NOTES ON RURAL TROPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2286, 23 December 1897, Page 5

NOTES ON RURAL TROPICS.

Time was when the shorthorn was considered one of the very. best dairy cows, ! but the steady attempt to breed , for beef, regardless of the milking propensity, has caused the shorthorn to degenerate as a milking cow. Tbi-s is ! subject for complaint in Canada and the United 1 State*, where it has been found difficult to get together a herd of dairy shorthorns. ILwas found possible to get cows which themselves were good milkers, but no bull of dairy repute could be obtained. And, strange to say, the best dairy cows were the rejected of the show ring, co that from- the American and Canadian standard the failures of the show herd are the successes in the dairy herd. Oiigiaal'y the j shorthorns were dairy cattle, bub from their j tendency to mature early and to put on beef j more attention has been paid to devel p them j for the abattoirs than for milking purpose*. But j "a va tiara," as it is termed, is strong in most i races of animals, and a certain percentage of them will always be found reverting .to some. older type. This princ'ple of Nature ia ths j sheet anchor upon which the dairy-farmer muat j fix his hold. In the dehire to bring the] valuable- shorthorn breed b«ck to its picture vigour as . » .dairy' cow, every j good milker -must be set apart tor breeding i from. 'The bull selected must also be tbe culfof a -good milker, for as great care must be . taken in the selection of the bull as in ' hat of : .the breading cow. As the process of bn=ediug*j goes on none but the progeny of proved milkers -j will be eet apart for the etud. It would really i pay anyone in New ZesHnd with the means at command to breed a good race of dairy cows. I believe the shorthorn wouW 0 8Uit our cmde pasturage better than the finer Ayrshire or Jersey, and give better results with the-open-air method of treatment common in this country. The climate is such that housing for milking cows is hardly necessary, excepting in the severest weather. It might be advisable to keep the milking cows under cover during , stormy nights and the very worst days, but as a rule in this couutry the cows thrive far belter out in the paddocks during the day. If every paddock had, as it ought to have, a shelter belt of tr-es along the permanent dividing boundary fence there would be no need for • housing thecatfle at all. At any rate the time has come when some systematic attempt should be made to breed the right kind of dairy cow for New Zealand.

Draining.

The most important thing towards which the farmer has to dheot his attention is bow to cultivate the soil so that it will yield tho very beat crops at the least expense. One ox the things that will aid the farmer in tbis laudable desire is drainage. The very best authorities say that efficient draiuage will increase the produce at lbaht one-third without manure, and wheu the manure is applied,, if the land has been previously drained, the produce is sliil further enhanced. Some . l*nd, of course, does not require much in the' way of draiuage, as the natural fall is such as to provide ample drainage ; but all soils of ordinary richness, which contain a fair amount of clay will stand a drought without great lDJury to the crops growing on them if properly underdrained. Any land which in winter or during wet weather becomes surface-soaked requires draining. If tho only outlet.for superabundant moioture is by evaporation, then clearly there is need for drainage. It is always a sign of bad farming to see the crop stunted in patches because water lies near the surface, and keeps the soil cold and web all through the growing season. Tile draining is a little expensive to begin with, but if properly constructed these draius will la3t a lifetime. The length of time it will take to repay tha cosb of draining depends upon results. IE the growing power of the laud drained is increased by one-third, then of course it would not take very many years. Speaking generally, the increased yield of grass or grain will repay the cost of draiuing in from three to five years. la commencing to drain of courie the main draiu must be located where it will catch all the eide drainage. Somstimes it may be found advantageous to have the main draiu open, but wherever that can be avoided by all meaus have covered drains. The open drain is iv constant need of attention, while the closed drain may never need touching after it is laid down. A very good plan in commencing to drain is to cut the surface with a single-furrow plough. If the plough is run backwards and forwards along the first furrow made several times, the the loosened earth will be found easy to remove. The plough should then be passed along the furrow a couple of times without the mould board, which will cut a trench about a foot deep. After the ploughing is done the loose soil must be thrown out and then, either with a drain plough or drain spade, the requisite depth cub dowu. Care must be taken in joining a side drain to the main drain to avoid sharp turns or square joints, as these are a fertile source of blocking. As a rale the drains should be from Sift to 3ft deep, and the bottom of tiw

Shorthorn Hair. TnwK

draiue shouM be very carefully graded so a* to avoid all irregularities. Before laying the pipes it is a good plan to t«;sb tbe grade of the , drain with water. Ooe can see .then at a glance how the grede is. Tbe pipes must then be laid with' care and precisely packed with^soil at each s : de. After that the drain can be filled up with the soil removed in excavating. Regarding the distance drains should bo ap^rfc, the j farmer must be guided entirely by circumstance. The most that need be done at first is to drain decidedly wetplace3. After that drains may be pub in from time to time as circumstances require. By combing, subsoiiing, and draining the productiveness of the land' can be materioly enhanced. A coKsideralb amouufc of drainage can be accomplished by means of the subsoil attachment to an ordinary plough.

Maggoty Potatoes.

Ct.mi>lftints .come From many distticts this * season that the potatoes are coining up irregularJyl • Somo of the set? have fa led. to germinate at all, and foino havfiihiMwu up weak, ipindley ehoots. On digging up the blanks it is found that the sets are rotten aftd, Qlled with a number of miuut« maggots. "''A,' settler iv the Leith Valley, signing himsett "Tuber," asks for information regarding J th.i3 failure of the pi>t*to sets. " Tuber" r-iay«r -iay« he has some potatoes growing from seed obtained from Circular Head, Sidney, aud these ate doing better than the others. Alongside the Circular Heud potatoes he has both Derwents and luaperatora. The latter, he says, are the worst affected. The Bruce and kidneys are also similarly affected. The experiecca of " Tuber " is cob peculiar to his own locality* as a corresponded writing from Tar&naki has the same complaiuttoraake, and in part? .of Canterbury the eapae difficulty has 1 been experienced. • Were the experience of , ** Tuber " unique II 11I 1 should- sjy, the iwer»cold' seasen had something to do wttih Jihe matter ; but jn Canterbury-the weather tioce the potato planting has been too dry, The . cause muafc therefore be sought in some other detection. That the newer kinds should suffer more severely then the older kinds is accounted for from the faot that they for the mosb part are more delicate than the Derwent, and grow and mature more, rapidly. Anything, therefoie, that checks their growth is certain to act" detrimentally. The eeason has not been favourable to a tender plant like the potato, and the alternations of heat aud cold have been tco rapid to admit of healthy growth. Thar, I t»ke it, is the element in the trouble. But what about the maggotß ? Well, until these have been submitted to an expert for examination and determination of their species it would not be easy to saj what they are. If "Tuber" could forward Borne of these to the editor of ■ the "Witness I have no doubt he would get them ' examined for him by au expert. There are very ' many diseaseo to which the potato is lixblc, but j the one referred to is one with which I am not acquainted. That some kiuds of potatoes fhould be affected while others gi owing along- ! aide are perfecfcly'healthy is another thing that, requires explanation. Iv the meantime the best advice I can give potato-growers is to avoid growing potatoes two successive seasons j on the same ground. If that is not practicable, then the potato laud must be limed fieely and, what it mere important still, thoroughly j drained. To eosure seed potatoes growing, a very j good plan is to select medium-sized whole sets, which should be well greeoed in the ami before putting them away for seed. The seed potatoes will then keep much better, and stand a great deal more wet, which is ■& decided advantage in 3ur climate. If seed potatoes were thoroughly greened by exposure io the sun and atmosphere, we should have fewer complaints about failure in growth.

A Leith Valley farmer ask 3in what manner gas lime benefits the soil, what Gag Lime, element of plant food does ib

! contain, can it be mixed with auimal offal with advantage, and if used alone how much can bj applied per acre? This substance chkßy benefits the Boil by imparting to it the nitrogen which is contained in the gas lime, and also by its mechanical effect upon heavy coils in rendering them more friable. Fresh gas lime is very injurious to plant life, aa itccntains certain combinations of quicklime and sulphuretted hydrogen. In fact, fresh gas lime containing these poisonous combinations is injurious to all kinds of life whether fungoid, vegetable, insect, or animal, and it is on this account used in the old country for the destruction of wireworms, grubs, &c, bat when so used no kind of crop can he sown for some time afterward*. When used for manurial purposes, gas lime should be exposed to the air until the iiijurious substances referred to are converted into gypsum (f ulphate of l'mt). This may be .done by carting the fresh gas lime into heaps in a corner of the field or upon the headlands and allowing ib to remain there some months before applying it to the land. Ib may be spread over the land if nob occupied by a crop, or the process can be hastened by mixing the gas lime with an equal bulk of any retuae vegetable matter. The longer the exposure before u«ing the more tfficacious it be« comes as a manure, and this is an important point to be remembered by any farmer proposing to use gas lime as a manure. It is good as a topdressing for grass, and the crops which benefit moat from this manure are clovers, lucerne, pea?, beans, vctche*, and turnips. As to using'it with animal offal it would not do at all, -for ordinary lime cannot be used in conjunction with any manures of animal origin on aocount of it setting free and causing lo3s of the Ammonia therein, and I should say that the skuo would

I *PPly *o gas lime. It- may- safely be used With j superphosphate made from mineral phos- ■ phates. When applied alone gas' lime, after | being sufficiently exposed, in»y be „nsed at the rate of two tens per acre, if so much ia required, but, of course, the quantity necessary - depends upon the nature of the soil. Ab the alkaline properties of gaff lime are much the sa me as those of other lime, it can be used with advantage in peaty or mo'.sy land, or in any circumstances in which quicklime would be beneficial— thab is to say, it renders inert vegetable mutter available as plant food and sweetens sour eoili>. I have said that gas<lime can be rendered'fiTfor application to land in a shorter time by mixing it with any refuse vegetable matter. , In doing this a good compost can be mafic at tbe'same time, and weeds, coarse grass from ditches, drains, &c, can thuiTte turned to a useful purpose. Where dodder abounds it should be pared off and mixed with quicklime" or gas lime and turned into manure. Gas lime should be utilised ai a manure by farmer* living within carting distance of the gasworks ; bub if it comes to railing a longish distance it is questionable whether it is nod ■befteir.to go in for quicklime. Some three or fiHir years ago Professor Black gave a c-eriea of lectures upon agricultural [? chemistry, and in his lecture upon lime be re-ferred-to gas- lime as a manure. Ho said its value is very varied, according to the proportion of its constituents. It contains, he said, from 12 to 40 per cent of slaoked lime aud from 15 to 40 per cent, of sulphate of lime, and its i market value to anybody within easy distance | from tbe gasworks is from 5s to 10a per ton. Ho also referred to the necessity of a long exposure to the air and an occasional stirring to bring the bottom layer up to the air.' Gas lime, is usually applied in late autunm, winter,- or - I' early spwDg. ' , ■ _ / !

xurjjs ana Tm-tiit) Need.

A few weeki ago, tn referring to tbe reported damage by small ' birds to the young turnips, I suggested' a. remedy in the form offebakmg th* seeds 'in turpentine", as ib-ia possible that the objectionable flavour of the turps may prevent the birds horn, interfering with thtm. It may be, also, , that the same treatment would in some measure ward off, the" ravages ef the turnip fly . • " Ida Valley " now asks if ib is true thsifc such is the case, and also wants to know Kbw the l fe»d is treated. Well, as to the effectiveness of the turps treatment I cannot speak with certainty, as it is difficult to say whether the seed would not have done as well without the dosing. It uso little trouble, however, to dip a bag of seed into turpentine for a while that it is just as well to do it, in the hope' that it will bftve-the desiretl effect. I have used both turpentine aud kerosene ,at different times and found the result satisfactory ; but, a* I have eaid, it might have been the same without: any treatment. In reply to "Ida V-illeyV request to be informed how the seed ia prepared, I can ob\j say that ife must not be sfceepad long enough to make the seed soft, as that would result in it boing bruised while passing through the drill. It is sufficient to immerse the seed in the turps for a few minutes, and then dry before lowing. Dusting the wet seed with flowers of sulphur will assist in intensifying the effects of the turps, and also assist in drying the seed. The earlyaown turnips have made a fairly good start, although the excessive wefc and c-jld temperature kept them back for some time. In dirty land the weeds kept on growing while farmers had (o wait for favourable weather. for drilling, and now tho young plants bid -fan- to be smothered in sorrel, &c. JL hard crust was also foraied on the surface wn'-n the winds dried up the soil, so that with one thing and another tlia early turnips , will have » hard fi S nfc . fo * ' > ' Arhicola.

exhbence.