THE RURAL WORLD. FARM AND STATION NEWS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19615, 20 October 1925, Page 4

THE RURAL WORLD. FARM AND STATION NEWS.

FORTHCOMING SHOWS.

1925. October 21, 22. —Hawke’s Bay. October 22;—Ellesmere October 27, 28.—Poverty Bay. October 28, 29. —Timaru. October 2B] 29.—Marlborough. November 3,4, s.—Palmerston North. November 4. —Kelso. November 5. —Ashburton. November 6. —Rangiora. November 11 to 13. —Royal Show, Christchurch. November 18.—Wallace. November 18, 19.—Otago. November 19. —Courtenay, November 21.—Taicri. November 24.—TokomairirO. November 24, 25. —Nelson. November 25, 26.—Stratford. November 26, 27. —Oamarn. December 1,2. —Gore. December 4. —Wyndham. December 4, s.—Auckland. December 8. 9.—Southland. December 10.—Owakau December 11. —Ma-niototo. Another large deal in fat cattle is announced, Messrs Barton and Trengrove having purchased a lino of 140 bullocks from Messrs Smaiil Bros., of Moa Flat. These are said to be one of the best lines of bullocks seen in Otago this year, and since‘the disposal of Mr Peter Anderson’s draft to the same firm of butchers the largest available line. The animals; are mostly Shorthorn cross, and are of exceptional quality. The price paid was £25 10s per head.

The executive of the Shorthorn Society of Now Zealand (Christchurch) has advised the Otago A. and P. Society that it has decided to offer a challenge shield for the 'Champion Shorthorn bull to be competed for at the forthoming summer show.

The British Agricultural Wages Act imposed: on the Ministry the duty of securing the proper observation of the Act, and with this object in view two prosecutions were recently instituted. One employer, who paid a hand less than the union cost, was fined £6 and costs and arrears of wages £l2, and another was fined £l, with costs and arrears.

Tho September dairying returns for the Poverty Bay district show a very big decline from last year’s figures, this being du© to the lack of feed, but the position is gradually improving. Many farmers on tho flats have been put to their wits’ end to Jteep their cows going. Most farmers who are milking the same number of cows as they did at this time last year will get only half as much milk from them. To the .end of last month only 1417 boxes of butter have been graded for export, as against 2447 at this time last year.

The first draft of local lambs made their appearance in tho Levin saleyards a week ago, when two pens comprising 30 Southdowns were submitted on 'behalf of the Boys’ Training Farm. These were barely three months old yet, but were well grown and in excellent condition. The whole line was purchased by a firm of Wellington butchers at 27s per head.

The annual stud show and sale of the dairy cattle for the Manawatu district was ■ a great success. The top price for tho ■ day was 81 guineas, which was paid for 'Mr Alex. Christie’s bull, Lea Rig King. 'T he'; best price for two-year-olds was 61 guineas, which was paid for a young bull glamcd Te Auto Holly K.C.8., whose mother (■topped tho 10001 b butter-fat mark. The ■'■St’njp average price was guineas, which fi'aa -paid for a line of four bulls.

Forty years ago (says the Milk Reporter) Ovid Pickard a penniless farmer boy of 13, walked 56 miles to got a job on a farm near Marion, Oregon. He liked Jerseys, and studied them. To-day Ovid Pickard is recognised as the greatest breeder of Jersey cattle in the United States. His cows have smashed six world’s records at one time. One of his cows, Darlin’s Jolly Lassie, lias an official record of 16,4251 b milk and 1,141.281 b butter-fat. This makes her the champion of all Jerseys for all ages. World’s records in seven of tho eight classes of Jerseys in milk and butter-fat production are held in Oregon.

The first shipment of purebred Corriodales exported from New Zealand was disposed of at auction at Home on October 5. These animals had been forwarded l for exhibition at Wembley. All of the sheep were bred at “Hul Hui,” North Canterbury, by Mr 11. T. Little, whose flock is of pure descent. One of the ewes, unfortunately, died of bloodpoisoning at Wembley, but the others brought more than satisfactory prices. Two rams realised over 100 guineas each, and the three ewes auctioned totalled 270 guineas. Tho purchaser of the whole consignment was Mr James Piper, of Burnt Island, Scotland.

What can be termed an exceptionally good performance for this season, a very poor one for most dairy farmers, has been put up by Mr A. Cunningham’s herd on the Kereone soldier settlement, where, on his 100 aero farm, there has been an abundance of green feed. During August the herd (27 cows in milk) averaged 44.071 b of butter-fat on factory returns: seven heifers were included. For the past month the butter-fat average was 42.241 b, with 41 cows in milk, the best cow giving 67.861 b, its record to date being 166.691 b in 81 days.

Correspondence has-been passing between Mr W. 11. A. Gill, Bloomfield Farm Co., Wellington, and tho Otago A. and P. Society, in reference to securing for exhibition ait the Dunedin Show, the world-wide record cow, “Alcartra Clothilde Pietjo.” under New Zealand conditions. This cow’s record for 365 days is 51,512.51 b milk, 1145.241 b fat, and if satisfactory arrangements can bo made for her conveyance, Mr Gill will also send his present Royal Champion cow, “Willowvale Galatea Segis.’’ Tho committee of the A. and P. Society fuliv recognises the expense and risk of sending a valuable animal such a long distance. The cost of insurance in transit alone from the farm in Wellington to Dunedin and back is £25. It certainly would bo a great attraction to the public, and especially those interested in Friesian cattle, if satisfactory arrangements could be completed for these animals to be on exhibition at the Dunedin Show. The rnmmittoe hopes also to induce Messrs 11. North and Son. Omimi. to send in for exhibition their wonderful Friesian cow, “Sylvia Posch.”

LUCERNE,

“THE MORTGAGE LIFTER.” A REMARKABLE TESTIMONY.

In the western States of America lucerne, or as they call it, alfalfa, has been dubbed “the mortgage lifter” owing to its magnificent cropping qualities. Lucerne, it is agreed by all who know it and its marvellous potentialities, will be the salvation of Central Otago, and incidentally so increase the output of milk an-J mutton that Dunedin City as the export base will most materially benefit. There is in the air at present a proposal that an area of land should be acquired in Central Otago for the sole purpose of growing lucerne seed of a variety which its promoters claim can be grown without irrigation, without lime and without inoculation of soil, a variety which will defy frost, drought, carelessness, or close grazing, and apparently an ideal plant for our up-country use.

The secretary of the Otago Expansion League (Mr W. B. Steel) has been endeavouring to enlist the co-operation of some Central growers in this variety, and amongst the letters he has received the following extracts written by a wellknown lucerne enthusiast give a racy picture of what “the king of the fodder plants” means to the grower. The writer points out that most of the people up his way have already established paddocks, and they do not feel inclined to root it out in.favour of a new variety. Here, iar Ills own statement:— “It 1* the rooting out that is tho trouble. I have tried It, and failed miserably as far as tilling it is concerned. My

B]r Rusticus. [ltems of interest to these engaged in agrienlturai and pastoral pursuits, with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed. They should be addiessed to “ Rusticus,” Otago Daily Times, Dunedin.]

SPRING PASTURES.

CAREFUL GRAZING NECESSARY.

CONSERVING FEED FOR DRY SEASON.

two-acre plot was getting into bad shape with grass, etc., so the winter before last I ploughed it with a Reid and Gray digger plow and turned it upside down, the roots sticking up in the air like a lot of parsnips. I let the hardest winter that we have had here for 2f> years freeze it like snow, when the ground was workable in the spring I put a team on witli the discs anil cut it. four ways, then I toothed it, and harrowed it two ways, and let it lie until it got warm enough to resow it. I had a (iOlb hag of seed on hand ready, but lo and behold in theVfirst week in November I'm hanged if it didn’t come up thicker than it did when it was first sown, and last year I got live cuts off it, and this year it is a perfect picture. I will be cutting it in 10 days. I still hare half a good-sized stack left from last year, and I keep three horses and two cows, so that will give you some idea of the value of a two-acre stdnd of lucerne as a feed proposition. Now I ask you, would you try and root out a plant that gives these results to try a new variety 7" With every available acre sown with such a prolific and unkillable plant the carrying power of Central Otago will rival if not excel the highest bearing land of the Dominion.

With the advent of warmer weather nml sunny days the rain-soaked pastures should nc,w begin to show signs of vigorous growth, more especially in the case of land manured or top : dressed in the early spring. Where the harrows have been run over a paddock and the manure well spread about, the growth will be much quicker and will present a much cleaner and more regular expanse of good, succulent feed. Plenty of warmth and sunshine will bring away any grass at all, but those who found time to work at last year’s pastures before the herd came in again will reap the benefit of a few hours’ work, and will find their trouble in this direction amply repaid. Still, the possession of good, fresh grass land now carries with it responsibilities. From now on till the end of this month and well into November, these paddocks must bo nursed carefully. Each field should be Careful! v grazed all over, or if the growth is too fast the mowing machine should be brought into action, and the whole cut close down. Li this way any coarseness, patchiness, or tendency to run to seed will be avoided, and with reasonable care and control a fresh, succulent, and palatable food is assured when the drier .days begin, and the hot weather burns up the whole countryside. A few dozen sheep on the dairy farm at this time of the year ore very useful in this respect. When there is plenty of luscious grass about cows obieot to being confined to one paddock until it has been cropped close enough. Moreover, the milk supply has to be considered, and the best of grass is not too good for the milkers. If a few sheep are run on to the grass the cows have left, the whole paddock will soon be cleaned up properly and the new growth will bo without seedy and coarse patches. It is by no means too late to begin closing up paddocks for hav. which can be done in November even. This late closing, though not providing as fine a quality hav as an earlier setting aside does, results in a greater development and higher proportion of clovers and tree-foil, giving the hav more body and weight. This ts a very important part of the year’s operations and dairy farmers should make good provision for winter feeding. Hay is the favourite fodder for winter use in this district yet, but I would like to see farmers making more use of the better and more easily made ensilage. However, whether the' food is to be hay or ensilage, it should bo provided in as large quantities as possible in order that the winter feeding might be well balanced. This is an aspect of winter feeding which is often lost sight of bv many dairy farmers. Turnips are all very well if fed with good < hav or ensilage, but they are hopelessly inadequate when fed alone. CLYDESDALE SOCIETY. MEETING OF COUNCIL. A meeting of the council of the Clydesdale Horse Society of the Dominion of New Zealand was held in the Otago A, and r. rooms last month. The following rcsignnlions were received* —Messrs W. and X. Fortune (Otama). T. 0. Kay (Waikato). John Walden (Hastings), and W. Blakie (Southland). The following were elected members of the society;-—J. F. Studholme (Taihnpe). David M‘Kay (Taibape). Chas. H. Hallum (Whikouaiti), A. 11. Hall (Otago Peninsula), Felix. A. Bradfleld (Owaka), R. H. Hill (Rotorua), Win. Brownlie (East Taieri), Andrew Grant (Fairlie), Alex. Alexander (New Plymouth), J. F. King (Kapuni), I*. Sincox (Hanakau), ,T. A. Fairweather (Amberley), Stratford A. and P. Association, Stratford), N.Z. Loan and Mercantile. Agency (Hawera), Alexander Gibson (Levels), C. C. Kyngdon (New Plymouth), Taranaki Jockey Club (New Plymouth), A. Thirlwall (Matamata), R. L. Byars (Otama). Prefixes were granted as follows: — “Waikouro,” P. G. Dahlenburg. Invercargill; “Broomfield,” J. A. Fairweather, Amberley. It, was reported that certificates had been granted to seven fillies, the property of the Moore Hunter Estate, Hawera, and to one colt, the property of Mr H. E. Porritt, Hamilton. CORRECTION OP PEDIGREE. After careful inquiry and due consideration of the evidence it was decided that the pedigree of “Dominion La Belle” (18) be altered to read as follows:—Foaled about 1690, bred by —. Jones, Drummond, Southland; the property of (2.) James Patrick, Lee Creek, Outran;, Otago, (3) J. \V. Blair, Abbotsford, Ontram, (4) Department of Agriculture, Momnuhaki. Sire—Maearthur (10). V. 1; first dam, by Sir Colin Campbell—Walls’s (733) V. 2; second dam, by Extinguisher (3) V. 1. Produce—l9o3 KiHeymoon Taieri, brown, filly, bred hy ,T. Patrick, the property of (2) J. W. Blair, (3) Ellis Bros., KiHeymoon. Bulls, by Wee MacGregor (760) V. 2. 1004, barren. 1905, State, chestnut, filly, by Pride of Newton (12,260*), (12) V. 1. 1906, .1907, 190 S—barren. 1909, marif and foal died.

Dominion La Bello was not examined for a veterinary certificate, and Dominion Pride (19) and Jess, the dam of Scotch Lassie, are not her daughters. Their dam was Bell, the marc which passed the veterinary examination, the date of foaling, colour, etc., being hors. ■ She was bred at Moumahaki Experimental Farm, her sire being Glengylc and her dam a bay mare purchased from Mr J. Johnston. Wavorley. Consequently, the pedigrees of ' Dominion Pride (19), Scotch Lassie (1882), and All Flash (1745) do not contain the required percentage of Clydesdale blood, and are therefore cancelled. NON-COMPLIANCE WITH EXPORT RULES. It was reported that owners had been shipping animals to Australia without first having the necessary certificates attended to, the result being that when the animals reached Australia registration was refused. This has caused a good deal of inconvenience to the purchasers and to the society's office, as well as to the exporter. After discussion it was proposed and unanimously carried that a penalty of £5 5s bo imposed on exporters not complying with these rules. CUP CONDITIONS. The conditions for competition for the Wright, Stephenson Oup were fully i/.s----cussed, after which it was carried tl at clauses 1 and 3 be altered to read as follows : Clause 1. —For the beet Clydesdale stallion four years old and upwards. Clause 3.—No stallion will bo allowed to compete for this cup unless proof be furnished to satisfy a committee appointed for the purpose 'by the council of the Clydesdale Horse Society that he has, during (Jie preceding season, left 35 per cent, of the mares served by him in foal, with a minimum of 15 loafs. Clause 6.—That tho veterinary conditions bo the same as included in tho proposed Stallions Bilk

HAIR IN WOOL.

TROUBLE IN ROMNEY FLEECES. An . interesting statement regarding the controversy ns to hair in Romney fleeces, is made by Mr (I. P. Reed, wool expert, jnst returned from a trip to England,

where he attended a conference between Dominion woolgrowors and the Bradford Chamber of Commerce. Mr Reid said there was no doubt that Mr Akroyl had gone carefully into the Question and could prove his case. At the conference Mr Akroyd had produced samples of New Zealand Romney wool with hairs amongst the wool fibres. This means a big loss annually to woolgrowors, because wool containing hairs has to be graded lower than otherwise for manufacturing purposes.

Mr Akroyd'a theory was that a bad strain of Romney blood had got into Dominion flocks, and careful selection of nuns over a long period would be the only solution.

Mr Itci I added that for. many years he had held (lie opinion that nnlcli of the local Romney wool was not of the highest quality, and lie believed that there were few Hocks in the district which would not show hair fibres. ' It was hard to accurately estimate (lie losses to growers *very year, hut they must lie very considerable. DANISH BUTTER. Discussion by leading representatives of the Danish dairying industry, at a meeting held at Copenhagen, was of considerable interest to dairy farmers in Now Zealand. With production of butter in New Zea-

land and Australia expanding, exports to Great Britain have increased correspondingly, and Denmark is now beginning to feel the weight of supplies entering into competition with its produce. The concern expressed by Danish interests at this dedevelopment can be viewed with satisfaction here, for it indicate? that the dominions' butter is gaining access to trade in Great Britain which previously Denmark had largely to itself. The decision of the British retail dairy produce trade to assistin bringing such produce more generally before the consumer in its original form is of great importance to producers here. Recognising that its trade in the United Kingdom may gradually be reduced, Denmark is determined that it will not suffer in this respect from faults in quality. It has decided to introduce fresh legislation that will make it difficult for factories to export butter to England except of very high quality. This will make it necessary for Australia and New Zealand to exert their energies in the same direction. HORSES v. TRACTORS. RESPECTIVE MERITS COMPARED. The comparative merits of horses and tractors for providing power for farm operations was discussed before a meeting of the Ellesmere branch of the N.Z. Farmers’ Union, held at Lecston, by Mr W. W. Mulholland, of Darfleld. There was a good attendance of farmers, and keen interest was taken. Mr Mulholland said that he considered the study of the most economical means of using power on the farm offered the

greatest possibilities for increasing farm income of any of the * sciences relating to agriculture. By means of a graph it was shown that on small farms the agency of the horse as a power unit was greater as the size of the farm increased, but this was true only to a certain point. If a sixhorse team, for instance, was sufficient to work a 500-acre farm, and that farm was increased to 600 acres, the agency of the team unit would bo decreased, because more horses would require to bo added in order to cover the work. In fact, it would probably be necessary in order to farm the extra 100 acres to double the strength of the teams. This would mean that 10 or 12 horses were working only one-fifth more land than six horses alone could do —obviously a decrease in efficiency. The size of the farm was therefore an important factor in respect to the agency of teams. From the point of view of farm income, the farmer, in valuing the agency of the team, should consider not only what work it aione could do. but what was the difference between the agency of the two methods — teams and tractors —op the yield. Another factor which had a great deal to do with the efficiency of the team was the time in which the work was required to be done. The team’s capacity for work could be regarded as the same at all times of the year, therefore, if a heavy amount cf work was to be carried out in two or three months, it followed that at one time the team would lie fully occupied, and at another season it would bo doing little or no work. But during the whole period t,ho team had to bo fed, whether working or not, and the cost of its upkeep while idle was probably as great as when it was in work. According to figures compiled by Mr Fawcett, of the Department of Agriculture, the cost of upkeep per annum on an average farm of a six-horse team was £550, including implements, or £460 without implements. In working this cost out per day the number of actual working days nor year would have to be considered. The cost for 150 working days would equal £3 18s Id per day; for 200 i£2 19s 8cl; for 250. £2 7s 4d; and for 275, £2 3s Id. This went to indicate the advisability of keeping the team as fully, occupied as possible, for idle teams were the cause of a great deal of waste expenditure to their owners. With hindrances on account of weather and other causse, it was seldom for teams to ho employed for more than 250 working days per year, leaving 60 working days idle. This was one of the chief disadvantages of team power. It. was obviously of advantage to distribute the work of the farm as evenly as possible over each month when teams were employed, and in the speaker’s experience most farmers appeared to recognise this. One of the chief points in favour of the team as a source of farm power, and one which was keeping it on the farms of Canterbury to-day. was the fact that it could bo divided into its component parts as the particular work in hand might require, using one, two, three, or more horses as the pood sho(dd be. This could not lie done in the case of the tractor. Mr Mulholland quoted the results of an investigation into the merits of tractors conducted in th e United Slates some six years ago Although some of the findings still held sound to-day, improvements had been made in the construction of the machines since then, and those all weighed in their favour. It was generally agreed to-day that the tractor was at least no more expensive than the team, and in many cases was found considerably cheaper. The actual cost of any particular operation was not a deciding factor as to whether or not the tractor was an efficient power unit. The deciding factor had to bo based on farm income over a whole year. The cost of the working of tractors compared very favourably with that of horse teams, and even if, in a few cases, it was higher, there was a compensating increase, in returns in the ease of the former which had to bo taken into consideration. In this connection it was well to remember that most of the feed given to horses cotdd bo grown on the farm and was not paid for in cash, but this was not so in the case of the tractor. . . One of the strongest points m favour of the tractor was the flexibility which it gave to farm management. A farm operated by a team was tied down to a certain routine which the capacity of the team made necessary, but with the tractor the farm was not so tied down, because the tractor had more than sufficient power to got through the work on time, and when necessary it could bo worked any number of hours per day. With the learn, on the other hand, the farmer had to map out the cropping programme so as to fill the whole 12 months evenly with work, while with tho tractor it was possible to so modify the cropping programme that a great proportion of the work would fall in only two or three months. Just a-s the farmer operating a team did everything possible to minimise the weaknesses of the team and take cteiy possible advantage of its strong points, the same should be done in operating a (ractor. The tractor offered excellent facilities for belt work. Up till recently ho had not considered this factor as a matter of much moment under New Zealand farming conditions, but now he went so far as to believe that the tractor might possibly solve the threshing cost problem, but he would not state this definitely until he had tried it for himself. For haulage purposes the tractor served well when fitted with the proper gear, and for use in drawing the binder it scored over horses m its ability to maintain a uniform speed. It was not possible to generalise as to whether tractors or teams were the most economical under all conditions, hut it was for farmers to study tho question as it affected them, and to decide whether an investment in a tractor would be payable. A question referred to the difficulty sometimes encountered in ploughing a paddock with tractor power where there were low, damp places. The tractor could not get over these so readily as horses. Mr Mulholland said that this was an ndmltcd drawback with the tractor. While the team had a very considerable reserve power, the power of tho tractor was limitad.

AUSTRALIAN WOOL SEASON

FORECAST TOO OPTIMISTIC.

Tho Australian Mercantile, Land, and Finance Company, Limited, Melbourne, commenting on the wool position in a report dated September 28. stated that judging by reports from many parts of Australia sheep are shearing a little less wool per head than last season, and it would appear that the early forecast of the size of the present clip was a little too optimistic. It would seem now that when the final figures are available it will be little, if any, larger than the last, in spite of tho estimated additional 6,<XX.K)O to 7,000,000 of sheep to be shorn. Though the outlook is more favourable, there is nothing at the moment to encourage the expectation that .prices for the current clip are likely to advance materially on present rates. Fluctuations, no doubt, will occur—■ it would not be a wool market without them —and anomalies, too; but if such irregularities as there may be are confined to, say, a range of 5 per cent, or thereabouts, it should eliminate much of the disstisfaction voiced last season through an often wide difference in price for similar wool in the same catalogue. By mast growers tho present-day rates are regarded as remunerative. Although by comparison with appraisement level some wool suffers, there is little difference in the average per bale. Generally, by growers, appraisement prices and tho security they gave were considered generous, if available, would have readily been accepted for an indefinite period. It is not this level, but the extreme prices early in last season that current rates compare unfavourably with. If there is anything in the market just now that may be regarded as a key to the situation in the future, it is that growers should aim at securing wool leaning up from 64’s rather than tending down to tO’s.

INTENSIVE CULTIVATION.

GUERNSEY LAND VALUES,

Sixty years ago tho best Guernsey land was procurable from £l5O to £2OO per acre. During tho late Victorian period there was a steadily growing recognition of tho clainis of the new, intensive, farming industry and a wider apprehension of the new financial dimension it brought, with it. The first inevitable symotom was that land values jumped up. The most conservative farmer felt that ho was up against something alluring when ho found capitalists at bis door and syndicates at his fropt gat© willing and anxious to buy his farm land at from £IOO to £250 per acre more than the most generous figure based on agricultural returns. I.and then changed hands very rapidly; the old, comparatively big farms became divided, and subdivided during l that strenuous commercial period from, say, 18 3 7 to 1897. . , Finally Guernsey was divided up into the bewildering series of small holdings, for which the native has a genius. During 15 years the output of the island, as shown by tho number of oackagcs of horticultural produce despatched to the mainland, increased more than tenfold- The average output of the island at the present time is approximately 15,000 tons of tomatoes per annum, besides large quantities of grapes, melons, poaches, figs, potatoes, broccoli, radishes, peas, beans, flowers, plants, blubs, etc.