NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2520, 2 July 1902, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

I fully endorse all that Mr D. Reid said

at the annual meeting of Farmers and the Taieri branch of the Politics. New Zealand Farmers'

Union, and have in previous notes about the union written in much the same strain. We are constantly being told that we must carefully eschew all politics of a party character, and I agree that it is good advice ; but nevertheless it is an indisputable fact that the trade unions have no scruples about exhibiting the most glaring partisanship, and, in fact, seem to be encouraged to do so by the Government. Not only are these unions coddled and fostered by special legislation, but they are actually consulted as to their wishes anent proposed legislation, and have copies of tho bills sent to them for* criticism and comment. In spite of all' this, our Premier and many of his supporters are very anxious that farmers should not introduce any discussion antagonistic to the powers that be. I do not .see why they should fear honest criticism, unless it is that it is on account of the danger of their adherents being turned from their allegiance by the arguments- of those in opposition. The labour unions make "demands" ; the farmers have not yet got beyond making "requests," but if the requests meet with n© reasonable response we shall have to turn. our attention to the election of stiff-backed representatives who will make the necessary demands in our interests. Sir Joseph Ward told the farmers of New 'Zealand the other day that many concessions had been made in their favour from time to time, and gave a tabulated list of the same; but the fact of reducing railway freights, etc., does not prove that a concession has been made, for in most cases they were unreasonably high before, and have merely been reduced to a fair figure. But we must be good boys and bear in mind the many favours we have received, and not put any nasty, troublesome members into the House to make things disagreeable for the Minister of Labour and his satellites. My earnest hope and wish is that the Farmers' Union will prove a strong and lasting organisation, and that it will not weaken after the forthcoming election, even should we succeed in sending a fan- quota of good men into Parliament to look after our interests foi a few years.

The honorary secretary of the Single-tax League of New Zealand is The sending copies of theleague'a Siugiftax. organ, the Liberator, to all

secretaries of branches of the Farmers' Union, and a copy has in that manner come into my hands. This month's number of the Liberator contains an address starting with "Friends and Brothers," and proceeds to point out that it is quite erroneous for farmers to imagine that the Single-taxers are hostile to farmers. I take it that the chief object of this address is to point out to fanners that the freehold tenure has led to land monopoly in Britain, resulting in tyranny, oppression, and injustice to the masses, and that if the freehold system is encouraged here it will probably lead to the pame undesirable conditions in the course of time. The honorary socretary of the Single-tax League is the writer of the address to the members of the Farmers' Union, and I must say that he puts forth the arguments on his side in a very fair and temperate manner, and I do not question the accuracy of his facts and figures. But in hoping to convert small farmers to his mows he forgets, that every small farmer hopes to become a big oue, and prefers to be sure of what ho has acquired by hard toil and of what he hopes to secure in the future to handing over his bit of land for a general redistribution. when all will have to "start from fcratch." to quote the Taxeis' own words. The Single-tux platform says, that after a thorough levelling process has boen gone thiough and the lands of the colon y parcelled out afre«h. "nothing but work will secure wealth." Well, I do not wish to enter into a discussion upon the Single-tax system, but merely to point out that in thousands of cases tho acquirement of land has been the result of hard work and thrift. "What about the pioneer- settlers who landed here 50 years ago with nothing but pluck and a strong pair of arms? They hare toiled and caved and bought land and made comfortable homes, and sent forth sturdy °ons from the home nest to do likewise, but with better opportunities. Now a man of this stamp has got, say, 1000 acres, and by the levelling-down process he would have to "start from scratch" again in. "his old age, and a portion of his hard-won land be allotted, perhaps, to some labour agitator or some town loafer who has never done aa much in a week as the pioneer settler? did every day of their lives. I Lave no sympathy with land monopolists, especially thoso who acquired husre tfaets of land in the early days at about 10s per aero. Put on the graduated tax by all means.

I but no interference with land bought with the honest sweat of genuine settlers. The Single-taxeVs have their remedy now : large estates are being taxed down to a value afc which the Government can buy, and flic cutting of them into small farms enables every thrifty and industrious man to acquire a bit of land.

Thirty years ago annual ploughing matches were held in every district of Ploughing Canterbury and Otago, and Hatches. were the most popular gatherings in the countryside ; but gradually the interest in these institutions seems to have waned, until nowadays there are only one or two held in the whole of this island. In the early days most of the ploughing was done with, single-furrow ploughs, and very pretty work was produced; but as double ploughs came into use and the plan of ploughing around* the paddocks became more general there' was not so much interest taken in making; good-looking work, and £O tho art of straight; and clean-cut work and stylish finishes has been lost to a large extent. In times gone by I have attended many a. ploughing match and taken a great interest in tho work of the competitors with whom I was acquainted, and discussed and criticised the various plots ; but, like a good many more, I have ceased to look upon ploughing as a fine art, and with the adoption of drill husbandryfail to realise that the high comb or straightness of a furrow has any effect upon the* crop. When seed was always broadcast if. was important to have the land ploughed in such » manner that the seed could bo* well covered" by means of harrowing alone-v and with a high-cutting ploughshare the seed would fall into line's "as if it wore drilled. - Now the* main .thing is tp get the land slapped over as fast as possible, and we- have such- a variety of implements thafc r we can prepare, a good seed-bed no matter how the ploughing is done, so long as it if of the requisite depth and the soil completely reversed. On level land the fiering method is still followed on some farms: but, generally speaking, the ploughs jusfc go round and round the block or field, and there are no deep finishes, which cauee so much bumping to the reaping machines. I recently saw a letter in a Scottish paper bewailing the disappearance of the timehonoured ploughing matches, and -enumerating the advantages derived from them. I admit that it is a good thing to encourage good work of any kind and to induce men to take an interest in their occupation, but not at too great a cost. For example, at the Dumfries match it is stated that sue hours were allowed in which to plough onefifth of an acre — with angle ploughs, of course ; but fanoy a colonial farmer taking30 hours to plough an aero! We have to drill our turnip seed, and the birds render it necessary also to drill our grain ; and! iv preparing for the drill we chop up tht* furrows with disc-harrows or tear them with spring-tooth cultivators, so that model ploughing-, so far as looks go, is utterly nnneoossary. I suppose the increase of local shows has had something to do with the declin-e of the ploughing matches. Thera are several advantages connected with, ploughing, contests which ar© of practical importance — namely,, the fact that a man. or youth canno^t make .good work unless lie knows how to set his plough and manage his te^fii ; and these things arc essential, whether the work be done on a rough hillside or on smooth and .level land. I often see double ploughs making ugly and uneven woik by throwing one furrow^ liigher than the other, and when two teams are- following opch other both ploughs should make uniform work.

'" KcuthlautW," Puk-erau, writes me nn in tcresiiag letter anent his Sowing Down experience in sowing down irilli Outs. land with an oat crop, and

wishes me to give my opinion upon the question. I have followed the lirartios for many year.? and have found ifc a good one in the main, chiefly because of the paving of expense ; but there are certain disadvantages in connection with it, and a great deal depends upon tho season. " Southlander " says that he had a heavy crop of oats this year, and that the gross was first-rate also. Now such is not the caso generally, for it is not reasonable to suppose that ordinary land can bear tvvc good crops at the same time. As a rule, if the oat crop is heavy and dense, tho grass and clover js weak and does noij attain a vigorous growth or furnish much feed until the following summer. But even so, it is ahead of that which is sown in the spring after a crop of oats without grasff,' and there is the cost, of ploughing and working the land, especially for the grass, whereas by sowing down with the oats the same cultivation does -foir~ bothr Last autumn I sowed down oa-te to come in for spring feed, and alter feeding off sowecS grass, giving a harrowing and rolling, and! ihe oate were then left for a crop. I have

-just threshed over 50 bushels per acre, and there is enough grass to make a good show next spring. If I had not sown the grass with the oat« the stubble would have been I bare eince harvest, and there would have ' been another ploughing to do next spring, and the grass would not be fit for grazing until the new year. I do not think ib advisable to sow grass at the same time as the oat», unless the latter cannot be got in until late in the spring. I prefer to 6ow oats as early as possible in spring, and then, when well brairded, sow the grass, etc. ; and I find that the harrowing and rolling then gives the oats a splendid stimulus, especially if the surface has been battered by heavy rains in the meantime. Of course, when oats are sown in the autumn it goes without saying that the grass sowing must be deferred for some months. Last spring I sowed grass with both Tartarian and Garton oats, which gave a heavy yield ; and there is a good plant of grass also, but it will not stand much feeding until well on into next season. The Gartons yielded about the same as the Tartarians, but as there was not nearly so much, straw with the former the grass had a better chance. In a dry season grass with oats has a poor chance, because the crop takes all the available moisture, and even keeps the dews from reaching the grass. " Southlander " asks if I think the sowing of .grass with oats has much effect upon the yield of the crop. I should say not. The oats take all they require from the soil, and the grass, being a subsidiary crop, has to do the best it can ; and I have rarely seen grass strong enough to cause anyone to expect that it would have any effect upon the yield of the straw crop. In very rich land, in a favourable season, I have seen a very rank growth of grass and also a heavy white crop, but I think th© fertility of the Boil was sufficient to give both all they required. Under ordinary circumstances I ehould cay that the presenoa of grass and clover has no appreciable effect upon the oat^ crop. AGRICOLA,