NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3100, 13 August 1913, Page 15

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

At Woburn experiments arc being conducted., which are continued from year to year, in growing green crops ano either ploughing them or eating them off and testing the result on tho succeeding crop. Tares, rape and vetches have been used for tins purpose, the first sowing beginning on May 5, ploughed in during July, resown in August, and again ploughed in on September 23. Square Head Master wheat was sown in November, 1911, and, as usual, at first the wheat looked better after tho tares, but as tho season went on there was little doubt as to the wheat being best after mustard and then after rape—the tares plot as in previous years clearly showing the smallest crop. These appearances were borne out at harvest time. The average yield of the “ tare ” plots was 10.2 bushels, of the rape 13 bushels, and of the mustard 16.8 bushels. Little can he said as to tho quality of the corn, for it was all bad, and much below the average. It is now proposed to take a second wheat crop on the same ground. It was felt that it would he of interest to see whether the same results would bo ' obtained with the green green crops when fed off by sheep as when ploughed in green. Accordingly this was done with tho .-aiiie crops after trifoliuni had failed to grow on the ground. Despite the drought of 1911, the green crops grew very fairly, were fed off with sheep, resown, anti fed off once more* On each occasion some cotton cake was given with the green food. The second crop was a very indifferent orie, on acobunt of the dryness of tho season. The following was the general re-

Green Manuring.

The best crop of wheat was then fore obtained from the growing of rape and feeding it on (he land, the tares and mustard having little between them.

The change from grass to turnips is not usually regarded as an extreme'one. but really it cannot be described in any other way. If the cornpostion of the turnip received more consideration, one would find fewer lots of sheep taken from a wide open run on grass and confined to a turnip brake. The fattening sheep requires 31b of digestible dry matter daily to satisfy tho requirements of a steady advance in condition. It would probably eat 1001 bof grass in a week and thus secure the desired quantity. In order to obtain the same nourishment from turnips it would have to consume in the same time about 3001 b of this watery food—enough, along with other things, for a fattening bullock. An English ration for fattening sheep per head per day is 14!b turnips, £lb linseed cake, ill) ground oats, and 111) of chopped hay. On this food the increase is stated to be Id) per bead in three days. Valuing the turnips at 5s 4d per ton tho cake at £lO, oats 2s 6d per bushel, and chopped hay £4 per ton, the cost of this ration per 13 weeks would bo 12s 9d per head, or practically Is per head per week, which, with us, is a prohibitive rate, except for special stud sheep in winter. If oaten sheaf chaff were substituted for chopped hay and ilb of bran given instead of cake and oats the cost per head would run out at 7id ’ per head per week against about 6d per head for turnip-feeding alone. The cost, of turnip-feed ng is arrived at by the assumption that a 45 tons crop will carry 35 sheep per aero for 13 weeks, the value being being £l2 per acre. But sheep getting a'.!) of bran and 11b of oaten chaff along with their turnips would fatten more rapidly and keep in better health than on turnips alone, and would probably bo turned over at the same cost per head. Turnips are not suitable food for sheep when given alone; and tho same might bo said ot all fodder crops. Although in' time they turn out the sheep fat. they arc too watery to fatten them quickly and economically. Water m excess'checks tho accumulation of flesh and fat and induces a diseased condition of the bodv. An ideal winter food might bo grown on tho farm, consisting of turnips, oaten chaff, and linseed meed. The tendency to contract disease on the watery turnips may be avoided by .giving a small quantity of drv, nourishing food, and when it is grown on the farm the cost price is reduced to the lowest possible limit. The benefits accruing from a better balanced nutritious diet ar e such that our veterinary advisers proscribe it for such parasitic troubles as lungworm or stomach-worm, with excellent results While such supplementary food may be given to hoggets and fattening wethers during winter—and they will bo all tho better for it in the case of ewes in lamb such a course too long continued would be disastrous. For one month at least before lambing is due such feeding wouid be dangerous. The feeding of the ewes should be arranged in such a way that they are compelled for that, time to take exorcise in order to secure as much food as they want. The fact of their having been fed on dry and artificial food makes them more liable than they v mid other wise have been to disease, and to keep them in hoaltn and ensure a safe hunbing a certain amount of exercise is absolutely necessary, and mu«t bo given if loss of lambs, and ewes is to dc avoided.

Tarnijlenling.

1 There is often a difficulty in trough-feeding I. sheep and keeping the land free from oats and woods. On dean wheat ground that can only be parbe partially overcome by giving the sheep a run into a field out of the turnip brake and placing, the troughs there. As a rule there is no difficulty in getting ewes to patronise the trough, and they teach their lambs to cat from them also, but with many lines cf wethers just off the back country when placed on turnips it is almost impossible to get some of them to approach the chaff boxes. They are often ns stubborn as mule?, and can only be taught to take chaff or oats with the greatest difficulty. The opportunity comes when several hard nights of frost are experienced. As a rule sheep do not enjoy frozen turnips, and although they will not go the length of starving themselves they become more amenable to discipline, and generally end in following the lead of the most forward by beginning to nibble the hay or oaten chaff. But under any circumstances there will always Ire a few that will never come round till they are locked up and forced to cat anything that is given them no matter how often they may bo rounded up to see their neighbour indulging. A sheep prefers pasture to any artificial food that can bo givfn it, and when there u sufficient grass will not look at anything else. As the fall grass begins to lose its succulence it is a good plan to start them on hay or chaff on the grass before turnip time comes. The sheep are thus broken in to the trough before being confined to the brakes, and from the start will consume a better balanced ration, and will therefore thrive better. If rape or cabbage has boon provided between the grass and roots, the hay will be increased to what the sheep will clean up twice daily. The chief thing to manage is to keep them .gaining ail the time, and thus paying for their diet as they go along. It; will be found that little real progress will be noticeable outwardly on the sheep till the yellow turnips, which are eaten first, are consumed and they arc folded on the swedes. They then come ! along rapidly if the weather and the condition of the ground underfoot permits, ami soon provide drafts for market. One vital point which should he observed carefully in autumn is that the sheep intended for tur-nip-feeding are free from ticks and lice. It is of the first importance that the fattening animal should l>o comfortable. A second effective dipping if required would be more than repaid. It wotdd not only rid the sheep of these pests, but clean the skin and reduce unrest, and irritation to a minimum. It is practically impossible to vary the mo no to nv of the feeding of a turnip brake, but if it is possible to do so the trough food may be varied with advantage. The greater the amount of bulky focal consumed the more economical will the fattening be. Where sheen are growing rapidly and at the same time expected to put on flesh —like young rams for instance there should be plenty of variety in the diet, and the trough food rich in fleshforming materials.

Balancing the She i> hatiuii.

This is about the most suitable rime of year for running the harrows ove r the land and spreading the manure left by tin' stock lie fore tin 1 growing season begins. When the grass is dry enough for ■ the team a good double with the harrows ' will enable the top-dressing applied to find its way more readily into the ground. There need be no danger of rooting out the grass or destroying the pasture. The deeper the harrows go the more the pasture will be improved the following year. If iewt of superphosphate is broadcasted after the harrowing, the water-holding capacity of the ground would he improved and better grass would result, if stale herbage or moss is to bo removed, a good harrowing should be resorted to for that purpose. It facilitates the growth of the young grasses. There is no surer indication of poverty than the appearance of moss in the soil, and if the conditions are to be made suitable for the growth of the finer grasses and clovers there must be no delay in checking its development. Martin I. Sutton might have been discussing many of our pastures when he said: “The prime cause is negligence, begotten of the mistaken notion that the pasture is self-supporting. There is not the least exaggeration in saying that thousands of low-lying meadows and upland pastures are not yielding half the produce which could be obtained from them were the land in better heart. These pastures grow inferior grass and little of it, the production of milk is restricted, and the capacity for fattening stock diminished. The result is an enormous national loss, and the truth must bo told that this loss is almost entirely avoidable.* The dairyman s demand for hay can be made the instrument of impoverishing the grass more quickly than overstocking. Still it is not the cutting that injures the grass, but withholding tho° manure or compost which all mown grass should annually receive. A couple of wet summers tends to force the grass un-

Slliiiutafinsr the lEobbed Pasture.

duly, and when the ground lies waterlogged most of the year the effect is disastrous. In this respect well-drained land suffers least, and where coarse water grass and sedge shoots up the remedy is obvious.

The difficulty cf delivering milk in the city is emphasised by the fact that the cream is continually rising to its surface, and the sample first drawn has quite a different cream content to the last pint in the can. This operates to such an extent that portion of a vessel containing lOga! or 15gal would not contain its legal pioportion of cream, and this renders a perfcct’y honest dairyman liable to prosecution. This may be avoided by the use of the homogc nisor. As the name indicates, this is a machine for converting liquids, such as cream, into a homogeneous mass. It is a European invention, and Is used quite extensively there in the preparation of milk for city trade. The Breeders’ Gazette states: “When milk is homogenised it remains of uniform composition. Some prefer homogenised milk for drinking purposes, as the last of the bottle is as rich as the first. One of the strong claims of the manufacturer of the machine is that the milk is better adapted for babies or children, _ owing to the fact that the composition is uniform from time to time —not cream one time and skim-milk another time. The fact that the fat in homogenised milk cannot be separated or even churned out, and that it does not rise to the surface, has worked against the introduction of the homogeniser in this country for milk for consumption. The majority of the people who consume milk prefer to see the cream rise to the surface. They have been accustomed to milk of this character, so that they are inclined to judge the richness of the milk by the amount of cream that rises.’’

Tiio Hoinose is r and Its la s.

Among tiio new implements at Doncaster this year the judgCG were only able to award two medals —the first to Trowhella Bros, for a winchgrubber for pulling out trees and stumps, hauling logs, etc., which consists of a strong miniature winch worked by means of a long hand-lever with a ratchet and paw! mover ment. Travelling wheels are provided and increased speed for taking up slack wire. The ropes used withstand a strain of 20 to 30 tons. The anchorage must bo more solid than the tree to be uprooted. The other modal was awarded to Alfred Hoyles, Doncaster, for a dry sprayer. This seemed to bo a successful attempt to produce a machine for distributing fungicide in a dry state, it having been found that in some eases this method of application is preferable to tho wot process. Among other entries described in the Royal Society’s Journal there is a combined horse-collar and harness, which is hinged at the throat and clipped at the top. and opens enough to slip on. There is also an ingenious hook worked by a lever for instantly detaching the trace in case of emergency. Two potato-diggers work on the same principle—viz., to screen the ground out of the potatoes and deliver them conveniently for lifting. The first has a drum-shaped revolving screen behind the sock, which is fitted with internal worms. The whole soil of the drill is carried upwards and backwards, and the potatoes are delivered at the back after the earth is all screened out of them. The other does the same by means of three cages revolving olio behind the other, A road-roller of interest to county councillors carried its own supply of water for sprinkling, and a certain amount of road material, so that it can bo taken along a road, put down a few stones, water and roll them, wherever an incipient pot-hole is found. Agricultural motors are now arranged to turn on their own axis, which should bo useful in ploughin'* and the spuds on tho wheels arc controlled’ from the hub. so that taey can be forced into the ground when required. A noticeable feature of the small-power engines is the placing of the cylinder inside a water-box instead of using tho water jacket and separate tank for cooling. The temperature of tho cylinder quickly attains that of boiling water, and there is less chance of the freezing of pipes in winter. Values on some of tho stands ranged from £l6 4s 6d for h.p. to £33 for 6 h.p. ; but complimentary remarks are not made in regard to their finish and design. An ingenious arrangement for sharpening ohaffeuttor knives is attached to the exhibit of one firm. Tho fly-wheel carrying the knives can be cast loose by undoing a couple of nuts at the hub, the shaft then revolves without tho wheel. To oath of tho arms carrying the knives a small lug with a hole bored in it is cast, into which is inserted tho pivot of an arm carrying a small emery wheel, which is driven bv j a round leather belt from the now freely- j revolving shaft. The emery wheel is tilted j to its proper angle for grinding tho knife, tho cutting edge of which is struck with ' radius of the arm from the pivot mentioned. AGRICOLA.

Xpw Imple rents at the i:o.val. '

suit Straw. Bushels. Cwt qr lb After tares, fed on .. 18.8 12 3 2.') After rape, fed on .. 20.9 14 2 7 After mustard, fed on .. 1S.2 12 2 11