NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2923, 23 March 1910, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

The analyst of the Victorian Department of Agriculture in a report

The U tit and Commercial Taines of Manures.

in tbs Journal of the Department gives some useful information in connection with the method' of calculating the commercial

value of manures. He says that farmers should acmiaint themselves with the formula, and points out that the unit value system enables a farmer to readily ascertain it'the price asked for a manure is its reasonable commercial value. The term “commercial value” must not bo confused with the “agricultural value” of a manure. The commercial value represents the value of a manure according to its composition, while the agricultural value is measured by the extent of the increase in quantity and quality produced by it in a particular soil under certain conditions. The agricultural value is liable to great variation ; for instance, while most soils may respond to an application of ordinary superphosphate, practically no benefit mav be obtained on others. The same effect is noticeable with regard to other fertilisers. As a general rule, however, the application of a phosphatic manure is more or less effective on all soils, due. in a great measure," to a deficiency in the average soil ox phosphoric acid. No attempt can thei-efore be made to place an agricultural value on any of the fertilisers submitted, further than to state that they all contain certain elements necessary for plant lif Some soils require, perhaps, only one of those elements, while others require more. Some soils, contain the elements in a more soluble or available state than others. Fertilisers containing the plant foods in an insoluble or unavailable form are, of course, slow in -action, and should not be used with quick-growing crops. The “Victorian Artificial Manures Act, 1905,” prescribes that the unit values shall he fixed from the constituents having a commercial value in each sample, and this has been done accordingly. No rule can be laid down as a guide to farmers as to which fertiliser is most suitable for any particular soil. It should, however, ba remembered that as there is no danger of the loss of phosphoric acid by leaching from the soil, it is advisable to buy that ingredient in its soluble or readily available form. Phosphoric acid appears in three

forms—water soluble, citrate soluble, and insoluble. The first two forms are known to be readily available as plant, foods, while the insoluble is slow in acting, and one would not expect satisfactory results from this form of phosphoric acid if used for a quick-growing crop. A special feature of the Victorian Artificial Manures Acts is the requirement of a label- or tag attached to the bags declaring the guaranteed composition by analysis of any manure cold in the State, in quantities exceeding 561 bat one sale. This is provided by the act as a further measure of protection to farmers, and it. is made compulsory for vendors to deliver to all purchasers of manures an invoice certificate declaring the guaranteed' analysis of the manure sold. The farmers in New Zealand should make themselves conversant with the conditions of sale as per the invoice certificate denoting the guaranteed analysis of the manure sold.

Farmers who fancy particular breeds of ■cattle are always very era-

Good Milking Shorthorns.

•co-tn'c a its aivvayo vti v phatic, particularly on the show ground, in pointing to interested friends the

good' points of the cows they breed. One man fancies the Jersey, another the Ayrshire ; this farmer breeds the Shorthorn, ■while his neighbour will have nothing but the polled Angus on his farm. This is ■as it should be, in order to enable all the pure breeds of cattle to be brought out to perfection; but in the economy of Nature all animal life is fitted to the environment, hence by feed and care we are able to improve them, cultivating the inherited qualities of usefulness, and making them of greater value. What should be aimed at is to produce the best cow, the most profitable cow, the dual-purpose cow, as many are pleased to call her, which is the one that will fill to the highest degree these two purposes —giving plenty of good, rich milk all her life, and when her days of usefulness in the dairy are over, taking with her to the butcher a carcase of good meat, surpassing at the abattoirs all other breeds that were her rivals or superiors in milking. The milking shorthorn is such a breed: Her steer calves when fattened are well to the front in every market. She is always bringing profit to her owner. Where the conditions now permit of the keeping of large numbers of cattle lor the one purpose of producing beef, her value is not known- or appreciated, but on the farms where only a limited number can be kept, the shorthorn stands today without a rival, and rightly so. for she, and she only, is the combined machine—the factory, so to speak, that turns out milk, butter, and meat. For the coiTTbination of all these useful purposes the milking shorthorn heads the breeds. ‘ In appearance, perhaps, she is not so full of symmetry or show yard appearance as her beef-producing sisters, the polled Angus and Hereford; but the good shorthorn, well fed, will make hot competition for the Ayrshire in quantity and the Jersey in quality. She is the cow for the farmer, and for the man in town who keeps but one cow, and wants her a good one. The well bred milking strain of shorthorn will always hold her own in competitive milking tests, and for producing good quality of beef as well, she is not surpassed. Cuttings of almost any kind of plant can be readily struck during

Prnpacatiou of Plants by Cuttings.

the summer and autumn. In fact, with a little attention cuttings can be struck

nearly all the year round. Heliotropes, petunias, marguerites, carnations, and a host of other plants can be propagated now and onward for some months. Hardy shrubs, both deciduous and evergreen, are more readily propagated in the autumn or during the winter. To ensure success it is essential that the cuttings be of a proper length, size, and ripeness. The most luxuriant shoots on pelargoniums are by no means, the best; they are full of sap, and are more likely to decay than are the harder, brownish-look-ing, short-jointed growths of medium strength. Cuttings of these plants being of a fleshy nature should be allowed to wilt a little before being planted. They may bo about Sin long, the end of each being cut smooth and straight across, immediately under a pair of leaves, which should be removed. Sometimes, if the leaves are large, one or two beside the bottom pair may be cut away. If the cuttings of these plants are quite flaccid when planted they will be none the worse. They may be planted around the edges of small-sized pots; but, as a rule they do best in an open border, well exposed to the sun and weather. Shallow boxes are very convenient receptacles for cuttings; whether in pots, boxes, or in the open bed, good drainage is most important. A light sandy soil is best. For cuttings of all kinds the soil should contain more sand than is used for potting plants. Tile cutting is to lie dibbled in with a short stock, having a blunt point. Water well when planted, but afterwards moisture must bo carefully applied or the cuttings will rot; a great deal, of course, depends on the -weather. Petunias, heliotropes, and marguerites are readily propagated bycuttings of half-ripened wood, planted in sandy soil in small pots, and kept under

glass. They will grow without glass; but •success is more assured with glass. If a gentle bottom heat can bo given, so much the better; with heat the young growths will strike root, without heat the wood must be older and firmer. If a little sand is worked into the holes at the time of dibbling the cuttings in the emission of roots is expedited. In inserting the cutting- of any kind of plants, it is necessary that the hole made he no deeper than necessary, for if the cutting b& suspended no roots will be formed, and it will perish. The cuttings of the plants mentioned, with those of many -others, should not be moro than Sin or 4ir long. \ In answering a complaint made by some Nelson growers recently as

Inspection of Orclmrils.

to the desirableness of more strictly enforcing the Orchard and Garden

'7 L\j I I U I u aJ IU M Cl-l UCit Diseases Act. Mr T. W. Kirk, Government biologist, pointed out that the department employed very few inspectors, and these could not be everywhere at once. There was one inspector for Nelson, one for Canterbury, one for Otago, oae. for Hawke’s Bay and the Wairarapa. and one for the long stretch of country from Wellington to N,ew Plymouth. They must admit that great improvements had been effected since the coming into operation of the act. The department desired to give growers time to come up to the mark, and it had decided not to prosecute for three years after the act came into force, except it cases where it was obliged to. Last year, however, a number of growers had been invited to visit the stipendiary magistrate, and several prosecutions were now authorised in the Nelson district. As these had been, deferred until the return of the inspector (Mr Hallam) from Tasmania, it was hoped that the orehardists concerned would take advantage of the respite to put their properties into order. The department occasionally received confidential notes from orehardists, drawing attention to the neglected state of a particular orchard, which was becoming a pest centre. These reports were of great assistance. They were treated confidentially, and the inspector was advised -to make a close examination of all orchards in the particular locality mentioned. In many orchards in Otago trees are still to bo seen rather badly affected with Various sorts of blight, and farmers and fruitgrowers would do well to use every effort to keep their orchards clean and avoid the risk of prosecution for neglecting to carry out the necessary work of regularly spraying their trees. AGRICOLA.