WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 11 March 1908, Page 20

WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

March 6. The drought has now fairly broken up. rain having been falling at interThe vals during the lust four We»ther. days. For restoring vegetation the rainfall has been of the very best— steady, though light. It has had time to permeate the soil to a considerable depth. Over-stocked land, where there was- no old grass left, is already showing gretn. Dairymen are already jubilant, over the increase both in weight and butter fat in the milk. After such a spell of hot weather the sod is like a hot bed, and al! plants will come away fast. If the temperature keeps up we should hove an ideal autumn. So far it has beer oppressively hot and muggy till tonitrht v,'h<?n a cold bla«t from the soutn accompanied with light showers set in. Of lote years there lv.is been a precept ibie change with regard to sowAutumn ing giain. A few years ago Seeding. r.one thought of sowingoats in the autumn or early winter. A little winter wheat was sometimes pm in on exceptionally dry land. Tno grov-ing of oats for pasluiage in the early spring U parrly responsible for the change, added to which has "been the wet and backward spring- weather experienced. It has now been proved that the early-sown crops have been imanablv the best, pio\ided the land has good natural drainage. Tho advantages of early sowing under certain condition-- ara manifold. Drainage is ono of the necessary conditions. If stagnant water is likely to lie, better trust to spring! sowing. The" land must bo clean and free from weeds. Weeds will glow in the depth of winter while the grain is sleeping and choke it. Ghen dry and clean land the eariiness of the work is one of the chief advantages. Then it is probable the yield wili be greater and the harvest ex- , tended over a longer period, as has been tho case this eeason. This means much when ( labour is so scarce. The oats will be all the better for being eaten off, thus providing nice bitr to the early lamb. The same conditions apply to the sowing of grass. Now that rain has come the farmrr will be well advised who enCatch deavours to sow something Cr«pi. that will produce early spring feed both for breeding ewes and early calving cows. I do not know whether the system of farming changesso frequently in other parts of the Dominion ai ii docs in the Manawatu. Being comparativoh newly settled, we are etill in the experimental stage, and what crop is best to grow is still undecided. Still, it is hard to undoi stand why the growing of Cape ( barley has fallen into disrepute. A decade | ago nearly everyone grew a breadth of Capo burley to kesp the hoggets thriving through the wii-ter and sprinst till the grass came. And an excellent fodder it was. Sown in March under ordinary conditions, ifc will provide a clean bi'.e for the hogget by May and at intervals right through the winter, while a good swath will be available for the early calvor in July or August. If not fed down too close, and left to mature after September, a good yield of grain may le harvested which makes the best of pork. Ano f her way that barley may be utilised as & catch crop is to make it preparatory to a crop of turnips or potatoes — in. tact, any root crop. The land turns up nice aJid mellow when ploughed, in. October or November, and if there is a good roughness of barley to turfl un4er so jnuch the better for the roots. But farmers as a rule are. ■very loth to plough in gr*«en fodder of »ny king, It is the oheapest and best manure procurable in many oases. Th;s js no new fed, W, has been practised for generatlonain the O]cl Land. Try an experiment in thd new, and watoh, results— »ot necessarily with x jtfrfejg-lpy. fitheVfeHMlt.gJaßt fl*i cover.*/

tho ground is useful. Dun oats for a timW took the place of barley, and in some dis« tricts did better, but the grain, if left to ripen, was not saleable, and of late it has been replaced by the Algerian. The value of skim ploughing being now recognised ad a necessity, if the land is to be kept freefrom w-eeds, the Bowintr of catch crops ie( not expensive, and will give some return' for the labour involved, at the same time! adding to the fertility of the soil by thei exb*& tillage and the manure U6ed to pr<W duos tho catoh crop, which if off by sheep is again returned. Tares or vetches are seldom seen in the north. ProbabivJ this is due to ignorance of thefrj value as green feed Sown witbi a good seeding of oats on rich lancß they will produce an enormous weight ofi excellent stuff for hand feeding for horses^ cattle, or pigs. The oats are sown witHl them to support them and keep them uprigntii Kohlrabi is being recommended locally as Hi catch crop sown in the autumn. Person* ally, I tried the plant some years agoV Sowing about December, the same as tin** nips or mangels, it did fairly well, butl had nothing 1 to recommend it, the old* fashioned roots giving equally good, if noti better, results. So I did not persevere witHl it. From my experience I doubt the utility of sowing it- in the autumn, as it is as sloi"T growing as mangels. Has "Agricola" had any experience with it in the south? If so he might give us some information, whicfai would h-i welcome at present. Now is the time when bush farmers "calf do much to improve fcheir, Renovating grass. When fires havrf Pastures. passed over considerable* areas it 6hould be regrassedl at once. Where there has been no fire much) can be done since we have had early rain* Ever, on the best of grassed farms it is won« derful the -number and size of bare patches; that, wil! be found that a kandful of seaiS and a scratch of a rake will renovate mi a week or two. Now that the danger' ofl fire getting out of command is past this is, the time to get rid of dead timber _and| useless vegetation such as rushes, toi-toi* etc., and sowing with grass. "W^ 111 * grass 1 ! to sow must be decided by the individual,' who should select that best suited to tho soil and situation. It does not follow thati grasses that arc the rankest are to be propagated Sow those that the stock ar» making the most use of. A.s a general rule in sowing patches no one will go far wrong by confining the mixture to rye and clover.Those o f an inquiring turn of mind nia*}! gain knowledge by experimenting with! pinches of many of the pasture plants advertised and noting the results. This can," only b.j done satisfactorily by keeping al memorandum of the plant and where sown,, and making- a xoueh sketch of the ground, or by putting in labelled sticks. There i£ moi cv in it, besides being an interesting and instructive way of spending a spara hour. Last week there -was more spirit in the store" sheen market, although the Slti>pp rainfall had then been! Market. sparse. At Feilding there were over 20,000 yarded 1 . Breeding ewes .and store lambs formed the bulk of the offering. Wellbred, sound ewes were eagerly com* pctod for, and fetched fair prices. Thei annual drafts of cast ewes from the more prcminen', breeders sold at from 14s to. ]7s 6<! for four and five-year-old Ronvney ewes, cvii two-tooths from the same breeders '-piling up to 20s 4d. Mr A. Levett topoedi (he market. This sale is now considered aj test of (ho year. Comparing the prices ob* (ained last year for the same class of sheep, (ho prices this season are from 4s to 5s lowr, inferior being considerably lower, still Ordinary ewes that were seling lasfc ytar at from 12* to 17s 6d may be quoted! at from 7s to 12s. Some culls yield as 1om?| as 3s. Store lambs in good condition, fib for rape, are worth from 8s to 10s, whilo lMKldies range down as low as 3s and 4s. Now that rain has come in quantity those who have bought during the past month, stand to makp money. Buying culls is noti as a rule considered good farming. Still, ati limes there is more monay made out of) them than by buying (rood stuff. If bought only for grazing and fattening thers J9 little harm done, but a shilling or fwoin! price should not be considered when buying ewes to breed from. Tho whole of Mr M'Hardy's Romney stud flock was sold at' nrlccs ranginer from ligs to 3ige for ewes. F,\\e lambs realised Ugs to 3£gs : ram lambs, Ig to 3£gs. At the clearing sale of stocW on account of the Hon. John Bryce, Makaui (whose property was sold last month)* the result exceeded expectations. LincolnRomnev cro->s ewes sold at from 13s to 18a 1 61 ; Down ewes, 11s ; Border-Leicester ewes',36-, ; lambs, 7s 6<l to 8s 6d. The cattle soldi well, 160 head of halfbred Hereford weanera beinj sold in lots at about 30s por head. The rain* just came in time to put a sub* stan'ial cheque in the Hon. John's pockefc* It niav be sound policy, still it is sad t<k oee old-e"tablished properties ohange hands,, and the flocks and herds, which were standing object lessons to what can be done curoful breeding, dispersed. ANTIQUA OVIS.