NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

Otago Witness, Issue 2642, 2 November 1904, Page 6

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

I see by the parliamentary news that the-

Fertiliser Bill has passed The Fertiliser the House, and it will pro8.11. bably interest many farmersto know what the chief provisions -of the bill are. The object is to make better provision for the control of the sale of fertilisers, and the acfc will come into force on the first day of April next. I have not a copy of the act as finally passed— that will not be available for some time, — but I have a copy of the bill after it had pa?sed through the hands of the Joint Agricultural Committee of the House, and it is not probable that it has been altered nmch since being revised by that committee. Every vendor of fertilisers, whether he sells on his own 'account or as an agent for another, must register his name and address with the Secretary of Agriculture, and, also, at the same, time supply a facsimile of the brand of each fertiliser, a. general description of each, showing- the minimum percentage of th& various components and the unit value attached 1 to them. The Secretary of Agiiculture may refuseto register any brand of fertiliser if he finds that it materially diffeis from a fertiliser previously registered under the same

• brand, or, under a brand so similar as to i 'ffae. .likely to mislead a purchaser. When --.selling lots of sewt or over, the Vendor is t required to- deliver or post to the purchaser » -«.n .-unvoice, certificate containing the true . particulars of irhe fertiliser corresponding to' the particulars supplied to the Secretary; -for' Agriculture. - When any fer- " 'tiliser is composed of ingredients, mixed : according to the instructions : - of a, -purchaser; it is sufficient if the vendor plainly 1 marks such as "speraal mixture.*' • In every sale there shall be implied a warrant by the seller that the particulars contained in the invoice certificate aTe true in substance and in fact. The Governor-in-Council may from time to time appoint fit -persons to be inspectors and analysts "under this act, and all present inspectors of Btock~-are to be deemed ' inspectors tinder ■ this act. Any inspector may enter upon the premises of any vendor and take • camples for analysis {in order to •whether -the fertilisers being sold are in aoeorcßanoe with registered descriptions). Each sample is to be divided by the inspector into three parts — one to be handed to the vendor, one to be sent to an analyst, and one to be retained by the inspector. This taking of a sample by the inspector is to be deemed a purchase by him, and the vendor must furnish him with an invoice oerfificate; just as if he were sending the -naanuT© x> a^farmer, and the invoice certificate is- to .be sent ,to the analyst with -the sample. The analyst shall give a certificate of the result of the analysis, and ehall state vwhether it differs materially from the description ..given in the invoice certificate, and whether such difference, if "any, •is- to the disadvantage of flic purchaser. A copjr of, the analyst's certificate "shall be ■ given to_;the vendor. The buyer of any' • fertiliser may, within ten days of receiving ■ tie ■same, 1 inform the inspector in Tnritrang ;,that .iie - desires him to. take a 'sample p «f "such fertiliser, and on receiving the pre- > scribed "fee '-the inspector mist take a sample -.and divide "it into thi-ee parts as already - mentioned. The. vendor must bs given •"notice oMthe^ intention to take 'a. sample so that^he or "his " agent maybe present 'And -if the sample "proves to be genuine 'the. vendor may claim from the buyer any reasonable expenses incurred by him in *rfcending-at_ the taking of a sample. Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding dSfty pounds ~who tampers with any fer- ■ tiliser so that a sample taken of it is not a s fair sample, or who improperly breaks the seal or tampers with any part of a sample taken under this act. Every vendor ia "liable {in addition to any civil ■remedy the purchaser may have) to a fine "not exceeding twenty pounds who brands or permits to be branded with a brand whose registered particulars do not materially correspond with the particulars of the ■contents of such package; or causes any package branded with a registered brand to be filled with a different fertiliser without'first effacing the brand; or who gives an invoice certificate at variance with the true particulars of the fertiliser sold, if such variance is to the prejudice of the ' purchaser. Every who commits a breach of any of the provisions of this act for whioh no penalty is elsewhere prescribed is liable for . the first offence to a fine not exceeding £10, -and for every subsequent .offence to a. fine-not exceeding. £50 and not Jess than £5. .The Secretary- for Agriculture may from time -•to" time publish in such -inaTnier" as he thinks "Jib the- result of any. analysis made under tfi.in " «ret, l and neither he nor the Gbvernmeirt.printer, other- person, shall' be liable in any " such, publication. Tlie •Governor may, by"— Order-in-Coimcil gazetted, make Tegtd«tions for carrying out the ■provisions of this act, and may in .such regulations impose a fine :not exceeding £10 for any "breach thereof. All such regulations shall within 10 days after -publication ~be laid before Parliament, if sitting, and, if not, then within 10 days after "the commencement of the next ensuing session. '^The Manure Adiilteratio.il Act, 1892," ia lereby repealed. This seems to me a very fair and workable act, and calculated to guard farmers against any fraudulent dealers in fertilisers. Partners who buy from well-known firms of good repute will rarely need to call in the inspector to take a- sample, but the power to do so is there if we wish to nse ifc. Tlie outlook for both wool and fat sheep and lambs is.veiy good, and ffool Prices. it is to be hoped that noProspects Good, thing will oocur to depress the prices for these imp or tant_ products ere th~e time comes for marketing them. I have before me a produce circular of London, date September 2, and this states that a struggle was then going on between the different branches of the industry over prices, and spinners were in a difficult position, as they come in between the- tppmaker and the manufacturer. The circular states that there ere no signs of wool becoming cheaper IFor some time to come, but that there is always the danger of the" market being •*'beared" towards the opening of the new teason in the colonies by large operators who buy in the colonies. Topmakers at Home are, however, likely to want every pound available to keep tfheir machinery going till the new clip arrives. Last year those who sold at the latter end of the liondon sales season obtained the best Iprioe, but it is possible that the opposite «nay be the case this coming season if the

market opens with a keen demand at good prices. Speculators who buy in the local markets will have to consider the chances of a- fall taking place before their purchases can reach London, and, of course, those who ship on their own account will run the same risk, but if prices keep up they will save the middleman's profit. j Last year a large conference of dairy j farmeis was held in Michij Building up gan, which is the most adI a Dairy Herd, vanced dairying State of Am erica. A number of papers on daiiying were read, and one, deemed to •be the best, was read by a man who had started ten years ago without any knowledge of dairy-farming, but is now one of the leading men in the State. The paper he read described bis own personal experience. When going out of fruit-farming into dairy-farming he determined to have a purebred herd, and decided tipon the Jersey breed. He had only £100 with which to buy stock, and was undecided whether to buy ten good cows of an ordinary type or two "tiptoppers." In the end be gave £60 for a granddaughter of Matilda 4-th, a famous Jersey cow that gave 1600 gal of milk in one yeav. "He also gave £30 for another cow of the same srrain, and thus started to breed up a purebred herd. " His £60 cow was in calf to the best Jersey bull in America, he having won many prizes at the World's Fair in Chicago just before. The calf proved 'to be a bull, and thus he had got three purebred animals for a Start, and from these he has built up a splendid herd of dairy cattle with great profit and satisfaction to himself. .Now we often hear it said that pedigree does not always make for profit, because there are occasionally duffers in the ancestry, and animals are apt to "throw back" to a duffer. This man' very truly says 'that the foundation of' a herd "should not only be a great performer, but should also have a pedigree full of "great performers,, so that there are no duffers in the line to which the dessendants may "throw back." The bull, he says, should also have a good pedigree and be the' son of a good mother. Then the writer of the paper under notice lays great stress upon culling the cows. However good your herd may be, there is , always the "worst cow," and this one \ should be replaced by a good one. He j believes in putting heifer 3 'to the bull ; not younger than 15 months, nor older * than 21 months, varying the age according ' to the size and development of the heifer. He advocates liberal feeding during the three months preceding the birth of the first' calf, as that is the time to make - the cow. She has at that time to develop her calf, her udder, and keep up her own ■growth. He says he discards a cow with very- short teats — she takes too long to ; milk; also the cow with a dainty appetite : he believes in dairy cows eating up . everything at sight. He keeps no cow that will not give up to 600 gal of 5 per cent. miJk in the season. This farmer's paper was listened to with interest, and voted to b& the best read at the conference, because he spdke from experience; and described what he had done and. indulged in no theories. Nothing succeeds like success, and the successful man always gets a good hearing. This manure supplies both lime and phosphoric" acid to the soil, and Basic is very suitable for land Shi?. which is deficient in lime. It would be thought that pig-iron is the most unlikely thing in the 'world to contain manure, but there is usually a certain amount of phosphorous in it, and this, if not removed, would cause the steel to be too brittle. In the process of the manufacture of steel a blast of air is forced through the molten pig-iron, and this turns the phosphorus into phosphoric acid. liime is then thrown into the molten metal, and unites with the phosphoric acid forming a phosphate of lime. This rises to the surface of the metal as a fusible slow, and is then poured off and cooled. When cold the slag is a hard, dark, and brittle mass, which is ground into a fine powder, and thus forms the manure known as "basic slag." It contains about 40 per cent, of pure lime, and makes a good top-dressing for grass land which has become sour and mossy. When used in that way, it should be applied in the spring time. The phosphoric acid in superphosphate is more soluble than that in basic slag, and for light and loamy soils the super is the best manure ; but for stiff clay soils or peaty land, basio slag has be&n proved to be more advantageous in the Old Country. The basic slag is not a complete manure. A3 it contains litfe or no potash or nitrogen, and for arable land nitrogenous and potash manures are required in addition to the slag. Any manure except sulphate of ammonia can be mixed with basic slag. AGRICOLA. It Is stated by one of the Gore papers that some of the signatories to the implement combine have expressed a willingness to exhibit at the Gore show. The North Otago Times is informed that the Taieri and Peninsula Milk Supply Company will take over the North Otago Dairy Company's central factory and creameries on November X.