NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3148, 15 July 1914, Page 14

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Tho value of pigs as a side line in either

The Plff Industry.

dairy or general farming ia not recognised to the extent it should be. No animal on

the farm can be eo profitably raised, consuming as it does by-products, of the dairy such as skim milk, butter milk, whey, ot the unmarketable residues of farm crops, and in return for the privileges of so doing converting them into an article of profitable sale. With the increasing demand for bacon and pork, this branch of stockraising should prove distinctly remunerative, and is well worthy of more attention. Ihe Danes, who have built up a world-wide reputation as dairy-farmers, have not been slow in recognising the profit to be made from pigs, and it is due to the increased supplies of excellent bacon from Denmark that the London market has yielded lower prices for colonial consignments than were obtained last year. Writing to the Stockbreeder, a correspondent gives the following particulars of the Danish methods of managing their pigs, which should prove of interest: —“While I was visiting-a farm, good weaners were purchased at from 20s to 255. It was the practice to keep for breeding purposes all sows which were considered suitable. These were sold just before pigging, and often the progeny purchased back again as weaners. I saw good young sows, which would weigh about 2001 b, sold for from £7 to £9. This was obviously better business than selling as baconors. Pigs up to 16 weeks are kept on the top floor of the barn. These pigs received their own mixtures of food. Of course, the mixtures must at times vary according to the market value of grain, but the different grains were so blended as to best suit the age of the animal. Moreover, the food values of different grains were closely studied. The system of allowing pigs to bloat themselves with a thin mixture of milk and meal was avoided, food and drink being given at different times. Growing pigs—except very young ones, which should be fed oftener —• were fed with meal twice a day. Once the animals -wore ready to fatten they were fed three times a day, and during the forenoon in summer a little green food was given. In winter roots were substituted for this. Young pigs up. to 16 weeks of age receive a mixture of meal in the proportion of eight parts maze, eight parts wheat, one part oats. For older pigs the mixture is 14 parts maize, 4 parts wheat, i part barley and oats, 2 parts pig meal, 6 parts refuse meal from seed-cleaning works.” As the result of careful investigation Dr

Whe^t Smut.

Humphrey, of the Washington Experiment Station, has found that smut spores re-

tain their vitality for at least 10 years. Some smut balls had been placed in a dry place in the station laboratory, and these were tested recently, with the result that, though 10 years old, they are as active as over. It has not been yet definitely settled as to how much longer than this smut spores will retain their vitality. At present Dr Humphrey believes that wheat will germinate at a much lower temperature than will smut. He has also stated that farmers who treat their seed wheat without blowing the smut balls out of it will most certainly reinfect their seed by passing it through the seeder, and crushing the balls The failure to blow or float the balls from the wheat used for seed he gives as one of the most prevalent sources of smut infection. As observed microscopically, the germinating smut epore first of all produces a germ tube about 10 times as large as the diameter of the spore. The upper end of the tube gives rise to a number of sickle-shaped spores which fuse, forming H-like structures. The latter are capable of producing infection by coming into contact with the wheat sprout of, say, a quarter of an inch in length. Should th© sprout not lie near enough for contact, thes© long, sickle-shaped spores produce a generation of somewhat bean-shaped spores. These are capable of producing infection. Should this generation of bean-shaped spores not establish contact with wheat sprouts, a second generation of bean-shaped spores is produced. This process may be repeated for generation after generation. Three hundred smut spores placed side by side would extend a distance of a fourth of an inch. A smut ball contains about 3,000,000 spores, 80 per cent, of which, according to Dr Humphrey’s tests, are capable of germination, and a smutted head of wheat ordinarily contains from 20 to 40 smut balls. These figures emphasise the necessity of getting rid of the smut balls before sowing, and during the pickling operations the seed should be thoroughly shaken or stirred to bring any unbroken balls to the surface, when they can be skimmed off.

As a source of supply of pdtash, tlie value

Wood Ash s as a Manure.

of wood ashes should be generally recognised. While not containing this fertilis-

ing ingredient in such concentrated form as the potash salts sulphate and muriate or kainit, —they should bo availed of whenever the opportunity offers. On newly cleared land, for example, quantities are produced which will amply repay the trouble of spreading. Wood fires in the home are also a source of supply which should bo made use of. Where there is a small but continual supply, wood ashes are best conserved in the compost heap, as the potash and phosphoric acid are _ prevented from leaching away, while the lime which in addition they contain assists m the decomposition of the refuse, and adds to the value of the heap. The value of wood aches w jH be appreciated when it is remembered that 1001 b contain from 51b to 151 b of carbonate of potash, 51b of phosphate of lime, and 401 b of quick and carbonate of lime. Both the carbonate of potash and the phosphate of lime provide readily available forma of potash and phosphoric acid respectively, so that with the lime which they contain in addhion. wood ashes form an extremely valuable fertilising material. In addition to this, they improve the physical condition of the soil in just the same way that lime does—opening up stiff clay soils and acting as binding agent on light sandy soils. Seeing that wood ashes contain potash and phos. phoric acid in an available form, it might bo thought that the addition of a nitrogenous fertiliser is all that would be necessary to compound a complete manure. Such a mixture, if the ammonium salts were used, would not bo profitable, as the action of the lime in the ashes would result in the libera, tion and loss of nitrogen. As has already been noted, where the compost heap is established, wood ashes are best conserved in it. Should there be a sufficient quantity available to substitute for the potash salts, it should bo remembered that lewt of kainit

Contains as much potash as 4cwt of -wood ashes, and lewt of sulphate of potash as much as 16cwt of wood ashes. AGRICOLA.