Rural Notes.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13991, 28 August 1909, Page 3 (Supplement)

Rural Notes.

(By Koradi.)

SOIL FERTILITY. I noticed ill a paper the other (lay that someone had said that Certain lands had depreciated in value by so much an aero because a few crops had been taken off. This is a. very common belief, and one that lias a, small but a. very small degree of truth in it, that is if proper and good farming has taken place. In New Zealand farm property during the past lew years has been steadily rising in value. In Canterbury it lias probably been going up, in some fertile districts, at the rate of about £1 per acre each year for the past ten years, yet during that time the products of the land have been increasing in quantity, and the fertility of weir farmed lands is just as great as it was when the turn for the better took place. Of course the gradual rise in value has not been wholly due to the inherent quality of the land. Other factors have been at work, closer j settlement, cheap money, and iucieased value of produce are among them. Hut , the fact that continued cropping has J taken place has not tended to reduce the value by any means. Most farmers will say that land that has been well treated is more capable of grow ing good crops than ever it was. Last year the yield per acre in wheat and oats was one of the best i the country has ever seen, and best the country has ever seen, and the land this yield was got from is just as good as ever. No doubt the dry summers we have had have done a> great deal towards keeping and putting the land in good heart, and the application of fertilisers, improved cultivation, and mixed farming have also helped. Docs continuous cropping in itself reduce the fertility of the soil in a great degree. Let us 'look at the matter. One authority says that a crop of 50 bushels of corn per acre removes 961 bs of nitrogen, 331bs of phosphoric acid, and 68 lbs of potash per acre. A liav crop of 11 tons of hay per acre removes 35lbs of nitrogen,' 7lbs of phosphoric acid and 391bs of potash. AVheat at an average, yield of 14 bushels per acre takes out of the soil 331bs of nitrogen, .lOlbs of phosphoric acid, and 171bs of potash. Now what amount of these plant foyds does average land contain per acre! The quantity lias been put down at the large total of 4000lbs of nitrogen, 60001bs of phosphoric acid, and 20,0001bs of potash, and all those quantities in the upper eight inches of soil! Then there is the subsoil, which may also be made to yield plant foods. A comparison of the quantity of plant food in the soil, and the quantity removed by crops would lead one to suppose that continuous cropping could co on for hundreds of years without removing all the plant food, even if no fertilisers were added. Hut unfortunately all this vast store of plant food is not available, and it very often happens that crops make a very heavy drainage upon the available plant foods. In order to make these huge quantities of foods available or soluble the physical condition of the soil must be improved and that improvement must take place by better cultivation, good drainage, a proper rotation of ."•rops, green manuring and tile application of manures. -a Crops are not alone in carrying off plant food. Last July twelve months a. heavy downpour of rain washed gutters in hillsides and removed a lot of the most fertile top soil. Very often land situated . just under mountain ranges is -most tortile owing to soil being washed down from the hill sides. This loss by scouring is difficult to prevent on hilly . cultivated land. Land worked down very fine washes away the worst and various expedients are used in some countries to prevent this loss by erosion. In open, light shingly soils a good deal of plant food, especially nitrogen is washed right through the soil and lost, especially in land that is being fallowed. I will close this note with a lew words about artificial manure in regard to maintenance ot fertility in the soil. Manuring must not take the place ot .cultivation. In fact it is absolutely wasteful to apply manure without first of all working the ground thoroughly. Cultivation stimulates the activity ot many agents which go towards making a soil fertile, moreover it conserves moisture, allows air to get into the soil, sets up ferments which act on the manures aiul makes them nutritive to plants, and gives the roots a change to spread more freely, and water to mo\c more freely. Manuring and thoioug.i cultivation must go together. Professor Lowrie in a recent article gives a few hints on manuring lor various crops, hints from his experience on Lincoln College Farm. Me recommends the following:—AMteat.—l* to 2cwts per acre' of superphosphate or basic slag. When growing wheat after wheat supperphosphate and dried blood 2 to 1, or superphosphate and special kale manure, half and half. Harlcv.—About 2001 bs of superphosphate. .. Pease and Vetches.- —1.1 to 2cwts superphosphates,- mixed with wood es as far as this last is obtainable, and ijewts of ground quick lime applied before sowing. Turnips.—l.l to 2cwts of superphosphate mixed with a little wood ashes, or lewt of superphosphate and 1 to lewt of basic slag blended immediately before sowing, or <m very open thin soils, .'..lewt dried blood and liewt oi superphosphate. II ape. —2cwts of special kale manure —a blend of superphosphate. It'Uie oust and dried blood made up liv the meat companies. . Mangolds. —•! to -lewts per acre ol a mixture of the following in tlic.se proportions: —dried blood 8 parts, superphosphate 3 parts, bone dust 1, kainit 4, and sulphate of potash I in the case of mangolds alter lea, kale manure and kainit 3 to 1, or thereabout. "Such manuring, says I rolcssoi Lowrie, "will, in a. very few .v';-"'* bring a farm up to the fullest fertility,* when the amount applied can be gradually reduced to half the quantity or thereabout. Of course many considerations must modify the applications, out chielly the. character of the cropping and the proportion of grass on the farm. Permanent pastures will respond profitably to a top pdrc.s.sing of basic slag. The manure bill on a farm ol acres under the indicated practice v ill range from £ir>o to £2OO per annum, but the increased returns due to the outlay will amount to more than double these' figures, and tb'e farm will be from year to year gaining in fertility. Like the rest of us Professor Lowrie found that superphosphate proved the most profitable manure to use —a fact borne out in the Pareora co-operative turnip experiments. hat is a very good thing because nitrogenous manures are expensive to buy. The growing of leguminous cropS is the best way to supply nitrates to the soil.

NOTES ON CULTIVATING. A good deal of the work of spring consists in cultivating the soil after it has been ploughed. It has been truly sad that "the best of ploughing is : but the beginning of good tillage. Spring cultivation takes the form of preparing the land to receive the seed to be sown therein. After the crop has conunenced to grow tlie land hi list be. still worked, to kill weeds and to conserve moisture.

Harrowing is the earliest form of cultivation, and it is used to pulverise the soil and make it fine enough to receive seed. It likewise kills or checks weeds. aln dry farming it is also -gone of the main methods of v retaining the' moisture on the ground by forming a soil mulch on tho surface. In stiff, clay soils a too frequent use of cultivating implements often renders the ground too fine, and it runs together when rain comes. The favourite cultivating implement in Canterbury is the spring tooth harrow, or cultivator, as it is now generally termed. They have to a certain extent superseded disc harrows,' and arc used very largely instead of tine harrows. They leave the soil in a" lighter condition than ordinary tines, and they go iu Disc harrows are useful in breaking down the land preparatory to using tines and cultivators, and are very good on lea land as they do not pull the grass upward to the same extent as spring tino cultivators. i f Clay land should not be, harrowed and worked while it is wot. If the ploughing has a wet, glazed appearance the land may be taken as being too wet. On the other hand, a delay .in harrowing often means that water has evaporated, which might have been saved had a few strokes of the tines been given.

Cultivating must be resorted to rn order to kill and keep down weeds. The early part of the season is the best time to get at the weeds, and if success in growing any crop is to be assured weeds must be kept under as much ns possible. ;■ Thev rob the plants of food and wa'cr. We see weeds '.o their best to choke plants above the mound. We scarcely ever stop to consider that these weeds are also disntitiii" possession with other plants ■ ruder the surface of the -rrou'irl. T'"? '•onts of the weeds are struggling with the roots of grain, roots, etc. for possession of plnnt fond nj'd water. Weeds must, be tackled both before a <" o p is sown and after it is u»>. Weeds :>'p easics-t killed hist as they are coning up; they <-\<\ be also given a big shakiii"- whon the.v are in flower.

Land sl,o„| r | |,„ cultivated right thromdi the depth of the furrow so that the soil rests solid on the pan underneath. The digger plough pulverises the soil that it turns over right through so that it is not often necessary to do more than work the surface a few inches down. "With the ordinary plough, especially in lea land, the furrow must be worked risrlit down. AfW this has been done cultivation on the surface should b c sufficient especially in a jdry s-ason. Generally speaking dcen cultivation is necessary to get the lard i+'> fit e'-iirVt.ion before sowing ?eed. Afterwards light .cultiva)ion should bsufficient t-> c1.,.,-k weeds and to hold the water in the soil.

GOOD LAMBINGS. Naturally we all desire to have big percentages of lambs, and we vie with each -other at marking time with regard to our returns. Some of the tallies given in the newspapers rouse our envy and test our credulity. If our record is below what others get we make excuses for our sheep, and promise ourselves better things next season. It, therefore, is necessary to decide what we can do by management of our flock to increase the percentages. '•'*•■• First, wo cannot get away from the fact that heredity plays an important part in the matter. Several farmers who- are renowned for their big lanibiugs go in for keeping the ewe lambs from the twin sets. Single lambs fatten .quickest, and they are taken away in the first drafts. The next cut will contain a large proportion of twins. These, if otherwise suitable, should be kept for breeding. In small flocks the ewe twins can be marked, and thus the matter will not he left in chance at all. The rams should also be chosen from twin sets. if possible, and it will be that the parents having belonged to sots of doubles themselves will transmit this characteristic of their progeny. All barren ewes should be marked at shearing time. They should he drafted out and sold to the butcher if they are fat, if not they should be put on good feed and fattened. Twotooths may be given another chance, because they often lose their lambs though youthful in experience and foolishness on their part. They may have lost their lambs early in the season, but in any case the udder is usually a safe guide of finding out whether a ewe has a had a lamb or not.

The ewes must bc in good condition when the ram is put out, but they should not be too fat. Weaning should take place at the earliest possible moment, so that the ewes may have a chance to recover from the effects of maternity before tupping time again comes round. They should not be excessively fat, or the ovaries

will not do their part. Very often a little starvation will do them good, and cause them to conceive the easier but 1 generally speaking the ewes want keeping welt rather than in straightened circumstances. Through the period of- gestation they must jjo kept in fair .condition, and this condition must be maintained right up to lambing. At this time,, or' the tupping time, the' ewes hriist not bo in too high condition or there will be trouble in"the lambing, and the lambs will be small. Extrusion of the vagina is one of the commonest troubles caused by over condition; it may also, I think, be caused by the opposite state of ilffairs. While the ewes are lambing they arc better away from very good feed. There should be plenty for them to eat without undue wandering directly after lambing, but they should by no means be '• in clover" either literally or figuratively. After they have lambed a day or two they may be put on the best feed on the place, especially those with twin lambs.

When frozen lamb was 6d a lb., owners were very loth to lose any at the'lambing. Now they should look at the matter in this light: If prices arc low I shall require more lambs to make ends meet if possible. I must make up in number what I lose in price.

EXTRUSION OF THE VAGINA. This is a very common trouble in some parts of New Zealand, and South Canterbury also loses a good many ewes through this complaint annually. The Agricultural Department some year or two ago circulated a lca.net dealing with the trouble. The following from the pen of a veterinary surgeon deals admirably with the. trouble :

"All' investigation of this disease lias, so far, shown that this trouble is not contagious. The fact of many ewes in a (look being afflicted at the same time is due to them all being subjected to the same conditions as regards pasturage and management. It is generally ewes in high condition, bearing twin lambs, which become affected, and the preventive measures recommended, which have often been found eminently successful, are: to keep the ewes from getting too fat, and to ensure that they get a sufficiency of muscular exercise. In-lamb ewes bearing twin lambs get very lazy if in good feed, lie about too much, not even troubling to rise to urinate until absolutely compelled to do so, and their tissues get fatty, lax, and flaccid. Consequently, any disturbance of the digestive functions, or anything else which causes straining, results in the backward pressure of the pregnant womb forcing out the membrane lining of the vagina. If taken in hand promptly a cure can be effected. The exposed membrane must be washed thoroughly clean with warm water to which an antiseptic, such as .Toy's, Lawe's, or Little's fluid lias been added, and then carefully returned into position. The hands of the operator must be clean. Once in position, it must be held there for a few minutes until it has been brought up to the. normal heat of the body, and has ceased to give the ewe the" feeling that a foreign body h:\s been introduced to the part. Then a stitch should be placed across the external opening, which must be removed, say twelve- hours after. Before commencing it is advisable _to dose the ewe with two teaspoonftils of laudanum, mixed with four ounces of linseed oil, or four ounces of Knscini salts dissolved in water. The laudanum will help to .prevent her straining, while the oil or salts will counteract its constipating effects. To be successful, this treatment must, be carried out as soon as possible after the membrane conies out."

JOTTINGS. The weather still continues to keep very fine. In some places fanners are beginning to look around for a little' raili to give things a good start. The cold winds we have bad from time to time, and the sharp frosts have kept back growth a good deal, except in farward localities, and a drop of rain, especially on light land, will soon be required. Tt is a' pity that line weather should do any harm. Everything and everywhere is so pleasantly dry that we shall take unkindly to rain- when it comes. It is rather unusual to experience such a long dry spell as we have had over here,' while Australia in general, and Victoria in particular has been getting a good drenching. Lambing will soon be general now, and we do not then desire a wot time. Better to have enough now to keep us going. Although lambing cannot be said to be general in South Canterbury yet, there are a good many making their appearance, and they are having a. good time. As far as 1 have li"on able to ascertain the lambs are healthy and strong, and are showing a good percentage. In another week lambs will be , plentiful on the lower country. Sometimes the early lambs g"t off the best. Certainly thev could not a better time than they are having this year. Wool seems to be hardening a little all the time, to tb" great delight of all sheepowners The continued ris" should do much towards bringing wool back to the level of two seasons aim. Last year Ihe average value per bale cf all wool sold in Australasia, was £ll 6s lOd. as compared with £l3 (Is 2d for the previous year. The decrease was therefore to £l, 13s 4d a bale or 12.8 per cent. The a vera "e monetary return per head was 4s f)d, •-i agonist os Id for the previous year. This decrease was die t" f he fa'l i" price, not to decreased yield per head of sheep and lambs. The yield "«r head last season worked out at fjlhs IJozs, as against 6lbs Dosw in 1!)f)7-0S. Salt is not given to farm animals as much a*: it should be. It is useful for aiding the digestion and increasing the anpetite. The "United States Agricultural Department has found, after numerous experiments on its experinienfal stations, Ih<- following as the best Quantities to m've t" each kind of animal nor diem: Horse. 2"i".5.. six-months old calf loss., yearold calf 30/,5., milch cows -loks., fattening' steers (ions. For sheen 1 in 'icy., per head for every live days is advised, and for piirs ' f,\vn-( birds of an ounce a day. Sprinkling fhe salt ovc the food is said to be f.| K . best and most economical method of fcedinsr sail; other methods are wasteful ;nid the neanlities cannot be easily regulated.