NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2803, 4 December 1907, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Locally the corn crops, taken all over, look fairly well. Although Farm Wdrk the growth has been somefor what slow, there is a uniDtcember. formity and depth of colour about the earlier - sown crops which speaks well for the prospects in autumn so far' as they are concerned. The spring-sown grain does not look so promising. Germination seems to have been more uneven ; a few bare patches are to be observed here and there, but a shower or two of rain would probably cover the ground better. Turnip-sowing has b«cn delayed by the dry weather, and at full day's steady Tain would do gootl. On the heavier land there is plenty of keep for the cattle; the contented way in which they lie about instead of wandering all over the field tells its own 6tory of satisfying food in abundance. On the terraces, jhowever, growth is slow and moisture badly wanted, and the carrying capacity not so good as usual. Turnip-3owing. — Swedes may bo sown up to the first week in December, but there 16 not much use sowing when the ground is as dry as dust. The chance should not. be missed in showery weather. There is no lack of warmth in the ground for rapid growth, and if we only get a little rain to supply the necessary moisture the conditions for growth would be perfect. When the swedes have arrived at, say, 4in high the work of singling should commence, and greater care than is usual, especially with contract work, should be exercised in sing-

ling out evenly, and not making gaps of a yard or more by fast, careless work. Suoh gaps decrease the crop by several tons per acre. After thinning the horse-hoe should be kept constantly at work. The drier the weather the greater the need of frequent stirring. This is the best means of increasing the absorptive power of the soil, more moisture is retained, growth is more regular, and mildew is prevented. Top-dressing.— OtTier green crops will need horse and hand hoeing and singling out to proper distances. The comparatively slow growth of the mangolds this year makes it imperative that a certain amount of nursing should be applied when the plants appear above ground. By the persistent us© of the- hoe an<J drill grubber the soil is kept open for the permeation of the air, weeds are destroyed, and growth is greatly assisted. The use of a nitrogenous application when the plants are distinctly overground will bring them quickly to the thinning stage, and a second application after thinning is completed will go a long way towards making up for the delay in growth. The mangold plant is the most responsive of all the roots to a dressing of nitrate of soda, but the same treatment is beneficial to all crops growa for the root or for forage. Milk Supply. — The cold weather which has checked the grass this year has caused a shrinkage in the milk returns. Cows recently calved which should have b^en at their best during the hist month have failed to give their usual copious supply of milk, and caused a loss to the owners. It is not often found that an ample area of grass reserved for cattle requires supplementing at this season of the year. But if we sure to have a, droa^lit in sunaxner an additional reason is given why provision should be made to supply the requisite succulent food. One of jmy neighbours sowed some barley for cutting last May. For some unexplained reason it did not grow well, he has been using it during the last month to supplement his grass. This year it has proved the best-paying-crop he had on his farm. Something may be done by shutting up an acre or two of : grass and forcing th© growth. Ryegrass and Italian can be - forced by repeated dressings to give three or four cuttings in a year, and it would not take much additional food along with the grass to maintain a full flow of milk. Oats and vetches sown now would be available for cutting j in April, and cabbaegs set out now in welt- j prepared land would be serviceable in late autumn. ~~* Hay. — Some grass will b© mown for hay this month. Anyone who 6hut up his field in earlr soring will, with the help of a i little top-dressing, get his crop cut early an«l have every chance of a good second cvt — this year probably better than the first, which will nrove very useful to him. Grass Land. — Stocks roust be kept down on the grasf which will not carry full numbers without more growth than we have had yet. Thistles should be snaded out and prevented from 6eedine and get- I tincr in to the wool, and all droppings of cattle spattered. Shearing- will now be in full swing on pome of the stations inland, and all naddoek cheep would be better without their fleecea. In the orchard the final spraying of the Bordeaux mixture should he given the pear trees when the fruit is as large as marbles, and the peaches protected with the 10.10.40 mixture. Blight is reported tobe raging again thia ' year in the north, and we Rprajhtg are likely to get a share of Potato w. it. As prevention is better ' _ than cure, it is advisable . to begin operations before symptoms of i the disease have become apparent. The j best results are obtained from three spray- ; ings of the Bordeaux mixture — the first" when th© plants are 6in or Bin high, the second a fortnight later, and the third one ; month after that. The first dressing will ' not be sufficient to preserve the haulms, as it is impossible to cover all the leaves, and any portion missed will give the blight a chance of securing a foothold ; the second and third sprayings makes matters safer. | Stress is laid on the necessity of preparing the mixture with care, as follows: — 31b of copper sulphate is dissolved in 12£ gal of water in a wooden vessel (iron will not do), and 2^lb of freshly-burnt lime 6lowly slaked and made up to another 12£ gal. The solutions are poured, both at the same time— and this is very essential,— into a. third receptable made of wood. The resulting solution is tested by immersing a clean steel blade in it for one minutej if no copper is deposited on the blade during immersion the solution ia considered fit for use. If copper happens to bo deposited more lime is added, until no deposit of copper is formed. After straining and repeated stirring the solution may be applied by a knapsack sprayor at the rate of 40gal to 80pal per acre, according to the size of the haulm, on a calm day. The recent researches of Heeke and Brefeld, the most famous Sinnt of all German mycoloeists, In on the life-history of these Grain. fungi' have modified the opinions previously held of smut infection. The spores were thought at one time to attach themselves to the seed, and all attempts were directed to killing these on the seed wheat and barley by various methods. It has now been defi-

nitely determined that the infection of these plants takes place in the flowering stage. "The smut spores" (I quote from the Annual Report) " are blown about by the wind or carried by insect agency.* and those that happen to lodge on the stigma of the flower germinate immediately and pass down the ovary into the tissues of the developing seed, where a mycelium is formed, which remains in a res tin if condition until the seed is sown. Then th© mycelium commences to redevelop, and keeps pace with the growth of the host until it finally forms the well-known sooty masses of spores which occupy the place of the normally-developed seed.!! It i 9 devoutly to be hoped that, as Mr Kirk suggests, th© possession of this knowledge will result in more rational methods of, prevention than have obtained hitherto. Mr' "William Young writes from Riveredale, i Waipawa, Hawke's Bay, From a under date November 20, as Corrwptndeat. follows: — "Dear Agricola, —"I do not often take exception to your notes in the Witness, but there is one I see on November 13 which requires some explanation: 'It has been computed that the sowing of strain, which formerly required 10£ hours by hand, cam now be accomplished in 32 minutes by- machinery.' Does this refer to oats or wheat? In this district since the grain drills came into use all the sowing is one-half slower, to say the very least. I have sown 30 acres of oats in a day by hand. I have harrowed behind a Scotch farmer in the Old Country who sowed 40 acres by hand, and one hand at that. Now, a good day's work with the drill is 10 acres. 3?lesse give as some information whereby we can com© to the 32 minutes.";— ln reply to Mr William Young, I may say that the actual sowing/ operation was not referred to exclusively, but all the j work involved". Towards the end of the same note from which Mr Young quotes ' the position was made perfectly clear. A j 50 h.p. tractor draws in succession ploughs, harrows, jrrain drills, harrows, and rollers, finishing the sowing operation in one journey, and eoverinsr a strip of "mo" 26ft wide and 30 acres daily. It is only a, matter of I calculation how long it would take the same men to do all this work without the i tractor. If Mr Young chooses to work it out he will find my statement is about I correct.