NOTES OX RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2714, 21 March 1906, Page 5

NOTES OX RURAL TOPICS.

Some rather strange facts and figures ere disclosed as a result of an The Infinence of inquiry into the distribute Autumn tion of rainfall and other Rainfall meteorological elements in on tke the seasons of the last 21 TTTioat Yield, years, as recorded by a British publication devoted ia the subject. The apparent connection between the rainfall in the autumn and the yield of wheat in the next year is so remarkable that I think it worth noticing in -this t column, although a similar result may not obtain here. A table is given showing the year, the amount of rainfall during the tbree autumn, months, and the yield of the wheat crop the following harvest, and -this table shows plainly that the average yield of wheat in England is high wien -the previous autumn has been dry, and low "when the autumn has been ■unusually wet — in other words, the yield goes up as -the rainfall goes down. For instance, the best average yield during tl c 21 years was in 1898, when the yield was 35 "bushels per acre, and the rainfall during the previous autumn was only sin. In 1885 -the yield was 32 bushels, and "followed a dry autumn — dry at least for England. When there "was 9in or lOin of xain the yield in the following year dropped to 26 and 27 bushels on an average. It is deduced from this table that the yield of English wheat diminishes by a bushel snd a-quarter for every inch of rain that falls in the preceding autumn. Of course it is evident that various causes n«ay operate in bringing about the results noted. A very wet autumn does not admit of the hind being properly prepared or of the seed being sown early. Excessive moisture- makes the land cold, delays germination and after-growth. In gome cases wheat sowing would be postponed until the spring, and if that season should not prove favourable a poor crop would result, and assist in reducing the average for the whole country. Therefore, what may seem to be results to a meteorologist are merely the natural con-sequences of causes and "effects plainly apparent (o practical farmers. A nice warm and fairly dry autumn is favourable for many things besides wheat sowing. Feed is healthier and more nourishing than in a sloppy autumn, lambs fatten faster in warm .■weather, ewes come into season earlier, crops are gathered in good order, stubbles can be worked more readily for the suppression or destruction of weeds, roads and fields are in sounder order for the transport of threshing mills and haulage of grain, and the farmer it in a contented (frame of mind, and feels disposed to think his lines have fallen in pleasant places. "When there is too much rain in the aivtnmn everything is the reverse of that stated, and everything goes wrong, including the farmer's pocket, and, consecjliently, his temper. Last autumn was a fine one, in my district at any rate, and the autumn wheat was sown under favourable conditions. So far as I know, the yield will be a fair average one for the colony, and would probably have been better but for the cold and backward spring and rainy summer. The amount of sunshine has been very deficient during "*H> last six months, and without that nothing can thrive as it should The weather has been more settled of late, and

it is to be hoi>ed that fine and steady weather will prevail for the rest of the autumn. A writer of similar notes to these foi an . English paper discourses The Training upon ths diversity- of of Farmers. opinion that prevails in the Old Country concerning the best means of training the eons of farmers and others who are destined to be the farmers of the future. One would think, he saye, that the best place to learn farming is on the farm, but that is the disputed point, notwithstanding the fact that most of the best farmers of to-day gained their experience and knowledge in that way. He says that agricultural colleges are established in most of the English counties, and their .maintenance ertails a considerable expense; but the question to be answered is, What beneficial effect aTe these establishments having upon agriculture, and are they turning out the kind of farmer the country wants? Of course the primary object of euch institutions is to turn out good farmers equipped with a thorough knowledge of 1 agriculture, both practical and scientific, ' and if they fail in this the fault Iks j either with the instructors or the students. In my opinion a young man under a competent staff can learn all that is required in the making of a good farmer if ! he is possessed of an average amount of , brains and applies himself to his allotted work with diligence and a determination to I succeed. If, on the other hand, he is [ lazy, careless, and without ambition he can learn just as little as he wants to, and leave the college no better -fitted for a farmer than when he entered it. But in such coses lho staff or the system cannot be blamed, and yet parents are prone to lay the fault upon everybody except the youth and his dulness, or laziness, or both. Some young men are, doubtless, sent to these colleges simply to be under coatrol, and to him distasteful, work of the farm, few yeare, and a good many ne'er-do-wells i of this kind do not take up farming afterI wards, nor would they succeed if they did. Apafrt from all other considerations, I hold that it is essential that a young fellow must have some natural aptitude for farming, as well as industry and perseverance All the training in the worl.l will not maJce a farmer out of a youth ■who is a born mechanic, for, though the machinery on a 'arm wi'l afford him some scope for his mechanical tastes, he w.'ll not be able to set his mind to the other, and to him distasteful, work of the farm, i Some good farmers have been made at Lincoln College, although the discipline and management have not been all that they should be since its establishment ; bi*j ' it is possible, of course, that these young men would hay© learned as much with a good practical farmer, and at less cost to then parents. When the work of a college farm is done entirely by the students it necessarily follows that a good deal of their time is occupied in doing work that is ot no educational value to them either in practice or theory. I refer to such work as hoeing veeds in mangels, etc., and in cleaning out piggeries, but even menial work of this description 6erves to teach them that a farmer must be willing to 'turn his hand to all kinds of work, be it pleasant or otherwise. There seems to be a general opinion that our only farm college at Lincoln is doing good work, for there are more applicanfs for places for students than the accommodation will meet, | and it cannot be denied that the director | is a thoroughly capable man, and ie assisted by a staff of competent and zealous instructors. j I have been favoured with a copy of a small pamphlet issued by As Otliers the Department of AgricuiSee Us. ture of Natal, containing an account of a visit to Australia and New Zealand by the chairman of the Natal Land Board last year. It will j probably be niterestins; to know what this gentleman, Mr James Marton, thought of oxtr colony, its land, climate, and instr^uI tions. H-e landed here about a year ago. and waj oordialfy received by our Minister of Lands, md by him introduced to the 1 chief officials in our Land Department. He spent about two months touring the color.y, and wri f es about what he saw in a. very candid strain. The first factory he vieit-cd vraa that at Edendale. which, he says, vas scarcely to be classed as up to date, and had evidently grown from an unpretentious beginning. He wa« satisfied, however, that it was doing good and successful wcrk. From what he could see he did not think the cattle generally were in better condition than the average dairy cattle in Natal He also visited the factory of the Taieri and Peninsula Company, and was surprised to fie© that they were packing butter for Natal. Of our pastures be vrrites pretty correctly, saying some aTe rich, others fair, "and some indifferent, but I they appear to be green throughout tbe | whole of the year, and in some parts ' actually grow through the winter. He visited Lincoln College, Cheviot, and other I Ciown settlements, and several of the ' Government experimental farms, but does 1 not express any opinion about them. He was favourably impressed by cur Government grading of dairy produce, and says that he .-aw four expert graders at work. who put through 40 or 50 consignments of butter in a day, and he found that there was only half a point difference in their grading of any lot, so closely did their

judgments agree. The points gained by the- butter put through their hands that day ranged from 92 to 95 points out of a possible 100. He reports upon our system of rearing and fattening lambs, but his remarks are co brief and .sketchy that I am afraid the Natal farmers will not benefit much from the information he gives them on that subject. He was rather struck with the dried milk factory in the north, and thinks the industry msy be profitably applied to certain parts of Natal. In May last he left New Zealand for Australia, and be gives a short account of the chief objects of interest seen by him there. He visited the chief agricultural colleges in the States, and one paragraph of his report in connection with these is worth reproducing in full : — At every one of the colleges I visited I was informed that, in the early days, it was common for farmers to remark that the kind of work carried on was all right for a Government, but too expensive for individuals; anj that for many years difficulty was experienced in obtaining a sufficient number of pupils from within the States. The professors informed me that now, hoivevei, farmers realised the advantages to be gained f rom a sound agricultural educition ; that the colleges had far more applicants for admission than could be accommodated fc r two years; and that applications from students from beyond their own borders could not now be entertained. Many of the former students were, I was told, now occupying responsible positions throughout the States, and it was not an uncommon thing for them to be consulted as to the bast methods of cultivating crops by old farmejs who originally adversely criticised the agricultural oollegcs>. I learned that at several of the colleges fruit, poultry, and pigs all paid expenses, and showed a profit on th© year's transactions. AGEICOLA.