Untitled

Otago Witness, Issue 2410, 10 May 1900, Page 6

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

I have just received a copy of the annual report upon the Canterbury Lincoln Agricultural College at Lin-

College. coin, issued by the director. Mr J. Bayne, M.A., tor the year ended 31el December, 1693. The report is interesting, as containing results of numerous experiments carried out for the information ot tho farming community. The firptmentioiied te^l is that of three kinds of oats sown on August 22, on the same scil ; 2 bushels of seed sown in each care. Canadian cat 3 yielded 582 bushels, Hamilton oats 60.1, and sparrowbill 61| bushels — a difference oi only 3 bushels between the worst and the best yield, and m another year tlie&o' results may be reversed. The next test was ■with dun oats, sown on the same kir.d of soil, the same amount of seed, and under the same conditions, only that one lot was sown on the 29th March and the other on the 10th June. The earlier-sown lot yielded 75 bushels and the oilier 66 bushels per acre. Chevalier barley was tried with a different quantity of seed, but all else being equal. That which had 2^ bushels seed gave a yield of 35 A bushels, while the lot which had only 1;? bushels of seed gave 34- bushels yield per acre. 1 now come^to experiments testing different manures applied to -tarious cereals, and the result is that grain derives very little benefit from fertilisers drilled in with the seed. ' Two hundredweight was applied per, acre in each case. With Hunter's white wheat, the plot with no manure gave 41J. bushels, while the best yield from a manured plot of this wheat was 42£, and one bushel gain in yield would not go far towards paying for 2ewt manure costing about 10s. In the Tuscan wheat plots, thai with, no manure gave 45 bushels — • which is the same yield as the best plot with manure. Sparrowbill oats were tried with I manure, and in this case ako the manure ; made no difference, the manured plots giving 60 and 59 bushels, and no manvre also 60 bushels per acre. In another test sparrowbill oats yielded 65 i bushels with no manure i when grown after potatoes, w-hile two plots grown after mangels and rape gave 55^ and 60 4 bushels, and both these latter had a good dose of manure- drilled in. Some surprising j results were obtained from fesls made with j whole potato sets and cut sets. There were 32 different kinds of potatoes tried, and some of these actually gave a yield of 3 and 5 tons greater from cut than whole seed on same soil, and all planted in the middle of October. On the other hand, some of the varieties gave a yield of 3 and 4 tons less from the cut sets, and the results would come out about , the same over the whole test of 52 kinds, jjor ' example, the highest yield in the lot was 18 | tons 1 14cwt from "Up to Dates," whole seed, j and 16 tons llcwt from the cut seed. A po- j tato called " Her Majesty " gave only 10 tons llcwt from whole seed, and 15 tons from cuL seed. I will not believe that such a great difference is due to the seed alone. The cut seed plot must have struck a patch of soil richer in some way than the other. Very poor yields were given by "Snow , Drift," "Early Regent," "Queen of the [ South," and "Ruby Queen," and very medium yields from "Climax," "Eighty-fold," and "Pink-eyed Russets." Blue Derwents gave 11 tons from both whole and cut sets; the Bruce, 14 £ tons from both kinds of sets. A potato called "Sailor's Ironclad' 1 gave 15 lons from whole sets, and only 9 tons from cut sets. It is evident that in this case a large number of the sets must have bled to death and rotted in the ground, for it i$ absurd to suppose that such, aa eaor-

inous difference of six tons could be caused in any other way, unless it was" that the* whole sets got into a richer patch of soil?' I should add that those sorts which I have mentioned as being light croppers were all early potatoes, and were rips by the end of February, the others being six weeks later, except Derwents, which were not ripe till May 4-.

I- Stilton's prize-winner . mangels were tried : _ r with five different fertilisers 1 Mangels, a t the late of 2£cwt per acre, C Carrots, WOgal of water being applied 1 and Turnips, with the manure by the waj ter drill, which deposits ma- ' 1 mire and water together in a liquid -fornV: ! The best yield was 97 tons 12cwt, from an, i imported superphosphate, and the worst 93g • tons, from a local mangel manure the three ' others going 84 2 tons. The same manures,. ; were tried with yellow intermediate carrots*/ : j and in this case the highest yield, 67 tons f ! Bcwt, was given by a local manure which : j was second last in the mangel lest. The' - r lowest yield in the cairots was 62| tons. Tho ■ dearest manure (5s 6d cwt) gave only an aver1 , age yield of the five. Five different kinds '■ \ of carrots were tried, with similar manures, 1 j and the yellow and red intermediate gave ': b2% tons each, the' champion and long red ' about a ton less each, while the shorthorn was .20 tons behind the others. Ido not know why tho shorthorns are grown at all, as it ! is impossible for them, from their shape anclfcize. to bulk up like the larger kinds. Now > I come to the turnips, and may "say here that, ' ' _wich cr.o exception, the imported manures have in x^cse tests given the bes-t yields?.' Im- ■ perial j,ieen globe tv-nips were sown with six: different manures, l-|cwt, with 303 gal water in cich ca-.e. : Cobt per acre. Yi«-lii."] «. d. 11.11? cm t Arsio-CojUi.Hi>.ti.lßai3aaraiut-e 0 U? 32 14' Oiit.t-ib uy I'Vswu JMea*. G■. urn ;. ilawc 5 V.\ £7 14 NZ. i<x in eis.' Co-oi> Turnip Mi-iniie G H 28 13 I'-si n'-s !-•;> c.,il Tumiy BLmu c o 5j 2,' ii (j'.ii .h 'hi' eh Mer.t Co. A'o Ii M^i.-n (i S 27 2 O";iiii"--.Mp ii'li ■ pirate ... 6 3 :W 7 Xitii n'lefS^VM'e onh) 21 J CU.ViI-Taii-cL.iuid 24 0 Thort 3^ iiO possible room ior doubt about the necessity of manuring turnips, and it did not require any spec'al experiments to prote M'iiat every grower fyide out ior himseli, but there i= proof heie, so far as it goes, that the dsaiCj t „;ariures are the cheapest to the grower, :-o lono- ;,s an additional cos: of a ie\". pence acre git es five tons more roots. Another ted vps> with Abeideeu purple-top yellow turnips — . ; ame manurat-. but Ijlcwl applied, also with oOGgal water. Odani&'s super gave best yield, 21 loiis*Bcwt; Anglo-Conti-nerilal, 19 ions 19cwt : while the lowest yield wys 15 ton? 18e-,Vv, from a local manure. With no maiiiird the return was 8 tones 6cwt. In iliis test 31b of seed wa« sown." so that it is obvious Uie cropraust have been thinned. Mi Bayne omits to stale the time of sowing. There is nothing extra good about any of theso yields, beeiug that the seed got a good slart with water and procd, clean land, and probably hand-rhinneci. The report also contains paiticulai" of the fat-< lamb experiment, in whieli 50 crossbred ewes were put to eachof the following rains: — " B. Leicester, E. Leicester, Shropshire, and Southdown. J^he results have already appeared in the Witness <aiid other paper?. The dowii rams proved to be the best lamb-getters, \ for though three cf the ewes put to the i Sh opshii-a ,sm died before lambing time, sill' ; the 4-7 left had lambs. There were only two dry ewes in the Southdown' & haiem, while the Border Leicester failed to get six ewes in lamb and the English l.eieeitoi' five evie;. At the cud of the report f»re given all the queHion^, set to the student-, in ail the various brai.ch.es at the end of the first year an.l second^ yesr of ptuuy. In looking through these I see a paper &et to first-year students in agriculture, and it seams to mo that all these could bs answered by any country boy who Lad been intelligently taught for a year while doina: the ordinary work cf either fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Standard. Neither are th'? questions on agricultural chemistry beyond the ability of an average boy well taught from text books. t I do not wish to deprecate the work done 'at the college, nor to insinuate that it is of no material benefit to the community, but rathe:- to point out that a boy need not be debarred from .icquiring elementary knowledge o* farmjns because his- father cr.nnot afford to give him a , course at Ihe agricultural college. Below is a lif-t of the questions referred to : AGRICULTURE. First Year. i 1. Enumerate the sciences bearing o:i pgricuituro. Explain shortly how chemistry helps ths farmer. 2. are soils? and upon, whal does the character of a soil depend? i 3. Explain the efi'act of u=iiig lime in a clay soil. i 4. What is the meaning of available and un- ' available plant food in soil? ' 5. "What do you understand by "exhaustion of /soils." How may this take place, and how may it be remedied? 6. Explain briefly the principles and chief methods of draining. i 7. What conditions affect the quality of good farmyard manure, and what alterations "take place in keeping it? 8. State crops to which nitrogenous, nlioapliatic, and potassic manures arc apoliecl. 9. C4ivc the different forms m whieli bones may bo applied to the ,soil. 10. Give s, list, and usss, of .suitable implements necessaiy for the farm. AGEIOOLA.