NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2437, 28 November 1900, Page 6

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Tho writer of Southland News Notes for the Witness recently deSprayiiigr scribed some experiments at Experiments. Ringway Station, Otautau, for the purpose of killing wild turnip plants growing among a crop of oats. He seems to think that the result, so far as he could see, was not eery satisfactory, as a solution strong enough to kill the weeds would probably kill the crop also. There has been a good deal about this method of dealing with wild turnip and wild mustard (charlock) in the Old Country papers lately, and the reports are rather contradictory. It is apparently very necessary to do the spraying in fine and settled weather, as a shower of/rain falling upon the newly-sprayed plants washes off the solution before it has had time to have a permanent effect. Strong wind W-ill also shake, off the solution- too soon. From reports that I have read of- tests made in France and Britain I gather that the spraying with the bluestbne (copper sulphate) solution has been found to answer if carried out in suitable weather, but, as the Southland correspondent says, it is not likely to be generally adopted among colonial farmer's. There is no harm, however, in obtaining information" about this process, and • with regard to the cost, I may state that though copper sulphate, is' much dearer than iron sulphate, -the solution of the latter substance has to be so much stronger that the cost of the spraying with either is much the same. The British Board of Agriculture has issued a leaflet about the manner in which the epraying t should be done, and according to that the best time is when the charlock is three or four inches high. The solution must be made with clean and, it possible, soft ! "water, and the vessels used should be made of wood. The bluestons should be powdered (not in crystals) and guaranteed, to he, q£ 98

per cent, purity. Best resultc are obtained in dull -and calm weather. It is said that good results have been obtained by using 40 gallons per acre of a 4- per cent, solution of copper sulphate, or 15 per cent, of iron sulphate. In making this solution 161b of the .former are dissolved in the 4-0 gallons, or 601b of the latter substance. Then, agaiii., instead of applying 40 gallons per acre of a 4- per cent, solution at one time, better results may be obtained by spraying 40 "gallons of a 2 per cent solution at an early stage, and a similar dose a week or two later. Both hand power and horse-power sprayers are used in Europe, and it is useless to apply it except in a very fine spray, seeing that 40 gallons have to cover an acre. A machine called a Strawsonisei is iisually emploj-ed for the purpose.

Fat sheep should be shorn as early as the weather will permit after the A Few Shearing middle of October, as they Hints, thrive much better out of the wool in hot weather, and the same remarks apply to long-woolled hoggets. Breeding ewes, cannot stand the exposure so well, and it is therefore a mistake to be in too much of a hurry to take their fleeces off until something like fummer weather comes round. Where the flock is small newly-shorn sheep can be sheltered if stormy weather occurs soon after shearing, but in l arge flocks the' loss is sometimes pretty heavy through lack of protection from the inclemency of the weather, unless there are roomy plantations in the vicinity of the shearing shed. The lambs get a bad check, too, at shearing when the weather is' hot and the yards very dusty during the drafting and fasting they are subjected to when their mothers aie being shorn. Proper sheds are not always available on small farms, and the shearing is oftentimes carried on in most inconvenient surroundings ; but however that may be, the sheep-owner can, at least, see that straw or chaff is not lying sbout where it can get into the wool and reduce its selling price. Dirty dags should not go on to the shearing-board at all, and should bo clipped off previous to The wool should be taken off with smooth and level blows of the shears. Double-cutting is a very objectionable habit with some sh&k.-:rs, and should not be permitted. Unless there is some pretension to prope- :vnd complete classing, it is better to avoid any attempt to do more than separate the fine wool from the coarso. It is scarcely necessary Ui say that stained or sandy wool should not be baled up with good fleece wool. Any attempt to deceive the buyer will result in the price of the whole clip being reduced much more than any trifling gain that may accrue from the admixture of dags, locks, or sand. In showery weather sheep are apt to bo shorn before the fleece is quite dry, but dampness can always be detected by feeling the woo] under the neck and brisket, and along the lower part of the flanks. The branding cannot be done too carefully, and should be entrusted to a trustworthy hand, if the owner does not attend to this important matter himself. The bales need not be branded with a tar-brush, as sufficient Indian, marking ink can be obtained for a shilling to mark the bales of a good-sized clip, and a few stencil plates are not very costly. In the early days.-of the settlement the wool-pack was frequently hung tip by its four corners, and the wool meraly thrown in and trodden. . Everybody cannot obtain a lever-press, but it is within-the.means of all to provide a home-made box-press in which the fleeces can be regularly arranged and packed tightly with a spade. Such a press can be made in an hour with a few shillings' worth of timber. This keeps the bale in a decent sort of shape and of fair weight. — AGRICOLA.