SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2252, 29 April 1897, Page 7

SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

fFnoar Otto Own Coehespondent.) j In some respects the harvest weather resembled that experienced during seed The Weather time; it was fine duriug the and early part of both sessous, aud The Farm, bad during the latter half. Up till the 19th of last month the w"eather was very fine, and there was no loss of grain from wind. Some farmers bad the crop in stack at that time, and there were a considerable number who had the work much more than half finished. Ib was remarked at the time that it was the best harvest weather ever experienced, and that it was an unusual circumstance to get a crop stacked which had not received a shower of rain after cutting. Another week of fine weather would have seen the | bulk of the crop stacked, but unfortunately heavy rain came on ou the data mentioned, the result being that to the majority of farmers the h&rvest weather, instead of being the. best, was among the worst ever experienced. It is no uncommon thing to have wet harvest weather here, but as the weather had in previous seasons been, cold and windy the crops were not damaged as on this occasion. For about three weeks after the 19th the weather was calm and warm, and thestooks did not dry properly; co that there was a good deal of the crop stacked in bad condition, and ■ the work proceeded very slowly. During the past week, however, the btuff has bsen in goad condition, and the bulk of the crop has been gob into stask, the late portion being in better condition than that which was stacked earlier. Stacks have not kept well this season, but there would have been very much less discoloured grain than there is if they had been built carefully and smaller than the usual size. Birley and wheat have been damaged to a considerable ' extent, and a great deal of oats ara discoloured, although I believe the damage in the case of this cereal is not so great as reports would lead one to believe. The yield, although not up to the average of previous seasons, is very satisfactory, being in most cases considerably over farmers' expectations. On lea land especially the yield has been good —4o bushels per acre in some cases, especially whore tho ploughing was shallow —from 4-in to sin deep. Too many make the mistike of ploughing lea too deep, the result being that the crop dors not receive the benefit of droppings and decaying vegetation. At one time turnips were oftener grown after the first ploughing of land which had been a few years laid down to grass, but many are reverting to the good old practise of, growing a cereal crop thi first season. Turnips oiten do very well on the lea, but a great many weeds spring up to the detriment ot the turnips and the succeeding cereal crop. Some farmers who grow a crop of oats the first season often secure a good deal of timothy seed by putting a sheet under the threshing machine while the o*ta are being threshed, but although ' this grass grows up in the second year's crop of oats, there is so much sorrel inib that it is of no value. Sorrel does not seed the first year after breaking up, and the timothy seldom contains anything but the seeds of Caps weed. For some tine after threshing many farmers were not in a hurry to sell, but during the past week • or two a great deal of oats has been sold and carted away. On good land oats are considered , a payable crop when the price is about 151 per ' bushel, and farmers are highly pleased with present prices. A month ago the pasture was very short, and had a withered appearance, but dur- ! ing the past fortnight the grass paddocks have been covered with a sward of fair length, and of , a bright green colour. {

Only a small percentage of the young flock was fat early in the season, bub Lambs. during the past month a considerable number have passed master, and more are being fattened at present—some on rape, and others on turnips. I noticsd recently lambs on a small area of ' turnips of different varieties, which were sown with a view of finding which were the most suitable. They seemed to prefer the swedes, but they are too hard. The Dsvonshira greystone were eaten next, and the following in tbe or*der named: — Lincoln red, purple-top Aberdeen, Button's perfection, and white globs. The prices paid on the farms for fat lamb? during the past month has been from 9i to 9* 3d net cash. Few fat lambs are taken to tbe sales. 1

A good deal of rape was grown during the season for fattening lambs. The Green best crops that I have seen of Crops. this forage plant were grown from seed sown between the middle and the end of January, and the crop ) was ready in time for feeding the lambs. Rape j if cf ten sown too early, and this has in some oases as much to do with an indifferent crop as want of fertility in the soil. I have seen some rape this season about two feet and a-balf high, an acre of which would, I believe, feed at least 100 lambs for nearly three weeks. If a few acres were sown with raps in January on soil well worked and manured, the result would be more satisfactory than sowing a large paddock and obtaining a crop of 'email plants. During the past two or tbrea , years some sheep-farmers here have 'been in the } habit of sowing rape seed along with the turnip i seed, and when the raps is fit for eating off, lambs are put on the paddocks until they commence to nip the turnips, but I fail to Bee what advantage there is in sowing rape and turnip seed together. Ifc is unlikely there will be any scarcity of winter feed, as the recent rains have done much good to the turnip crop—which is only a moderately good one —as well as the pasture. A few farmers grow tbe Devonshire greystone

turnip for pigs, as well as for sheep or lambs, whroh are being fattened early. The seed is ' town in some cases at the time the potatoes are 1 planted, and given to pigs during January and j February. In the winter time swedes are fed I to these animals, and they do well on them. ,

Millers ara asking farmers why they do not grow Sutherland oats aB well as Miscellaneous, sparrowbill, whiaa for some years has been grown almost exclusively here, and they reply thab they get a larger yield from tho latter, and fchab it does not need dressing-with bluestoneas a preventive of smub. The millers retort that the husk of the sparrowbill is thicker than that of the other, and that l£d or 2d per bushel extra for the latter should more th^n compensate for the difference in jield and cost of pickling. Between a thick sivl a thin husked variety of oats the greatest differenca is about 8 per cent, in weight of meal, aud that will amount to about 2d per bushel at present prices. Very few grow linseed here now, the crop being considered so exhaustive that ib would ba tuinous to do so on any but the richest land. As the average produce of lioseed per acre is only from 16 to 20 bushels, it would take a much bebter price than could be obbained to make the crop remunerative. Last summer I procured-a small quantity of poisoned rape and linseed which h&d been prepared in Canterbury for destroying small b'rds, And sowed ib over the drills of swede turnips. The birds ate little, if any, of the seed, and I was disappointed to find thab' I had a good crop of both rapa and linseed. I noticed in a recenb if sue of the Witness that a correspondent asked the cause of lambs loiing their wool. Steel says :—": —" A loss of the wool is a phenomenon not uncommon after severe disease. eFpecially in connection with parturition. However, ib may follow simple peculiarities of diet —thus, ewes fed ou mangels sometimes become almost naked." Last January I noticed that some" well-fed and apparent.lv heilthy lambs were losing their wool. The pasture was principally' ryegrags, which had become too long, and I «m of opinion that this and the absence of clover in the pasture h\d something to do with the phenomenon. There are a number of sheep ailments which are preventible, and rarely oaear among flocks whose owners have carefully studied the causes of sheep diseases botb. .from observation and reading. The following remarks of the eminent veterinarian Sseel should bo kept in mind: —"Among familiar causes of sheep diseases we may mention condition and nature o? food, excess of turnips orrye?rass, astringent and laxative herbs, old coarse natural grass, and rough alter math may each and every one of them be factors in the production of disease. Salt, which is generally mtful, may bs a cause of plethora. . . . Even the well-known rue that where Festuea ovina, the sheep's fescue, is found tbe sheep will thrive is^occasionally found to be erroneous." Foals are often weaned at from four to fiva months old, bub they are often the better for being lefb from five to six months with their dams. As many are now weaned, I would point out the loss that i 3 sustained by letting the young animals shift for themselves afterwards, the result of which is sometimes a feeble constitution as well as wank joints and muscles. Foals should be liberally fed during the whole period of their growth, and require some bruised oats and bran as well a 3 what they can pick up outside. With careful feeding and handling the young animals beoome strong and vigorous, easily broken in, andjjniet ani tractable iv harness.