ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13514, 12 August 1907, Page 8

ON THE LAND.

HOW TO FEED CHAFF.

It is somewhat surprising (soys a writer in an exchange) to find the different ideas that pertain to the making and using of chaff in the' different , parts of the country. In the term "chaff," as here used, is'included all kinds of "chop" or artificial chaff made by cutting up fodder material of all kind.?. Every / chaff-cutter has change-wheels .by which the length of the chop is regulated. Theoretically, long chop is required by cows because they must chew the cud and require a fairly decent length of stuff for this end, but in some districts the short or quar-ter-inch length is preferred. Again most horsemen prefer the short length of chop for their horses, but the writer knows of one district where the half-inch cut is in almost universal use.- It would be interesting to know if there is any reason for these differences, for the writer prefers and believes in short stuff for horses, and longeven one inch longfor oows. If the animals do not thrive on nor like these appropriate sizes, then it is because they have been used to the other, and it is only a matter of a short time to get them to take to the right size, as far as palatability is required. If, on the other hand, the animals tend to scour or be costive, then it must be due to the nature of the fodder and not to the size to which it is chopped. Natural chaff, that from wheat and oats, is small enough and fine enough, but thero is 110 need to cut straw or hay fodder so fine or short. Chaffcutting is, of course, a comparatively modern affair, for our grandfathers did not practise it, as it started with our fathers, but it is usually work well bestowed, for we can use up and make palatable much inferior, stuff, and make an ordinary quantity go a long way. v BUD GRAFTING. Bud grafting instead of budding of roses is discussed by a writer in the Gardeners' Chronicle, ; who states: —"When one considers that the sap. does not rise in the bark or rind of the stem, as has been erroneously supposed, but in the wood just beneath it, and that in bud grafting the eye or bud comes 'into direct contact with the wood, it is readily understood why bud grafting is so successful in most instances; tho losses do not amount to more than five per cent. The operation is more quickly carried out than budding; the bud runs no risk of injury, as by pushing it into place in budding. - In tho case of' failures there are no ugly scars, and every stem can be grafted, whether the bark will ' run' or not. Tho operation consists in making a' slanting incision in the stem, or branch, and then with a second cut removing £he' rind and a very little of the w00d... In this cut the bud is placed, after cutting to fit it exactly. That done, another cut can be made on the opposite side of the stem, and a second bud inserted at the same height. Both buds are now bound in with bast or worsted, beginning . at the bottom, tho short end laid on the stem-or shoot, and 'the longer end used to encircle the buds, binding , fairly tightly immediately below and above the bud. The buds being now bound in, tho short end and the longer re-' maining end of the bast can bo tied in a knot.. This kind of rose- grafting is making its way, and taking the place of budding in many parts of the Continent, even among old rose cultivators." TREATMENT FOR PLANT LICE. Effective work in controlling plant lice or aphides 011 fruit trees may be done in the spring, just after they have hatched from eggs and have, collected on the expanding foliage. Trees seen to be badly infested at this time should be thoroughly sprayed, taking pains to wet as completely j as possible all parts of the leaves, twigs, and branches. However thoroughly the work may be done some of i the lice are almost sure to escape destruction, owing to the difficulty.of iorcing the spray between the unfolding leave?, more or less covered with hairs, where some of the insects will have penetrated. A subsequent treatment in the course of a week should usually bo made, especially if the first application is seen to have been unsatisfactory. After tho foliage- is well out and more or less distorted from the presence of .the aphides; effective spraying is. quite difficult, since many.of the insects on the lower surface of the curled leaves will not be hit by' the spray. Repeated applications must bo made, therefore, as necessary to keep the insects under control. It will often. be found practicable to bend over and immerse the terminal shoots of badly-infested young trees in a bucket of tho spray solution, and this treatment will be very effective. ' V. ■ ' :;v- : - ' . . Tho lime-sulphur wash for the destruction of winter eggs is made as follows:—Lime, 201b; sulphur, 151b; water to make 50 gallons, and boiled for one hour. After the trees are in •• foliage a more dilute contact insecticide must be employed, a strong tobacco decoction, 15 or 20 per cent, kerosene, emulsion, 15 per cent, crude petroleum emulsion, or . whale-oil soap at the rate of one pound for each four gallons. -water. Since aphides secure their food by sucking up sap from within the plant, none of the arsenical poisons such as Paris green and the like would be effective. ■ Tobacco decoction may be made from tobacco stems and other refuse by boiling at the rate of one pound for each one or two gallons water, sufficient water being added to make tip for that lost in boiling. A 20 per cent, kerosene or crude petroleum emulsion is niade as follows Whal-ebone-oil or other soap, 2-ilb; kerosene or crude petroleum, 101b: water to make 50 gallons. The soap is dissolved in five gallons hot water, which is at once poured into the spray-pump barrel. The ten gallons kerosene or crude.-petroleum is next added, and the whole thoroughly emulsified by pumpinc it. back through the hose into the barrel for .six or eight minutes. After the oil has bccorne thoroughly emulsified the barrel is tilled with water, and the preparation is ready for use. When a less amount of emulsion is desired than the. quantity' above indicated, it may be reduced as . desired by observing the proportions given. SIGHT IN ANIMALS. . Neither horses, cattle, nor sheep appear to place very much faith in sense of sight, but they make keen Use of .the faculties of smell and hearing. A mare separated for a short, time from her own foal must have a sniff at it to begin with if. tho young- thing is in a ,group of ,like age. : A cow will act in the same way with her. calf, and so will an ewe with her : lamb. From the human point of view, a newly-clipped ewe looks a little odd when searching for a lamb with a patch of, black on its shoulder, or with a dark "collar" on its neck. The owe disregards all markings and outward peculiarities; she simply "noses" her way until she finds her own. ; CANADA IMPORTING MUTTON. It is stated on good authority that all the cargo space of the Canadian-Australian lino . for a year to come has been secured by ' certain Australian shippers, who fill forward j to the order of Western Canadian importers 30,000 carcases of frozen mutton, besides l hides, etc. For some time past the supply ' of mutton on Canadian markets has been ' so insufficient that some 60,000 sheep have I been annually imported from the United l .States. It seems a truly remarkable state I of affairs that with its millions of acres of I grazing lands, Western Canada cannot, or ? does not, supply the local demand for mut--5 ton. ' ENGLISH CHERRIES. . ' In parts of England, especially on the hillsides of Buckinghamshire and Herefordshire, the cherry tree attains a great size. In old orchards where the soil is good they are frequently seen from 50ft to 60ft in ■ height, and producing wonderful crops. Giant trees have been known to bear from r 20001b to 30001b of fruit in favourable seal sons. The trees arc often planted in grass, I and at distances varying from 30ft to 40ft- ! apart each way. • This allows ample room 7 for the development of the trees, and the ' intermediate spaco is filled by planting bush r cherries, apples, pears, plums, etc., that will yield payable crops while the standard cherries are growing. The, ideal soil for cherries is a deep loam, resting 011 chalk I or a sandy gravel, but while thorough drainl age is a necessity, liberal stores of moisture r are essential' during the growing and fruitl ing periods. Moderately elevated positions are preferred to low, water-logged ones, and '* shallow, dry, hot laud is very unsuitable. 7 Root pruning has sometimes to be exercised g in England to check excessive vigour, and lto induce fruitfulness..

MUTTON Y. LAMB. The question whether it is more profitable to produce mutton! or lamb is being debated amongst farmers, seldom with any definite result. Perhaps a few remarks in concrete form may help inquirers to come to a better decision as to which form to market their produce. The first question to decide is whether any particular land is adapted for fattening lambs. The production of most products take at their first' rn-'.i-pUon in any country what may be termed booms. Take, for instance, dairying when ill* fac- j tory system came in vogue, and high returns wore received per acre off rich, level land; many rushed to the conclusion that any land should give . equally as good resuits, taking the values of the land into consideration. This, of course, wa« soon proved to be a false conclusion. Land worth £20 an acre with dairying might give a clear profit of £2 an acre, but it does not follow that land worth only £8 or £10 per acre will- also give 10 per cent, on the value. There is also the situation to foe considered. The land may be rich enough; but the want of roads and other- causes nullify any chance of dairying at a profit. Tho same conditions apply to fattening lambs; and taking New Zealand as a whole, or even the settled portion of it, the area suitable for raising fat lambs is very limited. The conditions necessary for producing lambs are fairly rich land, the richer, the bettor, and capable of cultivation, as arfcii-; fieial fodder is an adjunct necessary vsuccess. Some may dispute the last item, and contend that many lambs are fattened on grass alone. When the season is favourable such is the case, but not being able to control Nature, wo must use the means at command, and provide against unfavourable seasons by growing artificial fodder. The next condition, is nearness to market, or, rather, railway, the great desideratum with lambs being the shortness in time between pasture and slaughter. Given such conditions under present prices, it might be possible to get a return of £2 10s or; even a little more per acre, which it would bo impossible to do either by breeding or fattening sheep; but the above is an ideal farm. Let us take the case" of a hill farm or comparatively poor land. In trying to fatten lambs only a very small percentage would be got away, and leaving on hand the culls wherewith to keep up the flock, which is ever a disastrous procedure. -But by proceeding in the good old way of breeding from such a proportion of ewes that the farm would Ik? stocked by keeping the wethers until 2-tootl> or over, 30s per acre would be a fair thing to expect, which leaves little difference, seeing that the fat lamb would cost £20 to £25 per acre, while the hill or poorer country can be had from £12 to £15. The discussion resolves itself into this, that it altogether depends on tho land as to whether lamb or mutton is the most profitable. Therefore, each man for himself must; consider for what purpose his . land is most suitable, and not be guided altogether by his neighbours, the quality of New Zealand < land being so variable that often a few miles, aye, sometimes chains, makes a vast difference, which somewhat explains why one man succeeds while his neighbour fails. —Pastoralists' Review. ENGLISH FARM LABOUR. It is stated that the earnings of the English agricultural labourer range between 15s and 22s a week, tho average given being 18s 6d. The lowest earnings arc in the eastern counties and the highest in the northern. . In' the eastern. and southern and southwestern groups bread and flour, costing 4s a week, are consumed, and meat valued between 3s and 3s 6d, while in the northern and midland counties the weekly expenditure on bread 'and breadstuff's is about 3s, and on meat 4s lOd jto 5s 3d. The estimated value of the principal articles of diet comes to about 73 per cent, of the estimated weekly earnings. It must, of course, 'be borne in . mind that no account is taken/ in the above calculations of the profit a labourer may derive from a garden, an allotment, or the keeping of pigs and poultry. Tho estimates are naturally high, being based on the ordinary retail prices in tho various districts. Nor has anything been allowed for the wage-earning capacity ,of the, wife. | , BREVITIES. ; , Rabbit skins to the value of £20,000 were imported last year, into Shanghai. ;V. * * —n '■ '■ . Fining the soil is equivalent to fertilising it, so far as plant growth is concerned. " ■ The habitual use of so-called condition powders for horses is to be strongly deprecated. i \ ' >.; jr. It is desirable to damp the food of horses suffering from cough, cold, broken wind, or any respiratory trouble. * ' . Good ewes in any class of sheep breeding are halt the battle. They have the rearing of . tho lamb quite apart from their influence in the blood. One authority assures us that a ton'.of lucerne is equal in .feeding value to a toil'of bran: that is, .if the lucerne be well saved and the leaves not lost. An ideal ewe for the small grazier or farmer is. the three-quarter bred Lincoln or Leicester. This ewe, crossed with "a good Shropshire or Southdown, produces a splen- . did lamb. , The young man who is college-bred, who has received the bent-fit of tuition from agricultural experts, must succeed, and in doing so will shed the acquired knowledge far and wide. One of the surprising things of the last twenty years of agricultural history is the slowness with which farmers in some sec- \ tions of tho country have adopted the idea J of having a silo. , T . / The growth of crops suitable for ploughing in or feeding off, and the return of anima! manure to the soil are all means by J which an improvement is effected in the : water-holding power of the soil. The mission of- the dairy cow is to give | milk. If she tries to produce beef 111 the . place of producing milk, when the milk is ' most- wanted, she has failed of her mission, , and should be worked up into beef. The number of sheep in Australasia at December 31 last amounted to 103,548,330 an increase of 9,711,782 for tho 12 months, very satisfactory considering that just 011 16,000,000 were slaughtered for meat. What i 3 meant by systematic feeding is simply knowing how much each horse requires per day, how much grain and hay, ! how much good food, and what proportion . to give each horse and at what intervals. The quality of bone in the coach and carriage horso is important, while in tho draught horso size of bone is considered; tho big bone is valued in the big gelding , and is imperative in tho draught stallion. '