NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

Otago Witness, Issue 2647, 7 December 1904, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

Orchard and Garden Pests.

I In the session of 1903 the Orchard and i - Garden Pests Act was passed, and is now in force. The act has been printed in leaflet form by the Agricultural Department, and as the leaflet may not come into the hands of all concerned, I think it ' will Tse useful to state briefly the provisions of the act. "Disease" means any of the diseases mentioned in the schedules- of the act, and all others that may be proclaimed as such under the act. The Governor, by, Order-in-Council, may, from tiiae to time, prohibit the introduction of any fruit, fungus, parasite-, insect, or any other thing likely to introduce disease into the colony. For the same reason, and in the same way, the transport of .any fruit, etc., from one part of the colony to another may be prohibited if thought necessary. The occupier or owner "of any orchard shall at all times do what is necessary in order to eradicate disease from his orchard and prevent the spread" thereof. He shall also, within two "days of discovering the same, send written notice to 'the Secretary - for Agriculture of the appearance of any specified disease in , his orchard. I Any inspector or other authorised officer \ may at .any time v enter into any convey- . ance, or upon any orchard land' or pr«- , "mises, or" on board any ship, for the pur- ■ pose of inspecting any plants or fruit, : or the packages oontaining the same or ' with which the same ' may .have come in contact, and shall have all 6uch powers and authorities (including power to dig up plants, open packages,' and otherwise) as he deems necessary for- enabling him .to enforce the provisions of ' this act. Any plant, fruit, fungus, parasite, insect, or 'other thing introduced or attempted to "be introduced into New Zealand contrary to any Order-in-Council under this act 'may, together with any ' package oontaining the same or with which the sani« may" have come, in' contact, 'be seized by an inspector- or other authorised officer, or an officer of customs, and be disinfected, destroyed, or otherwise disposed of as such " inspector or officer deems fit, at the expense' of tthe owner or person in charge thereof. ,_ person. who hima???, or by his servant or agent, commits an offence against this act, is liable to a fine not exceeding £20. It is an offence for any person to sell, or dispose for sale or distribution in any manner, any plant, fruit, or package which to his knowledge is diseased or infeoted, except by direction of an inspector. Also to sell, dispose for sale, or distribute in any .manner any plant, fruit, or thing > which, to his knowledge, has been illegally .imported. The first schedule contains only one fruit pest that is dangerous to New Zealand as a. whole — namely, phylloxera, -or vine louse. The Mediterranean fruit ; fly, "Queensland .fruit fly, and San Jose ( scale " may ponsibly live in North Auckl land, but I have never Jieard them meni tioned as a danger to more southern districts. The second schedule includes American blight, apple scab, codlin moth, oyster . scale, and red mite. There are ten in-* ■ speetors under this act.

,_ Rural -Education.

I have -many times in these notes adro- ' cated the teaching of elementary agricultural science in. our country schools, and I am glad to see that this .matter is -being ta&en up by the Farmers' Union. T have recognised the fact ;■ that -want of knowledge upon this subject '-by majority \of the teachers is the • greatest difficulty in the way, but have pointed out that there_ are excellent textbooks available for the purpose and the , rudiments can be learned from books by | the teacheis and imparted to the scholars. It is, however, very desirable that the ' teachers acquire a fuller knowledge of the 1 subject than oan be gained from the elementary text books, and I think that a, portion of the grants in aid of technical education of teachers .should be devoted to the purpose of instructing them by lectures. Wood-carving, English literature, etc., may be beneficial to town boysj but , the sons of farmers would derive more advantage from technical instruction in farming and the science which governs the business of their lives. Young farmers | can, if they choose, read " up agricultural ! science after they leave school, and en- ! deavour to make use of it in conjunction with their practical operations, but that plan, though better than neglecting the subject altogether, is not likely to bo so beneficial to them as having it taught and [ explained to them in their school course. , Agricultural i science embraces many subjects. . Chemistry deals, with composition of soils, manures, fodder, etc. ; botany, as comprised in the process of germination of seeds, ' fructification of plants, • identification of- plants and weeds, etc. ; geology, as relating to the formation of soils and their mechanical structure ; meteorology, as concerning the • weather and climatic influences, and even astronomy cannot bo altogether neglected by those who wish to rank as being well-informed in all matters pertaining to agriculture. At present country boys are compelled to waste a great deal of their school time in trying to master subjects which will not be of [ the slightest us© to the-in in after life^ and

Two Cows Per Acre.

which- they forget as soon as possible when they leave-^ school. Of ' course, in these remarks I "refer chiefly to those boys who go to work on the farm as soon as they _ have* obtained a Sixth Standard certificate, or even before. Farmers who realise the benefits of a good education for their sons, and" can afford the cost, -send "them on to the secondary schools, where, if they •'.choose, they can take up the extra subjects • 1 bare mentioned. ■ Denmark is a small country, and thickly populated, and yet th© people^ manage to produce enough butter and bacon for themselves and • export a surplus to the value of about li millions sterling. Every inch cf available ground is cultivated to the best advantage, and nothing is wasted. It is said that the cows are tethered while grazing, to avoid unnecessary treading of the pasture. The red Danish cow' is the- principal breed, the colour being a brownish red with black points. They arc larger than the Ayrshires, not so heavy as the , Holstein, also shorter in the legs. In the j Island of Jersey even greater oare and i economy are observed, and the famous Jeri sey oattle are the only kind on. the island. i The oows . there, too, are tethered in a i line across the pastures, and /regularly I moved forward from one side to the other, \ and by the .time they have fed across, the [ grass on the starting side is ready for them again. In this way two cows per acre j I can be depastured during the season. The ; cows arc small, and' the pasture luxuriant, owing to the abundance of moisture in the Channel Islands. A visitor reports that , he was in Jersey about midsummer, and j the regiments of tethered cows were being nioyed across the pastures the second time, and the feed was up to their knees. Two \ \ crops are taken from the arable land every. year. All the cows are purebred, nothing else is allowed to come in; but they are not registered according to their breeding. Registration is not ' allo%ved unless a cow comes up to the required standard' in milk production. If a disqualified cow produces a heifer that reaches the standard, the heifer can be registered. While on the subject of cows, I may 6ay that the Taranakd farmers seem to have a jpoor opinion of the Irish Dexter cows imparted recently by the State, and exhibited! at the North Palmerston show. They say they are too small to be profitable on g,ood ! land, and though their hardiness and activity makes them adapted for rough and high country, of which five acres is required to keep a cow, it would scarcely answer to havei to muster a milking herd from a larg-e ; block of such country twice a day, and I that sheep or store cattle would 'pay much better on broken bush land. AGRICOLA.