NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3418, 19 September 1919, Page 10

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

The phrase “made for lucerne growing” caught the writer’s eye as standing out in a letter received from a lucerne culture specialist. lie was writing in connection with lucerne-growing, and went on to say, “with a country (made for lucerne-growing) like Otago Central, at the back door of Dunedin,” etc. Time and again it .has been pointed out in _ these columns our belief that lucerne-growing inland will eventually do away with the growing of turnips, and certainly will stave off cny fear of shortage of feed in time of drought, as well as proving a foodstuff well able to take the place of feed, for working draught horses. The writer has noticed that our Otago politicians have been waiting on the new Minister of Agriculture (Hon, Mr Nosworthy) in connection with the grow'ing of lucerne, etc., and have made some airy and freak suggestions, for instance, that someone should be sent to the States of America to learn about the plant; another member suggests that there is no need to send so far, as Australians were right up to date in the matter, and so on. The writer trusts the Minister took it all in, and will consult the head of his department and others. The fact is there is far too much daiUdling over this matter of lucerne-growing in Otago. The knowledge of how to grow the “king of fodder plants” is in the brain-box of many Now Zealanders. It is suggested that the department should move a bit quicker and see _ whether it would not be possible to take in hand this season suitable areas throughout Central Otago. Some dozens of areas possible of easy inspection might be netted in and sowti as soon as possible. The department could work in co-operation with the local bodies and start the ball rolling, and send .Fields Instructor Mr A. Macpherson, their specialist in the art of lucerne culture, along to lend, a hand.

“Made for Lucerne Growing.”

The Victorian Minister of Agriculture (Mr Oman) proposes to introduce to the Legislative Assembly a Bill having for its object the avoidance of the great wastage in hides which is so general. An ingenious scheme has been devised by the chief veterinarian Mr W. A. N. Robertson. Branding will be compulsory, and in the case of cattle, marks to represent numbers will be permitted only on the thighs, the lower - portion of the shoulders, and on each side the neck. In each of these places the hides will suffer a minimum of damage, and, it is anticipated, will mean an annual saving in hides of a value of £400,000. feheep will be earmarked, and the position of the marks will represent numbers. Bach number will bo registered, and as they will be distinct the owners are expected to welcome the new law without much opposition. It is understood that pastorausts who have had the scheme explained to them have expressed full approval of the idea. A clause will nrovide that owners of stud cattle mav have permission to affix names if they desire. It only remains to state that the State has taken out patent rights for the scheme, tod to wish her luck.

The Branding of Cattle.

A few tarpaulins during harvest time are always useful, and hence the plan adopted by the Public Works Department, which appeared in a recent Journal of Agriculture, will bo perused with interest: — The material for a tarpaulin should be hemp canvas or cotton duck, not lighter than 16oz. _The B ‘ lee S should have the seams double-stitched t ana not less than eight stitches to the men; the eyelet-holes for tie-ropes to be brass eyelets or galvanised rings sewn in. Pure boiled linseed oil, with a, little paste dryers added, will make a thoroughly waterproof sheet. If black dressing is required add vegetable black to the oil and dryers; if yellow, add yellow ochre; and if brown, add Indian red and a little vegetable black. If time is no object in drying add a little fish oil, and this will make the tarpaulin very soft and pliable and increase its duxa» bilitv In order to produce a satisfactory tarpaulin it is absolutely necesary that the dressing should be carefully applied. the sheet to be dressed should be thoroughlystretched on an even floor while being treated. For the purpose of the dressing a rather stiff brush is required. The dressing must be well worked into the canvas, especially at the seams, and equally distributed over the sheet,_ so that none of it remains on the surface in patches. When one side has been coated the sheet must be hung ud and allowed to 7'emain suspended till thoroughly dry. It will then bo ready for coatiig on the other side, and whenthia has been done hang up as before. When the sheet is again taken down_ the first side coated must get another coating, and this should be sufficient- to make it thoroughly waterproof. When the sheet is drying _it should be exposed to free currents of air; dry air is specially desirable, but the suns direct rays must be carefully excluded. The sheet thus finished should be allowed to hang till thoroughly seasoned.

Directions lor Making Tarpaulins.

Most farmers can plough after a fashion, hut few, indeed, give it the attention it warrants. Each' paddock has some peculiarity which, taken with the season’s conditions and previous cropping operations, and also the future crop, should determine the depth of ploughing._ If a good iob is not made-when “breaking’’ up a field, the chances are against even yields over the area throughout the rotation, and we have the unnecessary wide headland unploughed for years, growing weeds and harbouring pests. No rules can be otherwise particularised than of a _ general nature. Deep ploughing is certainly_ not always advisable, as some people Given a friable soil, probably not much harm results, and it may answer _ well enough, as it does when' ploughed _with_ a short wide-set chill-plough; but it is quite a different matter with heavy clay _ soils, which cannot be readily pulverised without a degree of _ “weathering.” _ The writer 1$ not condemning deep ploughing in toto, but would gradually strive to get deeper as the seasons roll on. A series of interesting periments made on the brown silt praine

How Deep to Plough.

loam soil of Illinois by a tractor specialist may bs cited He ploughed- all the way from 4in deep to 16in deep, and found that the best yield was secured with 6in ploughing either with mould-board or disc, the yield being 35 bushels of corn to the acre. Ho secured 31 bushels from 4in ploughing, 29 bushels from 12in ploughing, while tho yield was only 25 bushels to the acre from ground ploughed 16in deep. _ Of course there is-nothing very conclusive in these experiments, but the indications point to . deep ploughing as no cure-all for thin crops. It depends on the nature of tho soil, et 3. S, AGRICOLA. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS By Ageicola. "Farmer," Wedderburn, writes to say that his cow, which is in good condition, has nearly gone blind with matter at eyes and nostrils, and. is generally very stiff and languid. Th> animal seems to have a heavy cold, and suggest you keep her warm with cover, etc., and bath eyes with boracio acid 'otion. M. P., Mataura, has a cow with a hole half-way up her teat as well as the ordinar-y one. r J ho cow' is dry at present. "What can I do to fix matters?" ——You had better call in a veterinary surgeon, who would scarify opening, stitch up and fix a plaster, and cow would come in all right at calving. The sooner attended to the better, as during milking till the wound healed it would be necessary to draw off milk with teatsyphon. '•'Mary," Nightcaps, asks:—(l) What to paint on sheepskins to remove the ; wool. (2) A good way to treat xabbitskins for domestic purposes. (3) Best kind of mangels to sow in Southland district. (4) Would land that grows good turnips be suitable for them? (1) Sulphate of sodium. (2) This question' is too intended for weal-, tho best thing is to send to a tanner who will fix them up for Is a skin. Home-tanned skins can rarely be finished off properly. (3) The Long Red usually used in strong Taieri lands, but the Orange and Yellow Globe suitable for a great variety of • soils. (4) Mangels love a stiff soil and a comparatively dry climate, and should be manured generously. The writer has grown them on good turnip land, but it requires to be taken in hand early. . .

AGRICULTURAL. AND PASTORAL MEWS. The. annual meeting of the Qwaka Agricultural and Pastoral Association was held on. the 6th inst., Mr W. Adam (president) in the chair. The financial state 1 of the society was considered most satisfactory, a considerable debit' from the previous year's workings having been wiped out, and a sum of £l2 4s 4d being in hand for the incoming term. Receipt from various sources amounted to £251 8s 6d, and outf;oihgs that amount less credit above carried orward. Liabilities nil, assets £136 18s lOd. Mr Jas. Logan was elected president, and Messrs W. H. Craigie and A. North vicepresidents for the ensuing year. According to the Lake County Press, present indications are promising in respect to there being plenty of shearing available, full boards having been booked up by a number of leading local sheds. In reference to the draft wo" 1 was made publio by the British Wool Federation recently that English and Wejsu wool must carry a draft of 21b per cwt. The draft is regarded by wool merchants as a safeguard against excessive conditions of any kind being present in the wool. By using the term 'condition" loosely, ifc would include much besides grease; and presumably English wools arc not as well got up for sale as they might well be. Draft 3 in pre-war days varied, and some clean wools might escape a penalty altogether, but now there is to bo a uniform draft of 21b a cwt. At the monthly meeting of the Gore branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union on the 13th inst., Mr F. Bowmar, speaking from experience, gave_ an interesting address on the "Use of Lime." He stresses the point that although labour was expensive, yet liming paid. Land with a minimum of 3.5 per cent, of lime was starving for want of more lime. Once he found his land with but the minimum quantity of limo he waded in and limed, and the Government analyst gave him the necessary information. He favoured burnt lime, and preferred !>s?ng up to one ton to the acre. In his grass lands tho boundary lino between land treated with lime and untreated wa3 indicated b 7 the luxurious clover. In three years ho had apolied 136 tons of burnt lime, and every pound had paid him well with interest added. Liming in addition to draining will weather disasters in tho farming world. On land before liming he carried 180 sheep, but new did 370 sheep well. Endeavour to get lime as pure as possible •nd beware of rubbish. Tho recent demonstration of British

enterprise in the insurance field (says the American Chamber of Commerce in London) is of interest— rain insurance policies. These forms of policies are issued providing for payment of fixed sums in event of rainfalls of specified amounts, and are being widely taken up by both holiday-makers and resort or open-air amusement proprietors. The insurance company is understood to have made arrangements with the town clerks or meteorological experts of the towns covered for daily readings of the official rain gauges, these readings being final and binding on both the assured and the company, the assured being required only to give notice that rain has fallen during the currency of his policy. The highest pay-out amongst dairy com panies this season must be credited to the Ngaere Co-operative Dairy Factory, which shows the handsome return of 2s 2d per lb butter fat (reports the Stratford Post). Normanby comes next with 2s lfd. Dairy _ farmers who have been debarred frozn using the railway to carry stock will be interested to know (says the Levin Chronicle) that at Waikanae the other morning the train to Wellington was occupied a considerable time in lifting some racehorses which had to be sent away. At a meeting of the Waikaka branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union it was decided to hold sheep shearing classes in the district. At auction, recently a farm of 117 acres near Martinborough, was sold for £7O per acre. At a dispersal s.ale at Edendale recently of Mrs M. Sheehan's dairy herd, exceptionally high prices ruled (says the Wyndham Farmer). The highest price of the day was £26 12s 6d for one cow, and the complete herd of 45 milkers averafed £l7 7s per head. A recent frost was responsible for blackening acres of potatoes grown by Chinese market gardeners at "Otaki. Their loss will be a heavy one.

A total of 3949 head of cattle was slaughtered during the year ended March 31, 1919, under "The Stock Act, 1908," according to a return laid before the House of Representatives. For them £11,550 was paid in compensation. No horses or pigs were slaughtered.