NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2785, 31 July 1907, Page 6

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

The order paner for the Agricultural Conference just bristles with The Approarhlnf interesting items, all of Acrieoltural which arc more or less I Conference. important to the farming community. Such a wealth of subjects indicates that our leading agricultural associations are fully alive to the needs of the agricultural community, and recognise that farmere look to them for assistance in effecting reforms. The active and intelligent interest of our own association this last year manifests iteelf in quite a number of important remittances to the conference. This is as it ehould be, and long may it continue. A notable omission is the want of any reference to labour questions. No doubt it was considered that the Farmers' Union Conference would deal fully with that subject, and it has been severely left alone. Nevertheless, it is a very comforting reflection for our farmere that we have an approachable up-to-date association, which fully realises its position and responsibilities. Naturally our shows eceive a considerable amount of attention. Free passes for judges \nd delegates, judging by points, the employment of single judges, teaching young judges, and arranging dates have all been s>ent forward for consideration. The necessity for a first-class show during the Exhibition resulted in a liberal grant in aid from the Government, and it v sought

to continue this development by holding-*^ royal show annually, alternating between, the North and South Island. This will give an immense stimulus to 'the breeding of high-class stock, and do more- to set up a high colonial standard for all classes' of stock jhan any other action which can be a taken. Reforms in connection with railway matters bulk largely, and are urgently required, especially in reference to the supply of rolling stock, transference of stock, more conveniences at show time, and cleanliness of sheep trucks. Anyone visiting Burnside one sale day must admit that the condition in which some trucks of sheep arrive is quite deplorable. Trucks of sheep as black as the> ace of spades, and standing in 2in or 3ia I of semi-liquid manure, the product of as unnecessary time spent on the journey, are frequently seen. Occasionally two or- thre» of the sheep in such trucks get down, and are trampled to death. They haven't _*. ghost of a chance to regain their feet in. such " circumstances. Acceleration of loading, easily possible by a slight alteration in the construction of the truck, and rapid delivery should be vigorously insisted on. It is generally admitted that the time fe -ripe for discussing the regi«Begistratlttn tration of stallions., and that .«f , the subject is deserving of StalliMf. impartial discussion and th* best consideration. the Farmers' Conference" can gfvo it. Fifteen years ago we had large numbers of excellent draught geldings, with plenty weight and substance, good frames and sufficient bone, and possessed of decent action, but the animals which combine in proper pro-, portions all the chief qualities that unrt» to constitute the best type of draught hors» are now few and far between. That them is a vast amount of room for improvement is an incontrovertible fact, but opinion: differs as to the best means of attainingthis. Of one thing there can be no manner of doubt: owners of good stallions witt. have to be protected from the aggressive* ness of the weeds. But how this is to be> done is the difficulty. Some think thaet registration combined with effective veterinary examination will help to cull out the inferior horses and improve th© breed, and. no doubt it will; others, that the Government should be requisitioned to step in and import approved sires- whose services would be obtainable at a low figure. Whatever decision is arrived at it will eventually D» found that the market price will have ft greater influence than any legislation that can be devised. The subject bristles with, difficulties. No veterinary surgeon cares 't» condemn an otherwise valuable horse because he has contracted some disease which,, •in his opinion, may prove hereditary. Some> of the greatest weeds of all have pedigreesr for registration that would cover a whole sheet of foolscap closely printed. Nor i» it quite a fair thing to those enterprising: settlers who have imported first-class stallions, to hay« the" ground -«ut from under their feet by Government importations serving at cost price. Very few of them hay© made a" fortune -by their enthusiasm. BE farmers had an assured market, and could rely on getting, a payable price for firstclass young stock, the quality would soon improve Judging from the present quotations and the amount of closer settlement going on good prices will probably rule for some years, and breeders need not grudge the £5 or £6 service fee which the use of a firsfcclass sire involves. There is one point which is not sufficiently studied if draught horse breeding is to be developed to its utmost limit. It is extremely important that the mares should exhibit, a» clearly as possible, the qualities it is intended to impress on the progeny. Aim* the more emphatically the farmer succeed* in establishing a stud of mares of the desired type the easier, the more certain*, and the more profitable will the pursuit become. # J Evidently great dissatisfaction exists witli the provision made by th* Agricultural Government for the instrucEdneatlon. tion of our agricultural youths. A perfect deluge of remits on educational matters have bee» forwarded for the consideration of the conference. Demands are made for expen* mental State farms from Otago, Canterbury, and Southland; Auckland wishes the Government to initiate a system of cooperative experiments in agriculture on: Canadian and American lines; Southlandand Feilding require the Government to take further steps to promote rural education in the country districts; and, again* Auckland thinks that the interests of agriculture in this colony would be greatly promoted by the establishment of high andtechnical schools in rural districts, making agricultural subjects a prominent feature or their curriculum. It is to be hoped that none- of these suggestions will be considered "misdirected educational energy, of whica "Civis" complains. The unanimous expression of opinion from one end of the colony to the other should have ite effect on the deliberations of the Government. The sooner some comprehensive scheme to evolved the less overlapping will result and the les3 needless expense be incurred. Farmers should not rest satisfied till such - a scheme embraces: 1. Botany taught in the primary schools. 2. A class in the secondary schools which I will make agricultural subjects a prominent feature. 3. The appointment of a professor of agriculture, fully equipped, capable of analysing, soils, manures, and feeding stuffs, testing seeds in various ways, taking charge of co-operative experiments and all research, work, and lecturing to advanced students. 4. A State farm in which experimental work is carried on under the control of the professor and a managing director. Nos. 1 and 2 need not involve any expenditure, and No. +, tho State farm, might be managed so as to very nearly pay its way. Two hundred pounds a year would ■ meet the interest on the initial cost of the 1 ground and tho erection of suitable build'fngs. In 1905 the United States spent £201,000 on agricultural research, in addi* tion to £5000 to eaoh research station in each State, and Canada spent £17,000 on work of a like nature. Our agricultural representatives are now backed up by strongpublic opinion, and should get what they want. The proper education of our coming; farmers is of vital importanoe-^-an investment more valuable than minerals and

«&ocks. With an, educated people agriculture wilL flourish, throughout the 'colony. One of the remits of the Canterbury Agricultural Association to the „ Earourkiag conference has reference to ud branding and ear-marking Bravdiug Sleep, sheep, and as the present "system is almost useless in emergency and & complete- muddle, the necessity for well-defined legislation -is apparent. The recommendations are as follows: (a) That owners be -compelled to ear-mark as well as brand their sheep; (b) that owners should be allowed to a tattoo or firebrand ; (c) that the near ear of a sheep be declared the legal ear, on which only the breeder's registered ear-mark shall be- placed, such registered mark to remain intact — i.e., neither to be altered or added to so long as the sheep lives, — and that the off ear be declared the owner's ear, on which to put such marks as he desires; (d) that •11 tools for branding and ear-marking be supplied or approved of by the Government, be stamped with a Government mark, and that it be a breach of the law to use branding- tools other than those supplied as stated. These- are well enough as far as they go, but they do not improve matters "very much. Something more than, this is wanted, bat it is an exceeding difficult problem to meet all cases which might arise. There is no reason why sheep should not be marked in such a way that they «an be traced back with certainty through several owners to the breeder. In the interests of morality breeders might be satisfied to use one €*»" instead of differentiating- the sexes, as some- do, with the station mark, although this might still be done by branding in two colours. Confined to one ear there aught be a difficulty in getting enough well-defined breeders* marks, but, registered in conjunction with Jie brand, this should not prove insuperable. The off ear wra~'d then be .available for transferees, who might each be confined to a single earmark on the off ear. Each new mark would then indicate another sale. This mark oaight be smaller than the breeder's, and placed in such a way as xj indicate the camber of transfers from the breeder. Thus the first buyer could mark with a front-bit close in to the head, the second with a front bit towards the tip of the car, the third with * top bit. and so on round the ear, finishing «p with two holes. This would provide for seven transfers, which is more than most sheep experience in * lifetime. It wooid be necessary to make it compulsory that each buyer should ear-mark his sheep, and he could tell from existing marks where lie would have to place his earmark. Sheep ooald thus be traced back to the breeder, and the difficulty of procuring convictions an cases of sheep-stealing be overcome. Sheep very seldom pass through the hands of more than two or three owners in the coarße of one year before becoming the property of a second breeder or fattener. and .for these more permanently located aneep the firebrand should be reserved. And •when the fireiron ib used numbers should be adopted instead of single bars, which are easily altered or effaced. Difficulties * ro P tii» with any new system, and one would arise when dealers buy at a sale and afterwards sell on the road before the sheep get home. But dealers recognise that it is also their interest to make it possible to trace a sheep's movements. Dealers, like ' -flock-owners, lose sheep which they fail to recover, and should go to some trouble to protect themselves and others. Another difficulty would arise when a station -owner sold out and distributed perhaps 20.000 sheep to several owners". In this case many owners. I perhaps neighbours, would have sheep with the same ear-marks, although "with a different brand, which, -unfortunately, may or may not be an absolute proof of ownership at shearing time. The permanent sheep, like breeding ewes going ■on to new country might be immediately firebranded in addition to their transfer mark, and the others tattoo-marked along with their transfer mark and new brand. Most of them would probably return to their own ground and require no marking. The essential point to arrange, however it may be done, is that sheep should be marked in such a way that they can be traced back to the original breeder. Single judges at our summer shows have had a fairly exhaustive Jnaglag trial, and it cannot be said and Jadfeti. that they hav-e emerged from the ordeal with brilliant success. It might be warrantable to assert that the system had .been found wanting in some respects. For a time the system seemed to work as satisfactorily as it certainly did experitiously, but it does not improve with experience. It would be prudent to revert to the two- judge system, •with an umpire ready to give his casting vote if necessary. Such an umpire can be picked up on the ground, and need not cost anything.. The theory of the single judge is excellent, and the judging is quicker and more likely to result in uniformity of judgment throughout the classes, but there is always the difficulty of getting really competent judges, and the risk of error is minimised by two judges. Finality on occasion cannot be- reached without calling in a third, but, on the whole, two judges are best, although not so economical. Judging by points enables exhibitors to lay their finger on the weak spot of their exhibit, and tends to facilitate -he work of the judge ; bat is not so easy of application

j to live stock as to dairy produce for mii stance. There is a feature in purebred live ! stock which is difficult to define in figures, but which makes all the difference — nobility of bearing, character, poise, whatever it may be called, it exists — and has to be reckoned with. \ What is the size of a desirable holding on ! which a man with email VediMßi capital has any prospect, •r Swatl without employing much «•»«»*•• labour, of making a fair living? In view of the- | " bursting-up " policy, now in a fair way of realisation, this is a question which demands elucidation It is to be feared a great deal of disiUnsionment is in store for the proprietors of very small holdings. These farms will be useless to men who do not preach and practice the gospel of long hours and strenuous work. If the life led by them is fairly considered it might throw some light on the subject- Take the case of the man on 20 or 25 acies of good land, who runs enough cows to return him wages for his year's work. He cannot expect anything more than that — say, 12 head. He will require to keep at least two-thirds of his ground permanently in grass, grow three or four acres of turnips and mangolds, make another three or four acres into hay, and grow oats for horsefeed and straw for his cattle. His day s work begins at 5 o'clock in the morning, and finishes at bedtime. His capital does not permit him to indulge in modern machinery, and he is handicapped to begin with by the necessity for buying up, at a. cheap rate, second-hand articles which ought to be relegated to the scrap-heap. He depends on his neighbours for most of the machinery needed, and has also to borrow or hire his team of horses. Under these circumstances it is impossible for him to make any headway unless he is close into some township, and can realise his "amall goods," or else combines some other business, such as dealing or a village store or smithy, with his farm. Every item he handles must be made to return him some profit. He finds that rent-day comes round with amazing regularity. In fact, more experience is necessary in a restricted area than on a larger farm. He must also have capital enough to stock his farm clear of encumbrance and carry on for his first year. Under any other circumstances it is cruelty to place men on such areas. The labourer whose work and care ceases at 5 o'clock is Infinitely better off. About 50 acres of first-class land, or 150 to 200 of second-class, is the most useful size, being small enough to enable a man to eive his constant attention to the whole with some prospect of a return for his labour, and -yet large enough- to admit of the employment of modern methods, which must be adopted if he wishes to become a permanent occupier. We hear occasionally of the transfer of these small selections at what is considered an enormous price, and the conclusion drawn is that occupation has been profitable. This is quite an erroneous idea. The buildings necessary for a 20-acre farm are jiist as expensive as those required on a farm of moderate size, but they represent a high price per acre. When these farms change hands at £10 or £12 more than the original capital value it simply means that the necessary outlay is being paid for. Without reference to the analyst, the far- ' mer has several ways of Wiro-banket judging the fertility and *«*"iod of needs of his 6oil. Tho class Te«U«g Solli. of weeds which grow and luxuriate in congenial surroundings are a fertile source of information to him, and often indicate the direction in which his method of culture shall proceed. A blind fanner was once driven ' by his son to look at a derelict farm, and having arrived at £heir destination he told the lad to tie the pony up to the tallest thistle in the first field he came to. "There's plenty of docks and water-grass, father, but I can't see no thistles," said the boy, and this fact alone decided the blind parent against becoming a tenant of the land. The weeds mentioned suggested to him that tho land in question was insufficiently drained and could not be profitably occupied without considerable outlay. It is well known that various species of plants require different habitations and different food, as . well as food in different proportions, in order to thrive and grow profitably, and this variation enables the farmer to judge with tolerable aecuracv the quality and condition of a soil on which he sees certain weeds nourishing, as well as the treatment such land requires. An estimate of the needs of hie coil is also obtained by watching the growth of his crops and the colour and condition of his coil. He knows if the grain stalk is small and puny and the colour lighter than it should be that nitrogen is deficient, because he has learnt that nitrogen is required for the rapid growth of stem, leaf, and branch, and contributes th-j rich, dark colour that shows the health of the plant. If the growth is 6hort and there is but little» if any, attempt at * "shooting." he concludes that the soil needs potash, but if the cars set in proportion ot tho size of the stalk, or even if they are a little larger than the size of the stalk would seem able to produce, he knows that there is enough potash present in the coil; and again, if .the grain is longer than usual urder ordinary circumstances, in coming to maturity the need of phosphorus is indicated. The fertiliser applied to the follow-

r ing crop is based on his observation of the present one. dose observation in this wayhas proved of material assistance to many fanners, but the need of some quick methocl of testing soils '. with reference to their ' manorial requiremente has long been a felt want to the farmer. Mr Aston, the Chief Chemist of the Agricultural Department, has provided us with such a method, which is. however, of American origin. He thinks "that if proved reliable for New Zealand conditions the method will be one'of the most powerful instruments that the experimentalist will possess in the solving of coil problems." The method "consists in growing plants in small wire pote containing soil to which fertilisers jf different kinds and in various quantities have been added. The pots mro of peculiar construction, and are planned to enable the comparison of tho several fertilising ingredients by actual measurements of the transpiration of the growing plants; though the efficiency of the treatment may also be judged by cutting and weighing the plants at the end of two "or three weeks, or in many cases by the appearance of the plants alone." The results of transpiration to the plant are most important, the evaporation of water from the leaves being a principal cause of the rise of the sap, and the consequent drawing up of water from the soil containing plant food in solution. But the measurement of transpiration entails accurate weighing and manipulation, which the farmer cannot be expected" to undertake. This is the only knotty point in the eystem. In ordinary farm practice the necessary exactitude cannot be exercised, fortunately for all practical purposes it is not necessary. A comparison of the various weights of growth after two or three weeks and the appearance of the plants would be sufficient to clearly indicate the value of the manure used. "The soil to be examined should be a composite savp'e made up from a large number of samples taken from various parts of the field and thoroughly mixed." Fxactly equal weights are placed in each not, after the requisite proportion of each fertiliser has been added, and several selected seeds, at an equal stage of germination, previously sprung in a damp blanket, are sown hi the pots, which are made impervious to moisture by being dipped in melted paraffin wax. The proportion of fertiliser is obtained as follows, eliminating the question of transpiration: — To 12Aoz, or 7 Jib, of soil add loz of fertiliser, mix thoroughly, and pass through a sieve twice ; then to 790z, or "nearly 51b more of soil, add l<sz of the mixture so obtained. This new mixture contains fertiliser at the rate of 2001b per acre. Proportionately larjjer or smaller amounts of thft first mixture, increase or decrease the amount stated. Obviously this process must be repeated with each manure used. Uniformity of- temperature, light and moisture for all plants in the test are ab-olutely , necessary. The method has been examined by the Khode Island Experimental Station, and it has found that "in general the testa show good agreement with field observations of the whole season's growth." Mr Aston also details very fully the Tesult of his own experience in testing Westland silt and Taranaki volcanic loam, and gives the farmers "Working on tKese soils. _ many valuable hints, adventitious aid denied at present to us in the south. It is not suggested that this system will dispense with the services of the analyst, but it will undoubtedly prove of great assistance to the farmer, if intelligently carried out, by showing him what manure his ground requires. It would repay each farmer to procure a copy of Bulletin No. 2 Irom the Chief Chemist and study all the finer points, wh.ich have necessarily been omitted. REPLIES TO CORRESPONDENTS. "Carbide" (Marlborough) writes: — "I shall bo extremely obliged if you can supply nio through the columns of yonr paper with the following information: — (1) Whether the waste calcium from acetylene gasworks has any manorial value; if so, how it would be best applied to the lands; (2) What is its money value per ton for that purpose. I may state that lime is very expensive where I reside — viz.. £3 per ton." — Answer: j The refuse is really slaked lime, but it seems to be perished in the process, and although it has been repeatedly tried locally as manure, it is found io be perfectly useless. "Rowdy" (Otara) writes: — "Would you kindly let me know if ground that has had blighted potatoes in last season will be fit to plant potatoes in again? (2) Will seed taken from potatoes that had the blight do to plant in fresh ground?" — Answer: Blight lives throughout the year in rotten, sets and stalks which have not been burnt. Your ground will be full of it. Try gas lime spread on the surface some weeks before cropping. Read paragraph page 6, Witness July 24th. Use large new seed immersed in formalin (1 pint to 15 gallons water) for two hours, and dry thoroughly without heating before cutting. Safer to change your ground. Also, in addition, a dressing of wet sawdust applied over the sets at tMMfiting time has proved distinctly benetrfrial in checking potato scab on land where the disease was very prevalent. And where ealt was applied in addition to sawdust thi tubers were practically clean. ' AGRICOLA. I

IL ,1 ! Dairy farmers interested in milking machinery should consult Nimmo and Blair about the "Hartnett," which is the best machine on the market....