Agricultural.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13337, 13 July 1907, Page 2 (Supplement)

Agricultural.

RUINED BY WEEDS. It is appalling when on-.>. thinks of the ; amount, ot damage which has beui brought to the vegetation of entire countries by neglect or carelessness. Homo countries have, so much vitality that they soon recover from any number of scourges, while oihurs are devastated for ever. What is now the great desert of Sahara was- onccv in part- a great forest. This was in the days of the C'arthagfnians, who cut. down the trees to be used for fuel and building purposes. Corn was planted in tlie place of the forest trees. This was the state of affairs when the Romans came into this country, and they in turn continued this work of destruction :till the forests almost disappeared and the land for mites around was a barren waste. Year after year and century after century the. whole of' North Africa was inundated by floods, which washed the soil from the hills, and swamped the valleys. The plain, which is now the Sahara desert, had ntf trees which could absorb the moisture, and let it gradually find its way to the sea, so the water ran quickly from its barren soil, and left it a sandy waste scorchrd by the sun. This mistake was not one of the past from which we have learned a valuable lesson, for even in this enlightened age the error is often repeated. Nations cut down valuable forests and leave the land to the mercy of the winds and storms. Enormous tracts of the finest grazing land in Tasmania have been ruined by the growth of. .sweet briar and gorse, and' Tasmania has losfthe use of its finest river by the spread of water cress planted years ago by. an enterprising farmer, and allowed to go unchecked. The Argentine Republic sufibred the loss of hundreds of-thousands of its most valuable grazing acres through the ravage.? of the European.thistle.. The seeds; were imported in the cheap wheatwhich has been bought for planting, and the farmers not taking the t'ouble to sift the. ..wheat from the thistle seed before planting, sowed a crop, which has been the ruin of their fields. The harm was planted beyond remedy when the wheatwas put in the ground, for the wheat,fields were soon covered with a dense growth of thistles, and the land, had to be abandoned. Tfc is now an impenetrable thicket, which harbours wild birds: arid beasts of-prey. Grazing lands of. Australia were sown with, ruin in much, the'same way. 'Less than fifty years ago a large number of Indian bred ponies were imported from Patagonia. In the long hair of their coats were hidden the seeds of the hated Bathlirst weed, which soon took root in the Australian'soil,'and spread rapidly, utterly ruining the .pastures. '"■■'" New Zealand, may well be added to.the list of countries which have- suffered, loss from the introduction of noxious weeds, ft inay be safely affirmed that the productive capacity of this colony has been reduced by 20 per cent.

WATER-LOGGED BUTTER. The-statement of the Minister, of Agricultiira- at the 'National''Dairy Show Conference that prosecutions had arisen in London mil. nf Neve Zealand butters containing foreign fat and an abnormal -percentage of water, should, says the "N.Z. Times." set dairy factory directorates thinking. The former occurrence i* undoubtedly the result of fraudulent practices at the Home end, and tho' latter—especially as it is not a solitary instance—is of the greater concern to the butter producers of the State. Though there are manufacturers who may regard the loading of butter with water as a legitimate undertaking,; the cause of the trouble in the instances under notice who probably due to a "week system of manufacture existing in poorly-equipped factor- , ies in this country. In the absence, of mechanical refrigeration, and the means thus provided of reducing temperatures, it is a simple matter pertaining a high percentage of water without its presence being disclosed as free moisture. And we believe this has been the cause of the - 'present regrettable cases of water adulteration discovered in New Zealand butter on the - London market. As the''.average water content of the best of oiir butter is about 11 per cent., and as the adulterated butters • must -have contained from 16 to 26 per cent, or over, it will be seen that a great danger is'.threatening the industry. For many years New Zealand butter was regarded as one of the driest butters sold on the Home markets. We are standing a good chance of losing this reputation. What is required is ah amendment of. the Dairy Industry Act in .the direction of fixing a limit of water which a New Zealand 'butter can contain before it may ba shipped out. of the country./ At presentthere is nothing to prevent butter from containing "any abnormal percentage* of water being sent away, though Canada and •the States have a legal standard of 16 per cent., and several other countries •exporting to Britain have a maximum water content fixed by the law. ' With a'standard fixed and power to examine and seize- pareel? exceeding the legal limit, New Zealand' milkers would be forced to exercise proper cars in manufacture, and keep their overfun down" to an honeet limit.

A FINE COW. I In the high-grade Jersey herd of Mr H. Exlev,"a''progressiva farmer in the ! Hawera district, there, is a cow, Primrose, which during the past season has given over 5001b of butter-fat and over 9001b for the past two seasons. As the factory Mr Exlev supplies, the Riverdale cheese 'factory, ' will'pay out this season Is lid for butter-fat, this fine cow will return her own'or £2B. Primrose is not only a great performer in butter-fat production, but she is noted in the, show ring. And here a "great lesson is taught m regard to judging of pure-bred dairy stock. Primrose lias been champion at Hawera and. Manaia as a Jersey cow, but last year lost, this distinction at Hawera because ah© wa* dehorned, though she defeated every cow in her class on breed and dairy poirt.-. The absurdity of tins is shown when it is remembered that if judged on points the horns should count only half •i point while the udder—in which Primrose is 'remarkably strong—counts 84 out of the total of 100. It is a striking instance, of fancy points being put before utility points, and of the need of the introduction of a system of judging on points,.

THISTLE ENSILAGE. Fur many years past Mr Argyle McCallum, a. well-kiyawn farmer and. grazier on the Murrumbidgee, has been pointing out to stock owners in New South Wales the splendid results obtained from thistle ensilage. It is now becoming a general thing to have the thirties cut and stackedl for ensilage. Two vears ago Mr V.'. A. Kobinson, of Kimo Estate, Gundagai, had a lares quantity of variegated thistle (which grows wrv luxuriantly in good season on the Murrumbidgee flats, on portions of the ertate) cut and stacked for ensilage Iwo large stacks, estimated to contain 200 tons and herbage had up to a fow weeks ago been fairly plentiful on the estate, there was no occasion to fall back on'the tlurt.e ensilage. A small quantity was taken from it and it was pronounced excellent. A) start, was then made to feed the Point/ dairv cows \m the ensilage. One stack was*opened, and found to be in excellent condition. The ensilage was cut in blocks. Tt had set splendidly, is as green as a leek, and verv nutritious. All the Kimo dairy stock are at present being fed on it.

It. is. M sweet .and succulent that the cows devour it. greedily. About live cartloads are givvii to them daily, and a wry perceptible increase is noticeable since the ensilage fe-.ding begun. The cost of cutting and ■■ .-tacking'the tliislk-s is estimated at somewhere about 2s 3d per ton. There was a gv.od deal of waste in the making, but that is. always inevitable v.ha-e thistks aiv concerned.—("Town and Country.") (N.B. —The variegated thistle of Victoria is a very different thing from the spiny varieties known htr:. The Victorian thistle iv MUgge.tive of a thorny cabbage. AMERICAN EXPERIENCES WITH MILKING MACHINES. Last June wo ordered four LawrvnceKennedy milking machines, arid we have bsen using them every day since they were installed. We did our own piping, etc., and found it was not hard to erect. Th's firs-: two or three days were, "strenuous" day?, as it was " new business" to all concerned : but an soon as the cows learntd that the machines would not hurt them they took to them very kindly, and the 1 flow nf milk on the same feed increased 22 quarts at th.% end of the first week. S WV raised all our cows, and they Wvi'-f used to being handled, which was an advantage. It is all the same, if we milk from cither side. When we start milking a fresh heiside . When we .start milking a fresh hri- . long hose on teat cups and set the''machine at the second stanchion cock, instead of tln» one next to ;lhe heifer, thus avoiding all '.complications that might happen from fright or nervousness;. After three or four milkings we have no trouble. Wo use steam power, and to sterilise utensils and blow out relief and escapement, valv'.r>, thus keeping them open and fi« at all times. With u? it is very necessary that the teat cups of the proper size, just, small enough to hold tin* teat without, squeezing it shut, be used. We work the udders and pull the teat cups loose- a little two or three times at .each milking, and our' cows are milked clean without stripping. To do this thoroughly one man can attend to three milkers'. If „you wish to strip and rush it, oris man can handle four. only breakages we had had are the small escapement springs, which cost about'one cent each. Our. machines are not showing any wear that I can see. Cows that objected to hand milking stand perfectly contented with the machines. Some of .our cows "owned" the machine and licked it, and turned faucet that shut off air, which caits?ed teat clips to fall off, at which they bawled, asking as plairily as they could, "What is the matter with my tin calf?" We> had to chain them from .chain ties to swing stanchions; now they'cannot reach theni, but bawl,". and milk starts when they see them coming-. ' 'We ; have no trouble from sour milfcv The milk is much cleaner, scarcely anything showing in the strainer, which is-'cheese cloth tind absorbent cotton'.'—" Hoard's Dairvmttri." MONEY IN FLAX. ' Flax is becoming a' more and more important crop every year in the North Isltrid. A flax enthusiast told an: Auckland journalist that Auckland had a "] superb source of wealth lying' idle in its great swamps in the growing of "Why," said he, "you only want your' East Coast and your North Piako swamp lands drained to produce magnificent crops of flax. Now, take the '■ case of a : man owing !>ome■'* of that sort of swamp. Let him drain th.* swamp and the flax springs up at once, and 'at an ordinary rate of royalty he would have a return of at least- £4 per acre per annum, "and that is allowing for the flax only being cut once in-four years, whereas the usual estimate is three year?. Any decoct countiy will carry from 15 to 30 tons per acre of flax, and the present royalty is £1 per ton, so you that . the flax, which the settlers used to burn out of the way taice as an encumbrance to the ground is one of our most valuable crops. Again, in the Northern Wairha there is any amount of flax land.'- /The Raupo lands are an example of what happens when a swamp is drained. Ten or eleven years ago ihe -Government purchased the.Raupo lands for 7s 6d per acre, spent, I should think, not more than £1 per acre in drainage, and leased them at £2O 10s per acre, and now you would have to pay from £6 to £l4 per acre on top of the Government price to get hold of that land." The " N.Z. Times" reports that there was sold by private treaty the week before last a flax' property at Kereru at a sum which gives a fair idea of the great wealth in the native product. The property comprises 450 acres, 100 acres of which i» waste, and the purchasing price was £3210s per acre. About nine years ' ago itchanged hands at £7 an acre. Tt is stated that for a run of eight or nine months during the past season the miller leasing the '.property paid in rent and in royalty for the flax from 80 acres £1750. The rent was £52 arid the balance was royalty. Thus the owners received a royalty of £22 an acre for a native product growing in a swamp and never cultivated. Of course, the flax can only be harvested every threo years, but even then it is a, wonderful revenue from a product upon the production of which nothing has been expended..

Many farmers do not appreciate llie necessity of giving their milch cows protection from the inclemencies of the weather. The good dairy cow is a highly organised creature, with nerves which are verv susceptible to sundden or severe weather. One night, or even a few hours of oold rain, causes an enormous shrinkage of milk. Food comfort, and contentment are the prime 1 factors in successful dairying, and it is not too much to say that comfort i* the primest factor. To feed well but disregard the bodily comfort of al cow is to court and ensure disappointment. A cow will f>il to elaborate a full supply of milk if she is wet or /-hivering from cold, no mattev how generously sh<> is fed. Interviewed by a Wairarapa correspondent, a prominent daily farmer in that district slated that present land values were not warranted by the results, and another point was that sales vow all made on paper. The terms of recent land sales under auction, he said (10 per cent, down, 10 per cent, in twelve months, 10 per cent, in two years, and the balance at 5 per cent, for five year?), has been used hk a, lever by possible buyers in other quarters with astonishing results to the vendor, who was expecting record prices and any amount of cash down. It appears that the farmer himself had had an offer of £SOOO for his property, but when it came to business, the prospective purchaser was able to offer the "plank down " £l5O. It is hardly necessary to state that no business was done. 'The dairv farmer cited other cases where deals had be.n made by tb? vendors accepting a. small portion of the purchase money, but at a .substantial rate of intewt. those who w,:iv buying did so mainly owing to the record pries which wtre being paid for produce. They could afford a heavy rental, so long as the prices kept up. but if th;re came a. decrease the collapse would be of a pronounced description. It nwii to be considered that the feeding of cattle was the all-important thing. That had changed now. and it was recognised the important thing was to eliminate from the herd the unprofitable animals.