NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2211, 16 July 1896, Page 5

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Ihe letter of "Rlma "Mn the Witness of July

2 ob this subject calls for some

The notice at my hands in support of Application of tbe use ■ of rotten .or ripened Mannre. manure -in the production of

roots and vegetables. " Rimu " quoteß numerous authorities in support of his contention thai Dr Ogifcon was in error in saying that manure is of no uee until it has ripened. It may be that the doctor will have replied to "Eimu" era this note gets into print, as my mail service does not enable me to reply to any • query or to comment upon any matter until the second issue after it appears. ; * " Rimu" quotes many authorities in support of his argument that fresh manure is bttt:-r than ripened, but I would remind him that ex- '. perts differ upon debatable .points, Professor J. F. W. Johuston'a "Elements of Agricultural! Oheinist'y" has-piE&ed through 17 editiorseince 1852, „ the date of its first appearance, i Ttie eevent<enth edition was published in 1894, j and is revised and enla'ged in accordance with ! the l&test discoveries in agricultural science. In a chapter upou tho application of farmyard manure it is aaid that "Fresh manure produces but little cff.ct when' applied to crops, but; when well-rotted it then contains so much soluble matter absorbable by plants that ife acts as a powerful fertiliser." The lale Dr Augustus Voelcker, one of the highest authorities on such subjects, said that fermentation of dung increases both the soluble organic and soluble mineral matters, and his experiments oho wed that farmyard manure does not lose its fertilising ingredients by exposure to air so much aa by rain, which washes away phosphoric acid, potash, and nitrogen in a I'quid and soluble form. Many large farmers at Home store their manure in covered courts to avoid this waste. By checking the too rapid fermentation the manure can he brought into -tbe very best con" dition for making immediate plant food. Professor 0. M. Aikman, the, author of the latest work on " Manures and the Priuciple of Manuring," and an unquestionable authority on such matters, says that much depends upon circumstances in deciding the condition in which to apply the manure. Fresh manure can be advantageously applied. to stiff land, as its indirect aud mechanical .properties will improve the textures of the soil ; but to light, Bandy, soils or coils ' in a. high state of cultivation it is, best applied in a rotted condition, as -its mechanical proper fc ; e3 are not then required. It seems to me that the time end method of applying farmyard manure are questions which belong more to the practical farmer, as Aikman says, than to the scientist, but this fact must not be forgotten — nuncly, that in whatever condition it may be applied ib mast ferment and rot befora it becomes available as plant food. Take, for instance, a forkful of long, fresh, . stable nianuTe, which is generally straw litter soaked in urine and mixed with, hone droppings, i Now, horge dusg is chiefly chewed grass, grain, * or hay, and is like very finely-chopped hay, and ii of no use as plant food until it has uudergone chemical changes, and what possible good ; can long, wet straw, «Cs in fresh manure, be to a plant uotil it has been broken down in a similar way P Therefore, if fresh manure is put into the soil it simply means that it must undergo fermentation before it can be of value ' to the plants, and as heat and air; aid fer-' mentation, it 'follows that* if fresh manure is dug deeply into a cold soil it can get but HI tie, •beat and air, and the fermentation must be' greatly retarded. If,' as "Biinu" gays, the Chinese gardeners dig in fresh manure, they are simply storing it in readiness for future crops ; aud ■ ifc is absurd for "Rimu" to ask wbat produces the abundant crops of vegetables when his own common seusa must tell him it is not possible for straw, or any other organio matter, to be used by the plants ia a raw, undecomposed con- - dition. The fresh manure being dug in now will feed crops next summer, and the manure put in six months, ago is now rotted and »bsorbable, aud it being used by the crops now growiDg. " Rimu " rather gives himself away in the concluding sentence of his letter, in which he Fays he is positive that decomposed manure requires double the bulk of fresh manure to produce equal results. - Surety-it i* evident that decomposition must reduce bulk while retaining all the original manurial ingredients — that if, if fermented properly and not allowed to burn up by " fire fang." The value of rotten manure is much greater, weight' for' weight', than fresh manure ; and it is only right and reasonable to compare by weight. A stack of straw will in time rot down iuto a heap of short, rotten manu:e not more than a twentieth part of the bulk of the original stack ; but for immediate manurial purposes who would not prefer the rotten residue to the stack of straw? Bulk alone it of no account whatever from a manurial point of view, but if it is desired to improve the texture of a heavy soil by physical and mechanical means then bulk may avaiL

The Practical Aspect.

The Middle . Course. '

A farmer, however much he may' wish it, cannot find it convenient to cart out all his farmyard manure directly it is made; and when this is the case he should turn his attention toregulating the too rapfd and fierce fermentation. This can be done by patting in layers of earth, or any damp, cool material which will check the access of the air and lower the. heat of the dunghill.. There is one thing very certain abonb this matter, and that is the oselessness of carting out fresh manure in the spring for the immediate

prcdUQtion of a. crop of .turnips or msngels. It must be partially rolttd, aud even then should be ploughed in some weeks before the orop io eoTvn. And this brings me to another .serious objection. All kinds df farmyard manure are fall, of hay 6eeds and weed seeds of numerous varieties, aud when fresh or, slightly-fermented manure is cirfced-on to tlie land millions «f fresh and lively seeds go with it, and very soon make their presence known, where is in rotted manure the seeds are destroyed. I musb remark that us moisture as well as heat and air is necessary to fermentation it is useless to c.rb fresh manure into a dry soil, for it will lie there until rain comes without rotting ia the least. In my opinion the best use for long, fresh manure is to spread it over the grass land in autumn, winter, and early spring, so that the rain may w»9h its juices into the soil.

Queensland pastoralisls are ju>t now suffering serious losses from the ravages The Tick, of the tiok among their cattle.

The twenty-first parallel of south latitude has been declared the barrier against importation into New South Wales, and South Australia ha« declared the twentysixth dfgece impwable. The scientific namo of the tick is ihsßonphius bovis, and, as is usual with destructive pests, iv is enormously prolific Iv injects a prison into the blood whioh causes fever shown by that sjmp'ora known as red water, whioh puzzled stock-owners at grct. It is remarkable for its vitality. It has been found even on salted hides, and want of food and air seem to invigorate it, while floods seem only to spread it. The only weapon found to be effective against it is oil, and the Queensland Government is supplying oil fiea t > such stock-owners as have erected dips. Apollo oil has been u«ed, bnt complaints were made of the inflammation which it caused, and ' Virginia mineral oil, as used in America, has been substituted. It was intended to use cotton-seed oil, but after experimeat the intention' was abandoned. It is a serious matter for Queensland, although ticks have been known in the Northern Territory for several years, and if it is not tho same tick as those often found on sheep it has at least been demonstrated that -this one will thcive on sheep also. pAitaralists in the Northern Territory appear to believe that stock gain a certain amount of immunity after a visitation. Little is known of the origin of the tick. ' Some 1 say that it is indigenous to the Northern Territory, and others declare that it cams over with the Brahmin caltle, which have been imported in considerable numbers to the northern parts of Australia. New. Zealand is not likely to suffer much risk unless it should be from the covert importation of dried hides, and this is nob likely to occur. In the southern parts of the co'ony there is nodaDger whatever, because the tick could not survive in the low temperature now ruling. That is one comfort, at all events. Roally, when one comes ta consider the number of plagues whioh seem to come in new shape every year, the pastoral pursuit seoms unfavourable to the cultivation of a hopeful spirit.

In the earlier days of the cobny the tendency was in the direction of Small Farms big areas indifferently tilled, Better Tilled, for so long as the farmer* had

vi-gin s.il to choose from they could depend upon good yields with no further trouble, than,' ploughing and harrowing. Bub in our day, when most of the good arable land .has paused beyond the virgin stßge, a different ftyle of agriculture becomes imperative. The' beet results ace attainable with smaller farms !• well: tilled, in 'contra distinction to largo areas ' only half tilled. Bread areas tamed up Jby the plough and roughly harrowed will not do in these days of., keen, competition and scientific agriculture. To be in the running ab all the farmer .musfc.endesy.our-to cultivate a less area, and cultivate that to the best advantage: One acre tilled to its highest productiveness Is oskj taiuly better than two acres poorly tilled. The tendency in our times is in the direction of high cultivation, and where land i 3 properly onltivaled the yield can be nearly doubled. For instance, 50 buehels to the acre is by no means a bad crop of oats ; yet I have known over 100 bushels grown on well-cultivated laud. Thirty bu«he<B of wheat is a very fair orop to the acre, yet 60 can be t quite readily grown on welltilled land. It is just the same all along the line, and if ho who makes two blades of grass grow where only one grew before is a benefactor of the human race, then what benefactors those farmers must be who doable the yield of all their crops ! And yet in ' mosl instances this is possible at the cost of mare careful or thorough tillage of the soil and adequate manuring. This, of course, means improvement all along the line. If the soilia rFg-i land with a cold clay subsoil, it must be drained thoroughly and either subsoiled or deeply ploughed, and then treated with lime. But lime without draining is almost ' useless, excepting where there is good, natural drainage. Where the soil is low and water-soaked it must be drained either by open ditches or by oovered drains, according to circumstances. The question of manure is ono the fanner must settle for himself, as it all depends upon circumstances and the kind of crop to be Rrown. Some farmers I know are trying the eff cfc of lcwfc of bone duab to the acre, with the end in view of increasing the. quantity if the return justifies it. Well, that is a very good way to begin, and in most cases the quantity will be doubled the following year. The rule should be to make the 1 And pay for its manure, and a record should be kept of the cost of manure par aore along with the resulting increase of crop or increased value of grf 83 for grazing purposes. If this is done systematically the farmer will be »bl»

from year to year to tell exactly where he stands', and" ascertain whether manuring payp, and just where to l»ave cff.' There is a paint beyond Which manuring will not pay ; but short of that pointi' there isa wide field that sbiJl lies undeveloped. All who ran should make a beginning, if ever so small, to test the results of higher cultivation.

Finishing Oft Pigs.

I have juufc received, per care of the editor, a letter dated tbree weeks Jbaok, from "Settler," South Wetland, asking me to give him aod ether .«ettlers in his dinkiot come practical bints as to the beist way of fattening pig?. He nays it is the custom in that pact to shut up some of the pigs as goon as the potato crop is lifted for the purpose of fiuuhiug them off as baconer*. * ■ Settler " writes me a very lucid and full account of the food and treatment given to the pigs, but adds that the' bought foods ate 8) dear and the pigs take so long to finish thst he thinks there must be something that requites' to be rectified. He s&ysttey bjil their euiplas pota(o23 together with carrot*, swedes, pallatd, or oatmeal. There ia nothiug wrong with that mixture, and if well boiled and given warm it ought to fatten any reasonable pig in five or six weeks. The only conclusion I can come to is thet there i* something wrong with the pigs. They must be of a lean aad laaky kind, with sharp corners to bj smoothed over. BeiDg at the foot of the Westland ranges it is jtut , possible that there is a strain of the Captain Cook breed in them. In all seriousness,'however, I must assure "Sittler" that the food mixture he mentions is a very good one, and if the pigs do not make deceni.bacou iv leBB than Haven or eight weeks of stoaJy feadiog— why, the fault is with the pigs, and I shoula advise tt-s settlers of Okura to try a h-oth breed, Ot course the Urn') required to fluioh off a pig for bacon varies according to the size, description, and the condition when shut up, also the degree of fatness required. For my {,att I don't like fat baoori, and prefer to have it on the lean side, or at any rate with a few streaks of lean meat through the fat. Ai bacon foods peimeal, oatmeal, and birlnymeil rank iirat iv point of excellence, and give the best bacon both in flavour and weight of baoon for weight of food. Beans do nob make firm meat, nor is the flavour a desirable one. I have recently fiuiahed off a large sow into grand baoon. She was only shut up four weeks after suckling a large litter of young ones. The foo*d wai po'atoes, turnips, and pollard boiled together, and the cost of the four weeks' feeding would not «x".cci a half-penny per lb on the weight of cured bacon. This pig, however, belonged to a.good fattening sorb, and I need nob tell " Settler " that there is a vast difference in pigs with respect to aplitud* tj fatten. Som3 are what may be termed " kindly," and others are— well, just the reverse. •♦ Settler " saya they do no 1 ; grow any grain, and have to import ajl their pollard, oa'meal, ko In order to feed pijs cheaply, all the food should be produced on the fsrm, and then tailing grain of all kinds can be utilised in conjunction with root*. A neighbour of mine who goes in largely for breeding and fattening piga uses nothing but turnips, pjt*tnts, and tail corn (chiefly wheat) boiled together. " Settler " niifcht try to grow a pa< c'a of peas for next seas m, and try them boiled with the potatoes. Parsoips are rich in fat-producers and easily grown. I should .prefer them to carrots, bub if " Settler" has to bay some dry food, I don't' think he can do better than buy pollard. Oatmeal is de irer, and dot go -good.; : - Jjiaseeil cake,".as •' Sutler " suggests, will not do for pigs- at all.

By far too many of the p'gs raised in 1 • » this oountrv are -mongrels of no Swine for particular breed, in most oases Profit. the farmer btiog content to

buy suck c a ia the open market, "without any knowledge as to how they were bred or where (hey came from. In an article from an American piper by an expert connected with the Mississippi Experiments Station, some valuable hints relating to tho • subject of swine-breeding are given. The end of hpg is pork, the writer poiuts out ; and no hog is too good for even the small farmer who produces only enough meat for home, consumption. The long-legged thoroughbred hog, the write.! tays, is net the mo*t profitable hog for the purpose for which a h»g 13 iatendsd— viz , the production of pork. Ths idea that anything is good enough for a m a '-producing pig is a fallacy that is costing the farmers thousands, and between the two extremes the happy medium must be sought. Those who breed pigs for the market should first select the breed they deem best, and then keep up that breed to its very best. There are two things to be considered— first, pedigree, then individual merit. It is pedigree which gives prepotency to the type, and consequently a breed that can ba relied upon to produce certain results under. similar conditions. It is when the feeding and final tatting for market comes on that the value cf pedigree shows up. Nondescript- animals will consume a great deal mjrefoo.l, and ia^ve^y respect prove unsatisfactory. For economy in producing pork there is nothing tells like established pedigree. But while recognising the great importance of pedigree, the merits of individual animals must not be overlooked. Amongst all pedigree stock there are weeds which must be eliminated, and a strange fact is thai the moat shqwy animals do not- always produce the best stock of their kind.- Therefore when once * boar is kuown to produce entirely satisfactory progeny, that animal should be kept as long as possible for breeding purposes. And not iess important

I than the boar is the brood sow, which should also be a carefully selected animal. '

In making a seleotion cf a breeding boar an animal of approved pedigree . Theßlglit not less than six months old Type of should be choeen, as by that PJg'. time he will give sufficient icdi-

caition cf what the future development is likely to be. Particular attention should be paid to the quality ra'jhor than to the size. In assessing tbe value of a pig for breeding it should \>e borne in mind that, proceeding from the head to the Lam*, the meat gradually increases in value ; hence the hams should be large in proportion to the rest of the body. At six months the boar should weigh about 1501b, and at one year 3001b. He should be active, but not restless. The compaot type of hog should be seleoted as the best -for converting a given amount of fjed into pork, and the boar, seleoted should belong to a litter of eight or nine of even quality, for his progeny are likely to be near the average of the littor ha is derived from. Tho mother should be a mature sow, and also one of a litter of eight or nine, and ought to ba a good milker. This j is important, as in order to have good pigs they must get plenty of milk when young. Then as to tbe brood sow, she may be of a little larger and coarser type tbun the bo&r if she pofssfisos the other requisite qu&lifinabionn. She should be of a compact, firm build, but should possess size enough to be able to carry a gcod l&rge litter of piga. To be a good brood sow means that she muefc bo a good suckler. The milking quality runs in strains of sows no less than in strains of cows, and the bow selected to breed from, should belong to a well-known strain of good milkexs. The disposition of the brood tow is very important, aud if a sow proves at all unsatisfactory with her first litter ahe: should bo fattened off and slaughtered as soon as convenient. A mildtempered sow will be a far greater success as a mother. than a fretful, irritable animal. An animal that is in any way delicate in constitution should be rigidly excluded from the breeding herd. A breeding sow especially requires to be a good feeder, as when feeding a litter a grfiit e'eannd is m»de upon her digestive powers. These are in brief the chief qualities to attend to in selecting the right type to breed from. Agiucola.