THE RURAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22612, 2 July 1935, Page 3

THE RURAL WORLD.

By Rusncus.

FARM AND STATION NEWS.

Youngberrie* at Roxburgh The orchard instructor at Dunedin reports that the youngberry has been fruited in Roxburgh. In growth this berry somewhat resembles the thimbleberry, but the fruit is larger and it is not such a rampant grower. The fruit, which was ripe during the first week in January, is black, about an inch and a-half long, and not so even in outline as the thimbleberry, being more swollen in the centre while retaining a cylindrical shape.;, The flavour is good, and it promises to be a good cropper, but its resemblance to a very vigorous black■t berry is too great to give it an unqualified recommendation. Companion Crops > The difference between sowing pastures down with and without a good companion crop was very noticeable recently on ; a farm at Waikaka. Rape was sown at the same time as the grass-seed, but in one fairly lorig rim the rape-sped stopped running and the grass-seed only was sown. On this part the sward is quite dense, while the other part is quite open. Sheep appear to appreciate the dense sward as regards grazing. * of Pastures Generally in July harrowing of pas- . tures which have not been harrowed recently should be carried out. It is ■ particularly advisable on fields whjch have been stocked heavily in May and June. Such harrowing may be made of great value in breaking up and distributing animal droppings, and as an aid - in this a section of chain harrow attached behind the grass harrow proper is usually valuable. Weed Control At times, arid especially In districts characterised by heavy soils, a wet winter is followed in the next summer by the occurrence of hosts of weeds in pastures which previously were relatively free from them. Thistles, rushes, buttercups and daisies are among such weeds. These weeds gain their foothold on bare patches of the soil which have resulted from the trampling of stock on wet, soft fields. Young pastures particularly are subject to such damage, which at times "it is;not'at all easy to avoid in practice. One course is to avoid as far as .possible, the stocking of those portions of the farm which are most subject to damage from trampling during a wet period. Another course is to, concentrate the damage as far as possible in paddocks which soon are to be used for arable cropping—these may well include paddocks which have suffered from the ravages of the grass.grub. Winter Feeding of Stock Cereals sown in the autumn should be fed off before growth becomes; too long. As a rule two feedings, of relatively long growth are ,more satisfactory.’ than a single feeding of long, heavy growth, in which considerable waste is practically unavoidable. Carton oats should be eaten down once, and that quickly. In the feeding of roots, carrots and mangels should follow swedes in the order named. Chou moellier usually is in. good condition for feeding in July, when, as a rule, it should.be used, for sometimes in August fit tends to run. fo seed stalks.; Because of the watery nature of both roots and: silage, it is better to feed roots and hay than roots alone, or roots arid silage. The pro-longed-feeding 1 of roots alone has led to'disorders such as red water. • A Critical Period ' Irijthe: r feeding of stock-July is generally a critical period,, arid especially is ’ this true relative f to developing stock and to dairy cows and breeding ewes. Many should know from bitter experience that poor feeding of the dairy cow after calving, has a.dire effect upon the season’s, yield. It'does not seem to be so well "known that .during the time the dairy cow it not yielding milk she should he, fed liberally enough to build up bodily reserves which are drawn upon in the , subsequent producing season and which assist in minimising the incidence of disorders that occur all too commonly at about calving time. Seasonal Care Important Recent New Zealand work has shown that the economical production of fat lambs is determined to a considerable extent by obtaining lambs of satisfactory weight a t birth, and that the weight of lambs at birth in its turn is developed bv the feeding of the ewes during the winter. Further, extensive work shows that a completely analogous position obtains in pig raising. While it may be . difficult to make economic emergency provision of feed for the current winter, the above facts provide guidance as to thO steps relative to special feed provision which should be taken in preparation for future winters. J Cropping Considerations In general, sowing, of seed in July should be avoided. Bpring-sown oats and wheat generally are sown in August or in early September and barley in September or early October. The cultiva-

Lucerne Cultivation

Items of intenat to those engaged in agricultural and pastoral paranlt* with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed. They should be addressed to “Eiwticus,” Otago Daily Times, Dunedin.

tion for cereals which are to follow swedes or turnips—crops which often are on the land till the end of July or early August—must be pushed ahead as quickly as is possible with due regard to the undesirable effects that may come from tillage of soil containing too much water. Glazed furrows and soil clinging to boots or implements are indicative of over-wet soils. For such crops the roller can be used advantageously on light land in consolidating the seed bed, but on heavy lands rolling may be harmful—it may cause the soil to settle down too much and to cake. Cereals sown in the spring benefit from a rolling after drilling of the seed, but, unless the land is light, the rolling should be carried out not immediately after drilling but when the land is drier—e.g., in September or early October.- As a rule cereals sown in the spring respond well to phosphates, and a dressing of lewt an acre of superphosphate in drier districts or of from 2cwt to 2Jcwt an acre in districts of good rainfall may be expected to prove profitable.

If the preparatory cultivation for lucerne is not already in progress it should be commenced at an early date. Lucerne following old pasture is particularly good practice, and if it is adopted then the land should be prepared in the manner described in these notes last month. A somewhat common misconception is that lucerne is comparatively fastidious or exacting in its requirements. Widespread field experience in New Zealand and in other countries has shown that lucerne may be grown profitably over a wide range of conditions of soil and climate provided the soils are well drained. Land which has been under the plough should be sown in lucerne only if it has keen kept “ clean ” while in an arable state, either by fallowing, by the growing of fallow crops such as mangels and potatoes, which have really cleaned the ground, or by the growing of “ smothering ” crops such as oats and tares, which weaken weeds.

Phosphatic Top-dressing Repeatedly attention has been directed to specific advantages attaching to topdressing with phosphates in the autumn and at times in the summer. Summed up, the main advantage of such topdressing is not 'that it gives a greater supply of feed than top-dressing in the winter or spring, but that it gives a supply * of feed which, because of its more even production through the year, more easily can be. used effectively. Actually, varying the date of applying phosphatic fertiliser to grassland seems not to affect appreciably the amount of additional feed which results. This matter has been investigated in a limited amount of work which has been carried out by the Department of Agriculture, and in which the pasture-growth was weighed carefully at frequent intervals. It was found, for instance, that when superphosphate at the rate of 3cwt an acre was applied variously in spring to one area, in summer to another, and Jp autumn and in .winter to others, there was practically; no difference in the amount of additional feed resulting In a full year on the various areas. Much the same result was obtained when the date of application of basic slag at 3cwt aih acre was similarly Varied, except that in the use of basic slag the winter (June), application consistently was slightly superior. These results are in full accord with prolonged experience in many districts} where it has been found that top-dressing with phosphates may be carried cut-in July with good results. Where, as so often is the ease, It is desired to stimulate growth rapidly, then generally superphosphate should, be used. Even on somewhat cold soils, superphosphate applied in July has been found to bring about quite appreciable increases in. the amount of feed available in August. Basic jslag applied at this season is considerably slower in its action than superphosphate, but somewhat quicker than island and African phosphates. Spring Top-dressing During recent years much consideration has been given to the application of sulphate of ammonia to grassland in the spring. In this connection the available knowledge makes it unsafe to lay down any rules for general application. Of two adjacent similar farms on one the use of sulphate of ammonia in the spring may be well justified, while it is not on the other—much’ depends on the prior management. When there is prospect of scant supplies of feed in August and September, generally additional feed may be obtained by the application of sulphate of ammonia about mid-July to suitable pastures. For a few weeks prior to mid-July,it is probably advisable not to apply sulphate of ammonia, for it has been found not to exert much influence when plants naturally are most dormant because of cold conditions. The use of superphosphate in conjunction with sulphate of ammonia is generally advisable, and is commonly effected by the use of the fertiliser known as ammoniated superphosphate. If the pasture to which sulphate of ammonia is applied contains a considerable proportion of ryegrass and is well drained, there is greater likelihood of successful results. Frequently liming also should be associated with the use of sulphate of ammonia, even in places where no visible result from liming, alone or in conjunction with superphosphate, has been noted. EXPORT LAMB V DISTRICT COMPETITION SOUTH OTAGO RESULTS The South Otagr Freezing Company has received the following information from the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board concerning the South Island District Lamb Competition;— The-London judges awards for the best pens in the South Island were as follows: — : First, Southland, Pen No. 21. Second, Eastern Southland, Pen No. 81. Third, Central Otago, Pen No. 6. H.C., South Otago, Pen No. 67. The result of the South Otago district’s judging was. as follows: — First, Pen No. 67 (Highly Commended), Throe excellent lambs. Splendidly shaped in legs, and shoulders with good backs. Remarkable for absence of internal waste, with carcasses ideally covered. A most attractive exhibit, v Second, Pen No. 41. —A pen of ideal lambs. Most attractive from, every point of view. Of excellent proportions and full of flesh with entire absence of superfluous fat. Third, Pen No. 43. —A pen of choice lambs. Of similar meritorious shape and make to Pens Nos. 67 and 41. Perhaps with this pen there is a slight inclination to fatter loins than with the others. The judges’ comments on South Otago district were as follows; A most interesting group of lambs showing a striking improvement in shape and make as compared with the average run of lambs from this district a year or two ago. Here again an excess of fat

mitigated against their attractiveness to the average London butcher. The group contained a number of splendid individual lambs and the excess fat complained of was largely confined to loins rendering them somewhat wasteful butchers’ meat. Pen No. 67 .was exhibited by Mr 0. K. Throp, Ta Houka. Pen No. 41 was exhibited by Mr James Lory, Balclutha. Pen No. 43 was exhibited by Mr James Gordon, Warepa. CENTRAL OTAGO ENTRIES Mr A. F. Duthie, secretary for the Otago A. and P. Society, is in receipt of advice from the. secretary of the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board as follows: The judge’s comments on the Central Otago district read as follows: “Central Otago.—From this district we have an exhibit of choice lambs, with several pens certainly on the heavy side. The exhibit contained many most attractive carcasses, but here again there were signs in not a few carcasses of an excess of fat on loins. As a wholej the lambs of this exhibit were splendidly shaped and very fleshy.” In regard to the three best pens from your district, these were placed as follows: “Central Otago.—First pen, No. 6: The property of Mr Alexander Thomson, of North Taieri (awarded third prize); three short, thick, well-shaped lambs with an abundance of flesh. An excellene ex-

hibit, both for size and quality. Ideal carcasses from the butchers’ point of view. Second pen, No. 2: Bred and fattened by Mr Alexander Murray, of Mosgiel, approximating to pen No. G. Perhaps two of these lambs carried a trifle more fat than any in pen No. 6, but this was not sufficient to seriously detract from their general excellence. Third pen. No. 15: From Mr George Paterson, Gimmerburn. This pen contained three lambs of striking merit; wellshaped and full of flesh carrying not an ounce of superfluous fat. They fell so little short of pens Nos. 6 and 2 that they afforded the judges a difficult problem.” The competition took place at Smithfield, where the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board offered a perpetual challenge shield for the best district display from each of the North and South Islands of New Zealand, and also for each island, first, second, and third prizes of £ls, £lO, and £5. Immediately after killing and before being shipped, the individual lots of lambs, of which there were 40, were judged by Mr I. Drysdale, the Meat Board’s supervising grader, and in the competition for prizes offered by the Otago A. and P. Society the following was the .result;—James Williamson (Wylie’s Crossing), 1; D. B. Lindsay fWedderburn), 2; George Paterson (Gimmerburn), 3; Alexander Thomson (*North Taieri), v.h. commended; and George MTntosh (Moa Creek), highly commended.