CHATS WITH THE FARMERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1500, 14 August 1880, Page 6

CHATS WITH THE FARMERS.

A Visit to 'VALiiEYMEi/D, the farm of Me James Smith, South Glenkenich. Mr Smith landed in Otago in the year 1869, his first situation being with Mr Shand, in whose employment he remained about eighteen months, working horses. On leaving Mr Shand's he started contracting on the Taieri and Strath Taieri, and continued at that for three and a-half years, when he came to the Tapanui district, and applied for and secured a 200-acro section. The farm is situated about half-way between Tapanui and Gore, and distant from the main trunk line about four or five miles. Valleyfield Farm is well watered by clear running streams, whioh never fail,

and Mr Smith has so fenced his farm that each paddock has a creek running through it. This farm is also well situated, aa it slopes northward, and consequently lies well to the sun. It is surrounded by a substantial ring fence, and subdivided into six paddocks, there being in all upwards of three miles of fencing. The style of fencing is a double ditch, with a green sod bank, and stakes and wire. This kind of fencing is found to answer well, and gorae haa been sown in all the fences. The system of rotation followed on the farm is two crops of turnips, eaten off by sheep, followed by a crop of wheat, after which oats are sown, and then the ground is sown with English grass without any other crop. At the time of our visit one paddock of grass sown in this manner was looking splendid. It was sown about November, and a small portion of the paddock was harrowed with the common harrows, and the rest was covered in with a brush harrow. There is a marked difference in the two pieces of grass, greatly in favour of the brush harrow ; but it is possible that this may be owing to the moist weather that prevailed at the time of sowing. The mixture and quantity sown to the acre are as follow : — One^ bushel perennial rye grass, one- pound Italian, one pound white clover, one pound red clover, one pound cow grass, and half a pound of alsyke. All these grasses grow well, the ahiyke clover doing particularly well by the sides of the creeks.

Last year Mr Smith had fifty acres of turnips, Aberdeen yellow being found to do best. Thia year he intends to sow thirty .five acres of turnips on the first furrow, and twenty- five acres on second furrow land. After the second crop of turuips is eaten off wheat will be sown, as it is believed that a good crop will be obtained after two crops of turnips, Last year the quantity of crop sown was— wheat, 15 acres, and oats, 60 acres. Last year two kinds of oats were tried— viz , Canadian and Sutherland. They are two good kinds, and take the market well. The Canadian is a large oat, very suitable for milling purposes, and is probably superior to the Sutherland oat. This year a new plan is being tried with the wheat land ; it is ploughed in narrow tigs of 30 feet each, for the purpose of letting the surface water ran off, and consequently making the land much drier than if ploughed in the ordinary way. Last year an acre and a half of potatoes were planted, and the return was at the rate of ten tons to the acre. This year, principally on account of the low prices for grain, a considerable area will be laid down in English grasses. Swedish turnips were tried last year, both in drills and broadcast. They did best when sown 'broadcast, those in drills, being affected with blight. On inquiry we found that manure had been used with those in the drills, and this may probably have been the cause of their being affected with the blight. The stosk at present on Yalleyfield consists of four working horses, three being young horaes three years old. One three-year-old by Sir Colin was taken up from the Taieri by Mr Smith, and is an excellent stamp of a farm horse. The cattle are a mixture of Ayrshire and Shorthorn, and comprise some good dairy cows and heifers, there being in all ten head. There are also some sixty head of sheep— half being merinos, and the other half cross-breds. Mr Smith is of opinion that the latter are the most profitable, and are much better adapted for paddocks than the merinos. The piggery here receives the attention which it should do upon every farm. A short time previous to our visit Mr Smith had disposed of. fourteen suckers, and there is now another litter about ready for the market, The buildings comprise a five-roomed dwell-ing-house, such as one seldom sees among re* cent settlements. It is surrounded by a garden and orchard, which are . tastefully kept, and contains, besides fruit trees, a number of pines, larch, and wattles, which are intended for shelter. Mr Smith was in too great a hurry in endeavouring to raise pines; He did not prepare the ground, but planted them ont in the tussocks, and the consequence was they did not make much progress for some time. There is also a four-stalled stable, and a barn 24 feet by 18 feet. The implements consist of reaping machine, Cambridge roller, ploughs, harrows, dray, etc Mr Smith disposes of his produce at Gore. He has sold his last year's wheat, but is keeping his oata in anticipation of better prices. As yet bees are rather scarce in this district, and Mr Smith secured a hive in a rather novel manner. He had been wondering where he could get a swarm, when one day a few bees were observed to alight on the chimney, and a day or two afterwards Mr Smith was gratified at seeing a whole swarm. settle on the top of the chimney. He had considerable trouble in getting them into a box, but ultimately succeeded in securing them.