NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3804, 8 February 1927, Page 12

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

'At a conference of agricultural organisers

Potato Blight Points.

held at the Midland Agricultural anil Dairy . College recently Mr H. H. ILT Co / orlvicm l

Stirrup, M.Sc. (adviser in plant diseases), gave a resume of the chief fungoid diseases met with in the college area during. the past 12 months. Dealing with potato blight, he mentioned Dr Murphy’s work in Ireland, which showed that —(1) Potato blight does not spread from tuber to tuber in the pit; (2) potatoes dug after the tops have thoroughly died down keep better than those dug earlier; (3) removing badly diseased tops a sufficient time before digging was advantageous; (4) covering the pits with blighted, but partially living, potato tops was a. bad practice; (5) practically all blight which develops in stored potatoes appears within about a month; (6) the blight fungus may live independently’ in the soil for a short time only.

Loss of Fertilising Constituents.

Farmers are prone to think that the

elements winch go to maKe the artificial manures used to stimulate their crops will, be washed out of the

soil before the crop they are intended for can make good use of them. It is suggested at times that some of the fertiliser may be utilised and that the balance is lost in the drainage. Some slight loss there possibly may be m untoward conditions, but, according to an American experimenter, this does rio.t happen to any very great degree. This authority found, for instance, that phosphates remain almost entirely where placed until removed by the crops or by erosion (surface washing); that nitrogen is lost to a very little extent by drainage during the growth of plants if grown in well-tilled land; but that as regards potash, in spite of the ease with which it is fixed in the 'soil, it is nevertheless subject to movement within the soil (especially if superphosphate, nitrate of soda, and sulphate of ammonia are used in combination), and may easily be washed out of reach of the roots. This, if not entirely reassuring, is encouraging, and should not deter farmers from feeding the plants generously, particularly if a workmanlike job is made of the cultivation. In a word, we require to follow Jethro Tull’s tillage methods in conjunction with modern ideas of fertilisation.

Daylight Saving.

Otago farmers apparently are coining

round to the rural and city opinion held in England regarding summer-

time law, as at a recent conference the executive of the local branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union decided to write Wellington that Mr T. K. Sidey’s 'daylight-saving scheme had their support. Farmers in this part of the world are not apparently deterred by the expression of opinion of the Dominion Executive. The early daylight measure has yet to run the gauntlet of Parliament before all clocks are adjusted. The Bill was killed last session in the Legislative Council, or, if not killed, then “scotched,” as the chief opposer promised then that if next year the measure was supported in the House of Representatives by anything like the same majority .he would make no effort to stay the aspirations of those who wished to rise with the sun. Other members, doubtful in regard to the wisdom of imbibing too much ozone, also indicated their intention of giving the scheme a trial if a fair proportion of the people wished for a new order of things. It is not easy to see in what manner this early rising will detrimentally affect farmers, seeing that w’orking hours will be no longer than usual, and “knocking-off” time comes ..as usual, with the advantage under the .hew scheme that more daylight is left . for play. Last session, it may be recalled, the Bill passed the Lower House by. a substantial majority, amd was rejected in the Legislative Council on the casting vote of the Speaker.

Artificial Drying .of Stacks.

The Institute of Agricultural Engineer-

ing at Oxford haa hiade good progress with its experiments in the artificial drying of crops' in

the stack, and now a report has been issued on the trials ; of the system in various parts of England. Sun and wind are the natural agents for drying crops in the stook and in the stack, but in this variable climate of ours the farmer is often driven to wish for other’ more reliable and speedier means. ,In Scandinavia the haystack is commonly built round a wooden frame, so as to allow of the free circulation of air to dry the crop, and in the moister parts of Scotland similar practices have been adopted with good results. Recent, developments have been more in the direction of devising satisfactory methods of pumping dry air into the stack, with the object of driving put the moisture in the crop. Not long since an interesting demonstration of drying stacks by pump-

ing in hot air was given at Oxford, and it was most impressive to see the moisture from a barley stack rising in dense clouds of steam. The institute has since then experimented with both hot air and cold air methods, and the conclusion has been reached that the cold air method is not to be recommended. We have, however, heard of good results from the cold air method from individual farmers, and certainly it is less expensive than the business of the pumping in hot air. The institute is to carry out further experimental trials in different . districts. In the meantime several definite advantages are claimed for the artificial drying of crops in the stack. The general advantages are said to he: Some of the usual operations subsequent to cutting can be dispensed with and labour saved. There is less danger of loss of by shaking out. With cereal crops considerable loss of grain occurs in wet weather when the sheaves are turned, while with peas and beans, even in favourable weather, there is a considerable amount of grain shed. Crops which would otherwise be lost in bad weather are saved, and there is less risk of barley bleaching and of grain sprouting. Earlier stacking affords less time for the depredations of birds and vermin. Crops which, especially in the north, often have to be left in the field until quite late in the year can be removed earlier, thus allowing cleaning and ploughing operations to be commenced in good time. Hay crops can be cut when at their best, irrespective of weather, thus securing more nutritious hay. The same applies to oat straw used for feeding. Aftermath, for the finishing of lambs and other stock, is made available much sooner. Wheat can be threshed and put on the market almost immediately. This is a formidable list of benefits to be expected from the practice of drying crops in the stack, and farmers will watch the development of the experimental work with interest. AGRICOLA.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. By Agricola. . “C. S,” Mandeville, writes:—l have a calf that was cut three weeks ago. He seemed to be getting on all right at first, but a week later a discharge began to come away, and is still coming. I have been bathing it with a little Jeyes’ Fluid in the water, and putting on Rosebery healing ointment. Otherwise the calf seems all right, but as I have had no experience I would like very much to have your advice on the matter. —It is necessary to get the pus away, and the wound should be kept opened or, rather, healing delayed by inserting the finger (previously cleaned and disinfected) into the orifice, and so provoke the matter to pass off. The wound and surrounding parts should, at the same time, be thoroughly well dressed and disinfected with tincture of iodine. It is essential that the pus should come away freely before healing takes place. 4 “Lanark,” Southland, wishes to know how much a cow’s test will vary from her first calf to, say, her fourth calf. He knows the milk flow increases with age. How about the butter-fat?—A cow’s age has little to do with her test, the richness of milk remaining practically the same from year to year until the animal has passed her prime, when it slowly declines. A cow, say, testing 5 per cent, when at her best, will decline to perhaps 4.5 per cent, after milking a dozen years or so. In discussing this subject in his book, “Dairy Cattle and Milk Production,” Professor Eckles says:—A heifer having a low test as a two-year-old is sometimes excused on the ground that she is young and will do better when mature. The data shows there is no ground for such belief. The facts are that the richness of the milk is a matter of inheritance, and is fixed even before the animal is born. Nothing can be done to change it.