FOR THE FARMER

Opunake Times, 18 January 1935, Page 1

FOR THE FARMER

NOTES AND COMMENTS POTATOES. As with all other crops it pays to grow potatoes as well as they can he grown. Every farm should have its own potato crop. Those who keep pigs would hud the small potatoes very useful for winter feeding. Although potatoes should not provide the sole diet of a pig they can well form part of the diet. Perhaps the principal weakness in potato cultivation in this country is the neglect of complete fertilisation. As with other crops, including grass, the farmer has been educated to think of nothing but weight and size of crop, seldom of finality. And determining the value of any particular fertiliser solely by the weight of the plant produced is particularly wrong in the case of the potato.

Recently a rather ctxensive trial of potatoes was conducted in England, in Surrey, and one lot of experiments was conducted on (he farm of Mr Lloyd George In reading an account of this the remarks of the man in charge, Mr Mattinsou, the County Agricultural Organiser, appealed so strongly and to the point that (hey are here reproduced. Mr Mattinsou said: “The aim of alt growers of potatoes was to produce as large a crop as possible in their particular soils, but this effort should not be at the expense of quality in the tubers nor must the methods adopted be likely to make the larger crop susceptible to disease.”

Of course, throughout a complete fertiliser was used, and the most successful fertiliser mixture proved to bo: potash 12.6 per cent, nitrogen 0.8 per cent, and phosphoric acid 0.0 per cent, njewt of this combination being employed. The best results were obtained where the seed was planted I Sin. apart. Though potash was (he principal manure applied 'it is not recommended by “experts” in this country, because the influence of potash on quality and disease resistance is ignored. It is interesting in this connection to recall the method of the early Maori settlers of growing the kumera. Coming from islands in more northerly latitudes this tuber wanted warm cr conditions than were available, so the Maoris dug out large pits, which are to he seen to this day in many parts of the country, to obtain sand in’which to plant the kumera. Then they burnt manuka on the sand. Thus by the ash of (he manuka they obtained the necessary humus and mineral matter, hut particularly the potash. They certainly were wise in (heir generation. Making Ensilage. In the working of pit silage, as of course with any other silage tlie matter of consolidation is of the greatest importance. An animal is valuable for this purpose, In the making of silage in a particularly large hillside pit one owner has an old horse which is most tractable. When there is a good lot of material in the pit (he old horse is merely shoved over, and he always keeps his feet. In treading concrete silos in Germany a horse is hoisted by block and tackle to the door just above the level of the material being used by means of special harness, one band of this coming just behind the fore legs and the other band just in front of his bind legs. The latest idea to hand is the use of a bull which is given needed exercise in the (silage pit. Milking Shorthorn Triumph, One of the most coveted trophies competed for in England by owners of pedigree dairy cattle is the Bledisloe Cup, offered foi

competition at the London JJairy Show. It was given by Lord Bled islne for the best team of six i ows of any one breed, judged on type ami production. A sensation was caused some years ago, when an Ayrshire team from Scotland won the big prize. The Ayrshire Society secured the six best Ayrshire cows in Scotland and paid all expenses of the visit to London. The victory was a big advertisement for the Ayrshire breed in England, and as a result several Ayrshire herds were established below the border. The Friesians have been having it much their own way since, their milk yields being (he big factor. In 1981 the milking Shorthorns were only 21 points behind the winners and this year they have triumphed with a margin of no less than 42 points over the next best team—Ayrshires. Judging by photographs that have readied this country the winning Short horns were six magnificent types of heavy milking cattle, cows that would individually win in any company representing the breed.

.Another pot hull has nearly taken a man’s life. The repeated fatalities of serious injury to human health from apparently quiet hulls emphasises the necessity i f legislation to enforce the dehorning of cattle. Horns are of no use for domesticated animals. Their only use is lo set off an animals appearance and the best horned bulls in a show ring have generally been made shapely by artificial means. It is high time a common sense view of this matter was taken, and the fad of bonis killed for all time. The utility value of hulls is too serious a matter to lie prejudiced bv this more fancy consideration.