ON THE LAND

Taranaki Daily News, 3 October 1929, Page 19

ON THE LAND

FIELD NOTES FOR OCTOBER. AWAITING FRESH GROWTH. CONTROLLING THE PASTURES. (Department of Agriculture, New Plymouth.) Farmers are still awaiting that springlike weather with its fresh growth <f ■young grass which is now well overdue. Odd days of warm rain have been experienced but the hopes have been dashed to the ground by the heavy winds following such favourable periods. Hay, ensilage and root crop supplies are now, in many cases, getting low, and unless favourable .growing conditions are experienced during the. next, few weeks things will bo serious. PASTURE’S. • While ihe trouble just now is lack of growth, this month will probably see this state of affairs more or less reversed. and it is hoped that towards the end of the month a difficulty will be experienced in controlling the pastures. It is important that pastures should be controlled during tho flush periods of growth, otherwise they get rough and deteriorate, and this lack of utilisation means that the money spent in topdressing is not being fully recouped. No doubt a big area on each farm will oe shut up for. hay . and ensilage at this period of the season, but even then, it is sometimes difficult to control the remainder of the pastures by stock alone. Further sub-division of paddocks'Ws a thing that must be given more attention in tho. near future in Taranaki, as by this means pastures ean be more easily controlled, and kept in that young succulent/ and highly nutritious condition. With the small farms increasing in number each year small paddocks and rota- . tional grazing must come into their own if high production is to be the, qrder of the day. RESULTS OF TOP-DRESSING. Results • from top-dressing fertilisers should now be apparent, and experimental strips should be closely watched. Areas being closed for hay or ensilage could be given an extra dressing of say 2cwt super and lewt sulphate of ammonia just prior to closing. Any topdressing from now on for immediate growth should be done with super, although for autumn growth one or other of . the slower acting fertilisers could be used. CROPPING. The sowing of . mangolds .and carrots will start towards the end of the month, although some crops will probably be sown earlier. These early sown crops, however, unless in sheltered positions, are usually no further ahead of tho early November sown ones by Feb-, ruary or .March, and in many instances early sown areas have to be resown at a later date. Plenty of consolidation, of the seed bed is an essential factor in cropping; a loose seed bed is a poor seed bed, and is often responsible for allegedly poor seed. Seed going into firm soil germinates quicker and the plants will stand any unfavourable weather conditions that may happen along better. A gale on a loose seed bed plays havoc with the seedling plants. The varieties to use does not entail any difficulty. With mangolds Prizewinner is the best cropper, and, as a rule, the best disease resister. Red Intermediate is another good cropper, while Jersey Queen, Long Red, Orange Globe and White Sugar are all good varieties. Witli carrots Matchless White is a good cropper, as are also Holmes Improved and Barribal, where these varieties are procurable. Guerande for the sheep farmer, for grazing purposes, is a good variety, and a splendid cropper for a shorthorn carrot. It is quite a good plan' to sow more than one variety of either carrots or mangolds, a case of not “having all your eggs in one basket.” Manuring with these crops should be liberal; as a rule the acreage in either of these crops 1 is not large, so that six or eight cwt. of manure per acre would not be a great expense. On the other hand, if this weight of manure increased the yield only by. say three tons .per acre it would pay for itself, and the probability is that it would .increase the ; ‘eld by some 10 or 12 tons. Phosphates must form the base of the manuring, and super should be the chief ingredient of any mixture. A little medium slow acting manure for topping off the crop is also advisable. A mixture that is recommended is on of three parts of super, one part Nauru or North African phosphate, and one part bonedust, with a cwt or two ol KHnit, or salt in the case of mangolds. Wliile the use of potash is recommended in some quarters tho deparment’s trials have not yet shown that its use is advantageous. Although. manuring is now an essential part of cropping, let it not be thought for a minute that manuring can take the place of thorough cultivation. Thorough cultivation without manure would probably give better results than ample manure and poor cultivation, but let the aim be both good cultivation and ample manuring. Soft turnips and chou moellier may also bo sown this month, but the time for sowing, these will be dependent upon the time they are required for feeding. For chou moellier a little nitrogenous manure (say blood and bone) could advantageously be included in the manure. Lucerne paddocks will now be beginning to make growth, and in the more favoured localities a cut may even be obtained towards the end of the month, that is where oats have been sown through the lucerne and ensilage is being made. A cultivation after this cut and a dressing of super will do much to liven up the stand. BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ CLUBS. The mangold seed and manure will be out to the schools shortly after the middle of the month, and you can go ahead with the sowing during the last week of October and up till the middle of November. Get your plot well worked down and. rolled or otherwise consolidated; you will see by the farm notes that a loose seed bed is to be avoided. As you will not be drilling the seed but sowing by hand a loose seed bed will probably mean that the seed will be sown too deep, and you will then blame the seed, the birds, grubs or something else for the non-appearance of the young plants. You are again getting two varieties for trial purposes. The swede seed will not be sent out till later,

as this crop will not be sown until December. An instructor from Uie department will bring the seed and manure round and will give you a talk on the sowing, etc., so get any questions you have ready for him. Most of tho competitors in the calf rearing competition will now probably be changing over from whole to skimmed milk, and they are advised to .keep a close watch for signs of indigestion, as this is the critical time in a calf’s life. Now is the time to get some additional feed in way of concentrates, and nothing is better than crushed oats, linseed meal, and a little bran given after the milk is finished, starting with a small handful and increasing it to from one to two pounds per day. Let your calf have a good range on the best and cleanest pasture you can find, and don’t forget to 1 see that it has access to plenty of clean water. Make a rug for your calf, and use it during cold weather, but rcmovq, it during the day time, and give it a good brushing once or twice a week. The supervisors will be calling on you shortly to mark your calves, and it is hoped that you have them ' sufficiently trained to enable him to catch them a case you, are not at home the day he calls. ; , ■ jnE PRICE OF LAND. THEN AND NOW. The following are some of the prices realised .at a sale of country , lands held at Patea ,on bphalf of the Government on June .25, 1873. The. prices realised .were fiom less than £1 an acre up to £6, very .few realising the latter amount. The value ,of, properties that realised less than ,,£l , per acre to-clay is in the neighbourhood . of £BO per acre( says the local Press) . Thos. Bayly, 250 acres, £lB7 10s. J. Paterson, 63 acres, £269 17s Gd. R. Sangster, 36 acres, £2O Is 6d. R. N. Hawes, 250 acres, £lO6 ss. J. Mitchell, 368 acres, £ll6O 15s 6d. R. Bramwell, 200 acres, £6Ol 10s. P. Bourke, 232 acres, £937 15s. J. B. Walkington, 18 acres, £3B 8s 9d. J. lon, 30 acres, £34 10s. A Bremer, 51. acres, £lOB 7s 6d. J. Cheyne, 235 acres, £766 3s 9d. J. She i Id, 175 acres, £552 16s 6d. Morton and Lupton, 40 acres, £135. J. Dickie, 10 acres, £52 10s. D. S. Taylor, 217 acres, £B4O. Jas. Bull, 320 acres, £520. W. Alanson, 1. acre, £5 12s 6d. J. Alexander, 1 acre, £5 2s 6d. John Fyfe, 10 acres, £62 10s. W. Milne, 16 acres, £3B 15s. C. Thomas, 100 acres, £155. A. and O. Symes, 55 acres, £123 15s.