NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

Otago Witness, Issue 2842, 2 September 1908, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

At this time last year the farmers in the j southern portion of the W*rkfor Dominion were grateful for September. some mild showers of rain as a break- from the drought which had been threatening to paralyse their operations. This season -—-portions of the same district are under water, or still sodden from the effects of "floods, while other portions are still under Bnow, and cattle and sheep are^ perishing from, starvation. Yet "our town . tradesmen talk glibly about fixing the hours of labour and the conditions under which work shall be carried on in the country districts. Fortunately, the country worker is endowed with common sense of his own, and realises that it is not to his interest to join the town agitator in shackling our most important industry by imposing impossible conditions. September is one of the busiest months of "the year on the farm. All spring corn should T>e gof into the ground this month, and the sooner this work is completed the better. Purple straw Tuscan will succeed if sown any time before the cm 1 of the month. Oats should be sown as soon as possible. Barley should be close up, as

the turnip brakes are eaten off, or on wheat stubble previously prepared and topdressed. The ■Qbevalier .and golden melon are good croppere, though the Oregon barley is also a good one, but of a. somewhat coarser description. Winter wheat will require rolling- before it gets too far advanced. .If sown down, one or two turns with the haaz&w will not ' hurt the wheat and ,w3l improve 'the seed bed for the grass. Clovers Trill now have to take their chance. Mixtures of grass 6eed vary with the nature and condition of the ground. On heavy alluvial flats in good order, a seeding of 201b of ryegrass, slb Italian, 51b timothy, and 21b each- of cowgrass, alsike, and white clover makes an excellent sole of grass. Cocksfoot for this class of Jand is objectionable unless it is fed and 1 kept down, bare, and that is not always possible. Old pastures covered with cattle droppings should get a turn or two of the hairrow*, and, if required, a partial seeding followed by tie roller. Where the land has not been limed for some years, half a ton of lime per >acre, to be followed- in one month by c. dressing of superphosphate and kainit, would work wonders. On poor pasture land, -the field may be worked, seeded afresh, and manured with Bcwt of basic sla<g and, 4cwt of kainit, and afterwards with lewt of nitrate of soda on the braird. . The result will be a, most luxurious growth of grass and clover. This dressing is said -to be effective fox four years, when it is desirable to apply 2cwt more of the slag. I»inseed should be sown in September on ground which has been well exposed to the winter's frost after wheat or oats. Flax does npt succeed so well after turnips. Sow 1± bushels per acre broadcast, or with the drill, covered lightly and on good tilth. JTax does well' on rich, fertile land, but does' not suit heavy clays. -Cover^ with the chain harrow, and x>ll, immediately. Grass seed may be sown with' it, although this is not desirable. Mangolds may be sown towards the 'end of the month. Carrots should h& sown at the end of September or beginning of October. Three or 41b of seed per acre, eithei well irubbed with the hands or steeped in water and mixed with sandy soil to make them sow more regularly. Sow in drills 18in to 24in apart, and thin out to 3in or 4in. Light land which has been previously manured for another crop is best for carrots. The leaves are superior to those of any other root crop as a food for milk cows. Peas may still be sown. lair crops can b© grown on a.ny light which is moderately fertile. Provision should now be made on some well-defined plan for carrying the stock of the farm throughout the year. Turnips and swedes are getting less reliable every year, and the careful manager will replace them to some exterit by other green* crops, such as mangolds, cabbage, and kohlrabi, and with forage crops to suit the stock carried which will provide autumn and early spring feed. Small areas of the green crops mentioned should be grown if for no other reason than to study the cultivation suitable for them. Cabbage sown in seed beds now would transplant in November, and with good cultivation and sufficient manuring 1 would feed in May and June. Kohlrabi should b grown by dairymen, as it does not flavour the mifk. It may be grown like swedes, of planted out this month in seedbeds and transplanted in November or December. It is hardy, although the bulb grows entirely out of the ground, and will stand heavy manuring like the cabbage. It is generally grown on the flat. Kale grown in September will be ready for grazing in February, and can be grazed right through the autumn. Stock should be taken out about the end of May, and the orop left until the spring, when in the month of September it will yield when properly grown an enormous amount of forage. The mortality of lambs fed on kale is less than on rape. In the orchard all tree-planting should be finished and spraying done before the growth begins. The paxticulare published in another column of the success atElectricltr tending the experiment of and Crops. using electricity in the growing of corn crops arc of intense interest to the agriculturist. The fact of Six OliyeT Lodge being th« author of the article is a guarantee that the information jiven can be eliod upon co far as the experiment* have gone. The assistance rendered te the fanner by science has of recent years been of great value, and the latest phase promises to confer great direct benefit upon the tiller of the soil, and indwectly on the world at large. Doubtless there is a good deal yet io be learned in connection with the electrification of the soil in which crops are grown, and now that a beginning has been made valuable information will be steadily compiled and made available to the farmer. The apparatus necessary is neither elaborate nor very expensive, and if it is possible in every instance, to increase the yield of corn by 30 per cent, and more, and produce an improvement in the berry equivalent to another 7 per cent., it is clear that it would pay every farmer who intends to grow corn for marketing to instal a plant for electrifying the soil. A careful perusal of the article is recommended to

farming readers, and it is to b hoped that if any of them undertake an experi'm«nt on. "their own account they will make known the result for the. benefit of others. Farmers should examine their eee3 potatoes before planting, and Tke Potat* mdke sure they are free Eel. from diswtse. There are several diseases which are liable to be carried about from farm to farm and from district to district by means of seed potatoes, and as growers of potatoes find it advantageous to get seed from outside a word of caution is advisable. It is stated that one of the most troublesome of pests, the potato eel worm (Tytenehus devastatrix), is widely distributed in the north-west of Tasmania. This pest, although practically invisible to the naked eye, causes numerous galls or swellings varying in size from a small shot to large peas. GalUworm is a- microscopic mematode or thread worm, belonging to- the genus Tylenohus. In its early staged i+ is free moving, and passes through the soil principally by means -of water ; it is then also often carried long distances in earth, sticking to the boots of men or the feet of horses and cattle. In dry weather also it may be carried long distances by wind. After Jiving .free for a short period the worms force their way into the roots of the plants attacked, and in these roots they cause numerous small swellings to appear; the swellings are oa-ueea partly by irritation of the worms, and partly by their increased bulk, because soon after entering the roots the worms begirt to swell, and in time alter their shape till it almost resembles that of a peax. Soft, fleshy roots are attacked in preference to ■those of a tougher and more "fibroua nature. Mi T. W. Kirk, Government biologiat, points out ihat the presence of the eel worm is easily ideteetect, the potatoes affected being covered with wart-like growths. ._ The adult eel-woTm is about one-twenty-fifth of an inch long, and in shape resembles a tiny eel, being pointed at both ends. The young worms axe developed from, eggs and in external appearance resemble the adult, only they are about one-seventh of the size. When, the tissues of the plants affected decay, the young worms either fell into the soil or the eggs and young worm® remain in the decaying and dead parts, and become dried up with them. These eggs and young worms can withstand long periods of desiccation, and can, given suitable conditions, resume normal activities even after three or more years. This faculty makes the spread of the eel worms an easy matter, and herein lies the chief danger. Then it has to be borne in mind that the potato eel worm is not restricted to the potato plant, but ajeo feeds on numerous others, notably wheat, oats, hops, clover, and onions. The matter of decreasing the fertility of the soil is an important one Secrrasing in the Dominion, inasmuch Fertility. as every year we export large quantities of agricultural and 1 animal products, and are thu3 appreciably 1 reducing the quantity of plant food. In af recently published work by Professor Alfred Vivian, of the United States/ he sums up the results of experiments in feeding stock, and thus throws a good deal of light on the subject. Profes- / sor Vivian shows that there is no lose of plant food with mature animals, when trie excrement, both liquid and solid, can. be preserved. If, he points out, the total dry matter in the materials fed is determined, and likewise that coicted in the exter in the excrement is just about one-half erement, it will be found that the dry xnatthe amount that was present in the food consumed, the greater part of the other half having been- given off from the lungs as carbonio acid gas. If, on the other hand, the food is analysed to determine the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash it contains, and the excreta are also examined in the same way, it will be found that the entire amount of these constituents is voided by the animal in the liquid andf 6olid excrement. While the excreta, therefore, contain only half of the total dry. matter which was present in the ration, they contain all the constituents that are generally conei<iere<J to Jiav© fertilisingvalue. These figures are not correct for young and growing animals, for the latter retain a certain proportior of the nitrogen an-d phosphoric acid for use in building un their bodies. " Recent experiments indicate that calves during the first three months of their lives retain in their bodies about one-third of the fertilising value of the food consumed, or, in other words, the excrements from euch. animals contain two-thirds >f the fertilising ingredients of the ration.' In the ca&2 of the cow, another factor i<3 introduced. A certain proportion of the nitrogen, phosphorio acid, and potash is removed in the milk. It has been estimated that a cow, giving a.n annual yield of 50001b, removes in the milk fertilising materials amounting in value to about £1. Therefore, when the milk is sold, this ajnount of fertility is removed from ths farm. If, on the other hand, butter only is sold, practically none is carried away,- as all the valuable ingredients are found in skimmed milk. This goes to show that the dairy industry does not decrease the soil fertility to any appreciable extent, while the frozen meat industry on the other hand must have in a number of years a Considerable effect on the fertility of the soil.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

"Barley Grower" asks for the best rrethod of pickling or dressing seed barley for the prevention of smuts.

The old and generally-recognised method is to dilute £lb bluestone to four bushels of grain, dissolving the quantity required and spraying, say,- three-quarters of a gallon per bag, adding the proportion of bluestone to each bag. A very simple plan. is to use a trough that will hold a sack of grain. Turn ovex, the bartey two or three times in the solution, and bag up in, say, two-buehel lots, as it is then easier emptied into- the seed drill. Another method of preventing smut is to use the mixture called "Tanza," which is sold by nearly all chemists. Use in the same manner as directed above.

" Cowboy" writes : — *' I intend trying two or three acres of. cabbage for oowfeed for the spring time next year. Can you inform me which, is the best kind to sow, and wh«»ther to sow them the same as snedes ,& <iibble_ them- in? What would be the correct time t* sow? My lamd has a northerly slope, dry and sweet, ploughed out of lea between 7in and Bin deep. I intend putting 10 to 15 tons of cowshed manure to the acre. Eindly recommend what other artificial manure is necessary." \ '>■

I would advise you to sow, if for spring use, newhead savoy seed, say the first week in October. Then the plants will be ready for putting in by the first ye second week in December. Do not dibble in, but drill the land and roll down the drills. Then plant the plants on top of the drill, with a spade, as in dibbing in the coil is apt to get caked around 1 , young pknte. Be sure when sowing seed in October to prepare the seed bed with a small" dressing of lime. Sow the seeds, and cover them with a fair covering of fine sand and «lap <lown with the back of a spade, only slightly covering the seed. If the- cabbage is required for autumn feed, sow drumhead oabbage. The land cannot be macTe too rich for cabbage, and it "would 1 stand 20 to 30 loadß^ of good farmyard manure. Bone or superphosphates would have to be used with a less amount of manure, but must not be put in with the plants, but balow, -with the farmyard manure.

"Farmer," Roxburgh, writes:— "l should like to- get some information re a topdressing for grass. I intend experimenting a little, but would like some information re superphosphate. I read some particulars in jour columns about three weeks or more ago, but the Witness has been mislaid. Should I use any other manures with superphosphate? The land to be dressed is medium light land, with plenty of lime about; also we have a certain amount of irigation. The rainfall is short. I was thinking of using 2cwt to the acre; also I am getting a top-dressing mixed by a Dunedin firm, and was just going to try a small plot — say two acres — with each. I may state that the farmers here do not go in for manure at all. I think our land is deficient in potash."

I would strongly recommend about 4cwt of basic slag (Thomas's phosphate), or 2cwt /of basic eiag- and 2cwt of kainit. I fear the season is too far advanced for -the topdressing, which is better done in June or July. As Roxburgh may not be quite so early as perhaps some parts of Otagp, you might try the experiment on portion of your field even yet. The toprdressing you refer to as being sold by a Dunedin firm I have used myself, and can recommend it at 3owt to the acre. If you add lewt additional of kainit, so much the better.