ON THE LAND

Taranaki Daily News, 8 May 1930, Page 19

ON THE LAND

FARMING GUM LANDS. SCHEME FOR SETTLEMENT. ’’ The Puwera experimental, farm, near Whangarci, where the breaking-in of guni lands for farming has been tested, was inspected by the Hon. G. W. Forbes, Minister of Lands and Agriculture, on Saturday. As a result of the experiments it is considered that there are possibilities of economically developin'* gum lands of the type existing in that district, and an opportunity is to be given for the land to be taken up. Within the next two months the Otaika block, of about 2500 acres, divided into 14 sections, .is to be opened for selection on easy conditions. The experimental farm consists of 120 acres, ranging from flat to easy hills. It is fenced into 22 subdivisions of varying size. It is carrying 45 dairy cows, 8 yearlings, 2 bulls, 10 calves and 2 horses, approximately equal to a cow to acres.

Inadequacy of the water supply is to some extent hampering the working of the farm. This, and trouble which has been experienced with a proportion of the cows, makes it difficult to quote butter-fat returns as an accurate indication of the productivity of the pastures which have been established. ■Water supply is one of the chief problems which will have to be overcome in connection with the opening of adjacent areas for settlement, and the Lands Department is considering steps which may be taken to solve it. The records of the work which lias been -ca<ried out at Puwera were produced and explained to the Minister by Mr. G. Hamblyn, the Agricultural Department’s instructor for the district. By examination of the pastures Mr. Forbes was able to judge the results of varying methods of cultivation, grassing and manuring. One paddock, 2.7 •acres in extent, was shown to have carried rather better than a cow to the acre under rotational grazing.

So far as treatment and enrichment of the soil is concerned, phosphate was stated to be overshadowing lime. Although the land requires lime it has been found that it does not pay to use lime in the early stages, at least. One paddock was shown as a striking example of the value of the use of nitrogen plus phosphate. Three applications of nitrogen, costing about 36s an acre in all, had been given to onelialf of an area which was sown in grass 10 years ago, after undergoing extensive cultivation during the previous two years. It was stated that even one application, of nitrogenous manure, costing about 12s an acre, effected a noticeable improvement in the pasture.

SUPPRESSION OF WEEDS. EFFECT OF FERTILISERS. The most usual way in which manures favour the suppression of weeds Is by enabling good smothering crops to be grown. A well-measured dressing of nitrogenous manure will often enable a good plant so to fill out and cover the ground that few weeds can make headway below it. The “scorching” action of most soluble fertilisers when left in contact with the leaves of crops, observed, for example, when topdressings of nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia have lodged on the tops of mangel or sugar beet, has also been turned to account in combating weeds. The effect consists in the abstraction of water from the leaf cells by the strong solution which is formed when the fertiliser dissolves in a trace of moisture on the surface of the leaf. If a sufficient leaf area is damaged in this way the plant is killed.

A special grade of finely divided kailit is used for this purpose, says the British Journal of Agriculture.” It is | best applied as a dust cloud while the leaves are covered with dew and hot weather is likely to follow. This can i be done even when the weefi is growing, in corn, for the upright waxy leaves of the.cereals suffer little permanent damage from the treatment. A strong solution of sulphate of ammonia has been used to some extent for the same purpose, but applied as a liquid spray in bright weather. A further ease is the utilisation of the caustic properties of calcium cyanide. The bad effect of this manure on germinating seedlings, guarded against as far as the crop is concerned by applying it a few’ days .'before the sowing, no doubt eliminates a number of weeds whose seeds happen to be' at a vulnerable stage. Moreover, the burning effect of this fertiliser on foliage is used against chgrloch and other ' wedds ' in' corn by broadcasting dusty cynaniidc, by means of a •‘■blower” or ■ dry . sprayer, • under the same conditions as are required for kainit. Tn addition to damaging weeds these subsjlances also exert a good'measure of their usual fertilising effect; which' may in itself'justify their application.

disease in pigs. TREATMENT OF MANGE. Mange in pigs is fairly common, especially where the quarters are not. kept in a sanitary condition. . It is caused by minute mites which burrow under the skin, propagate and produce a local skin irritation ami itchiness. It invariably commences under the ears and around the eyes, and extends to the withers and croup, and along the inner surface of the thighs and later over the whole body. There is severe local itchin-gs, accompanied by patches of scale, which form scabs of cnistlikc masses. Occasionally bleeding is observed. The skin becomes wrinkled and the hair is shed. The surface becomes covered with a grey dusty powder. The continuous itching 1 hinders fattening and gradually causes wasting. ‘ It is contagious and can be transmitted to humans as well' as to domestic stock. The disease is' encouraged by foul and insanitary surroundings. Animals low in condition are mere liable to be at* tacked. It is more common in young ■pigs and in white pigs. On removal of

the scale by washing, the mite can be detected. • Tse first, operation is to get the scabs and scales removed by thorough washing with warm water and a good antiseptic soap. If the hardened scabs are difficult to soften and remove, washing soda may be dissolved in water. After exposing the surface infested with the antes, apply mange ointment on the affected parts. As a-- rule, three applications —one each day—are quite sufficient to effect a cure. The sites and yards should be thoroughly cleansed and lime-washed. The addition of six ounces of carbolic acid to every three gallons of lime-wash will kill disease germs and give the building a strong odour that will help in keeping flies away from them.

“PEDIGREE GRASSES.” . EXPERT’S INTERESTING THEORY. An interesting, and-at the same time arresting, conclusion is arrived at' by Mr. A. H. Cockayne, the well-known grassland expert, in an article in the April issue of the New Zealand Journal of Agriculture. Mr. Cockayne asserts that one of the biggest factors in the future development of farming within the Dominion will be the attention given to the actual strain of the pasture grasses. In other words, he maintains that pedigree is just as essential in pasture grasses as it is in ca'ttle if the best results are to be obtained. Investigation is already being carried out along this line in New Zealand at the Government’s Research Plant Station. It has been shown there quite clearly that the running out of. pastures is due very largely to the types sown being of a bad or non-permanent character and that, when leafy per-, sistent tyes are used, all those methods of modern management leading to higher production are rendered more .efficient and economical. So far as perennial ryegrass is concerned, the work is well advanced and other grasses and clovers are being brought under study. The pedigree grass, capable of maximum returns under hard stocking conditions, contemplated by what has been termed rotational grazing, Is really as essential as pedigree stock if anything like full utilisation of grass growth is to be realised, states Mr. Cockayne. Recognition of this fact, and the application of that recognition, is destined to play an even more important role in New Zealand grassland management than any’of the milestones which have been passed in the history of the Dominion’s farming operations. Failure to establish high-class permanent pasture, even on first-class land after the land has 'been ploughed; has been all too common in New Zealand and has led to the idea that it is; generally better to improve existing grassland by liberal management than by renewal. This idea has been perfectly sound where the seed mixtures used, although permanent in name, have been or arc temporary in effect. 'So soon, however, as reliability, can be given to the strain and real leafy permanence to the seed, very large areas of present permanent established pasture of inferior composition will be renewed, with astonishing results as far as production economy is concerned. Improvement in grass and clover strain and improvement in stock attuned to grassland management conditions—all of which are being rapidly developed and applied—make it clear that, grassland products will enormously increase in the near future and the estimate of a doubling of our production within a very short time is likely te become a reality, states Mr. Cockayne.