NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3555, 2 May 1922, Page 8

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Ihe present month is a good one for lim-

ing purposes. Potato-lift-Farin Work mg should be now in full ror May. swing, and this area , , ploughed up to sow, say, in f ii e -r y summer, some lucerne. It is well if possible, to thatch any grain stacks which are left over, and also rake down hard all straw stacks. Clean out all drains and gateways and mend up fences and yards. Grub gorse and burn all rubbish and tidy up generally. Wheat-sowing this month should command attention. If a small-berried wheat is sown, one bushel and a-half should be ample seeding per acre in land in any sort of • fair order, bee that the seed is pickled either in bluestone or formalin solution. Plough stubbles as scon as possible, as early ploughing makes for all-round economy. Young growing stock should have some extra feeding towards the close of this month, as much-weathered grass has little nourishment. r I he team horses may “do” better if clipped trace-high. Sheep should be all dipped before this month runs out. As the rams and eyves will now be all mated up it is but common sense to be satisfied that “all is serene,” and that the rams are not merely star-gazing or apparently trufflehunting. Muster the ewes up quietly at times. All sheep on roots will thrive better if given a run-off on grass, and benefit if given some dry feed as yvell as salt in boxes. If a trifle of sulphate of iron is mixed through some Liverpool salt it will help the hoggets. Look to the milking cows, and give the pail-fillers all they can eat. Keep them warm, rugging them if necessary. Don’t neglect the pigs, providing both yvarmth and a mixed ration. A pig will no more thrive on a straight diet of one particular thing than Central Otago lands will do yvithout water. He is omnivorous, like man, and has a taste for the good things of life.

Gratification at the success of the £5.000,000 loan is generally The felt by Now Zealand setFive Million tiers, as they in the end Loan. have to carry the load. If this country cannot make payable use of 5 per cent, money to-day, then it is time room was made for coloured folk The money is to be used, says the Prime Minister, for development and reproductive purposes. Evidently Mr Massey realises that the Dominion's resources must be tapped still further. He says, “It will be the duty of the Government to see that the money is used to the best advantage, so That in years t.o come there may be something left to show' for it.” Although the money is to cost only 5 per cent., it is cheering to know the Minister realises that repayment will take considerable energy. “It is.'’ he says, “almost impossibl»Nor the Government to use the money for a purpose which will return anything like that rate of interest. However, although no immediate cash return may be possible, it will lie gained a thousandfold when wisely spent on railways, electric power and land settlement, lliese will all tend to lessen the cost of production and distribution, and, besides, settlers will have the satisfaction of seeing the money spent cu rural development rather than on urban adornment, The high cost of land has been the rock which has wrecked many a good settler, ami the Government have been sinners in this respect It is up to them ” therefore, to do their utmost to cheapen all things having to do with our primary industries.

The Minister of Agriculture (Hon. Mr Nosilu Minister has been quite exWheat plic.it 'in his announcement Control. that the system of wheat control will not be continued by the Government, The grower is given protection against outside competition bv the new Customs tariff, and he is from now on to endeavour to be satisfied with world values. A state guarantee means State control in respect to marketing wi h all its drawbacks, and no one in his or her her senses “cottons” to that idea twice. Wheat-growing in the past has not been devoid °of allurement. Ibut farmers are morally bound to This «untrv wilf drift along until the State in earnest, forced by the public demand would have to grow its own wheat, cr compel land-owners to cultivate a certain are, h wheat. Outside of New Zealand, - the Commonwealth for instance, supplies eight often be secured, but let one of their d'r.vmbfs come along and where might we not find ourselves of neglecting wheat- .. owing In any case, on a well-ordered farm where operations are carried on under -• common-sense svste.ro of rotation cropping there is no" cereal whffih gives Ihe farmer so much satisfaction as a good wheat cron. The price he gets for it, of course, may give cause for thinking but that is all the more reaon why he s-iouUi onlv grow this exhausting crop when the land is in good heart : and the best of yielding seed sown during preferably late autumn. Protected in a measure by the Customs tariff, there is surely no sound reason why a guaranteed price should bo allowed. It is a fair decision as between wheat-growers and the general public. The British Board of Agriculture has issued a leaflet espeoting rye. Value of On the Continent. is Rye. well known, rye is grown. veiy extensively, and the erof is: used not only as forage for stock, hut as an addition to the foodstuffs of the population. Rye bread is very generally eaten, as it used to be in England before the increasing prosperity of the }M>ople enabled them to eat wheaten bread almost exclusively. Rye is cheaper than wheat, and oil the Continent seems to suit the popular

laste, as lye bread and rye cakes are to be seen on the tables of the rich as well as on the tables of the poor.. Although rye is adapted to poor soils, this does not mean that the application ol fertilisers is not necessary. Quite the reverse. If farmyard manure can be spared, the soil in which the crop is to be grown should have a dressing of ten to twelve tons to the acre, and this should be supplemented by the application of fertilisers. The Board of Agriculture recommends the growing of vetches with the rye. It is stated that in some districts the return from the crop is considerably increased by sowing along with the rye a small quantity (not more than about half-bushel per acre) of winter vetches. Such a small proportion is easily supported by the rye, the cost of harvesting is not in creased, a; the mixed crop can be cut by the binder, and the two classes of seed are separated by the screen of the threshing machine. Vetch seed is nearly’ always scarce and high in price. The vetch straw has a high value for feeding, and cattle can be trusted to separate it quite efficiently from the ryo straw. Where the rye straw is required for thatch, the vetch straw will, of course, be combed out in the process of “drawing” the thatch. AGRICOLA. ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. By Agkicola. “Bacon,” Gimmerburn, writes as follows: “I have a pig suffering- from weak loins, and it cannot walk. It seems to be suffering great pain. Its first house was rather wet, being a dugout in a bank, and I attribute the cause to a chill, but on inquiries find it not an uncommon complaint. I removed it to more comfortable quarters with plenty of straw. Its food has been nothing but separated milk, and it has not lost condition though it has grown fast. It has been bad about a month now. but I noticed the weakness coming on slowly before that.” The complaint is not uncommon, and is largely due to unhealthy living conditions. The pig is a fairly discriminating animal, if given a chance. The trouble has been fostered, too, by lack of some essential element in an apparent liberal diet. Give a dose of castor oil, say from 4 to 6 tablespoonfuls, according to size of animal. Supply charcoal or coal ash so that it is available at all times. Keep the pig comfortable and warm, and fatten him up quickly.