ON THE LAND

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1930, Page 16 (Supplement)

ON THE LAND

AUGUST FIELD NOTES

SEASON FOR HARROWING preparations for hoot crops. WORK BEEOIIE THE BUSY PERIOD. (Contributed by the Department of Agriculture, New Plymouth.) r J’his is the month when we hope to see signs of spring growth on the pastures,"and where sulphate of ammonia has been applied our hopes should be realised. One of the chief reasons for the use of this manure during late June and early July is to bring away feed early in the spring, and August is the month we hope to get this feed. It must be realised, however, that for any manure to promote growth at this time of the year the weather must be somewhat sympathetic, and it is hardly fair to expect any growth while this cold weather continues. Given a little sunshine, however, the pastures treated with sulphate of ammonia should, soon, start to move. Further top-dressing, can still be carried out,, but unless, a Very heavy flush growth is desired,the use’of quick acting manures during this month will only intensify Our troubles as far as dealing with the surplus grass on the grazing - areas is concerned, in th a later districts, however, the use of .super now will give'an curly growth. For autumn or summer growth the use of one of the slower acting manures used durincr August’should have the desired effect.

Harrowing should still be carried out, ! particularly s in the early districts where this operation has not yet been done. The question of junt 'how much harrowcan be done will be dependent upon time and labour, but all of the paddocks should get at least one good harrowing each season. It is not wise perhaps to do too many paddocks at once, for paddocks once given a thorough Jiarrowing are more or less non-produc-tive for a week or so following the harrowing, and if too much of the farm i*» done at one time of the year it leaves th ’ farmer short of grazing area. Where feeding out has “been done and there is a big °accumulation of droppings these <should be scattered by means of the chains or . tripods. This should bo carried out before the spring growth Marte, otherwise the paddocks will become socky right from the ' first grazing? There are nW: several good makes of harrows on the market, and the two main points a farmer must consider in buying a set of harrows are, firstly, to decide° that the harrows are capable of doing severe work, and, secondly, that the draught is within reason. VALUE OF ENSILAGE. The feeding out of hay and ensilage is still in full swing, and farmers who are feeding ensilage alone report that their cows are’ in good condition and are coming in well. It' is hoped to. collect some °dcfinite data on the /feeding oi ensilage .alone, and it would be Afi'i predated if farmers who have carripd; ,on this winter with -this fodder alone would send in their opinions of . the matter. If haymaking cun be dispensed with and all surplus, grass saved as ensilage the nightmare of ■ harvesting in Taranaki will vanish and the quality of the winter fodder greatly increase, for it must be admitted that our hay is far from good. Now is a good time to get the accumulation of dung from the sheds carted out. If mangolds or carrote are to be sown next season this material can be used to full advantage in this connection, but otherwise it should be carted out on to any weak pasture. Pasture o-rowth following a dressing of farmyard manure in not very palatable at lirst, but after a while the stock will clean it right up. Waste ensilage should be used on weak pasture for the same reason, rather than leave it at the stack site.

It is not too soon now during wet weather to commence overhauling harvesting gear, etc. Once the spring is

really with us, with its resultant rush of work, the overhauling of sweeps, lifts, mowers, etc. is inclined to be overlooked, with the result that unnecessary colay is occasioned in the harvest field. Water .troughs and water holes can 'also' do with a little attention at the. commencement of the season, for it is hot fully, recognii. ?d what a big part good drinking water plays in production. Where cropping, particularly with root crops, is being carried out it is not too early to get the land turned over. Two ploughings have a big effect on the crop, although in some country early cultivation may possibly increase weed trouble. If the sodium chlorate which is on order comes to hand the work of exterminating ragwort may be started straight away. BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ CLUBS. The competitions this season are for calf -rearing and root crop growing. With tlie°calves there are separate classes for grade heifer calves. In root avowing the crops selected have been mangokls and. swedes: with this latter it is hoped to introduce a variety experiment. Make arrangements to obtain a call as soon as possible, as the early calf thrives better than the late one and . usually comes out amongst the top ones in the competition. Pick one. from a good cow as there is a competition for dairy type in addition to that from condition'. Don’t be in too much of a hurry to take the calf from the cow. Let it run with its mother for 24 or 36 hours to ensure that it gets the fi oJcolostrum milk, which is essential if the calf is to become a thriving and healthy animal. Give it hew milk for at,least a fortnight and gradually change to skimmed milk by reducing the new milk and addin a tlie equivalent of skim milk. Feed °the calf three times daily if possible, and not more than 21 to 31b at a feed for the first ten days or tortnight. You can increase this amount ai-adually until it receives from 18 to 201 b daily, but be guided by its appetite, and' don’t overfeed. When the change trom the whole to skim milk is made, give the calf a little concentrates in the form of three parts crushed oats, two bran and two linseed meal. Take a handful of tills mixture and nut in a bucket when the milk is-finished, and increase the amount to 111 b or sc when the calf is 7 to 8 weeks old. Don’t keep your calf tied up too' long: let it run in a good paddock and make a rug out of a sack for use at night and In bad weather. If sio-ns of scouring appear, reduce your milk by 50 per cent.; give a dose of from 2 to .4 tablesDQOiis of castor oil, followed by lialf 'a .teaspoonful of chlorodyne twice daily -until, recovered. Now*is the time to pick your halt chain ' suuare for the root crop. Endeavour tn have the plot near the house so that you can 'spend spare half hours in it. and see that it is in a stock proo*. position. If dad has his cropping paddock handy try to get a piece of that, as he will take fine care his paddock is stock proof and your plot will be-safe.. Now remember that the winning plots fop the. last few seasons have been liberally 'treated with farmyard manure so get a barrow'if you cannot ge.u the’cart or sledge and take a dozen or so loads out into' your plot. There 13 no desperate hurry to get it for a week or two, so that one barrow load each ni»ht after school could be .taken out foAeveral days. Lastly don’t forget to make your entry in plenty of time.

feeding pigs.

VALUE OF WATER. A very interesting lecture on the scientific feeding of pigs was given at tlie Palmerston North Winter Show by Mr. J. McLinden, M-R.'C.V.S., of the Massey College staff,, Mr. McLinden dealt with the necessity of knowing what individual types of animals were composed of. lhi» was necessary in order that the requisite amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, etc., could be fed to them. Rational use of foods was one of the most important features. He traced the feeding of stock from the earliest times to the present day, and gave the results of analysis of foods made by chemists the illustrations being of a technical nature. . All coarse, fibrous materials, he contended, were injurious to the bowel tract of the pig. He emphasised the importance of fat. which was associated with starchy foods; ash contents of certain foods; bone formation, which was essential to the nutritive development of the pig; the need for study of the digestive capabilities, and the laying down of fat and flesh formation. Referring to water, Mr. McLinden said It was probably one of the most important foods one could give to a live animal. Even human beings could fast rrom food for a long time, but they could not exist long without water. ■ Mr. McLinden mentioned the danger or over-feedimr of roots to breeding sows; he would say that if too much were given it would probably result in deaths in the litter as the consumption of a large amount of such food in its cold state was injurious to the genital organs of the animal. Regarding the preparation of foods for use. he said there was nothing to be gained by boiling food for pigs, except potatoes, in which case the boiling served to burst up the starch granules and make, them more digestible. The damping ot food was commendable: but.it must bo onlj damp. Soaking of grain, etc., was advisable- so that the starch could be given a chance to burst the coat Ox the grain, but the fibrous nature of the latter was by no means good for pigs. Grinding of foods increased their. digestibility? but if it became costly it was uneconomic. . , The lecturer also dealt witn Aie variations of feeds, dry matter and tne use of separated milk. The last mentioned was highly nitrogenous and rich in ash, but there was no bulk to it; it was the same with whey, and unless the necessary amount of bulk was fed with them it was a wastage of effort. Brood sows, on the other hand, sometimes got ..too much bulk, such as. roots.- He mentioned that lucerne hay and ensilage were good for pigs. The boar could be given roots, but not too many in the. breeding season. • ■ <. • • •. • ;