BACK TO THE PLOUGH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21289, 16 September 1932, Page 16

BACK TO THE PLOUGH

MOVEMENT DEVELOPS DEMAND FOR HORSES EVIDENCE AT RECENT SALE ]!Y K.P. " There you arc, gentlemen; look liiin over. A six-year-old gelding, guaranteed sound,- broken to all work, and sold subject to any trial. What is your offer ? Is there five and thirty pounds for him ? Is there two and thirty The occasion is a horse sale, at which arc gathered farmers and dealers from all, parts of the province. It is many years since there was an occasion like it in this or any other district in New Zealand. Horses of all ages, colours and tempers, have been brought from north, south, east and west to cater, for the insatiable demand which seems to have set in. For four days the dominating sounds have been tlio auctioneer's chant and the crack of the groom's whip as lot after lot comes in one side of tlio ring as the property of one man and goes out tho other side the property of another. Horsemen of Dominion-wide repute have gathered to witness this remarkable comeback of tho animal, which of late years lias beer, relegated to ti very minor place in the affairs of man. 4 A Sustained Demand

A firm of slock and station agents lias had tho courage to hold a four-days liorso fair at Cambridge and tlio astounding thing about it was that tho fourth day was tho best. Upward of 600 horses, mostly draughts suitablo for farm work, came under tho hammer and of those tho majority changed hands at auction, while many private sales were mado later. There seemed to bo no satisfying the demand which appears to have doveloped as thero were just, as keen buyers left at the end of the fourth day as thero wero at the end of tho first day. One would have to go a long way back to find a parallel occasion to the fair of tho past week. Even some of the oldest buyers present at Cambridge failed to recall tho day when so much real interest in horses was shown. The salo was splendidly organised and efficiently carried out. Relays of auctioneers enabled the pace to lie maintained from 10.30 a.m. until well after 4 p.m. each day. But what does this sudden interest in farm horses suggest ? To those who have been closely observing tho trend of events over tho past few years it indicates a return to the plough and the growing of root and special forage crops for the winter feeding of stock. Farmers have found out that ensilage making is by, no means the simple task that it was represented to be, and they have also found out that it does not adequately meet their requirements in tho way of winter feed, especially for dairy stock. Condition of Dairy Stock There can be no two opinions about the general condition of the milking herds in the Auckland Province at the commencement of tho present milking season; the general condition is poor and that expresses the position very mildly. For every ono that has brought his herd through tho winter in good condition, one hundred have failed to do so. Of courso it - will be argued that the fault does not lio with ensilage, as wellmade ensilage is both palatable and nourishing and in every way a satisfactory fodder. Admitting all that, the fact remains that ensilage, taking it as it is actually made in the Waikato, for instanco, is not a satisfactory ration and is probably responsible for a good many stock ailments. Thero is also a further very sound reason for a return to tho plough in the urgent need for the renewal of much of our pasture land Fertilisers are being used on pastures which contain so largo a percentage of poor plant species as tu make a satisfactory response almost impossible. It is true that much can be accomplished in the way of pasture'renovation by harrowing, but the completely satisfactory method is ploughing and resowing, so wo have a reversion to tho thoroughly sound, old-time ' practice of ploughing for roots and fodder crops with a return to permanent grass. The Weed Problem '

It is not likely ,tliat a return to the plough will mean a return to cereal crops, at least in the North. Cereal crops take too much out of the land, besides adding to the difficulties of weed control. Many fanners are still afraid of breaking up pastures gwing to the incursion of weeds, but actually the breaking-up of a piece of grassland and subsequent working for roots and grass should leave the land comparatively clean. Once an area is broken up it should bo kept occupied right up till the autumn sowing out. From almost every point of view the return to the plough is a most desirable move, and if the practice becomes general throughout the dairying districts we can look for records in production and carrying capacity which will piake pics-ent-day figures appear almost insignificant. . , t By all the means 111 our power let us encourage this "back to tho plough movement.