NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2456, 10 April 1901, Page 5

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Now that harvest is over the question for farmers to decide is whether Threshing to thresh and sell before and winter or hold on in hopes of Marketing. a rise in price of grain. The

wisest man in the world cannot say what change will happen in grain values, say in sis months or 12 months from now, but the probabilities are that a low level will be maintained for some time to come. In past times low prices have been followed by high, and therefore there is no reason to think that we shall not see higher prices again ; but it may be years ere it hanpens, and in the meantime we want to turn our grain into cash, or have some definite idea of a rise ere long. When the rise does come it will probably be through some unforeseen and unexpected cause ; but nowadays it seems to require a great deal to disturb the wheat market of the world. A few years ago the export of wheat from Russia was forbidden on account of the famine among the peasantry. It was expected that a rise in London would follow, but nothing happened. It seems, from past experience, a most disappointing thing to hold grain, for it is generally sold in the end at the same price, and vie lose by fceeping it in various ways. In stack we lose the use of the money, and by damage through vermin ; if in store, there is the additional cost of storage and insurance. The best policy in the long run is just to take the highest price obtainable in the autumn, thresh, deliver, and get the money, and be done with it before winter. There is a lot of waste incurred through wind and weather, besides that 1 1 have mentioned, and by getting the grain away in the autumn while the ground is dry and the weather good, or usually so, a great deal of trouble and annoyance is saved.

Threshing is such an ordinary and necessary operation nowadays that it Threshing. seems needless to attempt to

give any useful hints or suggestions anenfc it. In order to derive protection from an influx of weed seeds farmers must bear in mind the clause compelling millowners to clear riddles, etc., of all foul weed seeds before passing from farm to farm. I do not suppose those in charge of a mill will trouble about the matter unless the farmer who is getting the mill insists upon compliance with the act. A farmer should be competent to know when the mill is doing good or bad -work, and he should be present and see for himself that the straw is threshed clean and the grain properly dressed. If the drum is overfed it cannot clean the straw, nor can the riddles, corn elevators, or screen do thenwork properly. If the farmer does not look after his -own interest in these matters he is pretty »ure to suffer for it. Ido not mean to say that miilowners or their head men are unscrupulous ; but it is only natural that they should want to get on as fast as possible when working by the thousand bushels, and are apt to be blind to the fact that a few pickles are being left in each head, or that there is chaff and other undesirable substances coming over the screen. If there should be any damp grain at top or bottom of the stacks, it should be marked as such, and put aside for home use . It is very unwise to try and get it off with the dry wheat as of the same quality.

Though the price of wheat prevailing offers no tempting inducement to Autumn continue its production, there Sowing. will, no doubt, bs a con-

siderable area sown for next season, and it is time to be preparing the land for receiving the seed. The chief object is to keep the cost of production as low as possible, but it is bad policy to be too sparing in thfe tillage operations, for wheat likes a well-worked seed bed, well consolidated. Suitable soil in good heart •will produce a satisfactory crop if the land is clean and well prepared ; but if onlyploughed once and hollow cavities are left beneath the furrows, good results cannot be expected. A common plan is to skimplough old grass in the summer, and after lying fallow for several months, plough

again in the autumn just before sowing. By doing that we get the soil mellowed and sweetened, and a firm, bed is assured. This involves the expense of two ploughings, and! the loss of half a season's gia«s; but generally results in a much better crop being obtained than from the same land if only ploughed once. If the cod is tough it is very difficult to get it worked into a suitable tilth with one ploughing, whereas a few months' fallow makes the turf rotten and more easily prepared for drilling. Broadcast sowing for wheat is now a thing of the past, and the advantages of drilling are to apparent that no one disputes the ad^ inability of adopting that method of sowing, more especially for autumn -wheat.

I Eec that the Agricultural department proposes to take steps to obMilk tain information as to the Yields, ai evage yield of milk per

annum, or per season, by the dairy cows supplying factories. If I mistake not, a similar return was obtained some years ago, and the average yield stated to be about 360 gal per cow during the 10 months which is supposed to be the length of the milking period. That is a low average, and proves that there must have been some very poor milkers, for anything like a good cow well treated has no difficulty in producing about 600 gal of milk per season. There are some districts and some farms which are specially noted for their fine strains of dairy cows, and where yields of 600 gal would not be thought out of the common ; but taking the colony right through I am afraid the average will be found very much less than that, though there is no doubt that the milking qualities of ou" cows, on the whole, have been much improved of late years. I need scarcely say, however, -that quality is necessary a3 well as quantity, and that a return giving the yield of milk alone would require to be supplemented with the average quantity of butter fat. The annual report of the English Jersey Cattle Society gives a summary of the results of the butter tests made at the leadingshows under the auspices of the society during the season. There were 136 cows tested altogether, and the returns show that the average yield worked out to a trifle over 3gal a day. In 10 months, or say 300 days, that would amount to 900 gal, but it Jjiust mean that the 3?al-per-day yield was for the period of profit only, and not for the whole season. The average daily yield of butter per cow was lib lloz, so that the butter ratio per cow, over the 136 cows tested, worked out to lib of butter for every 18 l-51b of milk. That is a remarkably good average, even for Jerseys, and is noc very surprising when it is known for a fact that some Jerseys give 31b to butter in the 24 hours.

AGRICOLA.