NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 5

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Who is fcher-3 can enumerate the troubles of | a farmer? Time was when, in j The Troubles New Zealand, the farmer had ! of ft Fanner, practically no pests to contend j with. On rare occasions the j parcqusts invaded the settled dis'ricts in numbers and raided gardens a<ad orchards, and once, long ago, I believe, the kakas came down j in harvest time and did considerable damage ] amongst the wheat. Gelds ; but bejond thnt j there were very fe*v natural enemies to fight. ; The crops grew clean and healthy, turnips , knew not blight, and the fruitgrower had no < trouble to keep his fruit trees clean. But, as they say in France, we have changed all that. Now the hosts of enemies that beeefc the farmer and the fruitgrower are worse than the ten plagues of Egypt multiplied by ten. Where ab first the crops grew clean and healthy a j myriad weeds contend for possession of the i soil, an;! no farmer who cows gr&ss sted i can be certain ihafc what he sows will come up, or if ii does it will have to i struggle for <xi*tence against a host of weeds of one kind and another. Just how the seeds of weeds were imported it is difficult j to dstetrniue. Many, no doubt, cams in straw j and iitLer nsfd as packing, and as this is a con- j etactfc source of contamination, the pity is that ] an embargo i-s not sef. upon straw packing altogether. Wcod shavings are used freely in the Uoifed States for packing, and that material is both clean and durable, and might j be used over and over again. However, we need not worry over how the weeds came ; the trouble is how to prevent their becoming a, /juisaucQ. 'I he farmer who h'ipes to kpep his head above water mu^t <?ee.i with the weed question. Seeing f'rafc a great m*ny weeds ate Annuals, much could be done by cutt'ng them before seeding. .As far as the individual farm is concerned such treatment would_ exterminate annuals in a season or two. Even the dreaded Canadian thistle succumbs if it is nut with a uharp hoe just below the surface several times a season ; for a couple, of years. The weeds obtained trotn j dirty seed mipht be kept away if a guarantee were obtained with the seed purchased. Tests made by the Department of Agriculture showed in a pample of ryegrass Reed 44-*5 per cent, of weed seeds, consisting r.f sorrel, dock, plan'ain, fog. poap, thistles, etc. The germination test showed -s. further loss of 29 per con l "., bo th&t the seed wan worth little more than one-third of its nominal wlue. The sowing of such ptuff < n gras? lands could only prove disas- , trous to ihe farmer. As a matter of fact no grass seed, excepting that guaranteed machinecleaned, phould be sown on any account. But what shall we say of these misguided people who purehar e the r< fuse from seed-cleaving machines under the impre-sion that such trash is good enough for inferior land ? Such practices ought to be put down, and the law ought to compel seed-eleaniDg machine-owners to burn all refuse. Dirty seed is dear at a gift, rs the farmer who uses it will learn by experience, to say nothing of the risk to his neighbours. Added to the weed troubles chore are Inseeb and fungus troubles which are Oilier much in evidence. To the Troubles. orchardisfc these are specially inimical. The greatest source of danger lies in old fruit cases, which are dear at any price. These old cases, containiug codlin moth grub and ether pesta, both insr cband funguf, have been sent to clean districts, with the result that ia a year or two the iruttgrower had j to change bn whole practice with legard to growing certain fruits. Old fruit cases ought to be tabooed, and seeing the cheapness of timb?r in cue country none but new cases should be used. The farmer has the Hessian fly and grub 3in number, to contend with, while the poor stockowner has to be almost a naturalist to understand the ways of the insect pests which threaten the health and life of his flocks and herds. What with the bot fly, both equine and ovine, the lung worm, and the fuugus known as actinomyecsis, the lot of the stockowner is not wholly a happy one. The worst of the business is that as the years roll by the variety and number of theso peats are added to. Babbits, and small birds, and insects, and fungus all levy their toll, til] the work of tilling the soil has now become a skilled fight; with almost invisible foes. Much has been hoped for from the natural enemies of these obnoxious creatures, but the cases in which the natural enemies have had a marked effect are not numerous. The stoat and weasel roam at large, and the rabbits seem to enjoy their company rather than otherwise. Some of the in- > sectivorous birds have, however, done good work, notably the starlings. Since these useful birds have spread over the country the caterpillars and grasshoppers which used to be j troublesome have practically disappeared. The pity i that some of the semi-insectivorous birds j art bo troublesome in other directions, for their i ccaj "lined attacks upon our insect foes must j have considerable effect. But, unfortunately 1 , ! many of these farmers' friends are also their • foes, and war — ct-astless war — must be waged ! sgaiuat them. If we could once again restore

birds and iusec'.s and by allowing the usetul to develop to their greatest extent all might yet be well with us, but unfortunately in our ] attempts to get rid of the evil too often we j destroy the good. We can but plod along our j weary way and make as good a ttand as we can against our foes innumerable. Many of the large New Zealand freehold es- j tatea are a source of loas more A than of profit to the owners, Big English who would be very glad to fiud Estate. a buyer in the Government without any compulsion under the L-.nd for Bettiezaents Ac»^ The Duke of I Bedford hes three large estates in England con- j J taiDing 47,000 acres in all, and by the posses- I sion of these broad acres tbe Duke has been the loser of no less than £18,718 during the last { two year?. There are 4000 acres of woods and | plantation, a?jd the rest of the estate is coni fcidered to be equal to any in tbe kingdom for ' growing wheat or any other farm orop Tho i total iscome i'rcLQ the 47,000 acres in 1895 wa3 j J £54,315, but tho expenditure wa3 £61,486, i thereby saddling the owner with a loss on xhit j year of over £7000. As showing what taxation j on land amounts to in England it is stated that the rates and t?xes amount to nearly £15,000 per annum. The churches and schools, peni sions, compsjsiooate allowance?, charities, &/\, ! I come to "more than £8000 per annum, sd I that if: the Duke were tj curtail the expendiI lure in these matters he would come out about even instead of making a loss. The Dake admits ihat iv seme respects the administration of the Bedford estates baa cob been conducted on strictly commercial lines, but he fajs that "when ihe rutblessness of th-,5 l commercial system is frankly abs-ndoned diffi- { cultieH arise which foil an enersetic and busi-ness-like managemviib responsible fcr financial results. 1 ' If he were to phut aap his churches and schoole, fcnru his old pensioners oub of their cottages into tbe workhoure, und demand a higher rent from his tenaut-fatiners he wouid no doubt derive a profit from his estates instead ' of a loss. But the Beiford family are not \ built that way, and ever since che property came into their hands aboat 300 years ngo tho good «11 "B:dford system" ba3 been Main- j taired ac all costs. In spite of his losses the Duke continues to maintain the experimental farm at Woburn for tho Royal Agricultural Society cf England at a cost of ££50 a year, although he presented the land tj the society many years apo. In 1895 the Duke, srarted an | experimental fruit firm, and no sooner was the farm laid out and planted with tree* than Ite parish overseer informed him that the rates must be trebled, although it will be some years before any return for the large outlay will be recsived. The Duke appealed, however, and got the assesimtni reduced by cne-half. The Duko of Bedford's statement of income end expenditure on the Therney eetata oi 19,000 acres shows pretty plaialy the rapacity of the i taxgatherer. During the last 20 years the I total receipts exceeded the total expenditure by £308,281, bul out of that £200, 0C0 has been paid in taxation, leaving £108,000 t s neb income for 20 years from nearly 20,100 acres of land— a net.4jr.onb of 53 per acre par annum on an average. It is aaid that the largest farm in England is in Lincolnshire, and contains The largest 2556 acres, of which tbe greater Farm in part is arable land. The fore-Eng-laml. going note dt>al3 with a large estate of 47,000 acre?, but that estate comprises scores of farms, none'of which are more than a few hundred acr^s. Tiiis Lincolnshire farm of 2555 screa would be considered only a "small potato" in farms on this side of the world, and its owner would scarcely come under the category of a " social pest." But let us see the difference between the styie of farming adopted upon a farm of this «ze in England and upon a farm of similar size in this colony. There are 36 cottages w.th garden?, all occupied by labourers woiking upon ths estate, and supplied with good water by a svsfcem of waterworks over the whole farm. Fifty-five men and about 20 boys are constantly employed, besides casual labour ab bu^y times. There are well-fitted workshops for a blackj smith and carpenter, who do all the shoeing I and repairs in wood and iron work, and there are six sets of farm buiidirgs. three of which are supplied with cteam machinery for threshing, crushing, chaffing, &c. A railway runs through the farm, with a station situated pretty nearly in the centre thereof. The soil is loam and chalk with chalk subsoil, and the chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, and turnips. The live stock consists of about 3000 sbesp, 320 cattle, 82 horses, and generally aboub 200 pigs and to feed all these about 300 tons cf • oil cake and cotton cake are purchased yearly. The farm is, or was a few years ago, in the occupation of a tenant, bub 1 have no informai tion regarding the amount of rent paid or the i difference between gross and net proceeds per • annum. Lincolnshire farmers have the name ■ of being pretty shrewd and careful, and the . prevailing agricultural depression is not so . severely felt in'that county as in some others. 1 One swallow does not make a summer, nor do i one or two good balance sheets 1 Two prove thab farming is one of the Good-paying most profitable occupations to ; farms. which a man can devote his capital and energies. Neverthe- ■ i less ib is encouraging to hear ol splendid re- . ! turns being made and a, high rato of iateicsfc : ■> being oblained upon capital invested, as it , i&QTva wtot, good, faxmixu^ cah do i;i>&er ord>

nary circumstances. Agriculture is supposed to be labouring under deep depression in Britain, and the average farmer struggles ! against many difficulties, and yet a neb profit of £2 6s per acre has been obtained from a goods'zed farm. Toe Scottish Farmer of a few months back vouches for the correctness of two profit and lcs r < accouuts published in its column?, and the various items are so vastly different from what we in the colonies are accustomed to that I am sure it will be interesting and instructive to my readers to giye the whole items of receipts and expenditure. There are, t«o farms, both in tho scufh of Scotland, one of 700 acres and the other 145 acres. The editor says he gives the sums iv round numbers-, shillings and pence as they appear ."n the MS. being omitted, but the tola's are not affected. The following i<s the profit aud loss account of a 700acre farm for year endiog Jane 30, 1897 : —

Deducting the £1664 profit leaves £5919 total , working expenses, equal to £8 9s Id pec acre, \ without allowing for cast of in&u?g?meut or supervision, which wiJl be mentioned l*ttrr. !

I thiuk these, returns are simply wonr'eifal from a farm of that siz°. The grain brought £?455 and the straw £1530. I wnneler, toe, how many farms hero can make £1750 out or hfcy, either by selling r.u fetcug. The toKl ' gross return is nearly £11 pc? acre, and fcLough rent and taxe : coma to more than £2 per acie a profit of £1664- is made upon the year's iramactions. This mus^ be an asabie farm, for no mertion is made t.f any stock bul £147 for cattle, and ye"; £488 is expended in feeding stuff purchased. The ii fernf em "Bowing account" I do no'j under* tand. The sum of £885 iB a big bill for manure*, hub probably it accounts foe the big return in produce. Tbe smaller farm, 145 acres, does not show up quite bo well, although rent and taxes are iioj so much r.er acre as m the la.rf.er farm. Tho gross expenses are £1395, and gross returns £1600, the profit of £205 baiancing the two sid-23. Hovever, I will give the items : —

I wonder if there is a 145-aere farm iv New Zealand that has £616 expended upon- ib in labour during the year, or bas an average of £1 p?r acrs over the whole i'arm spent in manure. These two farms were worked togetber, and £330 is allowed fo? the tnaaageirept expenses of both, leaving a I'et prrfib of £1869 ior the two for the year — a'oeufc 20 p-'i % Rent, upon the turnover. As no staceinen!* is given of the valuation of live and dead st:ck, I cannot say what rate of interest upon capital invested is represented by the net profit. Ab all events, no one will deny thai, tie results are very unupual and the profits uuiq.ie. The editor of the paper kiviog the ilgurts sa*, a tha*; they are qui f e correct, at_d tb.ifc the whole of the accounts in conntcbion with theee two farms are kept with scrupulous accu-acy. It would be interesting to sea all the various books from which the profit and loss account, here given is obtained. I don'fc doubt that there are farms of 700 acres here which give a profit of £1664per annum, but I atn sure thai a gross return of nearly £1L per acre over the whoie farm has never been obtained. A field oi wheac yielding 50 bushcl3 per acre and selling at 4s 6.1 per bushel will bring in that amouut ; but; who can average £11 ovtr the whole farm from roots, hay, stock, &c. ? An Australian correspondent of an agricultural paper advocates the exporting Australian. Home of " Australian honey, Honey. labelled "Australian Eucalyptus Tree Honey." The writet referred to states that the honey from the eucalyptus trees varies according to the species.

From some ib i 3 dark acd strong, and from others » bsautiful straw colour and~delicicus in flsvour. Honey, he says, can be produced with profit to the . beekeeper, at 2d per Ib, and could that price be guaranteed thousands of toes could be produced in the vicinity of the eucalyptus forests of Australia. Tho trouble, however, is to find a market. English people would have no need to fear adulteration, fcr there ia nothing wherewith to adulterate honey ah a less cost than the genuine article. The writer of tho article referred to says that during a recent visit to Greece he tasted fcho famous Hymettus honey, gathered by the bees ou the mountains < f that name from the wild thynao. At first tbe honey t.eema strong flavoured, but one occn ge":s to like ih Now, regarding the eucalyptus honey, it is claimed that when once the taste {or ib had been acquired there would be an unlimited demand for it. Certainly tho supply could be made equal to the demand, for the eucalyptus forests oi Australia could supply nectar for myriads of millions of bees. The suggestion to export Australian hon^y is a very good one, and no doubt attention will be turned fo tbe ioduntry in good time. The export c? honey, like the export of dairy produce, must be a thing o? experiment acd development. A commencement is all that is wanted, and ths dens and will go on increasing as the years roil round. Agricola.

Dr. Fo implements (depreciation) ... „ feeding stuffs „ 1 -bum' account „ manures „ seeds „ travelling expenses „ rents and t.ixes „ senary accounts „ profib for j'ear ... „» ij s. ■'. ... 20 0 0 ... 203 0 0 ... 616 0 0 ... 145 0 0 ... 62 0 0 5 10 0 ... 2GS 5 0 5 0 0 ... 205 5 0 .£I6OO 0 0 O. By horses ... ... „ hay „ wheat „ oats ■ „ straw „ potatoes „ turnips „ sundry ... £ s. d. ... 2i 0 0 ... 505 0 0 ... 140 0 0 ... 270 0 0 ... 220 0 0 ... 360 0 0 ... 50 0 0 ... 30 0 0

o. By cattle account .., „ h*y account „ wheat account... „ barley account. . „ oats account „ beans-account ... „ chaff account ... „ straw account ... „ potafo account... „ turnip account... „ bowius arcauut; „ sundry accounts „, 117 0 0 ... 17S0 f> 0 ... 580 .0 0 ... K!5 0 0 ... 1280 0 n ... 2«3 0 0 33 0 0 ... 1530 0 (I ... &.V) O (! ... 4-5 fi 0 ... 350 0 0 60 0 0 j£7iS3 0 0

Dr. £, ». d To implements account (depreciation) 87 10 0 „ V'irnianent imnrovemtfnts (depreciation) ... * Sfi 0 0 „ feed ins stuffs 488 0 (• „ labour ISSO 0 0 „ manure 885 0 0 „ seeds 320 0 n „ travelling expenses 35 10 (! „ tradestmn's accounts 370 0 0 „ reat and taxes 15*50 0 0 „ sundry < xpenses 37 0 0 „ hovrfes (depreciation) 13>) 0 I) „ profit for the year 1661 0 0 £7583 0 0