RAPE AND TURNIPS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2356, 20 April 1899, Page 14

RAPE AND TURNIPS.

FARM AND STATION.

(ConUnued from page 7.)

(By Our Southland Agricultural Correspondent.) The following questions have been submitted tc me : — (1) How are rape and turnips grown together? (2) How many pounds of rape are required per acre when sown broadcast? (3) When should rape be sown for ewes which will lamb at the middle of September, and how old should lambs be before they are allowed on rape along with the eweß? These questions cannot, satisfactorily to inquirers, be so briefly answered as asked, but 1 shall endeavour to answer them nt some length. Rape, it may be remembered at the outset, is not very generally grown along with turnips in Southland, although it has been successfully grown in several places for a few years, and speaking for myself I prefer to grow these crops separately. It must be said, however, thai they are grown together by people who know what they are about, but 1 believe that they have comparatively clean soil to operate upon — soil which is not too weedy for growing broadcast-sown crops of turnips. I have seen the crops growing together on the well-known Knapdale estate, managed by Mr John M 'Queen, and it did not appear to me that the turnips suffered by the growing of rape along with them or were injured by the lambs while they were feeding off the rape. Indeed, it is probable that the eating off of the ordinary weeds along with the rape may have assisted the growth of the turnips afterwards. It might seem that rape among turnips might take the place of weeds and hinder the growth lo the same extent, but observation goes tc show that this is not the case, which is probably partly owing to the fact that rape lias deep-searching and more abundant rootgrowth. To achieve the best results the soil must, of course, be very well prepared. In the caso of lea it must be ploughed early in , winter to a fair depth, but tho furrow must not be turned ovei again as some are in the habit of doing occasionally, tc theii loss, because the weeclj would be returned to tho surface, but in the case of land which has been cropped tho previous year, it should be ploughed during winter and at least ones again before sowing the seed. In these days | of numerous labour-saving implements Bomo I farmers content themselves with the. one ploughing in jyinter, but the result. 1b not

nearly so satisfactory as it is where the land has been ploughed at least twice. A proper tilth having ben obtained, the turnip seed is sown broadcast at the rate of about Boz per acre, and the rape at the rate of about l±lb; but I cannot say if the seeds are sown together at the one operation. The rape seed is larger, and, as it is important not to sow much more than Boz of turnip seed, there might be a risk of sawing either too much or too little if the sowing were done at one operation. I shall,' however, endeavour to ascertain in the course of a few weeks what is the usual practice, but may remark meanwhile that as the hand machine used for broadcast sowing distributes tho seed over a breadth of 15ft it would not take very long to i^erform the operation twice. • Regarding the amount of seed required when rape i? sown alone broadcast thore are differences of opinion. A British writer recommends from 41b to 51b in rows 15in apart and 101b to 121b broadcast ; but this is altogether wrong, as also is the advice of another to sow 61b an acre broadcast. My own experience is that about 31b or a little more is sufficient to sow an acre broadcast alone. If the seed is sown thickly the crop is leafy and not as palatable and nutritious as a crop of thick, juicy stalks. It is a common mistake to sow too much seed, and it should be known that the fattening properties of rape are proportional to tho vigour and luxuriar.ee of the individual plant. Lob anyone chow a portion of a stalk and a leaf and he will form an idea of the difference in quality. It may be mentioned that a good deal will depend on tho quality of the seed, which should be tested to atcertain the percentage that will germinate-. '

Then as to the third question, I don't think it is the usual cuntom to put ewes and lambs together on rape. What would bo the use of fattening the ewes unless their destination was to be the slaughteryards? It is a good plan to put them on rape at tupping time if double lambs are desired, but this is a different question. Rape is a somewhat expensive crop to grow on most soils, and it is better to have good two-year-old paßturo for the ewes and lambs up to the time the latter are weaned than to grow rape for them both. I am not sure but that rape would be too rich for lambs along with milk if they were old enough to eat much of this valuable forage crop. In any case it would not do to put ewes on rape growing with turnips as they •would consume the latter, which are not usually ready for eating off as early as the rape. It would not be advisable to sow rape here before November owing to the low temperature of the soil. . I have seen grass sown here in April proving almost a failure, and I think rape would not do either if sown about this time. It might be different in the north in some places, and if it would do there, and could be cheaply grown, no doubt it would be useful for ewes with their lambs at any time after lambing. Sown at the proper season here — viz., during November and December, it takes in many places about three months to be ready for eating off, but I have often seen it ready on good soils in eight weeks, and a few times in six or seven weeks. Farmers who grow rape here usually wean the lambs as soon as the first draft is sold, but as there are only a. very small percentage ffA before the middle of February, some are now making a practice of weaning early (end of January or first half of February) all that they intend disposing of fat and putting them on rape for a few weeks before submitting them for sale. It is therefore necessary to sow rape so that the crop will be available for the woaners. lo bo ready for September lambs a portion should be sown during the later half of November and another portion about a month later, to be available for fattening the second t>r third draft of lamb?. Some farmers keep rape too long, till the outside leaves are turning yellow, because they entertain the opinion that unripe rape is injurious to lambs. But this opinion is erroneous, and when rape is kept too long it is not eaten with relish. Rape may be eaten off with safety as soon a3 there is luxuriant growth. Last year I sowed rape on the 23rd November, but as the soil ivas too dry for some time after sowirtg the f>eed was long in germinating and the crop was not ready for eating off till the end of the tenth week—that is to say, it had not attained its maximum growth, which was> about 18 inches, till that time. I sowed rape again on the 31st December, which was not ready for eating off till the middle of March. The feecond growth which is ready in about a month after the crop is eaten is more leafy and not so fattening, but it comes in very useful at this time of the year for fattening cull owes, and is not of small value for fattening lambs if they have the option of a stubble paddock as well.

I have already stated in a previous article that half an acre of broadcast-sown rape 18 inches deep will keep 100 lambs for r week, and the following which I recently came across ' in a paper may be quoted: — ''In the Lincolnnhiro fens crops are grown which will keep 400 sheep per acre for a week .or equivalent to the amount of food furnished by 20 tons of swedes." This seems incredible, but 1 it will serve to illustrate the value of a heavy ' proa and lead one to reflect whether it would

>not be better to grow rape alone than with*, turnips in order to produce a very heavy crop. Rape, " contrary to the generally-entertained belief, can be grown on all .good soils, but liberal manuring is necessary in some cases.. About three acres should suffice for every hundred lambs.