HILL PASTURES.

Southland Times, Issue 19458, 24 January 1925, Page 13

HILL PASTURES.

SOME SUITABLE GRASSES. USE OF DANTHONYA. VARIOUS SUGGESTIONS. A contributor writes:—“Without some means of fertility maintenance on our poorer hill country the majority of the pasture is destined to revert finally to | danthonia. In a great deal of the Taranaki hill country the incoming of the secondary growth has been too rapid to enable danthonia to get a good hold before it was swamped out. The ground surface would be shaded by the secondary growth and under shady conditions danthonia dwindles and then goes out. A sward of brown top will keep out the secondary growth very largely. It will allow the light to the ground surface and hence afford a better i opportunity for danthonia established along with it to spread. Thus, even though the soil conditions may ultimately become too poor for brown top to thrive well, yet its presence prepares the way for danthonia ; to spread. The spread of danthonia in a ' hide-bound brown top pasture is fairly ; rapid. “It is on the shady slopes, particularly, ' that the value of brown top comes in on hill country. The sunny slopes are easier to get into danthonia than are the shady sides, but brown top being a better shade . endurer than danthonia, can make head- j way into secondary growth on the shady I slopes whereas danthonia is impotent in ■ such aspeats. “Large tracks of bracken fern country in the South Nelson distr ct are being brought back to grass land by virtue of these two pasture species. Danthonia is spreading into the weaker, more open fern lands, on the sunny slopes, and brown top is working similarly in the shady slopes. These grasses work ng through the fern, are a draw for stock and again their presence there ensures better firing of the area and give after the fire a tasty bite for stock so that stocking of these fern areas becomes more intensive, and after all, as far as secondary growth is concerned, it is largely a matter of increased stock ng for its control. The more stock, particularly cattle, that can be maintained on an area the better for the grass, and the more likelihood we have of controlling the secondary growth. j BROWN TOP AND BLACKBERRIES. 1 ‘ln Westland, brown top is invading the more stunted blackberry areas, and there it is do ng good work. The blackberry areas carry a fire much better with the brotvn top through it, and the rapid return of the grass is a draw to stock to work on to the blackberry patches and blackberry control on unploughable country, after all, is largely a matter of forming and maintaining a good grass sward, about the stems at, and just above the ground level, where the new blackberry shoots arise after the plant has been cut down or burnt. Brown top s one of the most promising of grasses we have to help , form this sward. “Not only does brown top act as pioneer | among secondary growth to help carry a ’ fire, and to induce stock to work among ! that growth, but also by its underground stem system it ramifies into loose uncon- • solidated soils pukahu areas aod other.; peaty places on the bush burn, acting here • aga n as a draw to stock. The stock by their heading consolidate these areas, and thus bring about conditions more favour- ! able to the better grasses and clovers, particularly ryegrass, crested dogstail and white clover.” Mr Levy, in his Grasslands of New Zealand. writes:—“The seed of the grasses hat will hold are often very expens’\e, and at the present time, in drawing up seed mixtures for these poorer types of country, the question of expense is a very great hindrance to recommending that mixture which ; would the most likely to give the desired permanent turf.” Mr Levy, as a result of his recent sowings in the Whangamomona County, suggests the following mixtures for hill country Natural vegetation, tawa, mainly associated with rata and big rimu:—Blb perennial rye, 31b Italian rye, 101 b cocksfoot, 41b crested dogstail, poa pratensis, 41b brown top, 31b danthonia pilosa, ilb lotus I major, lib white clover, 11b red clover, lib alsyke, 4oz yarrow, 2oz subterranean clover; total, 32 Alb. Primary bush burn, natural vegetation, tawa, associated kamahi, rewarewa, hinau and totara: —61b perennial ryegras.-, 31b. Italian ryegrass, 81b cocksfoot, 41b crested • dogstail, lib brown top, 41b danthonia pilosa, |lb lotus major, Alb lotus hispidus, Alb white clover, 11b alsyke, lib red clover, 4oz j yarrow, loz subterranean clover; total. 1 2941 b. 61b. perennial ryegrass, 31b cocksfoot, 41b crested dogstail, 21b brown top, 41b danthonia pilosa, 41b white clover, 41b lotus major, ilb red clover, 41b alsyke, 41b lotus hispidus, 2oz subterranean clover, Aoz yarrow ; total, 221 b per acre. PLANTS AND ACID SOILS. SUITABLE CROPS The following is a list of common farm crops arranged according to their capability of withstanding acid conditions:— Rye, potatoes, oats, swedes, rape, kale, cabbage, ryegrass, mustard, mangels, wheat, vetches, beans, peas, barley and clover. The first three or four will stand almost any degree of acidity usually found on cultivated soils, provided that other conditions —such as cultivation and manuring of the land, freedom of the crop from disease, such as finger-and-toe, are satisfactory. The last five or six crops on the list are very sensitive to sour soil conditions and furnish, every year, many examples of crop failures owing to want of lime. Such failures are more pronounced in a dry than in a wet season. The symptoms shown by the crops failing owing to want of time are best seen while the plants are still in the “seedling” stage; corn when it is 3in or 4in high; roots about the time when they are ready for singling. A healthy barley plant has an extensive fibrous root system, the smallest rootlets being white in colour. A barley plant, suffering from want of lime, first turns rather purplish in colour, especially in the stem; the leaves then turn yellow and gradually die. It has a stunted root system, yellow or yellowish-brown in colour, with practically no white fibrous roots. The main roots end abruptly and appear to be slightly thickened at the ends. The leaves of swedes or turnips on land short of lime, turn yellow at the edges, the yellow rim gradually becoming broader until the whole leaf turns yellow and dies. Want of lime is one of the commonest | causes of the dying off of crops in the early 1 stages. If the plants survive the seedling stage the crop is, as a rule, not seriously affected later by soil acidity. Even those at the beginning of the scale of crops given above will be affected during a dry time in early summer. It is not claimed that the list of crops given is absolutely accurate in every detail, but it is sufficiently correct to serve as a guide when choosing crops for acid soils. BUTTER-MAKING. WHAT IS MEANT BY OVER-RUN. As the over-run in butter-making affects both suppliers and consumers, especially the former, the following explanation from the New Zealand Department of Agriculture will be of interest: — The clause in the Dairy Industry Amendment Act, passed in 1922, requiring manufacturers of butter and cheese to furnish to every milk or cream supplier each year a statement showing the amount of butter and cheese made from each poujjd of fat received has led to an increased interest in the subject, and the question is frequently asked, what is the over-run? Overrun is usually spoken of as the amount of butter made in excess of the butter-fat re- 1 ceiver. Owing to losses in manufacture, however, and to the allowance of overweight in each box of butter sold, in actual practice it is the amount of butter for which payment is received in excess of the butterfat paid for.

Over-run is made up of the water, salt and curd which butter contains in addition to butter-fat, which is the principal ingredient. It is usually showh as the percentage of butter in excess of the fat received, but may be shown as the ratio of fat to butter made. For example, if wc pay for 1001 b of fat and sell 1201 b of butter the over-run is 20 per cent., but the ratio of fat received to butter made would be 1 to 1.20. Over-run in butter-making and yield in cheese-making are the same, but in cheesemaking it is expressed as yield, as, for instance, pounds of cheese made per pounds of fat received equals 2.6. The percentage of over-run is calculated as follows: Butter made—fat received multiplied by 100 divided by fat received equals per cent, of over-run. For example— , butter sold, 2401 b butter-fat paid for, 2001 b; . 200 substracted from 240 equals 401 b over- i run; 40 multiplied by 100 divided by 200 equals 20 per cent, over-run. The factors which influence the amount | of over-run are (1) Actual losses of fat in manufacturing; (2) deficiency of matter not fat contained in the finished butter; and (3) errors in calculating the amount of fat received. Two systems of butter manufacture are in operation under factory conditions—namely (1) butter made from whole milk received, and (2) butter made from cream I received; and these two systems are generally spoken of as “whole milk” and “home separation.” A few factory concerns operate both systems. The actual loss of fat under the whole milk system averages probably 3.25 i>er cent, of the fat received in the milk, and

under the home separation system 1.75 per cent, of the fat received in the cream. Under the whole milk system the actual losses of fat can be classified under four heads: (1) Loss in skimming milk; (2) loss in handling cream and butter; (3) loss in buttermilk; and (4) loss in packing butter. In the home separation system the actual losses come under the last three heads. The percentage of fat lost in skim milk and in buttermilk can be ascertained by means of the butyl alcohol Babcock test. This test gives results corresponding closely io results obtained by gravimetric analysis, and shows higher and more correct results I vhan are readable in the ordinary Babcock ’ test. The test is, briefly, 2 c.c. or normal ’ butyl alcohol, 9 c.c. of milk, and 7 to 9 i c.c. of 182—183sp. gr. sulphuric acid, placed in a 0.5 graduated bottle, whirled 6-2-2 ■ minutes, and the reading doubled. Skim-milk is generally about 85 per cent, to 90 per cent, of the whole milk, and ; contains an average of about 0.07 per cent. ! of fat when milk containing 4 per cent, of fat is separated. The loss of fat from that ■ received in the milk is approximately 1.5 per cent. Thus 901 b skim-milk contains , 0.07 multiplied by 90 divided by 100 equals ' 0.0631 b fat. From 41b fat in milk the loss is 0.0631 b fat. From 41b fat in milk the loss is 0.0631 b. From 1001 b fat in milk the loss is 0.063 divided by 4 multiplied by 100 equals 1.57 per cent. The loss of fat in handling cream from the separator to the I pasteuriser, in running it to the churn and in the handling of the resultant butter exclusive of the loss in butter-milk, and in packing or pounding the butter, is difficult to estimate, but can reasonbably be set down at 0.5 per cent, of the fat received. [

The amount of buttermilk from cream containing 49 per cent, of fat, including an allowance for water used in handling and churning, may be stated at about 651 b per 1001 b, and a normal percentage of fat in the resultant buttermilk is about 0.5 per cent. This loss of fat from that received in cream is equal to 0.81 per cent., thus: 65 multiplied by 0 5 divided by 100 equals ,3251 b fat lost from 401 b in cream. The loss per 1001 b of fat would be 0.325 divided by 40 multiplied by 100, which would equal 0.81 per cent. Boxes of bulk butter usually contain 561 b I Boz of butter, including the weight of the ; wrapping paper, which, when taken off, 1 weighs about 4ozs. It is customary to ' place 4oz of butter in each box and make : no charge for it to allow for possible shrinkage and other wastage. A similar allowance is sometimes made for unavoidable losses incurred in pounding up each 561 b of butter for local trade, with butter at 82.5 per cent, of the fat contained in the butter. Thus 56.251 b butter contains 46.40621 b fat, since 56.25 multiplied by 82.5 by 100 equals 46.40625; I 0 251 b butter contains 0.202651 b fat, aince 0.25 multiplied by 82.5 divided by 100 equals 2.20625; 0.206251 b fat in 46.406251 b fat equals 0.444 per cent., as 0.20265 multiplied by 100 divided by 46.40625 equals 9.444 per cent. It is recognised that some of the losses have in practice occurred before that stage of manufacture has arrived for which later losses have been emulated. The variations thus caused are, however, of no practical significance for our purpo-e. as they affect j only the second place of decimals.