ON THE LAND

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 13 January 1938, Page 9

ON THE LAND

NOTES AND COMMENTS

SUBTERRANEAN CLOVER

rollers, covered with woven wire, revolve against concaves of the same material. This disintegrates the burrs, and the seed falls on to a chute, waste material being blown away by a fan. The harvesting of subterranean clover seed was carried out to a limited extent in the South Island last year and it is understood that attempts are to be made to save seed from several Hawkes Bay properties this summer.

METHODS OF HARVESTING A DIFFICULT CROP There are few small seeds so difficult to harvest as subterranean clover and many! devices have been adopted in Australia, from where, up to the present time, we have obtained all our supplies. Details of one contraption which has met with success will be of interest. It was designed by Mr P. D. Forfest, of Dwalganup, Boyup Brook, who discovered the early variety of the clover which he named after his property. Mr* Forrest’s implement consists of a rectangular frame of 3in and 2in Oregon, approximately 10ft by 34 ft, and a built-up wooden roller, or drum, three feet long and two and a half feet in diameter. This roller is covered with sheepskin, showing from one to one and a half inches of wool. A circular wire brush extending the whole leng* of roller, and about nine inches In diameter, is driven by a chain and sprockets, so that it revolves at approximately four times the speed of the roller. It is set just close enough to brush off the seed picked by the sheepskin into an open-topped box about 12 inches deep, which fills up the remainder of, the frame behind the roller. The clover is burnt off after it has seeded and dried, and the ground cleared of debris. Most of the burr is below ground level, and is therefore unharmed by the fire. The next step is tor pasture harrows i.o be dragged over the ground to break up the surface soil and expose the burrs, which are then harvested by roller. The burr from the harvester boxes is dumped on to the wire mesh platforms, which permit sand and grit to fall through the screen, and. after this preliminary cleaning, the burr passes through a dchulling machine, where

POTATO CROP

DAKOTA RED POPULAR More than one-third of the New Zealand potato area this season will be devoted to the Dakota variety. With Sutton Supreme (Aucklander Short Hop), and Arran CLief 78.76 of the total area of the Dominion is accounted for by these varieties. The respective acreages of the three varieties are:—Dakota 34.65 per cent, (last year the area was 31.6 per cent), Sutton’s Supreme 30.60 (last year (26.21), arid Arran Chief 13.51 (14.12). Fifteen other varieties are mentioned in the return, but only a few of them exceed one per cent. The arresting feature of the return which has just been issued, is the small place occupied by varieties which a few years ago were dominant. The old Up-to-Date was cropped to the extent of only .78 of the total. The one-time popular early variety. Jersey Bennes, fell to .66 per cent. The Epicure, which has lost its old name as a good quality potato, was down to .65 per cent., as against a little more than one per cent, the preceding year. Maori Chief dropped to .42 and Robin Adair to .24. The most popular variety, apart from the three mentioned earlier in this paragraph, is King Edward VII, which is grown freely in the south, of which several excellent crops have been grown in Hastings this season. The area of this variety this season is 5.94 per cent., but it was 7.47 in the preceding year. Next in popularity are two old varieties in Gamekeeper and Northern Star, with 4.06 per cent) as against 5.45 last season, the varieties being grouped.