NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Volume 23, Issue 2684, 23 August 1905, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

The object of tho occupier of a small holding houlcl be to obtain the Thorough greatest possible amount of Cultivation. produce from the aica at

his command, and I suppose it is logicaily true that the large farmer should have the same object in view. If thorough cultivation and proper manuring is profitable when applied to one acre it should be profitable- when applied to hundreds of acres. If by means of first-class treatment 50 acres can be made to produce as much as 100 i.eres would by svcond-cla=s treatment, it is manifestly better to deul with the smaller arc 0 -,

even if the cost of. cultivation and manure is equal to that involved in treating the larger area in a manner requiring half the cost per acre. The prevailing tendency in tho colonies is. however, to cultivate as much ground as possible with the strength and time at our disposal, and that means that thoroughness has to be sacrificed in it great measure to expedition.

The yields obtained in experiments conducted with' fertilisers on small plots ;re otten surprisingly large, owing, no doubt, to the fact that the soil is brought into the mat perfect state of preparation for receiving the seed and nourishing the growth of the plant from germination to maturity. Of course, the manual husbandry by means of spade and fork applied to these plots is out of the question in extensive practice, but it serves to. show that the nearer field operations approach the thoroughness of cultivation common in garden operations the better the results obtainable from each acre, and all farmers should bear that fact in mind in conducting their tillage operations, on whatever scale they may be. It is true that the yield depends largely upon the quality of the soil and the character ot the season, but it is also true that good crops are greatly assisted by good cultivation and proportionately hindered by inferior cultivation. Another factor in good farming is the enlisting of the elements as an aid to preparation of the soil, and the effects of a winter fallow upon some soils are more beneficial «han all the artificial methods at the command of the farmer. I

Spring- time has com« again, with all its rush of work, and those farmers who have kept the good old saying in mind, and taken time by the forelock by getting all possible work done during the autumn and winter, will be in a position to carry on their ! spring work as thsy would like. "The best laid schemes of mice and men gang oft agley," anrl vexatious vicissitudes of the ■weather frequently interfere with the preparation, of the soil, but s>uch has been the case ever since Adam turned the first sod, and will continue until this world is a glowing cinder; but we must -e'en make the best of things a-s they are, and endeavour to deserve success if we cannot command it.

To return to the subject of intense cultivation. The possibilities of land production when it is treated in the most advanced and thorough manner have not, perhaps, been tested in this colony. We know, however, what can be done and has been done in other countries. We know what an enormous population China supports by means of the most intense cultivation of all the soil available for cultivation. A Chinaman does not famiblchimself about the area of his plot: plenty of water and manure is all he wante- -his two arms will do the rest. In Belgium two acres are made to keep a family comfortably ; in the Ohanuel Islands five acres is the iieual size of a. farm, and that employs all the labour of a family, and a man with 1-0 acres has b-een known to say that he could not possibly attend to more than that Jn a proper manner, and could make it produce as much as 300 acres under the usual style of farming, in England. Of course the climate of the Channel Islands is very niild, and they can get a high price for their early potatoes in the London market, almost at their doors. The foregoing remarks about thorough cultivation only refer to land of good or I fair quality, and which is likely to give a fair return for the money expended upon its prepai'ation. I have nothing to say about cultivation of poor, light -soils, because I consider they cannot be made to pay for same. The best course to adopt in that case is to sow in grass and leave in grass. I We have all read of the great boom in , Brisbane for some time past A Cowing in connection with new Potato. varieties of potatees-. At first the Magnnmßonum was the favourite ; then the famous Northern I Star came to the front as a wonderful cropper and disease-resister ; this, again, was superseded by the Eldorado; while I more recently that good old potato the Up to Date has re-established itself in public favour, and is said to have been the parent of the much-boomed varieties. An English farmer, however, ventures to say that the Factors, he says, somewhat resemb' Up to that it will prove to be the leading main crop variety of the future. He says it has proved itself to be a good cropper, a good cooker, and remarkably free from disease. Factors, he says, somewhat resamle Up to Dates in the character of the growth and in the shape of tKe tubers, and have a'l the vigour of constitution which is n-eeessary in a potato if it is to last. The Factor has not yet come to this colony, so far as I know, and I do not know whether or not it is as good as it is reported to be, but I | have ?een in English papers several reports of tests of many kinds of potatoes, as to their cooking and eating qualities, and I have noticed that the Factor has always been at the head of the lists in these respects. This potato has been higrhly honoured by the Royal Horticultural Society giving it a first-class certificate, an award which is rarely eiven to a potato. For my part I would not wish for a better potato than the Up to Date, either as a cropper or a cooker. The tops were, with me, slightly affected by the disease in the autumn, but the tubers were sound and I satisfactory in every respect*

A British paper, >o < , . , a „ i,ontGeneral's advertisements of* As Others lenug passages to this See Us. country at reduced fares for people having a little capital, says a good word for the colony, and strongly recommends it as possessing such favourable conditions of soil and climate as ere nofc excelled in any other country. It tells its readers that New Zealand is well watered, droughts are never experienced to any sui.^ lo cxtenr, ana the seasons for preparing the land, for sowing, growing, and harvesting, ar-e, comparatively speaking, most favourable. It is essentially a conntry for farmers witn small capital. Then the writer goes on to s.iy that m addition to mixed farming the pasturage, both native and artificial, is very suitable for 6heep and cattle, and accounts for the largaand thriving flocks which, furnish the immense numbers of frozen sheep and lamb* annually exported. It is satisfactory ta ncte lh?i some people in Britain are so well informed about the colony, and d<X not hesitate io write freely and correctly concerning us as far as their knowledge goes. Notwithstanding the prominence ■which our advanced legislation and excellent exports shoiild give rs in the eyes of the British-speaking world, there is still a great deal of ignorance prevalent in tho mind of the British public anent us and our geographical position. It is a common idea, with many that New Zealand is a part of Australia, and that all those we call natives of New Zealand— that is, those 1~~- in the colony— are as brown ss AT AGKIOOL&.