PRODUCTION OF FOOD BY MEANS OF ROOT CROPS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1582, 18 March 1882, Page 6

PRODUCTION OF FOOD BY MEANS OF ROOT CROPS.

No. I.

If we consider on what powers of nature human food depends, it is surprising how many departments ef knowledge may contribute something to the result. Hence it is that a farmer, having an acquaintance with all the departments but one, may find himself on the wrong path for economical produotion, and be led to the conclusion that such a crop, or such a style of farming will not pay. Whereas it is his want of knowledge. How plants grow,— how animals feed, — why some thrive and others are stunted,— are questions yet imperfectly answered by those who make a life study of all the departments upon which successful farming depends. Yet what man with a little knowledge of Biology, ! o* even Physiology, would persist in saying tha,t frost is the cause of red rust in wheat? Does any one know of instances in which cold has caused inert organisms to develop and multiply? What is the meaning of our frozen chambers ? What says the chrysalis or the grub, that waits for spring or summer heat? As a rule frost causes the various animal and vegetable organisms, either to suspend their functions or to break up into pieces. From a physiological standpoint, therefore, we should say, most probably frost is not the cause of red rust in wheat ; but it may so check the growth of the plant and weaken its organs that the parasite called red rust may find it an easy prey, and be able to propagate its species thereon most readily. The remedy, therefore, is not to be sought in a species of corn that may simply be able to withstand a moderate amount of cold. In addition to what belongs to agriculture as a food-producing art, the farmer requires a knowledge of those principles taught by political economy, and which may have a most important bearing on the question, Will it pay? The great objection to college education, as a means of teaching men how to farm, arose from the fact, that students were taught what could be done, rather than what could be done with profit. It is not so much the case at the present day, and is getting less and less so. In these papers I shall make an effort to do this, and point out as occasion permits, when alternatives appear, which is the cheaper method. I would here remark that it is not always the most economical, to do on a farm that which seems the most easy, and likely to produce a moderate return at once for a very little outlay. A farmer above all business men, should look into the probable future. At least, he should make calculations to the extent of the number of crops in his rotation, be they four, five, seven, or more. True, he cannot tell what the seasons may be and the amount of produce he may find it necessary to remove from the farm, but he may calculate the requirements of a moderate crop of each plant grown, and form a pretty correct estimate of the effects of certain kinds of tillage operations on the entire course. In commencing with a root crop, which under ordinary circumstances is the best and most suitable for fertilisation and manuring, a farmer should think of the necessities of the different plants which he intends growing during a definite period, and the animals he purposes feeding. The hand-to-mouth system of many small settlers in their practice of farming is the great weight which they are carrying up the hill of : life, to the resting place called competency ; ! which weight causes them to move so slowly, increasingly so as they rise, that unless they live to be very old men, and are blessed with some good sons and daughters who will take to the harness, they will never reach their house of rest. The necessity of all round farming is more and more apparent every day. Though New Zealand is but a young country, whose productive power can scarcely be estimated, — its agricultural and pastoral lands, to the extent of their acreage value, hardly valued ; yet every possible force— attractive and propelling — is brought to bear upon the agricultural industry by men of enterprise. And with the open markets of the world inviting us to send our produce and take their wares, we must I make up our mind to move faster than our fathers did in tho old coaching days of England. We must not arguo, with ourselves, that England, in matters agricultural, did no more than the worst of us, and intimate that in due time wo shall pick up. We must remember, a hundred years ago England had not telophonic communication ; electric messages passing the world over ; frozen chambers to carry produce hi safety to any part of the navigable world ; short sea routs ; and steam vessels, but wo have. Those are fast days in which we live. We can now slaughter our sheep in Dunedin, and in Ins j than three months pluco them 1 in good condition upon the English market, and realise a fair profit,. As far as Now Zoaland is concerned, (.ho 'layn when only grain and wool could be shipped to another country are gone by. Wo may now find it profitable to produce

best mutton, prime beef, first-class butter, and good sound cheese, as well as first clips of wool and good grain. To produce these in first-class condition, there must be systematic and well-thought-out plans of farming pursued. As the best time for breaking up the sfcubblo with a view to a root crop is now, I begin these articles at the present season. My remarks will, I trust, be found most helpful to those who carry on a system of rotation, and aim at making the growth of one crop helpful to the growth of another. My aim is to show that farming may be made a profitable business. At the sale of the runs the other day, it was apparent that if wool growing should be as successful during the next term of the leases ?< as it was during the last term, and as good prices be obtainable for the clips, and if the profits are to be as in former years, economy in management must be practised, and the little things unnoticed and uncared for in the past, will have to be looked after in the future ; the rentals are so much higher than they were. We may thus, through force of circumstances, be led to practice sheep farming on a more careful plan. In general farm practice the same thing is occurring yearly. Land is permanently becoming of more value, farm produce is more profitable, because of the many outlets for it. Mutton, beef, milk, butter, cheese, &c, were at a discount. There was hardly an available market for it at any price, aa is the case now in some up-country districts ; but now that the frozen chambers have been constructed, there is, or will be, a ready market. But we must remember that, in the distant markets, we enter into competition with the best producers in the world, and that unless we send to England the best kind of produce, we shall not obtain a price that will pay. To be able to do this, our animals must be fed well, with the best kind of food, brought to maturity as quickly as possible, consistent with constitutional strength. They must be fed regularly at all times of the year, and especially at the colder seasons, To do this we must have a good supply of mixed food all the year round. As I have on a former occasion pointed out, not only is a change of diet advisable for farm animals, but a mixed course of feeding is especially economical. The physiological machine is able to extract twice the amount of flesh 'and milk from a variety' of food as it can from a course that is not mixed, and that with the same amount of trouble to itself. ' In order to have this food at command, we should grow roots or buy them, for without them the fanning of the immediate future will not pay on small farms.

William Jenner.