FARMING IN OTAGO.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11323, 17 January 1899, Page 6

FARMING IN OTAGO.

TOUR OF THE DIRECTOR OF LIN-

COLN COLLEGE.

Mr j. Bayne, the director of the Canterbury Agricultural College at Lincoln, returned on Wednesday from a holiday trip to Otago and Southland, principally spent in the western districts of the southern part of the colony. During his tour he drove between 200 and 300 miles through much interesting ooun try. in Western Southland, and kindly supplied a representative of the Christchurch Press with some notes of his observai ions.

"I spent a little time on my way down,' said Mr Bayne, '.'in the Palmerston South district, where Tuscan wheat is largely grown, and it is looking well, though not so heavy as the Canterbury crops. The grass on the flats was in abundance, and the lambs were, in very forward condition. They are being topped off on rape, and it was a noticeable feature, that much of-the rape lias run to seed through having apparently been sown too early." ' ■ THE TAIERI. " The crops in the Taieri are looking excellent/and so are the pastures, which consist of ryegrass, clover, cocksfoot, and timothy. Tho swedes and other turnips, for which this fertile plain is famed, are very promising, but the early plants' evidently suffered from the fly. Wild turnip seems ,to be gaining a firmer footing,, and more attention requires to be paid to the eradication of what will otherwise be a. formidable foe to farmers in the future. The excellent- appearance of tho Milton district is maintained by liming, and in some paddocks the effects are wonderful, the contrast being distinctly noticeable where a portion of a paddock has not yet been dressed. Where lime has been used, there is abundance of rich grass and clover, whilst on unlimed land there is little else but sorrel. This is on.down land, where axtificiaTdrainage is not required,, As agricultural lime is carried free on the railway, farmers are still further improving their properties by-its use." ' " ' . . ' . CLUTHA. ; " In the Clutha district the crops are also looking well. Here the most formidable foes seem to be docVs and the Canadian thistle. Wherever water has lain docks are abundant, and on the rich alluvial flats fronting the river the thistle flourishes luxuriantly. There seems to be no way of keeping this thistle down, where it covers such large areas of uncultivated land, except by cutting after the plant has begun to flower. In the Henley district the backward spring has told against portions of the crops, some* of which,: both oats and grass, have bean drowned out. , The district on the whole'looks well, and forms!an excellent example of what can be done by a system of open ditch draining, supplemented by pumping the water, into the river, which is above the level bf the adjoining land. At. Stirling the crops are good, and it is worthy of note that at the well-known dairy factory there is-an adjunct in the form of a. pigfeeding establishment, the by-products from . the factory being conveyed to the pigs in j I a distant paddock by means of a pipe." WOODLANDS, ' | "The next place I visited was Woodlands, 11 miles from Invercargill, where both tho wheat and oat crops are fair, but not so far advanced as those in the Taieri. There is, I I may mention, a much larger area under wheat in Ofckgo and Southland than' I saw on my visit there last year, and the crops, as a whole, are very much better. I noticed here, as in .most places in Southland, that the turnips have been sown on ridges 22in apart, with about half a pound of seed to the acre. The principal varieties, in addition to Swedes, are, purple and green-top Aberdeen. Sometimes they are thinned out by hand, but whether this is done or not, the" sheep' get'■■ more benefit from the turnips when grown on ridges, as the bulbs are above the ground, and not.' partially covered,'as wlien grown on the flat. This plan might I' very well-be-tried .'on the best classes ofs land iii Canterbury that are not too liable to be ' affected by dry weather. The principal manures used in growing turnips in Southland are' guano' and phosphates, applied at the rate of about 2ewt to the acre. T bad the pleasure of-seeing Messrs M'Kerehar Bros ; famous flock 'of Border Leicesters, and it was interesting to know that grazings are taken in other districts for the ram and ewe hoggets, sods to give ' them a ohange of soil, and-thus aid in developing the growth and constitution' of' the breed. Messrs M'Kerchar Bros, have a-flock of 250 purebred ewes, anil'they are all of even type and excellent quality. In the Woodlands district it is-necer-sary to graze sheep and cattle together, as there is otherwise" a tendency for the pastures to become too rough for sheep. Lime is used at "the rate of two tons to the acre,, and ryegrass and' clover are in abundance on the parts so treated. Sometimes ground lime is used, and sometimes slacked lime, the httev .being-preferable, as the ground lime may contain pieces of stone that do not crumble away. Wherever the lime is used the poor grasses disappear, and the richer varieties thrive freely, and the same .effect 13 produced when a top dressing of farmyard jnnnure is applied., In Southland, where there-is more winter feeding done, farmyard r.-.iinure is more plentiful than in Canterbury. On some of the farms potatoes intended for seed are planted later than the main crop, a-s this tends to prevent cross fertilisation, and smaller sets are produced. The small end of the set is cut off, and only the eyes on the main body of the potato are left. Tho crops of oats here, principally sparrowbills, are heavy, and some will yield fully 60 bushels to the acre. The method of ; sowing down is without a crop, and a fair mixture per acre is 201b of ryegrass, 101b of cocksj foot,- 21b white clover, 31b of cowgrass, and a .little Italian ryegrass. It is interesting to j compare this with the seeding adopted at | Winton, where as much as 501b of seed mix- ! tare is used, the quantity of ryegrass being doubled and the cocksfoot reduced." WINTON. ■'In the .Winton, district the crops are looking extremely well, the wheat and barley being quite equal to what may be seen in Canterbury. ' The soil here is very rich, and warmer than the general run of soils in Southland, and the grass lasts in the pastures. Charlock (wild mustard) is abundant, and is apparently going to be a severe pest to Winton farmers." . ' THE ORETI PLAINS. " I next visited the Timboon, estate, near the Oreti River, which is cut up into holdings of 200 to 300 acres, and sold on deferred payments. It was covered with brown tussock, and was at one time' worth only 15s. per acre, while its present value is something like £8 to £12 per acre. On the Oroti Plains crops of timothy are cut from six to eight years in succession. I also passed through the Merryfields estate, where the land has risen in value in 20. years, f-rom £5 to £14 per acre. On the road sides there grew swamp grass, timothy, cocksfoot,. arid a little Yorkshire fog, which indicated good laud." . DRTJMMOND. "The' Drommond district is one of the richest in Southland, the crops of wheat and oats bsiug really splendid, and compare very favourably with Canterbury crops. This district is subjected to intense cultivation, and responds well to the amount of work put into it. The Gladfield estate, out up five years ago, shows good land and good crops. This country, judging by the appearance of both owes and lambs, is excellent for sheep. The B:iyswater estate, near the Jacobs River, has also been sub-divided, and is said to be one of. the cheapest blocks of land in SouthTHE MERRIVALE ESTATE. "The Otautau district was looking at its best, the crops were good, and the stock of cxcellont quality. This is one of the largest wheat-growing districts in Southland, and is comparatively sheltered by the hills from the cold southerly rain storms that sweep across the plains lower down. I wont westward to the Merrivale estate, part of which is owned by a private company and part cut up by the Government and settled. The settlers here have nice-sized blocks, the crops look well, and everything connected with the settlement, so far as one could judge, betokens success. The principal drawback is the distance from Otautau—ls miles, —the road not being very good, and connection by railway is required. Wheat has been tried on the Merrivale estate, but it is not always to be depended upon for a crop." ' THE BIRCHWOOD ESTATE. " I continued right on some 15 miles further, across the Waia-u, and spent a day among the settlers there. This district is composed of river terraces, and to my mind tho second terrace from the river appears the richest land. The distance from Inyercargill, the chief market town, is a handicap that can only be reduced by railway extension. In this district cattle-raising is largely gone in for, as they are necessary for breaking in this new country," and some good Ayrshires were seen. At Merrivale and Waiau the oats are cut up for horses and other stock

in tho winter. I visited the famous Birchwood estate, owned by Captain Gardiner. If; is north-west from Merrivale, and is one of the most westerly stations in Southland. It is capable of carrying 18.000 sheep and several hundred head of cattle. -The flat lands, which are of excellent quality, have been drained' by means of open ditches and the drain plough, thus causing the-grass to grow luxuriantly. The hay crops aro some of the best I saw, and should average three tons to the acre. Turnips also do well in these western districts. Captain Gardiner has a beautiful flock of Romney Marsh sheep, some specimens of which gained honours at the Inver- ; cargill Show. They are very even and fine in the wool. Chewings's;.fescue is sown on tho higher ground, the usiial English grasses, of course, being used on;.;the' plains. The eastern portion of the estate comprises rollinx clowns, and forms - excellent ■ sheep country. Water-power is utilised fo^driving machinery in connection with chaff.-icutting, crushing, sawing timber, etc, The; garden, grounds, etc.', are in first-class order, arid Captain Gardiner has an oxcellent class of young light, horses, by his woll-known^horse Patchwork." , ' RECLAMATION <5F SWAMP...; "Leaving Birch wood, I; returned via Wairio, situate on the Nightcaps line, . above Otautau, where the land is highly farmed and capable of growing wheat and oats. I also passed through some excellent country.in the neighbourhood of Wrey'sf Bush, Haddpn's Bush, and 'Pennant's Bush. Mr, 'Pennant's . estate is one of the largest in Southland, and on it were grazing largeVnumbers of sheep and cattle, the Hereford:'cross being seen among the latter. I retunjed to Winton, and made it my headquarters. From there I paid a visit to the settlers bn the'.Shands property, which is chiefly swamp land, and.in some cases was bought for £2, and. later on' as high as £6 per acre, jit is fine ryegrass growing country, and it isjnot uncommon to get 40 and 60 bushels J per acre. Here tho great difficulty to .[contend with is Yorkshire fog; but, by the judicious crazing of cattle and sheep, and.pbserving ordinary rules of rotation, the-fogfis fast disappearing. In one field which yas sown down to grass late in the summer, little or no.fog ap-, : peared as compared with other paddocks sown in the spring. Here^ the drain plough ,is in constant use. Messrs D., King and George Sutton have actually, transformed land from impassable swamp into excellent pastures that will carry aght sheep to the acre. Land which cost £1 per acre is now , realising £6. The methodjof reclaiming the: swamp is, to drain it by Means of a plough drawn by 12 to. 16 horsey After allowing' it a little time to drain slid settle down, a large single-furrow plough, to which four horses are attached, is used, arid a furrow 18in by 7in is turned over. Disc harrows aro then run over it, and the land is sown with turnips and ryegrass. 'After a season or two it is worked in the regulaij rotation, and the land becomes capable oil growing wheat, oats, barley, roots, and (grass. This land owes its richness to the limestone ranges from which the 'lime is washed; into the swamp,- ■■ and becomes mixed with tie organic matter. ■ I spent an afternoon with Jir George Sutton, and inspected his famous lock of stud Lincolns, including the champion ram at the Christchurch show. This /sheep; is , looking well, and is kept on ordinary pasture with a view to service this j'ear. Mr Sutton's estate I look upon as one of the best I saw in Southland. I spent ai evening witVMr . Keith.-on whose farm $» mysterious. Win-. ton disease appeared among the horses, the animals, however, recovering from the last', attack. Mr Keith expressed strong disapproval of the class of caftle generally foundin the province, and is determined to improve his own breed by the introduction of good Shorthorn blood." - ■ j .'■•'•