ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14855, 5 December 1911, Page 10

ON THE LAND.

THE DROUGHT-RESISTING MANGOLD. Ever sinco tho mangold made its appearance as an agricultural crop (says an English agriculturist) it has been indispensable, and this year it has proved its value as a drought-resisting root. In tho garden it is; tho bed of beetroot that looks tho most vigorous at the end of this scorching .sum-, mer, and on tho farm tho same may bo said of its relative tho mangold. Of course,, many fields aro gappy bccauso neither the seed nor tho *< conditions for . gormination wero as good in many cases'as they might have been; thero is a sparsity of foliage, many of the leaves aro yellow, and over and. over again they 1 liavo flagged under tho. burning sunshine. >'Wo allow all this, and yet results show that the roots havo kepton growing in the dust-dry soil, and tho tonago per aero will not bo much less than usual in a number of instances. , What is "more, tho mangold has responded to tho stimulants which havo been given from time to time, and no roots we have . scon look bettor than several lots that havo been dressed with salt, which fact goes to show* what a cheap and useful fertiliser wo have, for mangolds iiusalt, particularly , in ' a '.dry,' hot season like this. EXHAUSTION OF VIRGIN SOILS. .

From time to timo ono hears of theserious loss of fertility in tho wheat-growing lands of America and parts of Canada in' consequence of the *continuous cultivation, of wheat. The problem'has been the sub-': ject of investigation by experts, and it is said to' have been proved that this exhaustion is not. so much duo to tho absorption of the substances which .produce tho crops as by . the loss occasioned by leaching and by tho change in bacterial action. Experiments have- demonstrated that out of ' 1701b 1 of nitrogen lost in ono year by a virgin soil, 27jlb only were absorbed by tho crops, and 132j1b wero purely and simply washed away and lost. No means of stopping, theso useless losses, which go on in all.tho richest, soils, is so far known, except that of alternating tho wheat crops with grasses and leguminos®. Another important question is that of tho so-called strength of wheat, that is, its groater or loss aptitudo for panification, , which depends: 1. On its gluten content and tho tenacity of tho same; this |>roperty increases with tho salts contained in the grain, and decreases with the amount of acids and alkalis. 2. On tho greater or lesser quantity of gas formed during panary fermentation. This in its turn ■ depends on tho quantity of sugar and diastase, on the condition of tho starch, and its greater or lesser resistance to diastase action, etc. Tho influence of outside conditions on the strength of wheat v is at present being studied. ' In general, damp soils grow feeble wheats. At tho experimental stations of the various countries somo now varieties havo already been discovered which permit the ... cultivation of wheat to be extended to regions whero hitherto wheat culture was impossible. And as those investigations proceed it is certain that tho wheat area' must widen more and more. 1 '' 5-;' v

. INTRODUCING FUNGOID TESTS. Our Taranaki correspondent informs us that Mr. 11. Okov, M.P., has received a letter from Mr. A. H. Cockayne, Government biologist, stating that ho was securing from America specimens of . tho blight Cocoma nitens, for the purpose of distributing it throughout Now Zealand. Cacoma nitens is supposed to attack tho 'blackberry, but as Mr. Cockayne remarks in his letter, " reports from America rather discourage tho idea that Cacoma will provo effective in checKing the wild blackberry." If this is the case why should tho Government go to tho expense of importing this fungoid, which may not confine its efforts to blackberries? We have had too many pests already introduced into this otherwise healthy country, and we should like to havo a substantial guarantee from Mr. Cockayne j that tho blight < he is attempting to breed and to introduce hero will confine its attention solely to . tho bramble. Will Mr. Cockayno give such ft guarantee, and if not why should he or any other Government official bo permitted to introduce what is evidently regarded as a dangerous pest in other countries, especially when authorities.; distinctly state that it is not likely to have the effect for which it is intended—that is,, killing out tho blackberry pest? It is to be hoped that tho Agricultural Department mnv bo inclined to give some attention to this subject, and to at least assure. us that they -know without a shadow of a doubt thai tho Cacoma cannot live in any other plant but the" wild blackberry. • SPECIFIC GRAVITY . OF MILK. The specific gravity or weight of milk can bo arrived-at with the aid of a lactometer or a chemical balance. The former is . the moro satisfactory in tho hands of thoso who have not had a scientific train* ing. To make the test, fill the creamo* meter—the glass supplied with tho lactometer —with milk at 60 degs. F. Then immense the lactometer, ana observe at what point on tho scale it stands. MEADOW HAY EXPERIMENTS. Tho Education Committee or the County of East Essex began last season a scheme to ascertain by a set of experiments conducted on about twenty farms in the county what is the effect of different manurial treatment on meadow hay, and the problems which the experiments are designed to solvo are : 1. The effect of continuous applications of dung. 2. The effect of alternate applications of dung. 3. The effect of dung in conjunction with artificials. 4. The effect of increasing, quantities of superphosphate. 6., The comparison of kainit with sulphate of potash. 6. The comparison of nitrate of soda with sulphate of ammonia/ v - • > •' The results of the first season's experiments appear somewhat indefinite, and should be considered 7 in connection with the particulars given of the character of the soils at tho different farms, because it would be obviously incorrect to conclude from results obtained on clay < soils v what should be the treatment of grass lands on chalk. . As Mr. Hocking, staff lecturer under the East Sussex . Education Committee, who wrote the report," says, it is impossible to draw final conclusions from ' tho first season's results, and consequently general deductions only , . aro possiblo. However, tho trend of the results may bo indicated as follows:—- • ; . 1. The farmyard manure apparently has entailed a considerable • loss, . but > a . little consideration' will show that ; no; allowance for manurial residues... has beon made. Again, the/value placed. against dung (5s per i ton) may bo considered -high by some but it is almost impossible to place a fair general value on such a variable commodity. Although flung when viewed from a money point of view appears at considerable- disadvantage, it will, nevertheless, continue to hold a well-merited place in good farming. Its effects are spread over a series of years, and in the long run it is almost safe to say the final result will bo quite satisfactory. 2. Tho omission of nitrate of soda reduces the yield, but tlio reduction does not seriously _ affect the profit. 3. The omission of superphosphate entails a loss of 5s per acre. 4. The omission of kainit has been most erratic, and shows only too plainly how necessary it is to study each centre separately in this respect. Taking the average of seventeen centres, a slight reduction in crop is noticeable, but still the profit has proved satisfactory. 5. Kainit has proved superior to ■ sulphate of potash. ' •**•"' ' ' 6. Sulphate of ammonia has given a greater profit than nitrate of soda. • ' ' 7. The most profitable dressing was that applied to plot 13, : viz.,' ljcwt. nitrate'of soda, 2cwt. superphosphate, 2cwt.; kainit. This dressing cost 26s 5d per acre and has left an estimated profit of 5s lOd per acre.

SUMMER PRUNING. Wherever a tree has been heavily pruned during the dormant season, a very fair growth of wood , will ftnsue, and this wood is generally 'strong!' "To "stop" or summer prune this wood will have a very beneficial cffect on tho productiveness of the tree. Of course, if the growth is excessive and rank, a-judicious selection will . need to be retained, and the balance disbudded. The result of summer pruning will bo that, "wherever tho growing shoot or lateral has been severed, '.the.j buds below the cut will receive the full ' benefit of the sap which previously went/ to nourish the wood which has been re-. moved. If this operation were perform-' ed too early, the bud at tho point of severance will merely push its way out and .continue the growth. This result is undesirable, as the very object to be attained is defeated, the sap being utilised in the production of new wood, and not ' in the strengthening and enlarging of the fruit buds. Sometimes even this end is desirable, but it is only when the lateral has been of an excessively strong nature, and an' extension is desired, though only as a weak growth. Two points to bo noted are : First, tho terminal ends of main, secondary, and extension limbs "should never bo cut at summer pruning; secondly,, the cut must always bo made v whero a .leaf is existent, so that the sap may be furnished and perfected for the wholo of the lateral. If the cut bo not mado at a leaf, the probability is that the tip of the lateral will lose its vitality and ultimately die, owing to the fact that no, foliage exists to, draw , and perfect sap for its nourishment. , A number of problems in fruit production and tree culture .aro still awaiting solution, and among these is the question as to the value of; summer pruning on thoso trees which are supposed to bo biennial croppers, such as the Rymer apple; or on such trees whose, unproductiveness has been a charge to the debit account of . the stock they are; worked upon. . It is an accepted fact; that iiinsuitability of stock will result in, unproductiveness, but we might pause before we, would say that non-production am always bo attributed to unsuitable 'stock. Coe's golden drop plum, for example, is a tree that' will not bear on unsuitable stock; but sometimes trees of this variety have only been a partial success as fruit producers, even when on their supposedly correct stock. In a case. like this summer pruning has been known to produce a marked increase of crop. It should be definitely understood that summer pruning is not suitable for each tree every season. Growers must know their trees individually,- and also their individual requirements. A tree should bo strong in 'constitution, and growing strongly as well; and, as a general rule, a weak* tree should not be summer pruned. Weak trees may bo successfully treated by hard pruning in winter. A tree that is thriving prosperously and bearing systematically needs very little or no summer pruning; whilo a tree that is growing strongly, is in a good healthy situation, and is yet unfruitful, needs all the attention and consideration that summer pruning can give to it. MANURING ORCHARDS. Tho advantage of maintaining tho soil of orchards in a fertile condition is now recognised and is being acted upon; but still, too often, the orchard is neglected in this respect. Crops of fruit, aro annually picked; carrying off a proportion of plant food, especially phosphoric acid and potash, and- unless the constituents are returned the fruiting capacity of tho trees must certainly diminish. Farmyard manure should bo spread over the soil every threo or four years, and tho best time to apply it is in tho autumn or winter, so that the rains can wash it in. In the season that farmyard manure is not applied tho orchard should havo a dressing of artificial fertilisers. Slowly-acting fertilisers. such as bono meal, ground bones, basic slag, should bo applied in late winter at the rate of 3cwt per acre, and in spring, when tho trees begin to show signs of renewed life, l|cwt to 2cwt of nitrate of soda or sulphato'of ammonia may be applied with benefit.

Thoro is no real aristocracy that has not been builded on tho land. Systematic horse-breeding should be one of tho aims of tho farmer. If there is any occupation that has a right to bo dignified it is farming. It is sound advice. Kc«p twice as many mares as geldings on the farm . If a farmer's soil is poor after years of cultivation it is tho owner's fault. No breed of draught horso is as uniform in typo and colour as is tho Suffolk. Usually sheep get very little credit for the work they do in kooping tho farm clean. Sheep havo excellent digestions, and hence they utilise feed to tho fullest degree. A man who keeps a poor oow when ho might havo a good ono displays no great business tact. A well-stocked piggery in connection with tho dairy means more work, but much greater profits. Tho wages of industry aro sometimes " insolvency," unless work is carried out on systematio lines. Goats givo milk which is richer than tho average cow's, and it may bo drunk with almost perfect confidence. Excellenco of remote ancestors should not bo allowed to cover up existing deficiencies in the stud bull. < A stiff old broom is an excellent thing to clean out tho feed trough, and this should bo dono after every feeding. If you want a good foal, you must feed your maro well; if you want a good horso you must feed your foal well. Sheep require tho constant earo of someone familiar with their needs and habits if they aro to bo kept in largo numbers. Help to develop schools. Tho rural school is tho place whero 95 per cent, of our farmers are made. It is, therefore, tho farmers' school. Tho drink known as "koumiss" is prepared from mares' milk. It is widely used among the peoples of South-westcru Asia at the present day. Some farmers and dairymen havo a mistaken idea that if their cows are from a certain family or breed they aro all right, and cannot be otherwise. One reason why some farmers do not get as much from their land as they should is owine to tho fact that they do not get their land in proper condition. Tho Nebraska Experiment Station has demonstrated tho fact that a oow reaches her highest production of butter-fat before she does the greatest flow of milk. In most horses at the ,age, of fifteen the teeth havo becomo rough and uneven, and from that time on tho horse is a hard keeper, and tho real cause is not known by tho owner. Because £20 will not buy the same stamp of horse now as it would 15 years ago does not prove that horses have fallen off in quality. It merely establishes that they have gone up in valuo. It does not pay in any sense to perpetuate the qualities of poor sheep, and tho cullingij should bo made close enough to. eradicate all poor animals, and thus oliminato their blood forever from tho flocks, Captain Burnaby, in his famous book, "A Rido to Khiva," says that "sheep mako up tho entiro riches of the nomad tribes. A Kirghiz lives upon their milk during the summer and autumn." . . The man who builds up-to-date, modern buildings, cement floors in all stables, piggeiy, and hen-houses, saves nil manure, solids and liquids, • puts it on the land before tho goodness goes down tho brook, keeps buildings warm, his flbock in l comfort —there are no hard times on that farm. ;