WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 20

WELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

(Fiton Our Own Cobrespondent.) We ha\e had little lain during the week — light frosty nights, with Tlie bright sunshiny days. The Weather. \&n& has dried up wonderfully, and in most situations it fit to work. Should' we have a continuance of tlie a e conditions farmers will be able to proceed with seeding operations. It is impossible to form a correct estimate as to what increased acieage is likely to be put down for grain in this district. Owing to the high prices ruling for oats and cbaff and the low price of wool I think there will be a considerably larger area sown this season. The early-sown oats are looking well so far, but there is little use in speculating a3 to harvest prospects at this time of day. The thougliD has just occurred to iw how many farmers — dairymen Summer especially — have forgotten Fc«d. the dry spell we had in bha beginning of the year? What percentage of them are making any provision against a recurrence I Looking back , >ver a series of year 3it seeni3 as if it wer& i more nec?S3ary to provide summer thai) winter feed. v)ne argument in favour of growing summer feed- is that should the season prove benignant and the pasturet abundant and succulent the surplus green feed grown can be readily converted into ensi- | lage. What particular forage is best to grow depends largely on the conditions of soil and climate. Amongst many other alar Us. jjjiat might be mentioned an, acre

er two of each of the following ate worth a. trial: — Maize, oats and tares (or vtetches), Italian rye, and clover. Ma-ize will give a heavier weight of fodder than any of the. , others mentioned by sowing early enough I so that it will ba fit tc cut in January. There is -always the danger, however, of a night or two of frost. In the Manawatu district we do not have any really severe frosts at any time. Still every second or third year frost cuts down early potatoes — sometimes as late as the end of November. Growing early maize is therefore risky, but by sowing an acre or two every year a heavy weight of fodder would be assured 1 . To ha-ve maize fit for fodder in_ January it should be sown about the middle of October, as under normal weather conditions it will be out in ear after 70 to 80 days from the time of sowing. For some unexplained reason tares or vetches are almost unknown on the West Coast. This is to be regretted, as green tares are a most valuable adjunct on the farm in summer, when grass is liable to be very drj. On agricultural farms in the Border counties an acre or two of tares is considered a necessity to keep the working horses in healthy condition, there being seldom any slack time when they can be turned out to grass. There the milking cows receive a daily ration of tares in July and August, which corresponds with January and February in the Dominion. Dairymen . would bherefere b& well advised to make a trial of tares, as they are aasily grown, and if the land is anything like in good heart a large weight of, fodder is assured. The reason why half a bushel or better of oats to the acre is sown witn fares is that the 'fare, being a vine or creeper, unless supplied with something to raise themselves up on the crop lies flat on the ground, and if the weather is wet is likely tc rot. To ensure a continuous supply for. say, two months* tares should be

* sown at intervals of a fortnight. If the i first sowing is done in the beginning 1 of I October the fodder should be fit by the . new year. With respect to Italian rye, I s have had no personal experience, but I am I told by those who have been making a trial with it that it does very well on the Kiwitea and Rangitibei lands. From what I i have seen of it I think it more suitable j for autumn than early summer! However, Italian rye. along with other plants that i may suggest themselves, should be experi- > mented with. One thing is certain : that if f dairying is to pay continuous suitable fodder must be provided for every month in ' J the year. Therefore it behoves dairymen to put in some fodder plant in case of a l dry summer. Besides securing- fodder s , either maize or tares are excellent weed- • j eradicators. more especially tares, which ■ leave the land nice and mellow for the , | following crop. > i I am one who "did what he could" to I start the Farmers' Union, i F*rra«rs' thinking that such an assoi Union. eiation would become of educational value by members giving the results of experiments they might make. The union disclaims politics, but how seldom is it that anything- else is brought up- for discussion? It was there- ■ i fore with surprise, at the same time with j much pleasure, that I read the report of • the Oxford (Canterbury) Branch of the | Farmers' Union, wherein it was stated "that it was decided to make arrangements for the purchase of three good shorthorn bulls from a milking strain with the object of improving the dairy stock in that district. It waa also decided that three membsirs arrange to get ' sharers ' x> purchase a bull for the Ashley Settlement." Oxford farmers are to be commended for what may well he termed a. forward movement on "behalf of the Farmers' Union. It is to be hoped' that this little bit of leaven will quickly permeate the whole body of the union. The majority of the dairy herds in the North Island are large enough to warrant each farmer keeping a bull for his own use. Still there are quite a considerable number of cows owned by working men living in small townships like Halcombe and Turakina (strange to say. those two places, although amongst the earliest established on the coast, and surrounded by pood country, are not any " forrarder " than I they «rere 20 years ago, and town and suburban sections are only worth the number of cows they will carry), co that in> such places it would be well if they followed the example set by the Oxford Branch of the Farmei's' Union, and clubbed together to purchase a good bull. The usual custom is for someone to keep a bull, which is placed at the service of neighbours, a email Fee per cow being charged?* Such a method works all right providing the bull On hire is decently bred and comes from a milking - strain. But from perMinal oljserVation it lias to be admitted that it is a rarity to see anything like a decent bull in such a community. They generally have real ecrub-

It is encouraging to see the greater interest dairymen are taking Ilie Dairy in selecting the bull. A Bull. few years back any kind of a-nimal, no matter of what character, was thought good enough to get milk cows. However, a change for the better is taking place, though perhaps slowly, co that it is no rare thing to btf asked where a good bull can be purchased — without the proviso (as formerly) that it muet be :heap, two guineas being considered a big price. To-day, as will have been noticed m reports of cleaxiiig sales, purebred pedigree dairy bulls have been selling at from £15 to £*0, and in some few instances £80 and over has been naid this season for Jersey bullsT It seems a« if Jersey breeders had a profitable time before them. _ This k not the place to discuss which is the most profitable breed, every breed beingvaluable, provided the habitat is suitable. It i 6 a trite saying, nevertheless true, that "the bull U half the herd "—that is, so, long ac the bull is purebred. Any crossbred bull or sire oannot be depended on to be even quarter the herd. Jf halfbred— that is, the product of two breeds — both sire and dam being pure in their respective breeds, you may get two quite different type*, and the more onuses that have been made the more the uncertainty. It was demonstrated by scientists ands experimenters years ago that the bull, to beget good milkers, must Jbs descended from a milking strain of ancestors; the longer the pedigree the better. The German scientist, ProfesaoK Hansen, of Bonn, in dealing with the question of the influence of the male parent on the milking capabilitiee of the progeny, says : " A good milk cow will not be the mother of good milkers if the bull haa pot also belonged to a race of good I milkers.-'- This is A principle oi breeding

i that 4,ese£ves more attention. * than ha* , hitherto been paid to it. Unfortunately* „ statistics have been wanting 1 hitherto." The j, professor goes on to mention one experix rnent made by Herr Schreve in order to . compare the- . milk . yield of coma E the progeny of a particular bull - with the yields of other cows the der scendants of other bulls. The experiments r were made with 153 cows, descendants o£ r four bulls, and their yield of milk withitt t a period varying from three -to six years, - not merely in relation to quantities, but > also richness in fatty matter and i butter. The results conclusively denron- • strated the influence of the bulls on the i milk yields of their female descendants. Of :• late years numerous experiments have been. ) made in this direction, both in England r and America. The experience with bulls s of different characters used at the Newtoa . Rigg experimental farm with the same four s cows was that the four heifers by a big, l beefy bull, with no pretension to milking 1 ' in his breeding, gave, after the first calf. 118* • gallons, whilst the four heifers by a bull ■ bred for milk gave, after^ the first calf,. ; 2855 gallons, or considerably more than" twice as much as their half-sisters had! 1 given. Another record tells o£ a. cow Which, ' gave 900 gallons with each of her first two calves, but her three heifers by a bull o£bad milking strain averaged only 370 galr, lons. The evidence in favour of the bull descended from a good milking type is most conclusive. Therefore everyone purchasing a bull should ascertain what were the milking capabilities of at least the father and mother before investing. In selecting tha bull for the dairy herd the milking qualities of hie primogenitors is one essential. To secure his being at>le to transmit Ticb qualities tc his pi'ogeny he must be purebred, of whatever breed it is desired to> propagate. During the past week the Agricultural Department has been proBasic seeuting' a number of merj Slag. chants at three different oeritres — namely, New Plymouth, Masterton, and yesterday at Feil-ding — for selling basic slag with an invoice certificate which was afc variance with the true of the fertilisers sold. It seems that the whole blame, if blame there was, is attributable to . a reputable Scottish firm, for whom Messrs Murray, Roberts, and Co., Wellington, are wholesale agents, sending the analysis as being 15.13 per cent. Messrs Murray. Roberts, and Co. discovered that it was of inferior- quality, and they at once registered under a lower analysis, and afc the same time acquainted the Agricultural Department witH the mistake, andasked to have the case brousht against them instead of their country clients. The farmers who purchased the slag have had the deficiency made up to them. Only aya v nominal fine of lCs was' inflicted in each, case. There is little to fea* wifch regard to reputable firms trying to foist inferior^ manure on the farmers, their reputation' being of more value to them than th& value of all the manure they may sell. But when stuff is offered «at a lower price* buyers should be chary, or if they pur-, chase they should send on a sample to "the. Government for analysis.

ANTIQUA OVIS.