ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13202, 13 June 1906, Page 8

ON THE LAND.

FERTILISING PASTURES. According to the laws of agricultural chemistry,' a, cow milking WO to 500 gallons of milk per year takes from tin l land in plant food equivalent % to £cwt superphosphate. Even the best of our country will not give'th© results in future like it is doing now if we do not feed it. If we are going to compete against European countries and keep oil dairying; permanently there is not a shadow of doubt we will have to follow their example and top-dress every three or four years with about liewt to 2cwt superphosphate. Ihis dressing;; lasts three or four year*, and flits first cost io 9s or 10s per acre, and works out at an average of 2 6d to 3s per acre per year. Farmers often wonder why land bocomes cattle-sick. Cattle-sick land is another name for land that lias become deficient of phosphate through constant grazing of dairy cattle. This exhaustion of land in a few years' time is going ,to be • a serious obstacle to our dairy industry. A well-known Australian farmer, writing on this subject, says:—" Being successful with manuring cereals and root crops, I. exprimcnted on the grass, 'and was successful so much that I manured 150 acres, which cost: from 12s to 13s 6d per acre, and although that was five years ago the difference is very great vet. The manure that 1 find the. best after trials is concentrated superphosphate, from 701 to 1121b per acre, sown as ?. topdressing about once in three years. Somehow most farmers think the grass does not need manuring. If it were adopted more generally it would do away with that bud trouble among cattle, the cripple-."

■RUGGING COWS. An Australian farmer, giving his experience on rugging cows to the Leader, says: — "Previous to ■ adopting the rugging system T tried various plans, as giving , Hie cows hot feed night and morning, and , putting' lip wind breaks, but the cost of production was not reduced, nor was the yield increased. Then 1 covered the first cow. It took in two years to got the whole of my 26 cows tinder cover, because I wanted to proceed cautiously and see what: the result would be, and 1 was so surprised that. I had to go over the work again and again to ba. sure that I was making 110 mistake. Every cow that was put into a cover gave the same satisfactory result?, by increasing her produce on a smaller quantity of food and getting into better condition'." In this case, one in which a considerable expenditure was made in purchased foods for the cows, the books of the farmer showed that whereas the cost of his butter production in winter without rugs amounted, to lid per lb, with rugs he had reduced it to 6d per lb.. Among other advantages accruing "from the rug treatment, all tending towards putting the animals in better condition for milk and butter yielding as compared with animals irritated and put out, of sorts by reason of cold, one who has tested the matter practically, says: —"Every cow put into a cover has given the same satisfactory results, by increasing her prod,ice on a smaller quantity of food and getting into better condition. The effect of the covers on the cows is very remarkable. The quiet cows get more quiet and contented, and the nervous and irritable ones completely change their nature; they lose their nervousness and irritability, and get so quiet that you can handle them anywhere." The tested temperatures go far to explain the improved results. The. bulb of a thermometer buried in the hair of a cow without a cover at night is found to record a temperature of 40deg., while in the hair of a cow under the rug it records a temperature of 70deg. at the same time. According to the experimental evidences in connection with cow rugging, it is even questionable whether sheds are. better than rugs. Under the rugs the cows are always warm, whilst they must leave the sheds sometimes, and then they are subject to the cold as much as before. "To see cows," remarks one of the farmers interviewed by us, feeding in the rain with covers on when it is blowing a' gale and taking no notice of it is st. sight to give a dairy-farmer' great satisfaction. Wind breaks and shelter places for cows in wet weather make a terrible puddle; with covers on they lie out where, it is clean, irrespective of- wind and rain." Another objection was that rugged cows would be apt to develop skin disease and other unhealthy conditions, but the remedy for this is a judicious taking of the rugs off'at certain intervals, during fine days, for instance, and putting them on aj'ain at night. Asia matter of fact, no herds could be . more healthy and more smooth and glassy in their coats than those that are-rugged. T

THE BEST COW. The best'"cow, .as a rule, is one of medium sise and small in the bone. The head is small and rather long, narrow between the horns, a»d having a good width between the eyes. The ears should be thin and covered with silky hair, the inside being an orange colour. The eyes should be largo and bright, th» neck long and thin, thieken- | ing as it reaches the shoulder, but should bo [ free from anything like a bpefy appearance. The shoulders should meet narrow at the top, the ribs should be straight and wide, indicating a good digestion and constitution, for almost everything depends on that in a good milker. _ The loins should be broad and the hips high and wide, and the pelvis wide, giring plenty of room for the udder ; the thighs should' bo thin.. The i milk veins in front of the udder are usually a fiod sign in a good cow, and the larger they are the liett-or indication. The, udder should be covered with a short, downy coat of hair. This hair should begin to turn its backward course from the front teats, running in this direction between the teats, then on the back part of tho udder, called the escutcheon, and on as far as the vulva in the best cows. The wider the belt of this upturned hair tho better. -Tim shape and size of the udder is far and away the most reliable point. It is far better to ha<vo a scraggy-looking cow with a good udder than a good-lookina- one with a poor udder I The Irish Homestead. PACKING- FRUIT. , ■ With regard to the packing of fruit for export, a Tasmanian writer states that he had a long talk with one of the most successful shippers, and he does nob agree with the recommendation of some of the English fruitbrokers that, a thick pad of wood wool should be placed at the bottom of the case, and the fruit should then be jarred down into its place. He- finds that the best results can be procured by carefully packing each layer, and then gently, though .firmly, pressing the lid on. He also notes that seine of the fruit sent last year from South Australia, only averaged a little- more than 25 to 281b per case, owing to the quantity of space which wan taken up by the wood wool. A Victorian authority advises that the ease should be slightly jarred, so as to settle the fruit; but this is contrary to the experience, of Tasmanian growers, who cannot see that if the fruit is properly graded beforehand it is at all necessary. NEW ZEALAND FLAX. One of the New Zealand graders, speaking of the cultivation of New Zealand flax, says: —" Experiments are now being conducted at Levin to determine the best varieties of flax, and I understand the Department intend* shortly to issue a leaflet on the, subject of planting. Draining is, of course, the first step, and while on heavy solid land the drains should be deep, on peaty lands deep draining would !>» a mistake, as the land would sink, and the roots would be robbed of water. Autumn is the rig-lit time to plant. Tim rows should b:> from 3ft to 12ft apart, according to the quality of the land. Where the land is poor the distance between the rows should bo increased by 3ft. Sheep can be grazed on tin* land if required, but not cattle, as they would destroy the young shooU. In Canterbury the plants would t-ak» from five to six years• before they would be fit to cut, but in the North Island"! think the time would be considerably less. If owners of flax country would only insist on careful cutting of the plants so as to leave the centre leaf or shoot- intact, they would l>e able to get a crop about evert 18 mo»th«. I should. roughly speaking put down the cost of plants and setting them at £6 10= per acre."' . v S EN SHEDS FOR CATTLE. A ftnr weeks ago, The Shelter of Live Stock" was editorially discussed in the Breeders Gazette, Chicago. The safe conclusion arrived at wis: "The breeder or feeder who provides ample shelter accessible to his stock at will, and gives them liberty to -seek the open air oven in low tempera"tuno -if they desire will bo reasonably certain that he is following the dictates of the physical economy of his' stock, and it is a fair guess that ■ animals are usually better judges of their individual comfort than are their masters." Correspondenwfroin experienced breeders shows that the open shed system is in high favour all over the Central and Northern States.

mmm £ CLOVER DODDER. This is p. formidable parasite when ohm established. It chiefly attacks.the red clotciand lucerne, ami except for a little wb;i» after' germination has no connection with the soil. The seed on germinating gives ri<« to a white, threadlike idling without leaves.. It is unable to utilise the ordinary plant food of the air and soil, and unless it meets a host plant it dies. Should it, however, meet a lucerne plant, a thin filament winds around the stem and sends out suckers, and. then, spreads from stalk to stalk.' It* very thin sterns resemble a. tangled mass of coarse reddish-yellow horsehair, and, sine* the. plant has no chlorophyll it cannot gather its carbon from the air, and is compelled to feed upon organic tissues, and in this way resmble* fungi. Dodder is an annual, and produces small bell-like flowers (white) in clusters. The seeds are smaller, rounder, and darker than lucerne seed, and can b% separated by a suitable sieve. Treatment: Cut the infested patch close to the ground as soon as noticed, and burn parts : then cover iho patch with five or six inches of ? I lite manure, through which the crop can make headway, while the dodder cannot. .

FARMERS AND BUSINESS. Producing crops, raising stock, and all th* operations on the farm are only- a part of farming, and however well done mar not, lead to progress. Business methods are the key to success. Business habits, business thrift, business judgment, and experience m, making good bargains, all are important. This is where so mally farmers fail to make headway. . They work hard, grow good crops, and keep good stock, but they are not, thrift and are not, methodical. They won sell when they should, and don't buy at the right time. They won't sell oti a rise. but always wait for the top. miss the chance, and hold until the bottom fails out. of the market. Then in disgust they sell just before things mend. It is a good rule to sell at a profit-and give the other fellow a show. It is wise to sell promptly when there is n strong demand and hold when prices are near bedrock cost, of-pro-duction. It is wise to collect money as soo* as due, and as wise to pay accounts prompt-', ly and take, discount. If, is good policy to sell produce and put money out at interest. It is almost always wise to sell a horse or anything el so for what it will fetch when one has no use for it. It is wise to bear in mind that a. cheque is not money, but only an order on a bank to pay. It, is only 'good when there is money m the bank to meet it. Therefore, wise men don't, keep cheques on hand. It is also well to remember that to give a bill or promissory note is not making payment, but doing- so acI knowledges a debt and makes a written pledge to pay it, on a given date at a. given place. This pledge should on no account., be broken. ELECTRICITY AND FARMING. ' Some months ago wo dealt with the possibilities of electricity in farming, and now a leading English paper says:—"Tho fields** of the future will be covered in with a network of wires which will radiate high-tension electricity through the crops beneath, and bring them to a fruitfulnoss such as the oldfashioned sunshine could not possibly bestow. Such, at any rate, is the potential outcome of experiments which Mr. .1. E. Newman, m electrical engineer, is carrying out on a, farm at Iron Cross, midway between Evesham and 'Ale-ester.- Twenty acres of arable land helonging to Messrs. 11. and B. Bam ford are. traversed 16ft above the ground; by wires suspended from poles placed at in terra Is of 100 yds. The wires arc insulated so completely that the- current, can find its way to the ground only through the air. and consequently through the crops. Twelve of the ,jgcres included in the experiment, have been sown with wheat, seven with barley, a.nd there are small plots of other crops. In the case of almost all of them Mr. Newman confidently expects that germination will bo hastened. and the yield increased as a result of the discharge of electricity from tho wire*. In tho case of the .wheat, he says, h« will bo disappointed if the yield both of grain and of straw be hot 25 per cent, greater than it would bo otherwise, and if there lie not also such an improvement in the character of'the grain as will make it equal for milling purposes to Canadian wheat. FRUITGROWING AT lIOKIANGA. "Northern Spy" writes:—" Some thre* year,s ago I had the pleasure of presiding at, a meeting in Hokianga, called together for the object of forming a fruit-canning arid preserving company. Wo were laughed: at by many knowing ones, and failure was confidently predicted by the old hands, homo allowed us as long as six months before wo collapsed. Others gave us a " year. However, we knew what we were prepared to do, - and now, after great difficulties'"anc disappointments, our manager, who is » clever .and pushing individual, has, made an unqualified success of-the venture. ' In-fact, our only difficulty now lies in this very success. _■ We. can't get fruit enough. The demand for our canned fruit and jam is m great and constant that wo cannot even supply what is required by tho people of Hokianga alone. Of course everything is at present in a small way. simply because. we cannot get fruit enough. The Government expert, Mr. .Taquer. states that our canning factory produces the best canned peaches in Now Zealand; that the company's jams are equal to the Very boot English make, and that the factory is the cleanest in Nov/ Zealand. In fact, he predicts a great future for the company. Now,- sir, our company has done all it can (,o to push the industry ahead. The fact has been established- that tins fruit can be grown (o perfection and in abundance, also that it can be disposed of at a profitable figure. It is now time for the Auckland members and the Government (o come forward and assist us. I have had a great number of letters horn people at Home on the queslion. All had some few hundreds of capital, and aro prepared to join our comoanv and grow .fruit. They asked for further particulars—if thsy could get land and at what price. Judging from th*»ir letters the majorit* were evidently people of refinement. Most, them bad families. It took me some con? siderable time to reply, but I did so, and. had to tell them to wait, for there are no suitable sections which they can get for the purpose, the hr d all beiny held by the Maoris or in largo 300 to 500 acre sections bv Europeans. ' '

Nothing can be done until land has been surveyed and set aside for this spceinl purpose, if, being impossible to carry ou tjjV industry successfully where the growers are living in widely situated selections. Tb» sections must be in close proximity to each other. They must not be very large. There must be no ballot—first come, first served. Iliey must be disposed of under the optional system. ~ ' '

Hie ballot system certainly cannot: be adopted in this instance. I 'can't write •to a man at Homo telling him to coma here and take his chance in a lottery. . Neither. is it of any use writing to the London papers again until there is land available. There'is a nice block of 20,000 acres which could be secured _ for tho purpose, unci if (he Government is really anxious to give the industry a lift; this should be obtained as a fruitgrowing area, and the settlers should; be given every encouragement to develop it. The members of our company ara all willing to assist in this matter, for lb» more growers there are the better for" all. Now, sir, let me appeal to the Government, through your valuable publication, asking them to undertake to assist in th« following manner:—First secure a large block of land, cut it up into suitable sections, and offer theso sections to bona-fide I riutgrovv&rs on the optional tenure. 1. know from letters received from the Old Country that there are plenty of p.tople who are ready to take up such sections, and if such settlements' were instituted and advertised wo should soon have, a big arid prosperous fruitgrowing industry bore, which would enable us to supply the local markets with canned fruits, and probably build up a large export trade in this clais of goods, and in such fresh fruits as apples, pears, etc. "