forage passes successively into the forms of sugar, alcohol and acetic aldehyde, which is an inflammable gas, and when present in excess may cause spontaneous combustion. Moderate heating improves the subsequent quality of coarse fodder, but the fermentation should stop at the sugar stage, and it may be taken as dangerous to allow the temperature to rise above 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hay is a valuable foed, and some good hay should always be available when cows are on succulent feed and require to have a more balanced diet. If the hay is good the animals will readily eat it. An unbalanced diet, and consequent indigestion, is at the root of the majority of our stock troubles. '

The most important fact emphasised in the latest teachings on hay-making is that __ the grass should be cut when the plants are coming into flower and before the seeds have formed. Only then will the hay be of good feeding value. The bulk of the crop will be less, but the improved value of the hay will more than make up for this. Perhaps more important still, however, is that with the earlier cutting there will be. a much improved aftermath, while the subsequent character of the pasture should be better.

A Matter of Chemistry,

A pertain farmer recently adopted the excellent idea of making up a drench of lime and molasses, but he made the mistake of subsequently adding somC Epsom salts. When he went to use the drench he found that it was practically a solid mass. He obviously did not know his chemistry. Sulphate of magnesia (Epsom salts) in coming in contact with lime forms gypsum, and the drench in question was, therefore, closely akin to plaster of Paris.

Sexingr of Chickens,

Poultry-keepers are hailing with enthusiasm that the work of sex|ng chickens has been introduced to the Dominion, a Japanese expert having commenced work in Christchurch. Canada has been training its own experts ,under the direction of Japanese, and one of these has been engaged to work in England. But is the determining of the sex of chickens when a few days old such a great thing for the industry? If it were to be generally applied and only female stock reared, where would it end? Of course for the man selling day-old chickens or maiden pullets it may be- alright, but obviously the killing of all the cockerels may rapidly reach a danger point. However good the laying strain it is not till a batch of cockerels are reared that it is possible to determine whch are suitable for a breeding pen. Pedigree of production is not everything. Constitution is still the most important factor in producing desirable poultry for egg-laying purposes. The art of telling the sex before the rearing of a bird commences is a valuable one, but only when it is used with the necessary discretion.