ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15262, 28 March 1913, Page 3

ON THE LAND.

MANURING OF SWEDES.

Evert farmer knows that phosphate of lime in an easily available condition is the prime need of these crops. There is more difficulty in knowing what forms of nitrogen and potash are the best, and to get information on this subject investigations have been made by the West of Scotland .Agricultural College. The Board of Agriculture directs attention to the results :—

These experiments were carried out in the three —1909, 1910, and 1911 — on forty-five farms in the central and south-western countries of Scotland. Previous experiment® had shown that to meet the requirements of the turnip crop 1 for phosphate, a suitable plan was to give half in the form of eupherphosphate and half in the form of basic slag. In the trials under notice, therefore, all the manured plots received similar amounts of such a dressing of phosphatio manure, and attention was devoted to comparing, different forms of potash and nitrogeneous manures, and to ascertaining the effect of applying them in various ways. An examination of the results at the different farms shows that there was a striking lack of consistency in the effects of any particular dressing, and it is concluded that the average results are only of value as a moderately safe guide to a farmer who is not prepared to conduct experiments for himself to find out the requirements of his own particular soil. Subject to this reservation, the following general conclusions are drawn : 1. Where farmyard manure is not applied, the use of both potassio and nitrogenous manures for turnips is to be recommended, but of the two the • former are more essential and more likely to yield high money returns. 2. Kainit and potash manure salts.are about equally efficacious for the turnip crop, '• , , 3. The best nitrogenous dressing for turnips varies very much according to local conditions, and without a knowledge of these it is impossible to give any useful opinion on the subject. , < • 4. Contrary to popular opinion, both nitrate of soda and nitrate of lime applied in the drills give in the majority of cases better results than equal quantities given as a top-dressing. GRAFTING NEW VARIETIES. .. The term "culling out " is one which is more generally applied in modern dairy practice, but the system is one equally applicable in all rural pursuits when maximum results are looked for. Just as a dairyman culls out his unprofitable' cows, so should a fruit-grower get rid of trees that either ' are unsuitable to his local conditions, or for one reason or another fail to make remunerative returns. _ The process, while similar in its object, is not so drastio a measure where the treatment of trees is concerned. It' may be achieved either by grafting or budding. The former is usually performed just prior to the swelling ana bursting of the buds in spring, and the latter during the growing period,: when the flap is moving freely, and thus causes the Dark to run easily. Bark grafts and saddle grafts, the latter being an improvement on' any of the other methods, are most favoured. _ The trees to be treated are cut back heavily, usually close to where the leaders or main branches leave the trunk, and scions taken from trees known to be good bearers axe inserted in the bark at the crown of the , branches. A slanting cut is* made in the scion, as to give it the appearance ( Of bang wedge-shaped, to prepare it for insertion. Next the baric is split down a few inches from the crown, and is loosened around the top sufficiently to enable the scion to-be pushed down easily into position, the side on which the cut is made being, of course, on the inner side. ' Two or three scions are put in, according to the circumference of the limb being treated, and they aw then wrapped firmly round ■■ to hold them in position. Finally grafting wax is used to envelop the crown ana surface where the' scions have been introduced to prevent air from gaining admission until the proper ; knitting of the two parts has taken place. Mixtures of clay and hone manure and other substances thai will exclude the air while making the wounds impervious to water are also used, but none equal grafting wax, 1 FEEDING FOR BACON. The bacon industry in Canada has grown to considerable importance, and while it is well known that the best food for young pigs is plenty of skim-milk, as the quantity available of this material is no longer sufficient, the question has arisen as to what i 3 the best substitute food to help out the short supply of skim-milk. To obtain information on this subject, the Central Experimental Farm at Ottawa conducted experiments with mixtures which, according to composition, should take- the place of skim-muk as nearly aa possible. For these mixtures materials easily obtainable and . low in price were selected. The pigs were all fed in pens in winter. One lot was fed on shorts and skim-milk—considered to be an ideal ration. The young pigs gained 41b to 51b per day, and made 1001b in 1521b of meal and 5541b of skim-milk. . When put on heavier foods for finishing, they made gains right along, having; had a good start. Another lot received shorts and gluten meal in equal parts. The reports escribe this as a good food for milk or beef, but apparently not so suitable for pork, and the results were not satisfactory. A third lot had 4001b of shorts and 1001b of oil meal. Where there is no skim-milk, this is about as cheap a feed as can be used, and has a good effect in digestion. With 2801b of this mixture a gain of 1001b was made at a cost of 13s per cwt. A fourth lot, fed on oats and ground pil cake or oil meal, gained 1001b. on 3221b. of food, <£ut this food ia objectionable unless the husks are removed from the oats, or the oats very finely ground. A fifth lot was fed on a combination of oil cake, shorts, and oats mixed, and to this were added equal parts of slam-milk. The pigs put on flesh at the rate of 21b to 31b per day. From these experiments the conclusion is drawn that where no, or insufficient skim milk is available, shorts and oil meal will come very near it, and is as cheap a mixture as can be got.

CALVES AND TUBERCULOUS COWS. Good progress is being made with the Royal Agricultural Society's experiments with calves from, tuberculous cows. The object is to demonstrate the possibility of rearing calves free from the disease, in spite of their - having been born of cows that react to the tuberculin test. At the present time, reports an agricultural correspondent to the Eastern Morning News, there are on the farm at Woburn 13 yearlines and two calves born this year, and a healthier lot no one . could wish to see, in spite of the fact that their dama reacted to the test shortly before parturition. All that has been done is to separate the calves from the cows immediately after birth, and remove them to a farm a mile away, where they have been reared Under circumstances that prevent direct or indirect contact With the tuberculous cattle. All the milk used for feeding has been raised to a temperature known to be certainly fatal to tubercle bacilli, and both indoors and at grass the calves are isolated from ether stock. The sterilised milk proved the only trouble, for it . brought on a bad attack of White scour. * However, the animals look none the worse now, and they have twice come successfully through the ordeal of the tuberculin test. "When they reach killing age they will be slaughtered and careful post-mortem examination made to prove that they are free from the disease. It is possible that two of the heifers may be kept for breeding to carry the experiment: still further. Few who knew what bad been done before, both at home and abroad, doubted the result of this experiment; but the society is doing very good service by demonstrating to . farmers now comparatively simple a matter It is to rid their herds of tuberculosis. - It seems as; if one might in time clear the country pf the scourge, and that without resort to jJte&a dssfaNst inotfiods, " "* " .""J

BRITISH DAIRY PRODUCTION, A report in the ■ British Board of Agri« culture Journal for September gives an in-! teresting summary of the dairy output of Great Britain. The total quantity of milk yielded is put at 1,208,000,000 gallonsThis works out apparently at an anaxual yield of 650 gallons per cow, while if heifers are included in the enumeration, the average is 437 gallons. It may be pointed out here that this is evidently a rise in the average, because at one time the yield —at any rate taking the whole of the British Isles—was put at only 450 gallons, so that 'an average of 550 gallons must be looked on as a distinct improvement. A' quarter of the total number of cows are met with in the counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire, Cheshire, Derby* shire, and Staffordshire, and this 25 per cent, of the cows yield 82 per cent, of the; total quantity of milk. In other words, the best milk cows are found in these counties- It appears that 70 per cent; >»£ the total yield is sold as milk, but a proportion of this is reckoned to be sold to factories or creameries, or other places where the milk is manufactured up in various ways; _12 per cent, of the total yield is made into butter, and a more astonishing thing is that only 5 per cent, is made into cheese. This last item is presumably correct, but it certainly is very surprising to find that, although there are so many celebrated cheese-making districts in Great Britainnorth and south—only 5 per cent, of the total amount of milk produced is made into cheese. Some! 800,000,000 gallons is consumed as milkthat is to say, either drunk raw op used in home cooking. A further 10 per cent., of the total produced is used by farmers at home, partly for their own households, and partly to supply their labourers, and possibly in some other ways. ' This ;is rather a large item, and probably includes also the milk that is used for feeding, calves. There has indeed been a considerable rise in the amount of dairy produce as a whole, and the above figures are very interesting to. everyone in the dairy business.

. Thus profitable dairy farming depends on something more than good cattle, the cost of the crops produced for their consumption being a: leading factor in the case. We are told in the report on proSuction, issued by the Board of Agriculture, that the average yield of , British cows (as previously stated) is 500 galloon of milk per annum. ■ It is evident that there must be a large proportion that give less than 500 gallons. If we take a herd of 50 cows, and assume that they average 500 gallons, it is probable that one-half the cows fail to pay their way. Bearing this fact in mind, a remark of Professor Fraser, of the Experimental Station of Illinois, may be quoted, that in a test made of a large number of cows in the State, he found that 25 of the best animals actu- , ally returned more- profit than, the 1029 r poorest cows. IRON IN FERTILISIiIIIS. Iron is always found in the ash of plants, and, therefore, forms a part of their com-' position, but in such an insignificant quantity that it is not necessary to take it! into consideration. A crop of wheat, : grain, and straw is estimated to contain only about 21b to the acre, and hay from 31b to 51b. Mr. Muntz, Professor of the Institute Agronomiqu®, at Paris, investi- , gated this subject, and• pointed out that the action of sulphate of iron as regards producing increase of crop or improvement of quality does not justify the favourable opinions sometimes expressed. Farmers .should not be induced to pay for it as an ingredient in chemical manures. . On . the other-hand/ although of no commercial value as a fertiliser, it possesses proper* ties which are most useful as an insecticide, and for the removal of moss, dodder, and other noxious growths.

NORMAL BORDEAUX. " . The normal of . 1-6 pear cent. Bordeaux; mixture is made by dissolving 6-pounds of sulphate of copper :in 32 gallons. o£ water, while in another vessel 4 pounds of lime is slacked in 13 gallons of waiter., The two liquids ■' are then slowly mixed and the preparation is ready for use. It is interesting as well as important to knowthat while Bordeaux mixture is our most' valuable fungicide, it also possesses a marked insecticidal value. No farm oi) ■ garden, no matter how small, can .be considered fully equipped without a supply of Bordeaux mixture and . suitable apparatus' fdr applying it. ••• ' ~..r, ' brevities. •" An Irish farmer disposes of the whole) i of -his butter and eggs to English consumers through the post. He pays £50 a week for the postage ,of his prince*/': , . "Potato oats" originated .from : three , stalks of oats, in a field of wheat; at Thieapland, Cumberland, belonging to a Mr. Daniel Jackson, between the years 1790-1800.

A farmer has to calculate oil a large* amount of his capital being idle the greater part of the year. .. A harvester, costing about £90, for instance,, is only] need about six .weeks.

Nearly half the dry' matter of plants consists of carbort,, which is derived from, the carbon dioxide present in the air, in-i haled through breathing pores in th« under-surface of leaves. w >

In Belgium and Sweden are ' schools fat which girls are instructed in every dutyj that falls to the lot of the farmer's' wife. There are besides 74 - women's institutes in Belgium for the general instruction and recreation of farmers' wives.

Boiling the land breaks the. lumps and compacts the surface, thus retarding peri eolation, though increasing evaporation* and promotes the conveyance of warmth! to the seeds when the sun is beginning' to warm up the land.

Bailey is used as a feed for farm; animals very largely in California, where! it takes the place of ' oats and corn., Judged from the standpoint of analyses and digestibility it has abgut the fiamef feeding value as wheat or corn' and a littlof greater than bran or oats.

At Hongkong a dairy company hasb&stt , in existence for 25 years, which has beem paying handsome dividends for the last! 10 years. The difficulty of fodder ' has been overcome by importing from temper ate countries, and using these with guiget* ' grass grown locally.

Though the worm has been v accused ofe taking toll of growing crops, and no doubt? is guuty, all the harm that it does is in* fin'testimal and not to be compared to tfcef good it accomplishes. In addition to brings - irijpup finely divided soil to the surface, it drags down otherwise useless vegetable! matter to decay in the soil, while its bur-t rows, several inches in depth, help tor aerate and drain ,the soil. Some good! pastures must owe much to these humbled but assiduous workers.

The earthworms appear to be workings overtime at this time of the year. Darn | win made a special study of these lowly? ;• animals, and it was this great scientist! who said that they had probably had » ' greater influence in the development of the earth than any other living thing. The! soil brought up by worms and deposited) on the surface may well amount to tea tons per acre annually, and in an actual test it was found that .as much as sixteen tons per acre has been brought up. As there may be some fifty thousand per acre this does not put a heavy strain upon the* industry of the individual worm, ten tons ; v being less than half a pound per year fox? each..

The chief point in seeds for farm, apai< - : from any special qualities that distinguish! different varieties and stocks, is .purity* ; Then comes germination, hardly less im-< portant, and in this must be included thai , speed of germination. Seed that takes v a long time to start has obvious disadvan* tages. There is a close connection between! v the weight and other qualities ofseeds-- ; , v and this, in conjunction with the /general fc ? appearance, .is perhaps the best: test apart H from an actual trial. Without a carefully) f fg| conducted test, ; however, no* ■ estimate, of the • valuev ef ? seeds foned, and. if miner there would be ; few&pUMgd(TON i W tea mm wteb .. \ : - ~s m

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