ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15657, 10 July 1914, Page 10

ON THE LAND.

AMERICAN STOCK VALUES. . The Secretary of Agriculture for the United States of America recently estimated the value of the live stock of that country as follows:"—The dairy cow is one of the principal producers of wealth on the farm, and the value of her.products is estimated at about 830,000,000 dollars, an amount which exceeds the value of the cotton lint and is nearly equal to the combined value of lint and seed. The wheat ! crop is worth only three-fourths as much !as tlio dairy products. The products of 1 the poultry industry amount to about j 570.000,000 dollars. The animals sold I from the farm and the animals slaughtered 1 on it. together number about 111,000,000, ' .and the farm value of these animals is 1 estimated at 1,930,000,000 dollars. The : total value of the animal products of the farm is estimated to bo about 3,395,000,000 , dollars 1 HORSE-POWER AND TRACTORS. " The best agricultural authorities de- ' clare that the a\eiage man, single-handed, J driving two horses, cannot properly culti- < vate more than 25 acres a year. The | tractor cngino .puts tho reins into the J hands of 0110 man, who drives and controls I the power of from 20 to 50 horses, capable j of cultivating, under favourable conditions, from 575 to 1200 acres a year. A team must walk 16 miles to plough' two acres i with a 12in furrow. The working hours I in the life of a horse are two-thirds less ! than the time during which he requires , food, attention, and shelter. A tractor , I will pull 10 12in ploughs two milos an ! ■ hour, and in the hands of -a competent I J engineer, under ideal conditions, will keen I it up all day, and with change of men all j I night. Tho first cost per hdrse-powor is I not so groat as the horses it displaces; ' its working life is twice as many hours, and there is no expense of maintenance when its weak is finished." i SHEEP LAND VALUES. I An Australian authority says:— "At best it is but an empirical business setting values on sheep country. There are no two properties alike, and values are based primarily upou tho carrying capacity, and the carrying capacity leans upon methods of management, particularly where English-sown grasses and crop cultivation are involved. This turns the question more into a kind of personal consideration of tho adapatability of the individual. While a man of indifferent experience may make only 5 per cent, interest on outlying capital, the skilful .sheepman may make 25 per cent. This in itself indirectly appreciates or depreciates the recognised value of land to on important extent, When land is talked about as being worth so much an I acre, it must always be in more or loss I indefinite terms, and those only who can j regard the matter with any fixity are the ' ones who are experienced in the methods I of dealing with such lands. While A, with his skill and experience, tan easily see his 1 way to give £20 an acre for land, the best thing that B can perhaps do before giving such a price for similar country is to compare his experience and knowledge with ! that of A. and thereby decide whether or : not ho is adapted for the particular ven- j ! ture. Ho may fund that, expressed in j I money terms, it may mean a difference in ! 1 valuo of £5 or £10' an acre. It may bo set forth, therefore, and it has often been demonstrated, that one man may make a splendid , living out of land that another has failed on, and it may be observed, broadly speaking, that a leading influence definitely operating towards the increase ir. land values is individual skilfulness, and towards the stagnation of values individual lack of Knowledge." I I ' WHAT ARE CARBOHYDRATES? | Protein, carbohydrates, and fat ore the three substances which form the essential factors in a ration for stock feeding. There is a wonderful variety of compounds that are made up wholly of these three primary elements. They arc best illustrated by three common things known as sugar, starch and fat. The proportion of carbon I to hydrogen and oxygen determines which of these throe is the* resultant substance. j Hydrogen and oxygen combined in the' ratio of two atoms of hydrogen to one of oxygen forms water. When water is combined with some other element the substance is called a hydrate, thus when carbon is the other element wo call the substanco " carbohydrates." Carbon is the most abundant eloment in all plant life. The plant gets its carbon direct from the air in the form of a gas' which is a combination of carbon and oxygen, carbon dioxide, one atom of car-, bon united with two atoms of oxygen. 1 This carbon dioxide is breathed in by the plant through tho little openings which cover the green portions of the plant, and . by processes which are little understood is combined with water which comes up through the roots, and starch, sugar, or fat, or modifications of these substances, are formed. The framework of the plant, or the woody part, tho substance that gives it frame, is called cellulose. This! substance has tho same number of atoms of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen as starch but they are combined in a slightly different way. Plants store up an excess of I these substances, starch, sugar, or fat, for I the developement of the new plant. Starch 1 is stored 111 potatoes and corn. Sugar is stored in tho sugar beet and sugar cane. . Oil, or fat, is stored in the cotton-seed and flaxseed. These aurplus stores are utilised in feeding live stock. Tho valuo of the plant for feeding purposes depends upon the quantity of food materials stored. All plants storo some of these substances but some much more than others.

MANURING ONIONS. ! Suitable manuring plays an important' role in the success of the onion crop. A 1 dressing of scwt superphosphate and from 3cwt to 4cwt of soot to the acre can bo | recommended. Soot is particularly valu- | able. Another artificial that will bo found ! beneficial is potash, and salt is very usej ful. Potash seems necessary for the crop', ! unless tho soil is well dressed with farm!yard manure. In experiments conducted , at Hadlow, England, it was found that I potash is a very essential element of food i for onions, a factor which was strikingly I illustrated by a comparison of the results i obtained on the two plots treated with j artificials "but without dung. The crops wae nearly trebled in weight by the addiI tion of potash salts. Based on tho results of the Hadlow experiments, Dr. Dyer suggested, as a general recommendation, a moderate dressing of dung—l2 to 13 tons per acre—-accompanied by 4cwt to 6cwt of superphosphate, or its equivalent in other phosphatic manures—lewt Bulphato of potash, or 4cwt of kainit, and 2cwt to 4cwt of nitrate of soda or other concentrated nitrogenous fertiliser per acre, the quantity of the latter being determined by the season and appearance of the crop. I

" INFLUENCE OF MANURES. On the basis of the continuous manuring experiments begun in 1895 in the experimental field of the Bonn-Ponpelsdorf Agricultural Station, tho following conclusions have'been arrived at:—Oats require easily assimiliable nitrogen, and tho development of the crop is also dependent to a remarkable extent upon a sufficient supply of potash. Peas: Good crops cannot be grown unless the soil is amply supplied with both lime and potash; a deficiency in either of these constituents results in a proportionate "diminution of the yield. Potatoes: Tho special need of this plant for potash is confirmed; of all the fertilising elements, potash acts with the greatest energy on the incrcaso and character of the crop; as soon as there is a deficiency in tho soil of this constituent the yield diminishes, even if the other elements be present in abundance. Sulnhate of ammonia in these experiments has acted better than nitrate of soda. A lack of lime in the soil does not appear to cause any decrcaso in the crop, even if all the other elements are present, especially magnesia. Th*> heaviest 'crops have been obtained by 8 tons per acre of farmyard manure assisted by phosphatic and potassic manures. Beets differ from potatoes in many points. Thus, though they require potash

manures, they feel the lack of them less than 'do potatoes; beets also react markedly to lack of lime, even when supplied with magnesia; and whilst potatoes prefer sulphate of ammonia, beets prefer nitrate of soda; further, manures injure the starch content of potatoes more than the sugar content of beets, and while tho use of potash salts—muriates deteriorates the quality of potatoes, it improves that of beets; lastly, for both those crops phosphoric acid produces only an insignificant increase of. yield, whilst sulphate of ammonia exerts a favourablo influence on the formation of carbohydrates. WEIGHT OF FERTILISERS. When we apply a fertiliser, what quantity of active fertilising substance is added to our soils or fields? For instance, when a crop is top-dressed with lewt of nitrate of soda, what actual proportion of the nitrate consists of active fertilising ingredients? Out of the 1121b of nitrate of soda only about 17£lb is nitre gen ; similarly out of 1121b of sulphate of ammonia only , about 27ilb is pure ammonia, and with kainit, out of 1121b of kainit not more than about 14£lb is pure potash, and bo on with other fertilisers. It is just as well to realise what we really pay for in fertilisers; in some countries fertilisers are bought at so much per lb of fertilising ingredient, and this system brings home Ho the farmer more distinctly what he buys, not simply a ton of a fertiliser, but so many pounds of the actual fertilising substance.

The following table is drawn up to ehow tho weight in pound of fertilising substance contained in some of the principal fertilisers: —

Per Contains Cent. lb. lewt sulphate of ammonia 24J 27.40 ammonia lewt nilrnlo of soda 95 17.36 nitrogen lewt kainit 121 14.00 potash lewt sulphate of potash ... -.90 53.00 potash lewt muriate of . potash 80 66.00 potash lewt superphosphate 26 29.00 .sol'ble phosphate lime lewt superphosphate 30 33.60 sol'bio phosphate lime lewt superphosphate 35 39.20 sol'ble phosphate limo lewt basic slag ••■ 40 44.80 phosphate of lime lewt bone (ammonia 4\ 500 ammonia meal (phosphate 45 50.40 phosphate (12.00 nitrogen 1 ton farmyard manure (1100 potash contains about ... (1200 phosphate of lime PACKING SHEEPSKINS. Instead of putting the skins In woolpacks use three bands of hoops to fasten them up with. Three battens should be placed longways on the top, and three on the bottom to keep them flat. To save freight fairly light wood for the battens should bo used Skins should be packed dry and flat, in pairs, pelt to pelt, with the bellies slightly folded in to keep the package as square" as possible. Ears and dags should be carefully removed before packing. If the ears are left on and folded in, they often, owing to heating, damage the pelt. Tho advantage in packing the skins flat is that the most valuable portion, viz., the middle, does not get injured by hooks in tho handling. When tho skins are folded in tho middle, as is generally done, they arc often torn by the hooks," and this, of course, lessens their value, whereas, when packed flat, even if they are slightly torn at the edges, no great harm is done. Presses for packing skins in tho manner proposed should be largo enough to hold at least 4cwt bales. THE BRAN MASH. A bran mash is acknowledged to be one of the indisponsables for horses, but all do not take the pains to make the mash properly. To make a good Ivran mash, first wash out a bucket with boiling water, then pour in a quantity of water required, say three pints, and stir in three pounds of bran. Cover up and leave it for a coupie of hours, or more if not required for immediate use A mash takes hours to get cold, and is often given to a sick horse too hot, and refused, when it would have been taken if properly prepared and given warm instead : of scalding hot. Tho addition of a tablespoonful of salt in the ordinary mash of a Saturday night can bo recommended to keep down parasites and pr.6ro.oto digestion, but should not be part of a sick horse's diet unless specially ordered. BREVITIES. Testing the quality of soft cheese as affected by pasteurisation, experimenters consider that the quality was on the whole bettor when made from pasteurised milk with cream than when compounded from tho raw milk and cream. Where a lot of cheese is mado tho whey is often run into tanks, and the next morning tho cream is skimmed off the whey, which is then utilised for the purposo of pig-feeding. The whey cream thus obtained may be churned, and the butter used for greasing the coats of cheese, an this type of butter is seldom used as an article of diet.

The last of the Henry Dudding Lincolns have been dispersed at a recent auction sale, held at the late Mr. Dudding's place, Riby Grove, Lincolnshire. Though there were no very high prices, the 1060 pedigree sheep and 174 head of cattle realised nearly £9000. The cattle averaged £30 14s, the ewe hoggets £4 6s Bd, and the ram hoggets nearly £5 10s.

It is most important to use starter in the butter or cheese making dairy, where successful results are to bo secured. Tho starter is employed for ripening cream for butter, and milk for cheese Whey or buttermilk from the pnYitms day are often employed as starter, but tho results are not so satisfactory as when ptne culture starter is utilised.

Pure culture starters can always be obtained from the nearest dairy institute, or from most firms who. supply dairy appliances. With the pure culture directions for cultivating the starter and keeping it available for some time will be given. It is not a difficult matter to cultivate a starter, and by using it fery beneficial results can be obtained.

It is a great advantage to use a cream separator at tho farm where cream is sold or butter made. Most cream separators on leaving the works are set to extract from 10 to 12 per cent, of cream from the milk. This gives cream of the right consistence for churning. If thicker or thinner cream is required, it may be obtained by simply altering the cream screw.

Most kinds of cheese are subjected to pressure in order to consolidate them, and to expel the superfluous moisture. Soft cheeses are not pressed; they drain by natural influences, gravitation, and acidity, which causes the curd to contract, and thus express the moisture. Soft cheeses are ripened by moulds, enzymes, and the natural ferment contained in the rennet employed in the manufacture of i the cheese. The "Bates" breed of Shorthorns was founded by Thomas Bates, whose stud dates from 1800. Mr. Bates died in 1849. After his death there was a great demand for animals descending from the Duchess tribo. Bates was born in 1775, in Northumberland, and in 1880 he paid £100 for his first heifer from Charles Colline. Up to that period this was the highest figure Colling had received for a Shorthorn female. It was in 1804 that Bates bought the cow Duchess from Charles Colling, four years old, in calf to Favorite, and he regarded her as the host cow in England. She proved a gold mino to Bates, and her descendants were afterwards sold at fabulous prices. In reply to the question as to who is entitled to claim the sheep-shearing record of Australia, Mr. Alfred Dowling writes from Brisbane:—" The record is 321 owes and lambs, shorn in eight hours, at Alice Station, on the Barcoo. in 1890, by John Howe, who won the gold medal offered by the New South Wales society. Howe now keeps an hotel on the Barcoo at Blackall, eleven miles from A. Downs. This record has never been beaten. Six years ago a shearer named Liringstone shore 317 with a. machine on a station near Richmond. This has never been beaten."