AGRICULTURAL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13421, 19 October 1907, Page 3 (Supplement)

AGRICULTURAL.

A good deal of interest is bring centred in various uitthod* of dust-spraying in American. It b claimed that the dustspray is cheaper and much more easily applied than the ordinary sprays, but there has been sonic doubt whether they are as effective. At the American applegrowers' congrtes, which met in February at St. Louis. Mr A. L. Goodman, secretary of the Missouri Horticultural Society," and a large grower, said that many "of the growers in his district had been Ueting the dust-spray, and although it could not be positively be said it was equal to or better than the liquid, yet its application was so much cheaper that he had us»:d it on 4CO acres of bearing orhard. Tlw only question now is the dut>t, and when to use it. It was safer, more easily applied, cost less, took much kits time saved hauling large loads of water, and he had concluded to use the dust process altogether. He used lime. 201b; Fans green, lib: dry Bordeau, lib; sulphur, lib: and concentrated lye pulverised, lib. He had found the results justify iU> use in every instance where the work was ewll done. A California grower also reports success with dust-spraying for cqdlfn moth. He used 21b of Paris green to 50lb of lime dust. This amount he stated, will cover 100 15-year-old trees. He sprayed once with liquid when the apptef were the size of marbles, and three times afterwards with the dust-spray at monthly intervals. He reduced his percentage of grubby apples from 74 to 20 per cent. SEED POTATOES. The authorities of the West of Scotland Agricultural College have issued a bulletin containing" an exhaustive report by Principal Wright on a series of experiments conducted by the college staff in regard to the seeding of potatoes. The learned principal summarises his findings as follows : —l. That small, immature tubers are more readily destroyed by the potato disease than fully formed and mature tubers. 2. That large tubers planted whole give a larger total crop than any other kind of seed, but the increase uf crop obtained cannot be considered (sufficient in ordinary circumstances to repay the extra ccst of th;* large additional quantity of seed required. 5. That me-dium-sized tubers planted whole give larger crops than small tubers of "seed"' size, and, provided the cost of the "read per ton does not exceed the price obtained i for the crop when grown, the increase of crop should probably more than repay the extra expense of the greater quantity 1 of reed required. 4."That medithn-sized tubers planted whole give larger crops than the game tubers cut into "frets," yet the crops grown from cut sets contain a considerably greater proportion of tubers ! of large size.

THREATENED CATTLE FAMINE. I "The Dominion," the new Wellington journal, says that if the dairymen slaughter their calves at the rate they are doing i now, there will be a shortage of cattle in the North Island presently. The reason | why the calves are killed is that it pays to do so. Good dairy cows may Ik-bought |- for from £3 to £4, although it i.j admitted that- some go as high as £lO. Still, ■ the average is not more than £5. The l best dairy herd in the Forty-mile Bush, numbering 51 cow*, whose butter-fat returns averaged £l3 each for the season, was sold the other day at £7 IDs per head. It takes three years before a calf becomes reproductive, and in that timo 1 she ccsts her owner £5 10t> for her keep. If the farmer can buy dairy cows for from I £3 to £5 head, it is not likely that ( he will-go to the trouble of rearing th r m. As a matter of fact, calves to be brought up properly nowadays drink plenty of. milk. Milk means butter-fat, and butterfat means money. If some scientist could provide a calf-food, say, in tabloid form, * with all the nutriment of milk, the chances are that the calf would live, perhaps in time to become a happy moter. instead of being unceremoniously knocked on the head as at present. Pigs are fed on whey, for some time at least, but not calvts; and by keeping pigs the farmer utilises the waste products of the factoiy, where all his milk goes. A prominent sheepfarmer in the Wairarapa, who was; asked his opinion, admitted that- there might be a scarcity of beef if slaughter of calves continued; but he considered that in one way it was a good thing, owing to the fact that in numberless cases 1 the animals* were not- worth keeping. To keep them meant deterioration in the breed. Stationowners themselves, who bred carefully .for fat stock, destroyed calves which were of no account. Another point was that land in New Zealand, or rather land in many parts of New Zealand, was too valuable to be utilised only as cattle ranches. This might be a circumstance now, but before many yearn it would be a feature, and every acre would be used up for what it was really worth. \OLD COUNTRY FARMING. A New Zealander at Home, writing to tlhe "Farmers' Union Advocate,"' says:— I have recently made a journey from jy/tidon to Scotland, passing through Hertford, Bedford. Northampton, Leicester, Derby, Yorkshire, and Cumberland. There" is a charm about the English counties which we haven't got anywhere iu New Zealand. Although many of the tenants in the land may be in poor circumstances, there is no evidence of it like one sees among some of the struggling dairymen of our own country. One misses the untidy fences and temporary putbuildI ings of all kinds.so common in New Zealand, and over the whole country one as struck with the thorough'and complete, if costly, farming operations. Paddocks in cultivation beat anything I have seen in New Zealand, unless we! instance Longbeach. There seems to me only one way to represent them to New Zealandeni, and that is that they look exactly like the Chinamen's gardens of our own country, that we know so well. What struck me most was the .excellence of the swede crops. I have seen lots of hav and grass paddocks just as good in our own country. On the rougher high hills, the grass seems to by iu a very bad. rough state, and is in worse order than the "worst of our dantbonian hills. A } Nevr Zealand grazier would say at once that it should be eaten out- hard at ouee by cattle. The farmers here say that the cattle won't eat this rough grass, and that in any case they want some for the winter but it seemed "to me the country would carry many more sheep if grazed on different methods. The retiring president of the British Medical Association, speaking the other * dav at the annual meeting, said that one ( of "the great features of recent years was ' the lack of physical development- among the people, due to the adoption of machinery in place of hand labour. Th'w, I suppose, is true partly of fanning, but one notices everywhere a large number of men and women still doing all kinds of 1 manual work in the fields, and in a great many instances one sees small fields of hay being cut by hand. One hears so much about the purebred stock of England, that a visitor expects to see really good stock all over the country: but in the counties I have visited (and I have tried to keep my eyes open wherever I have been!, I do not think the average farm stock is any better, if

as good, as that in New Zealand. The teams in the agricultural districts do not compare favourably, to my mind, to of the southern districts of the South Island, but they all appear to bi kept in the pink of condition. TURNIP FEED FOR COWS. At the annual meeting of tthe Mangorei Co-operative Dairy Factory Company, Eginont, an interesting discusion arose as to the advisability of turning cows into turnip paddocks during the milking season. Mr Forrester said that he had always understood that cows should not be left on turnips for more than two hours in the morning after milking, otherwise the milk would be tainted. Cows should not be left on for more than two hours of the twenty-four. If the factory were to turn out tainted butter then one and all would suffer through the carelessness of a few.

The Chairman (Mr Arthur Morton) said lie was certain that if they took proper precautions in feeding cows on turnips they need not be afraid of any taint. Cows which were being milked once a day could be left on turnips until the afternoon, provided they were then put on hay; but for cow* which wore being milked twice a day from one to.two hours on turnip? immediately after milking, while the udder was <mpty, was sufficient. It was not the use- but the abuse of turnip feed that was the trouble.

A supplier said his cows had not been on turnips for more than two out of the twenty-four hours, but he had heard indirectly that the manager had complained that his milk was tainted. He (the supplier) denied the assertion and defied anyone to prove that hi? milk had been tainted.

Mr Price agreed with the chairman that turnips were not injurious if judiciously tared. TJia cows had fed on turnips for years with satisfactory results. They were however turned on to hay early in the day." Mr Herbert said that he had used turnip feed for several seasons with satisfactory results. One had to be careful, however, that cows did not get too much. He iiad found that a couple of hours on turnips in the morning after milking had not 4 the slightest effect on the milk. The Chairman said that in any case of alleged taint in milk the manager must be the sole judge. He thought that if suppliers bore that in mind (he disetvsion which had taken place would be produc lira of some good.

Mr J. Wingate, a settler of Longburn, who has just returned from a visit to the home of his youth, Lincolnshire. England, has an intsrosting experience to relate. Naturally great changes have taken place in England since he left it to take up the work of pioneering in this country, tilt tliera was one thing which in general had made, little advance, and that was agriculture. He was astonished to see the old wooden swing plough still at work, and mowing being done with,a- scythe, -which, if more picturesque than machine reaping, is decidedly not so economical. Of course labour, Mr Wingate points out, its cheaper in England than in the Dominion. Common farm workers can be obtained for as low as 2s a week, and 8s a week is considered a good wage. Good, strapping women ara working for £8 to £lO a year. Farmers generally in Mr Wingate's opinion, are not getting the return out of the land they should. Of course, farm rents are high, and the taxation burdensome, heaped by tithes and special rates. A.s a consequence the Engh'sh > farmer has a hard struggle to make both' ends meet, notwithstanding that he has the best market in ths} world at his door. Mr Wingate considers that two causes at the root of this unsatisfactory position are the refusal of the fanner to specialise and to enter into co-operative •movements. Thousands of acres of rural England are going to waste, and much of this land could be purchased for £lO to £l2 an acre, land which would be worth £2O to £3O in this countrv, and if the fertility were restored, up* to £4O to £SO in England itself. It was said to Mr Wingate in England thatcolonial farmers undersold the farmers of England, but Mr Wingate replied that the Home producer apparently made no effort to face the position. Certainly in New Zealand there was more natural fertility in the soil, and the English farmer was" labouring under the disadvantage of having to provide fertility; but, Mr Wingate was surprised to find the old sound system of thorough cultivation, for which English farmers were once famous, is giving place to a greater reliance on artificial manures, notwithstanding cheap and efficient labour.

The Canadian crop conditions are very precarious-. Reports collected from sixty points show that the yield of Southern Manitoba cannot exceed ten bushels per acre. Twelve bushels per acre are estimated for the rest of the province and Saskatchewan. Alberta promises well, but- is late. A practical lesson of the value of accurate weighing of each cow's milk and having separate tests recorded of each milch cow iu the herd was exemplified at the Crown Company's sale (says the "Opunake Times"), As each cow came under the hammer her capabilities were given in pounds weight of milk, and average test for the season. On appearance the cows did not look any better than those to I*> seen at the average clearing sale of dairy herds, but they sold higher. Ordinarily, cows that bring. from £6 to £lO sold from £lO to' £l7. Buyers knew what they were bidding for, and the productive value of the beasts. In connection with the vitality of ixeds (s»vs the "Farmers' Advocate") it has to be" remembered that a low weight per bushel means a poor germinating capacity, and less vigorous seeds. Twentytons of 61b cocksfoot will go no further than one ton of seed weighing 201b and then will not be so good, and the labour of sowing will be- so much greater. The inferior seed will still be the dearer, even if ihe price is only a twentieth of that ot the better seed. This is an extreme, but not an impossible case, and the same remarks applv more or less to all grass seetK and show tire mistakes which can be made if the seeds is bought by measure alone. • . About 200 Maoris from the Bay of Islands were landed at Tuparoa, Gisborne, by the Haupiri. It is understood that they have come to receive instruction in sheep farming and other classes of agricuiture,with the object of disseminating the knowledge acquired among the Ngapuhi native.:. Thousand-head kale has been extensively sown in various parts of Canterbury during the past three years, and it is beginning to be recognised as a most valuable fodder for lamb and ."-beep-fattening purposes. For early lamb-fattening purposes, the kale is usually sown in October and November, in a precisely similar manner as rape; and as a means of providing winter fodder, the kale is usually sown in Februaiy or March. Those who have experimented in sowing this class of feed have had good results when it has sown in conjunction with artificial niaiiurts. If t-l»e land is cold, superphosphates and bonedust ars considered the best manures, as they have a tendency to warm th* soil and promote rapid germination and growth. The kale can be fed off in the same manner as rape at

intervals, and those who have grown it sa\- that while it stands equally as much feeding off as rape, the risk of deaths in fattening lambs on it is minimised, as I hey do not gorge the kale as they do .rape, on account of it not bomg so sweet.' THOUSAND-HEADED KALE. Thousand-headed kale. is a forage crop that produces a large amount of feed, and, like cabbage, it possesses the merit of affording highly serviceable green feed at very different times of the year. It will keep well during frost, and in wetweather stock will thrive better on it than on turnips. It is a specially useful crop for sheep feed on lauds to which turnips do not take kindly. It is also good feed for milk cows. it should be sown during October and November, and . then again in February, although in favourable seasons it could no doubt be sown at intervals throughout the summer. Practical experience shows that the best results are obtained by drilling 21bs an acre in drills 14in. apart. It is slower in growth than rape, but can be fed off several times. A Pukekohe farmer, who has grown it somewhat extensively, states that he has found that,from 2cwt to 3 cwt. of super, and bones goes far to ensure a good crop. In view of the disease which made its unwelcome presence felt among the turnip, crops last year, farmers may do well to devote a portion of their usual turnip area to growing kale.

Professor Lowrie, of Lincoln College, has given some useful hints' on the cultivation of kale, and some extracts are taken from his valuable paper. The general name kale is applied to all open-head-ed cabbages as forage for stock. HDf these there are at least four varieties, of which the thousand-headed kale is the most generally all-round useful.- "All the kales are partial to fairly strong land, especially on limestone formations, but they do well on light limestone soils of even sandy loams. . . . Kale will not- do on land which is water-logged" in. the winter time. Wherever the water stands the kale dies out. As a forage crop kale compare favourably with the varieties of ra'pe. They will stand drought better; they are less liable to blight; they are healthier for stock, I have never known kale to injure stock, either sheep, or cattle, and I have frequently had to take lambs off rape when they begin to die from irritation in the intestines, and 2mt them on kale to recover . The value of the food from a fattening point of view .'. is scarcely so high as rape. Young stock will fatten on rape quicker, but wethers or two-tooths ceem to do as well on kale as they will on rape, and the percentage of deaths will always be lower. In fact, I do not know a forage crop that can be fed with such absolute safety as can a kale crop. Compared with'rape sown atthe same time, kale is some weeks later before it is ready for feeding, and one cannot feed it bare at any time without seriously injuring the plants and killing a big proportion of them. The stock-carry-ing capacity throughout the season on the college farm of kale is higher- than that of rape. I would not consider itadvisable, however, to let kale supersede rape altogether; I think it well to have a block of each, but to have twice the area of kale to that of rape. Rape starts lambs better, but year after year I have had to take lambs off rape feeding at the second time, because they' had begun to die on it-; while kale, at the different grazings, is as healthy as .it is in the first instance." Deep cultivation in the autumn and heavy manuring are necessary .to secure success. ..--Farmyard manure is highly appreciated by this crop. If artificial manure alone .is employed a higher percentage of- nitrogen is needed than is necessary for root crojis. Spscial manures are made np to suit the crop with 6 to 7 per cent, of nitrogen. The crop .is proportionate to the amount of manure used. "I sow the seed in rows 21in. apart, and use from 12oz to lib of seed pel* acre. The crop pays for horseshoeing in its earliest stages. Sown in October it would b 'a ready for grazing in March. Kale requires more judgment in the grazing of it- than does rape. Never at any time should it be fed so bare thafcthe sheep tackle the stems. I am aware that when grazing rams on it this cannot

be- avoided, as rams, when they, are familiar with the crop, tackle the heart first, then, eating the tops of the stems, drop the leaves. These leaves, however, they will take up very lai'gely .when somewhat wilted. As a rule, I think the best practice is to fence it in blocks, fencing the sheep off with nets —as one does with turnips—shifting, the nets forward as soon as the crop on the block is fed fairly' bare at the .leaves." The Ohristchurch correspondent of the "Pastoralists' Review" says that "Mr Buckley (Laglunor Estate) put through the Christchurch Meat Company's Islington Works for export a line of 3085 ewes, averaging 701b freezing weight. The sheep were between eight and nine week? on kale before 'tbeing sent to Islington. The manager grows a large breadth of this fodder plant, and is most successful with both sheep and lambs fattened on it." " ,