NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3313, 12 September 1917, Page 8

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

It ie important in the national interest that everyone using seeds should Economy in the exerciso economy. Seed is Use of Seeds, usually too freely used; but the times have changed, and seed should bo made to go as far as possible. In this connection the English Journal of Agriculture offers a few hints. Seeds, especially if from a good harvest, retain their germinating power almost unimpaired for several years, especially in the case of peas, beans, etc. It is juet as well to test any old seeds on hand. All that is necessary is to line two saucers with pieces of flannel, or with blotting paper, and moisten, not wet, the flannel or blotting paper. Twenty or thirty seeds should be placed, well separated from one another, in one of tho saucers. Invert the other saucer over the one containing the seeds, and stand the saucers in a moderately warm place, and to prevent evaporation they may be covered with a bowl, jar, or newspapers. The germination will be quicker if, before the seeds are placed in the eaucer, they are soaked in water until they have "plumped up*" For example, they may be soaked overnight. Examine daily and remove the seeds which have begun to sprout, and count them. Try out the test thoroughly, as seeds vary according to the kind. Care should be taken that there ' is no wast<j of such seeds as cauliflower or cabbage, as the supply will probably be short next year. Anyone who has parsnips, beefc, carrots, leeks, and cabbages sown last year should leave some of these plants in the ground, and let them run to seed. Protection from birds may probably bo necessary, and tho plants allowed to ripen fairly and harvested, and the bad seed picked out and burnt and the rest kept away from the air in a cool place. It is unwise to have different plants of the

same botanical family flowering at the same tune, but rather conoentrato attention on the one variety, as cross pollination by bees, etc., should be avoided if the unexpected is not sought.

It pays to handle sheep gently. It is painful to 6ee the rough, even Handle Sheep brutal, way sheep are used Gently. at times. One would imagine that the wool was grown to act as a handle for catohing sheep. If the torture inflicted by catching sheep by the wool could be appreciated, doubtless many would seek a better method, iha examination of a carcase of a newlylnlled sheep that has been- lifted by the wool reveals an inflamed and congested area resembling the effects of a severe jam or bruise at every point over which the wool ls pulled, due to the rupturing of the tiny blood vessels, and creating a soreness that must of necessity be deemed cruelty, besides lessening value, as fat lambs, fot instance, at all bruised would be classed '•seconds." The proper' method of catching a sheep is by the hmd leg or the head. In a small pen it is an easy matter to hold any particular sheep by the head. In a larger pen the sheep snould be caught by the hind leg just above the hock or gambrel joint. When caught by the hock joint it is drawn back from the mob until easily grasped by the neck. When a sheep is caught in this way the flock is not frightened so much as when a wild rush is made for any particular sheep. Onca caught, the sheep can bo moved anywhere. Tho left hand should be placed beneath the lower jam. If the animal plunges it may bo gently grasped by the wool on the farther cheek. Ihe right hand should grasp tho side of the tail or the end of the stub. In this position the sheep la not much frightened, and a man can manage it fairly easily.

" And he gave it for his opinion that whoever could make two ears Weed of corn or two blades of Destruction. grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only ona grew before would deserve better of mankind, and' do more essential service to hi» country, than the whole race of politicians put together." So says Swift in his famous book, " Gulliver's Travels." Knowing this long enough, however, we find the battle with weeds is becoming more fierce with each returning year. If we are to keep even with weeds, we must study them—the perennial, the biennial, and the annual. It would seem an thing to destroy an annual. They have just one chance. Allow it to sprout and then kill it, and there is end. Every foot of soil, however, has these seeds in thousands, and just those nearest the surface grow the first year, as they get the warmth, air, and moisture required. Others are in waiting, and will, perhaps, lie in the ground for years, and, given half a chance, will spring in the air, ready to make trouble. The best way is to allow these seeds to germinate and then kill them wholesale. Weeds we shall always have to contend with; but by early and _ drastia measures in the paddock in the spring and summer and thorough cultivation, it is possible to lower the quantity to a degree that will go far to give the grasses and cereals the first call on the sunshine and rainfall and to a foothold in the soil, and help out Swift's teaching.

Wild heifers are a nuisance in a dairying herd. They cause the Nove\ Method ,QS a much valuable time, of Quietening and are not infrequently Heifers. responsible for the creation of a distinctly sulphurous atmosphere in the vicinity of the shed. The brcaking-in process should not be attempted while milking is in progress. Any disturbance has a disquieting effect on dairying cows, and prejudicially influences the milk-flow. Unruly heifers ought not to be brought into the bails until the other cows are all milked and liberated. Dairyfarmers could save themselves a deal of worry bv taking a little trouble with the future milkers when in the calf stage. If they are frequently handled and taugnt to lead from babyhood they will seldom prove " nasty"- when the time arrives for them to take their place in the bail. Feeding regularly on hay after weaning accustoms calves to artificial feeding. When they come in as heifers they will take to chaff or other food like old cows, and soon settle clown to feed when brought into the shed to be milked. On some dairy farms it is not always oossible, perhaps, to make a thorough "job"of the calves. Mr W. Watson, a Trnralgon (Victoria) dairy-farmer (says tho Weekly Courier) has had many years dairyings and adopts a simple but effective" method of taming headstrong heifers. Ho finds that if thoy can bo induced to drink their own milk after the first two or three milking* they become perfectly tractable No attempt is offered as an ex : planation of this phenomenon. All he knows is that he has proved it efficacious times without number. AGRICO LA. ANSWERS TO CORESPONDENTS. By Acujcola. " Farmer." Ranfurly, has a paddock which has' been growing turnips for the last four years, and previously hay. It was limed 'about eight years ago, and has in the interval been topdreesed with superphosphate and blood manure, and on another occasion with kainit and basic slag, and wishes now to grow lucerne, and asksi "(1) When is the best time to sow lucerne? (2) Which is the best kind of lucerne to grow' (3) Is it necessarv to inoculate the paddock before sowing? (4) How much soil does it take to inoculate an acre? ■ Answers: (1) In your district the end of October or early in November should suit. (2) Spanish, the acclimatised seed, is out on its own. (3) Yes—at least, it would be foolish to neglect such simple precautions, (4) One hundred to 2001 b per acre. Read the article above, " King of Fodder Plants." " Dubious," Glenomaru, wishes to sow oata along with grass seed in small paddock, and purposes sowing the oats through the manure feed of the lime machine, and questions whether the oats mixed with around, burnt lime would be injured. . Suggest, that you mix the oats with the grass seed and" sow this mixture. Failing to manage this, von would be wiser to use the carbonate of lime, or slake your crushed lime and mix with some soil, instead of mixing the oats direct with the crushed, unslaked lime. If everything was of the driest, however, perhaps no great harm would result In mixing as you suggest, an<J sowing not too heavy a dressing, and then harrowing right away. "Tussock," Timaru wishes to know ths best, means of producing turnip, swedej cabbage, and cauliflower seed, and freest* tions necessary to prevent cross pollination f -— This matter of ** seed-saving'" was fttHf

dealt with in the farm loader in the Otago Witness of the sth hist. It Is necessary from the commercial point of view; but one variety only of one crop should be taken in hand at any one place, and every oare taken to prevent plants of the same botanical familv from flowering while the seed plot is blooming, and so minimise the chances of cross pollination by bees or wind.