NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, 1 June 1910, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

According to good authority a Eolstsir cow owned by the Dairy Department of the University of Missouri (U.S.) in one y-eai produced more human food in her milk than is contained in the complete carcases of four steers weighing 12501 b each. The cow that performed this feat of -producing- the equivalent of four steers in the year produced 18,4051 bof milk. Below is given the amount of proteids, fat, sugar, and ash contained in this milk ind the amount of the same substances found in an analysh made of the carcase of a fat steer weigh-

Phenomenal Dairy Keeurd.

The total amount of dry matter in the milk was 22181 b, all of which is edible and digestible. The steer, with a live weight of 12501 b, contained 56 per cent, of watar in the carcase, leaving .a total of 54-Slb of dry matter. In this dry matter of the steer is included hair and hide, bones and tendons, organs of digestion; in fact, fcha entire animal, a considerble portion -of which is not edible. This cow produce! proteids sufficient for more than three steers, nearly fat enough for two, ash enough to build the skeleton for three, and in addition produced 9201 b of milk sugar, worth as much per lb for food as ordinary sugar. These figures show tl e remarkable efficiency of the cow as a producer of human food It is because of tVs economical use of food the dairy cow ana' not the steer is kept on high-priced lands. When land is cheap and feed abundant the .meat-producing animals predominate, bus when the land become? high in value and feed expensive the farmer turns to the dairy cow.

In a bulletin by the United States Department of Agriculture on the subject of food values good lucerne hay is eorriparea' with other common foodstuffs on the following basis: —Lucerne hay per ton, 20.16 dollars; clover hay par ton, 14.12 dollars; Timothy hay per ton. 9.80 dollars'; wheat bran per ton, 22.30 dollars; shelled corn per ton, 20.16 dollars. In commenting on these comparisons. Hoard's Dairyman points nut the big - mistake that farmers make who persist in ignoring- the wonderful feeding merits ot lucerne, and who make no effort to grow this splendid crop. At only three tons : o the acre our contemporary says it will yield three times the feeding value that corn will produce, which if true. But how about producing from five.to ten tons per acre? Are not a whole lot of peoV.e in this country still overlooking a grand opportunity when there are still on the market millions of acres of land i'l New Zealand that will yield from five ro ten tons of lucerne day to the acre, with chances against setting- a crop reduced almost to a minimum through the tleans of irrigation? Lucerne affords a grand opportunity to realise the >'eal vaLo of our best soils, and our contention is that any person is making one of the mistakes of his lifetime by not putting every pouii! he can get hold of in this kind of land. It means a life endowment to get in on it early. A considerable area of land is now being annually placed under lucerne in the North Island, as dairy-farmers are beginning to realise its crreat feeding valus, and the wonder is that the valuable fotlhr plant is not grown in the South Island much mori extensively than it : s. On river flats and soil of a loamy nature lucerne will always thrive and produce fodder crops of great feeding value.

Fefdinpr Value of Lucerne.

An address on soil science was recency delivered by a noted authority 'before a Scottish farmers' club. In the course of his address the lecturer pointed specially to the necessity of having- plant foods in. a diffusible state in the soil, so that they could be readily assimilable by plants. The great point was to see that they applied what was favourable to the advantageous organisms in the soil as opposed to the disadvantageous organisms. Much was said of the capillarity of the soil, which was stated to bring up water from the subsoil. Drain-., however, pulled water downwards, and carried it off, a drain, being practically a suction pijpe, and hovi could they have water rising by capillarity and at the same time going by drain pull ? It was absolutely absurd to talk of such a thing. A great manj people thought that *"he principal function of a drain was to carry off water, but that was not so. Drains carried off gases which would destroy advantageous organisms. Nitrification was 'tie only reliable basis of estimating soil fertility. They must avoid anything intending to encourage fungi in the soil. The science of agriculture was really the feeci!-

Soil Science.

in.g of advantageous organisms in the soil. He strongly urged that manure containing what was simply leather should not be applied—weather being simply the tannats of albumen, a substance which neither the birds of the air nor the bugs of the ~oil could make use of- The lecturer urged the use of lime and magnesium salts, lime being applied in moderate quantities, et opposed to the old method of applying it in big doses, which did harm by destroying advantageous organisms. The proper way to use lime was to apply small quantities every year. Lime was disappearing from surface soils, and had to be supplied. Carbonate of magnesia- used in proper proportions enormously increased the nitrification of the soil. Five cwts per acre of lime was a very profitable addition to the manure bill, and would result in better milk, beef, hay with better feeding quali ties, straw with less silicate and which would not break so easily, and with greatly increased fodder value. It was absolute nonsense to say that undissolved mineral phosphates in the soil were most valuable, although he admitted that Algerian phosphates dissolved more readily. He contended that the Highland and Agricultural Society should have- experts going about the country, not looking for miserable fees, but well paid by the society, and giving advice on reasonable terms or tor nothing. In that way the society would do more good than in pretending to give analyses to members at rates.

One often wonders how many person are in possession of email samples of seeds of useful grasses, clovers, etc., on the one hand, and' seeds of inJurious weeds on -the other, which they can turn to if they wish for the purpose ot identifying- specimens. Yet it is not a dimcut matter to get such samples as described, and when once obtained they would be helpful in many ways, because the memory is apt to fail one, and with specimens before him a farmer can tell whether he is buying weeds among his grass seeds, or whether the latter are healthy and good samples or the reverse. Italian ryegrass seed, for instance, has a strong resemblance to couch, and probably on more than one ocasion these seeds have been mistaken for one another with unfortunate ©suits. The many farmers and others who this week are visiting the winter show would do well to carefudy examine the many specimens of grasses and weeds which are displayed by the Department of Agriculture. A careful study '-l the various fodder and other plants which are so distinctively arranged would weil repay any time devoted to a most critical examination. The officers of the department, have spared no pains to show to tie best advantage samples of our most useful grasses, clovers, etc., on the one hand, and injurious plants and weeds on the other, and little difficulty should therefor be experienced in identifying the various specimens so well laid out for pub'.ic inspection. AGRICOLA.

Knowledge of Weed Seeds.

in»- 12501b: — lb. lb. Proteid 552 172 Fat .. .. .. .. 61S 333 Sugar .. .. 920 — Ash .. ... .. .. 128 43 2.218 548