A NORTH ISLAND TALK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3215, 27 October 1915, Page 13

A NORTH ISLAND TALK.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) PALMERSTON N., October 19. 'Catch-cropping is receiving greater attention than ever before, and chiefly it is taking the form of fodder-growing for stock. Though foodstuff prices have come down to more reasonable levels, there is a general anxiety to be on the safe side in respect of the maintenance of stock. Oats are still very popular for this purpose, and as they ean be led green, or be stacked for hay or chaff, or be thrashed for grain, they offer a choice of uses. Barley up here is not so much used as it possibly is in the south. Particularly is it neglected in the northern half of this island. The Oape barleys, especially those of Russian orig.ll, are assumed to be more suited to colder climates, and they are found particularly useful for winter forage. When oats would hang fire owing to the cold weather, barley will grow appreciably. Both crops, of course, may be grazed, but oats have a habit of sulking after being fed off, and take longer to start away again. They are also slower to grow after sowing. My own experience is that in the early stages, or for repeated grazing, barley is the preferable crop; but for use in the maturer stages, as for hay or chaff, or possibly grain, the superior feeding qualities of the oat give it the lead. Barley seems loss subject to disease, which,, in the present season of repeated rain, is likely in the north to be a matter for consideration. For poultry feed, I would prefer bailey. I find oats a most wastful feed to use. The fowls always seem to leave a fair quantity for the sparrows to get, and the sparrows show us the valuation they instinctively place upon the husks by eating only the kernel MAIZE ON THE FARM. In the warmer areas where maize can bo safely grown for grain there is an increasing tendency to produce it for feeding on the farm. I have found it the case on some poultry farms where mixed farming is part of the operations. The groat advantage is that the poultry profit is undisturbed by the fluctuations of the market in grain prices. Where bone-grown maize is £ho chief or only food supplied, the poultry-keepers have been making money this season. The fear that “maize feeding fattens” is, I am convinced, much exagger- ' ated. To hear some people talk, one would think a grain of maize contained nothing but tallow. Recently I tried the effect of entire maize feeding on fowls which previously had received maize and oats. They had been in the habit of leaving some of the oats for the sparrows, hut still appearing hungry. I then fed maize alone. The result was rather surprising. The fowls ate till they were quite contented, and then ran off to lay; but their feed bill fell remarkably. Instead of being unsatisfied os formerly with maize and oats, costing about each per week, they wore now quite satisfied with maize alone, costing only Id per week. The explanation is that they made good use of it all. The egg yield did not diminish hut rather increased ; and so far the hens show no signs of becoming lazy, or helplessly fat. These fowls have the full range of grass paddocks, with abundance of green stuff, and insects. I cannot say the result would be the same On fowls in confinement; hut if I were foing to test maize under those conditions would have the maize cracked into small particles; and buried under nine inches of chaff, to encourage exercise. Now that t am talking about fowls, lot mo add a

word about early feeding, particularly on farms, where the automatic mash box is not in operation. Early feeding encourages early laying, and the earlier the egg_ is dropped the greater is the chance of getting another egg next day. Fowls are like human beings in one respect: when they get up in tlie morning their first consideration is for breakfast. Until they have had that they won’t start work. If breakfast is not waiting for them, they will wait for their breakfast. The egg that ought to be in the nest still clogs the oviduct, and Nature (which seems to take notice of these things) suspends progress in respect of the egg for the day following. No amount of theorising and scientific feeding can recall those wasted hours when the hens wore m v>ing round the doorstep waiting to be fed. THE PIG. For pig-feeding the usefulness of maize is well known theoretically. It is not very widely applied in actual practice; but here also there is a dawning interest appearing in the subject of home-grown maize. It has hitherto been quite a rare occurrence to find a pig herd being maintained without purchased food. The new tendency is to make greater use of fodder crops grown on the farm, and (in the north) to finish off with a liberal use of home-grown maize. There is a wide range for selection. Grass, clover, tares, green barley and oats, pea forage, rape and mustard, green maize, mangolds, turnips, and pumpkins, all have their usefulness, so that the farmer can select that which best fits his conditions and the time of year. Feeding off and feeding out, grazing or mowing the green crops, folding or storing the roots —a choice of method can be made to suit the circumstances. Conveying the food to the herd in a small paddock restricts the expenditure on fencing; but practical men say the pigs thrive best when they are allowed the free run of the crops, temporarily fenced in. In America, and particularly in Canada. I believe many of the pigs are reared entirely on field crops, some of which (like peas and rape) will also fatten; and they are finished on maize. When we can adopt the same system, under our superior conditions, we may be able to make the pig one of the moat profitable animals of the farm, in spite of its price not being raised by the war. It is something gained, at least, if wo can go on oroducing our pigs all the year round independently of the milk-flow of the daily herd. CANTERBURY MARKETS. GRAIN AND PRODUCE REPORTS. (Lyttelton Times, October 23.) The grain market remains absolutely lifeless, transactions being for all practical purposes nil. Merchants and millers are apparently fully determined not to operate on any basis, and as they have maintained this attitude tor some time holders are not offering, since they are well aware tiiat they cannot hope to do business. Although quotations are given below based on the latest reported sales, it cannot be said that were lines placed before merchants or millers at these prices it would lead to business—the chances are that it would not. With little or no chance of finding an outlet at remunerative prices, merchants are holding off with the greatest determination, and unless there is a radical change in the outlook it is unlikely that they will take much part of the grain trade till the new season’s crop is placed on the market. At the moment it can be said without exaggeration that business in wheat is absolutely dead. From various quarters of Canterbury accounts have come to hand of considerable quantities of wheat being held by growers, and in a few cases they have unloaded at prices ranging from 4s to 4s 3d on trucks. The oat market is very weak, and practically no business is being done. Offerings are very small, and it is clearly apparent that the amount still in the hands of growers is email indeed. Owing to the advance in the season and the lower prices current in the Commonwealth, there has boon a further casing in the price of potatoes, and to-day the highest price offered by merchants is £6 10s on trucks at country stations. The offerings have been of mediocre dimensions. The following quotations are for purchases from farmers, not cash, sacks extra, delivered at country stations; —Wheat, 4s 3d to 4s_ 6d. Garton oats, 3s lid to 4s 2d; Algerians, 4e 3d; Duns, 4s 2d to 4s 6d; Danish, none offering. Barley, 5s 3d to 6s. Blue Prussian peas, 6s; Partridge, 5s 3d to 5 6s. .Potatoes, £6 10s. Chaff. £5. Bran, £5 Be. Pollard, £6 10s. Oatmeal, £2O. Flour, £l3. Ryegrass seed, 4s 6d ; cocksfoot (131 b), 7d to 7-kl; white clover (farm dressed). Is to Is 2d; oowgrass, 7d to Bd. Dairy factory choose, lO^d: dairy cheese. B|d. Local factory butter (first grade). Is fid; farm separator butter, Is Id; farm dairy butter, lid. Hams. Is; sides, lid; rolls, Is; rolled hams, la Id. Lard pats, lOd. Eggs, la.