AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19031, 30 May 1925, Page 14

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

Essential plant foods are withdrawn from grass land even moro freely than from arable lands. Cows that are in milk require about four times as much water as dry cows. Abundance of puro water should bo easily available. Tho boy on the farm who can refer to my calvos or my pigs or my anything is not tho boy who is eager to leave tho farm. Ono makes no mistake when feeding salt and minerals, such as lime, and phosphates in various forms, to live stock. Many of tho greatest sires in tho history of stock breeding have been quite shabby looking animals, but they all possessed good ancestry. A plague of mice is causing serious damage to tho wheat areas in Queensland. Hordes of theso are attacking both growing and stored grain. On tho farm ono kind of employment suceoeds another, and from early spring on through summer, autumn and winter, thero aro gradual pleasing changes. Jothro Tull, who wroto on tho 40 good points of husbandry, is generally regarded as the chief of the early writers on agriculture. He stressed the values of knowledge, capital, and lovo of work. Never drench a cow that has milk fever. 'Hie animal is semi-conscious only, and the liquid is just as liable to enter the lungs as the stomach, and cause pneumonia. All animals throw back to their ancestors, which further shows tho importance, in tho choice of a sire, of seeing to it that tho ancestors had the producing and reproducing ability. Tho State of Wisconsin, U.S.A., claims the largest dairy cow in the world. Sho is a Friesian, Winconsin Fobes sth, and woighs 22401b. She has a record of 8631b. of butter-fat in 305 days. The value of green manuro crops has been clearly proved by years of farm practice in many lands. To maintain tho organic content of tho soil green imanure crops must bo utilised. Tho brood sow that does not carry tho type and prepotency of bacon characteristics to enable her litter, under reasonable methods of feeding, to developin to select bacon pigs, is a " dud." There are some dairymen who weed by guess, feed by guess, and breed by guess- — and they are continually kept guessing as to how they aro going to get money to pay their bills. These men aro only milking cows for exercise. A bacon typo boar, mated to a bacon typo sow should produce, at least, 50 per cent, select bacon pigs. If your litters do not grado out half select type, then thoro is something seriously wrong with tho breeding stock or the method of feeding them. Settlers in tho pioneer districts of Northern Alberta, Canada, report tho presence of unusually ferocious wolf packs. A party of homesteaders returning from a danco were pursued by a large band of wolves, some of which endeavoured to onter tho sleigh. Tree planting must necessarily bo delayed now, owing to the exceptionally dry state of the soil throughout the late autumn rendering it impossible to prepare young trees by wrenching to enable them to be transplanted with safety. Tills also applies to evergreens and hedge, plants. In tho State of Massachusetts the possibility of utilising abandoned road-beds of steam railways as possiblo motor routes for commercial uso is being considered. Tho Public Works Department of this Dominion will shortly carry out a similar scheme near Whangarata, in tho Franklin County. Organic matter is tho life of the soil, as it acts like a sponge in shrinking and expanding in drying and wetting. It conserves moisture and holds heat. It holds fino particles apart, making 3 friable, loamy soil that will not cake. It absorbs plant food that is in solution, and prevents it from leaching out in the drainage water. During the year ending Juno 30, 1924, Canada supplied 30.96 per cent, of the total of the imports of flour into the United Kingdom, which exceeded that supplied by the United States by 5.42 per cent Canadian (lour exports during the fiscal year 1923-24 increased by 218 per cent, on those of tho provious year, and American exports by only 61 per cent. If tho situation is exposed to strong winds, it is advisable to stake tho trees at planting time. In tho case of two-year-old, or trained trees, that are already branched at fho required height, tho primer can cut back the branches about two-thirds or as he sees fit, to mako a well-shaped tree, and this special pruning to form the head of the tree should gonerally bo followed up for several years. Maize would appear to develop shorter stalks in seasons of short days than in long days. Mr. C. P. Hartley tolls tho Washington Biological Society that maize planted in April grow a stalk decidedly shorter than maize of tho same variety planted in June—only four foot away. Another observer reports very short stalks from maize planted in October. Larger varieties show less difference. The New South Wales Dairy Industry Stabilisation Committee has issued a circular to all tho butter and cheoso factories in the State, asking them to enter into a voluntary agreement to givo effect to a scheme for raising the level of local butter and cheeso prices by 3d and lid per lb. respectively. Tho schemo provides for the payment of an export bounty on these products. If given effect to tho scheme will cost tho consumers of tho State an additional £3,000,000 per ann um.