NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

Otago Witness, Issue 2603, 3 February 1904, Page 8

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

This, the largest fat stock show in Britain, is held every wimter in the The Smithfield great Agricultural Hall at

Show. Islington. The management of the Smithfield Club have raised a hornets' nest about fheir ears by making a* rule that no beast shall be exhibited a second time at their show. I suppose the object ia to prevent the same animals from walking off with prizes year after year, and discouraging exhibitors, who fancy they have co chance against noted prize-takers. At all events, the rule seems to have met with a lot of opposition and dissatisfaction, judging from the number of letters appearing . in English farm papers upon the subject. The following are some of the headings of the letters in opposition to the mew rule: — "Hard on Exhibitors," "A Senseless, Meddlesome Rule," "A Great Mistake," "Driving the Best Yearlings to Other Shows," "A Fatal Step," "Detrimental to Quality and Number of Exhibits," and so on. It appears that the new rule is meant to keep yearlings from being exhibited, because if they are good enough for a prize as yearlings, it follows that they will also be prize-takers at two-year-olds and three-year-olds, and so on. An argument in favour of the rule is that a moneyed man will buy a yearling prize-winner with the intention of taking a prize the next year, and other farmers, kmowing that this animal is being fed for the next show, will hang back as having no chance against him. Bearing upon this it may interest some of my readers to know that at the 1901 show there were 11 breeds of cattle represented by 93 yearling fat steers. At the next show 27 of these were shown again as two-year-olds, and 21 of these were prize-winners. As there were 75 two-year-old steers shown that year, it follows that the 27 brought on from the yearling classes the previous year were slightly more than one-third of the total exhibits of two-year-olds, and as these that were shown, a second time took 21 prizes out of a total of 33 prizes, it looks as if there is some reason for the new regulation. Of course, we all know that any innovation meets with gome opposition, and I shall be curious to learn,

in due course, how tho vote of members of the club will go at the meeting to bo called to confirm or thiow out the new rule. The writers of the protesting letters referred to seem confident that 90 per cent. of the members will give an adverse vote. I had just penned the foregoing when later Homo papers came to hand containimg reports of the Smithfield Fat Stock Show, which was held during the second week of December. It is stated that the show was a good one in spite of the past season having been so cold and wet, also that the show of 1903 will bo remembered more for the excellence of the pig and sheep exhibits, than for its cattle. The champion fat beastwas a shorthorn-Angus cow of wondrous weight— 22lolb! Single-judging is the rule at this show, and those who do not approve of that system made a great deal of the fact that the King's Hereford tteer, which was champion at Birmingham fat stock show a short time before, was beaten at Smithfield by the Aberdeen-Angus steer which was pitted against him at Birmingham. _ The annual meeting of members, to which I referred above as likely to result in strong opposition to the new rule prohibiting the same animal from being shown twice in the catblo c 1 a3=es, passed off without a breeze, simply because the committee rescinded tho rule before the annual meeting came off. , There is a potato boom on in England, and the display of tvbe-rs is said to have been an extraordinary feature of the show— Mr Findlay's Northern Star variety has been selling at fabulous prices, but has been eclipsed by another of Mr Findlay's, the El Dorado, for which £150 has been refused for lib weight. £240 per ton is the present price of Northern Stars. One would llv'nk that potatoes ar« an valuable as nuggets of gold when it is stated Mr Fiindlay had the misfortune to have a potato stolen at thc> Smithfield show. He valued it at £70. and had just refused that cum for it. The champion fat cow was sold at £100, the champion pen of fat sheep at six guineas each, and the champion fat pigs at £15 each.

Tbere is no doubt that oil motors are rapidly coming into use at Agricultural Home for doing farm work. Motors. I frequently see articles

about thorn in the papers, and photographs showing the motors drawing reaping machines, ploughs, etc. They appear to be strong and compact, and capable of drawing a three-furrow plough. In fact, I have a paper before me nowshowing one at that work. The cost of oil is said to be about sixpence per hour, and of course in bad weather/ when farm work is at a standstill, they cost nothing to keep beyond the inte-re^ an their first cost. With horses there is, besides that, the cost of feeding in all weather.?, shoeing, harness, sickness, ere. Besides field work the motors thresh, cut chaff, haul hay and straw, and haul the produce to railway or market. As they do not require any rest, they can be kept at work from daylight to dark when, there is a stress of work, and as the maim wheels are very broad they can go on to tho laud to plough as soon after much rain as a team of horses can — being leas than half tho weight of ordinary traction engines.

"E. J. M.,'' Southland, writes asking what are the best fertilisers to Mixinp uso for ridged turnips *n Manures. land whioh has been liraed.

The fact of turnips being ridg"d or drilled on the, flat -Ic-s not afftct tho manuring, raid with leqard tc fertilisers suitable for newly-limrd land, '"E. J. M." should take. note of replies to queries frequently given on this maltpr. No longer ago than tho 25th November lasi. I went 'lito this qut'stioji in replying to a Hodgehopo farmer. Manures arc chiefly divided into two classes, those which are oiganic and those which are composed of minerals. Organic manures are derived from any substance which possessed organ?, or life, whether animal or vegetable. Manures made from blood, bones, flesh, etc., are organic, as alco are those made from any decayed vegetable matter. Organic manures are also called nitrigenou% because they abound in nitrogen and ammonia. Lime, in its various forms, and superphosphate of lime made from phosphatic rook are examples of mineral manures. Then, also, there are nitrogenous superphosphates, which are made by di-"iiolving bones in sulphurio acid. All that '\E. J. M." need do is to avoid using nitrogeno.is manures with lime, because the. latter combines with the nitrogen and ammonia and causes them to escape in vapour, and be thus lost to the coil. Farmyard manure ia organic, and therefore nitrogenous, and should never be used with lime. Any phosphatie or potaesic manures can be used on limed soil, and by phosphatic is meant those super? made from phosphate rock such as is now found in Otago. If only a small dose of lime has been used I dc not think it matters much what fertilisers arc but it is a \ery great mistake to put a lot of farmyard manure to heavily-limed land. "E. J- M." also asks what is the best mixture of grasses to sow in bush land for cow pasture, and to last about six years No man can do justice tc a query like this without seeing the land and knowing something of the climate. If "E. T. M." has had no experience, his best plan is to follow the practice adopted by neighbouring settlers of longer experience. At anyrate, he cannot do wrong in mowing cocksfoot, ryegrass, and olover ot various kinds. If he does not mind the expense he may aliso sow some meadow feseus and meadow foxtail, both of which are highly esteemed in English pastures as possessing quantity, quality, and earliness of growth in the spring. With regard tp any mixture holding for six yeara, that is a matter to be determined by the soil and the treatment. I may tell him. however, that gras.\> depastured by cattle only doca not run out so soon as that which is stocked with sheep, as these bite much closei to the root and, especially by hard stocking, Injure the -vitality of any grass, and thus reduce its duration of usefulness. I am not told whether the bush land is to be surface-sown or ploughed. If the latter, a few pounds of Italian ryegrass will be useful the first year, as it gives an early spring growth; it has, however, no permanency.

Ths editoi has Kindly sent me a copy of the 1904 Almanac of the The Live Stodk Journal, inolosLive Stock ing a note from the pubJonrual Ushers, Messrs Vinton and Almanac. Co., London, requesting a brief notice The volume comprises nearly 300 pages, and, as usual, gives o complete review of the condition and progress of mattere concerning all branches of live stock during the -past year.

There are 47 special articles written by prominent stockmen in Britain, besides numerous photographs of purebred stock that havo won prizes at the leading shows. Sir Walter Gilbey contributes a good paper on "Healthy Stables," illustrated with plans and diagrams, showing how ventilation, light, and sanitation can best be provided. Another useful article deals with the "General Purpose Shorthorn." A chapter on the value of all the live stock in the British Isles is interesting reading. In June of last year there were 11,408,600 head of cattle, of an average value of lOgs per head, total value £119,790,000. Of sheep there were 29,658,800; average- value, £1 12-5 6d; total value, £48,195,000. Horses (2,070,000), at £21 10s each, totalled £44,500,000. There were 4,085,800 pigs, of an average value of £1 17s 6d, and a total value of £7,660,000. The total of live stock was, therfore, 47,223,200, valued at £220,150,000. Besides cattle, sheep, horses, and pigs there are about £5,000,000 worth of goats, a.s3fvs, and poultry. Taking, then, tho value of farm live stooki at 225 millions sterling, and tho other capital absorbed in dead stock (implements," seed, etc.) at 150 millions, the total amount of capital, apart from land, is £355,000,000, which amounts to £7 8s 8d per aero for all enclosed and cultivated land. I should say, at a rough giio-fl, that tho average value of all the freehold land horc would not amount to more than that figure per acre, and thore would be veiy few applications for fiovornment sections if the would-lw* truants w^tp required to chow that they po a :Mss=i one- half of £7 8s 8d per acre for stocking thfir ructions. Besides the articles mentioned, thero arc ft lot of brooders' tables, n. brpedor's dir&otory, and a. largo number of illustrated advertisements, and the price- of the Almanac, posted, is Is 6d. AGRICOLA.