ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18265, 5 December 1922, Page 16

ON THE LAND.

DETECTING WATERED MILK. The method of testing milk which is tuispected of being adulterated with water is based, not on any attempt to separate the added water, but on the proportion of solids in relation to quantity of milk. The solids are a fixed proportion, though butter-fat varies. "If 100 parts of milk contain 8.5 parts of solids not fat, it is evident that each 8.5 parts of solids not fat represent 100 parts of milk, or each one part represents 100 divided by 8.5 parts of milk; as therefore the sample in question contains x parts of solids not fat thi* represents x multiplied by 100 divided by'B.s parts of milk, and the remainder is added water: the added water borne distinguished from the milk because it has no solids not fat accompanying it." ______ TELLING COWS' AGE. A.t a meeting of tho Carterton branch I of the Farmers* Union, Mr. T. A. Blake, ■■ Government veterinary surgeon, gavo a ! verv interestinc address on how to ten ; tho'ago of cows'bv their teeth {reports the \si})" lie said that when purchasing aj h.rso a person also looked into the am ; mat's mouth. It was force of habi' ; and he doubted in some instances j whether ihev were any wiser by doing i so. But very few people thought of look ' iug into the'mouth of a cow to ascertain j her age. lie hold up the bottom jaw of j en animal and asked those present to state its age when alive. One or two farmers; -uessed correetlv. The jaw contained j Tour fuilv developed teeth, and two small \ ones. S*x teeth, with two small ones, were found in a cow three years old, *nd in the month of a cow four years old. j there were eight fully formed teeth. Over this atco it was guess work to a certain though "an estimate could Informed by the worn condition of the j teeth. ! I PEACH APHIS. j In discs in which peach trees are affected with black aphis, the horticultural bianch of the Department of Agriculture of South Australia suggests in the oftinal journal that tobacco might be included: with the copper compounds, thus usiiui , a combined sprav for the treatment ot ; ctaied leaf and black aphis. Tho usual j indications of a first infection of black aphis consist of a premature opening oi some of the flowering buds which are glowing on twigs low down in the tree, and, later on, of the presence oi ants running up and down the branches. If any such early flowering bads be examined on' the under side, the presence of the pest will be revealed in the form of a female aphis, which is possessed of remarkable powers of reproducing her species as soon as the sap becomes active to provide her with nutriment. Tho Department of Agriculture advises that the best time to attack this pest is before the leaves burst, because there is little obstruction to the penetration of the spray. Further, insects killed at this stage mean many hundred less as the season progresses! It must be recollected that those"insects are killed by contact, and, consequently, they must be reached by the spray for it to prove effective. The most' satisfactory way to eradicate the pest is to follow "up the first application with two or three sprayings, within a period of a week. TURNIP RAPE SEED. F. E. Ward, Instructor in Agriculture, Christchurch, writing in the New Zealand Journal oi Agriculture, of -October 20, 1922, says: " tor some three years Mr. Norman "Campbell, of Woodbury, Geraldine, has been experimenting in the production of turnip, swede, and rapeseed on the Continental eystein. That he has succeeded is shown by the faet that in the years 1920 and 1921 he sold enough seed to sow 100,000 acres, and his seed is used extensively in his own neighbourhood. Tests carried out by tht> Department of Agriculture have proved very satisfactory. "The soil in "which the seed crops are grown is of a medium clay-loam formation. The land is ploughed "in the winter or early spring, a clean lea always being used, "it is tnen cultivated and thoroughly cleaned during the summer. A email quantity of seed is sown in Octobei or November to test the purity of the sample. If it is found that the seed contains too many foreign elements it Is discarded and other seed used. If satisfactory tho ned is orilled earlv :n March at the rate of 41b. of turnip, £_lb. of swede, and 61b. or rape per acre respectively. This thick seeding prevents bulb-development. Manure at the rare of l|cwt. of superphosphate per acre ia applied with tho seed. No intercultivation is given. The plants remain dormant during the winter, but in the spring come away and begin to throw up the flower-stark. The crop is then rogm-1 for impurities. In the case of turnips the bulb grows about the size of an egg. With swedes the raising oi good seed is more difficult, it being a hybrid plant, and tho bulb must be allowed to grow larger in order to give character to the stem. If anything gqes wrong the seed will revert to the stronger parent type. The crops are in full flower in October, and are harvested with the binder about Christmas. . The seed is threshed out oi stook and then mill-cleaned. " Great care is taken to prevent crossfertilisation. In the caso of turnips, when more than one variety is grown the same season, the crops are jiever less than one mile apart. A swede crop is never grown less than one mile from a turnip crop, and rape never less than two miles from a turnip crop. Nevsr more than three varieties are grown at any one time. These precautions reduce the risk of cross-fertilisation to a minimum. The whole of tho work is carried out under the direct supervision of Mr. Campbell, and nothing is left to chance. " The varieties grown are Imperial Green Globe, Hardy Green Globe, and Ked Paragon turnips, Garten's Superlative, Champion, and Crimson King ewedes, and broadleafed Essex rape. The yields of seed-per aero have averaged 400lb". for turnips, oOOlb. for swedes, and 6001b. ior rape. " The cost of production per acre is given in the following items, tho land being valued at £20 per acre, and the crop taking two years to produce: Rent, £2; ploughing once, 10s od; cultivating three times, 10s; harrowing three times, 4s 6d; drilling or.ee, 2a 6d; seed, 41b. at 4s per pound, 16s; fertiliser!., at ££7 5s per 'ton, 12s 9d; binder and twine, 12s; threshing. £2 2s; cleaning, 8s 4d; overhead expenses. £2; total, £9 18s 7d. With a yield of 400ib. per acre at Is 3d per pound—£2s, a credit balance :s shown of £15 Is 5d per acre—£7 10s B_d per annui'-." SWEDES FOR STOCK. All practical farmers know the worth of swe-des for winter feed. The crop is easy to grow and the roots economical to feed. Careful preparation for its growth invariably ensures good results, unless p.uch pest as the turnip fly, or both blight and finger and toe disease attacks the young plants and roots. Certain practices min.imise the effect of these pests. To combat the fly, moisten the seed with kerosene or turpentine before sowing. The first two leaves being those generally attacked, carry a slight odour if this is done and the fly does not attack them so readily Sowing especially bred blightresisting varieties and using a new- paddo'k each season lessons tne risk of botn bli"h_ and finger and toe affecting the

"rl'r tho satisfactory germination of the seed' and general growth* of the crop the value of cultivation could not be better shown than by the following actual exami)le -—A farmer ploughed tea acres of 'his' paddock in October, then had to discontinue. Ploughing was again commenced early in November and the paddork except for the headland, completed The cultivator, harrow and roller were used and the land looked in first-class form' Sowing was commenced, the seed and 'the manure being sown at the same fime ifter one day's drilling the headland was ploughed and cultivated and the Whole paddock then sown. A day or so later rain came and the plant* began to appear (a satisfactory take resulting) on

the land first ploughed. A fortnight later an odd turnip was noticeable on the land ploughed in November. On the headland, which was ploughed, worked, and sown almost immediately, there was a complete failure. Thi3 experience carries its own lesson. Plough early and give the vegetation turned under a chance to decay. Let_t.be weather help you make a good tilth. Keep the moisture in the soil by discing. Cultivate freely to kill weeds. Sowing the seeds in ridges is the most satisfactory method where conditions allow. A ridged crop can bo carefully thinned, the hoeing conserves moisture and kills weeds, while the plants have greater growing room. Another method of conserving moisture and killing weeds is by straddle harrowing the ridges with a straddle harrow during the early growth of the crop. The practice is extensively carried out in .Southland. When feeding, a ridged crop has advantages over a drilled crop. The roots, if fed out, are easier pulled. When | grazed, stock have a freer access to them, {as the soil, being in ridges, is readily ' tramped away from the roots. I Good rules"for the dairy farmer sowing a small au\a are:—(l) Halve the acreage; j (2) double the manure; (3) sow in ridges; I and (4) thin the crop. The common pracI tice in the Auckland Province is to sow I twelve to sixteen ounces in drills. Ridging, i however, is rapidly coming into favour in | the Waikato. The ridges are approxi- ! mately twenty-six to twenty-eight inches ! apart.' If the crop can be thinned, which I is always recommended, sixteen ounces of \ seed, or more, should ho sown, less if thinj u'.ns is not possible. A special ridger is | available, which ridges the soil and sows ! the manure and seed in one operation. | As ninty per cent, of the total content | of swedes "is water, a good supply of moisi ture is essential to the growth of the crop. ! Assisted liberally by a complete manure, | containing readilv available nitrogen, i potash, and phosphate, as well as lasting I prosphate, good results may bo confidently expected. i That New Zealand soils and conditions | lend themselves to the production of bumper swede crops has long been known. j One crop of swedes has produced eighty j tons of roots per acre in perfect condition lin the Otago district.. A wop yielding I fifty tons per acre. was grown on "pumice country in the Kotorua district ■ last season. The grower of this crop writes :—

"The paddock on which this crop was | grown is within one mile of Whakarewa- ; rewa, the centre of thermal activity. It : has been roughly sown down in jjrass some | years ago, but this crop is ot the first ; ploughing." All average crop should produce at | least thirty tons of good roots per acre.

BONE-MEAL FOR STOCK. Arising from further investigations which continue to be made in reference to the disease of stock known as " Lainziekte," some further highly valuable results have been worked out by the Department of Veterinary Research in South Africa. These results have a wider significance to stockowners everywhere than their application to a disease, which appears to be strictly local in its origin. " Lamziekte," it may be again explained, is a disease peculiar to certain areas in the central and western parts of South Africa, and a somewhat similiar complaint is not unknown in Australia. It is caused Vy a toxic germ of the family that is ■ responsible for ptomaine poisoning, and is found in the carcases and bones of dead animals of all kinds that perish in those parts of the countrynamed. Under normal conditions cattle. will not touch cither the bones or ilesh of these dead animals. But during certain periods of the year, or under certain climatic conditions, the pasturage lacks in phosphates, with the result that the 6tock suffer from the craving known as " pica " or osteophagia. They endevour to satisfy this craving by chewing any bones they may come across. If these bones are in the areas where the ptomaine germs have fotmd a habitat, lamziekte and certain death is thu result.

It was finally discovered that the crav- j ing could be overcome by administering a i regular ration of bone meal during the daDger season, and that infection could j be prevented in any case by keeping the i veld clear of bones and carcases. But the j Veterinary Department has proved that bone meal as a preventive of lamziekte is j something more than medical, it is also a great conditioner. The great objection j to the use of bone meal has been the i expense attached to keeping a large mob j of cattle supplied with threp of four ] ounces of sterilised bone meal per animal ! per day. ! Now the department says the cost of i the phosphorus, which is contained in the bone meal, should not be credited ] only to insurance against lamziekte, but also increase of herd and beef production. A weighing machine, it appears, has been introduced into these investigations, and as a result it is the nutritional aspect of phosphorus deficiency that is looming in view. Results to date indicate that phosphorus is a Limiting factor in the growth iate of cattle, and a dominant factor in the maintenance of live -weight under ordinary conditions of grazing. A typical result was an expiriment with a. hundred head of cattle, half of which were grazed in the ordinary way, and half I received a supplementary ration of three ounces of bono meal per diem. Within sis: months the bone-fed batch averaged 1001b. heavier per head than the controls. The cost of bone meal per animal was 65.. and the extra value of the animal j on the market 30s. In an experiment with, j calves those that were bone fed weighed 801b. heavier in a few months than the i controls, although feeding on the same pasturage. "Bone meal for beef " ia now j recommended as the slogan for farmers on all the phosphorus-deficient soils of the j Union. Experiments in feeding bone meal to sheep are also in progress. PEA STRAW. Pea straw, if taken in good condition, is ! best for feeding purposes Generally speak- j ing, the straw of the leguminous crops is very superior in nutritive value to that of the oereals. For the sake of comparison, j the different kinds of straw may be classed in the following order, thus indicating their ■ relative feeding values: —Pea straw, oat j straw, bean straw with the pods, barley j ptraw wheat straw, and bean straw without the pods. In the previous paragraph it was shown how important was the influence method of harvesting upon tho nutritive value of the straw. Oat straw, for instance, has been found to vary in quality a great deal. Pea straw, ais before mentioned, is an excellent food when well harvested. If, however, it is exposed to too much rain its nutritive property is likely to deteriorate, and not infrequently it will scour stock when fed in such a condition. Pea straw can be fed to horses and sheep with much benefit, and is relished alike by both classes 'of stock. Next in order of feeding value comes oat straw. Many of the best farmers cut their oats before maturity, for no other reason than the valuable nutritive property of the straw when harvested in that condition. Bean straw is usually hard and sticky, and somewhat usudteil for chaffing; the bean straw tops, however, and the pods denuded of grain, are of much greater value. Barley straw is a. useful fodder, and is best used in .'on. ■junction with clover hav. Wheat straw is seldom used for feeding purposes. although it can be converted into a tolerably good chaff for horses and horned stock. Generally speak- j ing, however, this material is utilised I solely for thatching and bedding purposes. I It is now necessary to consider haw best to prepare the straw for feeding to stock. At the onset it must be borne in mind ! that in no May can the nutritive value of ■ this material ho improved, whether by ! chaffiinc steaming, or fermenting or by I an v other process. All that can he'done is : to render the straw more palatable, and . so more eagerly relished by the block to which it ia fed. In this way much hard, ; : ndigestible material, containing a valuable I store of nutriment, which it would be I wasteful to neglect, can be converted .into suitable food by being chopped fine, and : cooked or steamed. It has been said tnat this material cannot be made tho best of for fodder purposes unless chaffed, and afterwards steamed or fermented ; tho nutritive properties thereby become more soluble. They are therefore, more easily assimilated in the digestive organs ' of the animals. Also the delicious aroma imparted to the straw in the steaming err cooking process ' is calculated to excite the appetite, not i tho least attribute to successful feeding.