Rural Notes.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14274, 13 August 1910, Page 1 (Supplement)

Rural Notes.

(.liy Kuradi.''; THE GRASS GJ.UJJ!. fake lb,, sparrow, the. grass grub demands a yearly toll from the fields of the tanner. Kvery year it eats out :i certain amount ol grass, and destroys a certain amount ol crop. Due season it attacks one district very badly, and the next devotes most of its energies to another portion of the Dominion, leaving a lew representatives comparatively speaking to eat out a feupatches, or a. low paddocks here and there. Not only in grass and crops is the pest .seen and noted, but also in root crops it is found to do a certain amount of damage. Lately a farmer writing to the "Canterbury A. and P. Journal," thus described how the grub attacked and ruined his potatoes:— "Tim potatoes (Pink Eyes) were planted early in October on very rich land, which had been broken lip from grass the winter before. The tops were unusually strong for these potatoes, and being about the best potato in the country to resist blight, had not suffered till the frost cut them down. Thcy wero not lifted till July, and were then pitted. The diggers, who woe not all experts, averaged 24 bags a day, the crop being about 16 tons to the acre, and practically free from diseased tubers. The potatoes, however, were ruined by being drilled with holes about as thick as a, lead pencil, and many had regular caverns eaten in them. 1 don"t think that more than 5 per cent, were perfect. No worms or grubs had, at any time, been noticed about them; I had come to the conclusion that wire worms were the cause of the trouble. Subsequently, in discussing the matter with a potato grower, he informed mo that their white potatoes had been badly damaged in the. same way. He went on to say [that they dug their blue potatoes first I —one day they tried their whito ones, iiud found many of them badly bored iliy the ordinary grass grub, as many iis five find six being found in some of )them. The strange thing was that Hater on, after, finishing digging the /blue potatoes, and returning to the '•-whito ones,- it was found that the grubs liad left them."

la commenting on this commtinication ttho Editor Bays that this is tlio first .occasion in: which, direct evidence is ' Riven of tlio; grass grub attacking poi itato tubers.. Ho has,it on good authority, Tiowever,- tliat .'carrots are someVlfcimos attacked by grass grabs. Mr Guthrie, in his minority report on 'jthe Canterbury runs, states that lie Bias «omo to the conclusion that tlio jgruss grub which is attacking the tus\Poek in the Mackenzie Country, does ."mot extend its ravages to the good land, farmers in South Canterbury will bear tmo out when I say that such is not the oaso on agricultural lands. Grubs are .fairly impartial, hut they seem to prefer the better land, the drv warm ifucings where water does not lie.

\ Various methods have been advocated i-Until a view to eradication. Some farmers claim that driving a mob of sheep over tho infected spot will kill them [wholesale"; others favour rolling the {ground. Jffc is improbable, however, (that nracTi harm'is done to tho grub by these operations. It is contended by those ,who have fonght the grub and its beetle persistently that the grub cannot he killed by crushing; it cannot he drowned out, and lighting fires in the summer to attract the bottles to a fiery death' makes no appreciable diminution in the battalions that fly about m the evening. Dr. Hilgendorf, the biologist at Lincoln College, has tried his hand at dealing with the pest, and a contemporary thus describes tho result of his observations and experiments:—"Some time ago he caused heaps of straw and gorse to bo placed all over several paddocks on the College when tho lond humming in tho air proved that the beetles were on the •wing in thousands, the, students were Bent out to light these' fires. The result was disappointing,- and the kill far too .small to .warrant the assumption that tho beetles had been attracted by tho flames, those that' Were) found dead round abouß jverc probably ifchose 'that had flown' too near to the 'fires,,in the ordinary, y>£ 'business, 'sq ito speak j"' -..;-." Further- experiments iEe , .ascertain [whether thejJbeetleS are" really' attraotfid by light were conducted; Powerful pcetyle'no searchlights were placed on [white sheets laid upon'jfche grass in the .teveniiig, hut though: hundreds iof ■ (moths tame .to the lure/ tho number of beetles attracted Was very small. So (far as rolling goes, Dr. 'Hilgendorf Wrinks .that' it would have ,B beneficial teffoct,; not so much because" it actually ■kills the grubs, as because it consoli'dates the*..soil round the roots of the plant, .and' gives it a better chance to grow and resist attack. He says that i mice,, at a, lecture, a man got iip and ' , wikl that rolling would undoubtedly kill .tho grub, instancing a case in which ho examined the tracks left by dray .wheels, when ho found all the grubs underneath dead. In contradiction to this Dr. Hilgendorf says ho examined (the tracks left by a traction engine, fwiiich' wore depressed a good three Inches below the general surface of tho ground; ho found that even this heavy rolling had not destroyed the grubs, so bt is hardly likely that a Cambridge roller—which has its weight distributed over so muoh more ground—would do much good. The grub, as tho Ashburton farmers have found out, ia also difficult to drown out. Experiments were made at tho College with grub-infested sods in flower-pots. It was found that a solution of caustic potash was most effectual, killing them instantly; but when it is mentioned that such treatment would cost about £BO ner acre, it will be seen that it is hardly practicable i 't was found quite possible to drown'the gruh with a fairly long submersion, but such submersion of a paddock would probably do almost as much harm as the grub, so another impasse occurs One of tho best things that can he done, says Dr. Hilgendorf, is to keep the paddocks well eaten'down in November and December, for the beetle will not frequent short cropped turf if it caii get any rough grass—hut farmers will know that it is easier to talk .about keeping grass paddocks well eaten down in December, than to do it Altogether the grass-grub seems a tough proposition. Dr. Hilgendorf .said ho had a glimmer of hope when he heard about the fungoid disease that Iliad played havoc with the grub in Europe, but so far all his attenmts to get the fungus out alive had failed.''

,TKEJE PLANTING. Tf the, tree-planting for the year lias hot already been done, autumn is a. favourable season lor tree-planting, il. Should ]io done immediatelv. It would do well if farmers laid themselves out to do a. _ eei'tain amount, of .systematic planting on their holdings. Timber is beeonu'ng very dear, and is likely to increase in value as time goes on. liecause the amount of re-planting .or afforestation tlisit is being (lone is"mily li small percentage of tlio deforestation that is all the time lining on. There nro waste corners, and rough facings that would grow trees splendidly, and the cost of fencing and planting them would he a more bagatelle compared to the value of the trees in a few years time. For shelter and ornamental'purposes treeis add a. groat deal to the value and appearance of a place. There ft re tracts of country on the northern dido of the hlangitata that have been renderd about 25 per cent, more valu-. ulilp than they were in their hare ntnte. bv the systematic; planting of shelter belts of tree's. ' T recently (•ame nerri'wi the following statement with regard w .the milling timber in the Dominion. Tn 1907 the estimated amount of milling timber in New Zealand was Lhirty-fliß million superficial feet, but in

March 1909, it was estimated at thirty- ' tour millions, although the. estimate did not take into account the milling limber within the. area of about two and a. hall' million acres in the Sounds] Xaiional Park. Eot hiir-iasts about | Iree-planting estimate that if the: uaslA lands of the Dominion were I planted in forest trees, the timber 1 would pay off the National Debt in oU years. T'risnu labour has been employed advantageously in this work, and it is estimated that the number of lives in State plantations and nurseries I is about lil'ty millions, and that over-l-J.IMHI acres have been planted. The '■ expenditure since IS<)(>_, when State, nurseries and plantations were commenced is about .t 104,1)01). A conimis-• sion was appointed to report on afforestation m the I'nitod Kingdom. It found tliat 900,000 acres were available for this purpose without taking agricultural lands. The Commission suggested that 100.000 acres should be planted annually, giving employment to IS,OOO men each winter. In forty years the industry would he self-sup-porting, and in eighty years the forests would be worth over five hundred million nnunds. I

I'iints insignis is very much favoured by farmers for shelter and for timber purposes. It grows very quickly, and thrives well on poor, shingly, or sandy soils. It is by no means an uglv tree, although ppoole are inclined to think it the reverse of pretty, probably because it is so commonly grown/ It grows to a great height, and runs up into firewood and milling timber very quiekly. It is liable to get blown over with the wind, and should be 'topped where it i; intended that it shall remain. If the lower branches are removed there is also less surface for the wind to act upon. A great deal of insiguis has been used in building in South Canterbury, particularly in sheds, although a number of houses have, also been built with it. It wan at one time supposed that the resin would keep out the borer, but there are evidences that the borer attacks it, and if so. its value as a timber for permanent buildings will bo considerably discounted. Directly insignis is put up it should be painted. It takes a good polish, and, contrary to the genera? belief, it has been found at the Central Dairy Co. that it is suitable for butter boxes. A box was made of dry insignis, and butter was stored in it for six weeks. At the end of that time the butter was classed as first quality by a Government expert. Such a, finding deserves larger and more extended cx° periments, because insignis will be a valuable timber to grow for boxing purposes only, if it is found that it does not impart ajlavour to goods. There should, however, be a limit to the areas planted in insignis, because there are. more valuable, is slower growing trees. The Douglas Fir (Abies Douglasii) is a valuable timber, also the Corsican pine (pinus laricio). Larch is an extremely valuable timber, and it does well on hilly country on shadv faeings. It must not be planted oil shingly dry land, but ou sappy, good land it soon becomes a valuable asset. It is said that it grows more quickly hero than in the United Kingdom. It will do as well in fifty years here, as it will do in sixty or seventy in the Old Country. If planted thickly the poles in twenty years would be worth a good deal for fencing and scaffolding purposes. And as it grows well on southern aspects, rough, inferior land might w;ell be used for growing it. A plantation of it would be a. cheap gift to prepare for a boy or girl, the planting to be done while the child was young, and the plantation to be handed over at the age of twenty-five years. A good word should be put in for the gum trees, (elcalypti) which were such favourites thirty or forty years ago. Blight and frosts have worked havoc in many plantations, and have discouraged farmers from planting blue gums during the past ten or fifteen years. Yet the various varieties of the eucalyptus family are -worth planting in moderation. They generally grow up into firewood, and into milling timber in about forty years. The blight seems to have run its course, or else the, ladybirds are keeping it down, because most plantations are now fairly clean. Frosts, severe enough to cause serious damage', are few and far between. One strong point in favour of gum trees is the way in which the stumps sprout up again after the trees have been chopped down,; These second shoots soon give handy*stakes for turnip fencing, and also a good quantity of firewood. As,an instance of the value of tree planting. Mr Young, the curator of the Christchureh Domain when speaking of larch, recently said :—"lt is an excellent commercial timber, and it would he difficult to overestimate the> importance to bo attached to the cultivation of it in situations where little else can be grown. At Home, when afforestation is carried out on a much more wholesale scale thanu in New Zealand, the Mho] family in Scotland had bacome oedebrated for their zeal in the cultivation' of the larch, and had planted fourteen million young trees in the neighbourhool of Blair Athol and Dunkeld, on a. tract of 10.000 acres, which during the owner's lifetime had reached a value of six and a half mil-

lions, while the thinning and trimmings alone bad been worth a horn. U7 an :ic;v :>"d the land bad increased considerably in value." LI.MIC. The lectures, delivered on two suceesMve Saturdays bv Mr l(.. (;. Alexander „f Lincoln College, and Mr ThdHii. agrioultiial instructor for South Canterbury on the subject of manures and manuring, have done a great deal towards reviving an interest. ill the question of lime and liming. Agricultural experts the world over, unite Hi claiming a great deal of importance lor the use of lime in agricultural operations, yet the bulk of practical opinion in South Canterbury is against the use of lime, as being unnecessary. Many fanners tried it years ago, in both large and small quantities and could see no beneficial results. Shire then very little has been used, although There are a few who have found it useful and profitable.- It certainly H?ems •strange that lime should be them slit so highly of in Southland. and vet on similar laud here, farmers discontinued its use after trying it for a few years. It is of eour.se only bv such use and experiments that farmers can find out for certain what their land requires. It does not seem improbable, from the was in which lime is removed from the ground in the shape of produce of one hind and another, that in time to come liming will he found to pav in South Canterbury. Mr Chisholm. on Saturday last, described putting; burnt or quick lime on the ground in small neaps and then spreading it after it has been slacked by the weather is that most commonly used in liming. Ground lime has lately'been growing in favour, because it can be drilled in ca.silv at the rate of half a ton an acre.' Tint as Air Brown pointed out on Saturday, ground limestone rock mav vet be used because it is cheaper, and is easier to handle. "When quick lime is applied to the ground, the moisture of the air an the soil turns it to carbonate of lime, and it is this that opens up the clay muds. Of course more ground limestone would bo needed as against onick lime to give the same amount of lime. J his is an important point to take into consideration where freights a.nd carting have to be taken into consideration. The difference in the cost of handling would also be considerable. Farms near the railway would be able to use the ground limestone to advantage, but if carting over long distances has to be done, the ground limestone might prove to be cheaper.

THE MEAT TRADE. Tlio cables from London at the beginning of the week contained the reassuring intelligence that tlio - meat markets were firm. Such news is a. very good sign on the face of heavv shipments. It it is to be hoped that there will be sufficient cold storage at Home to hold shipments till thev can be profitably distributed. If the' United States could take a few boatloads, there would be no further cause for anxiety. Shipments to America, and the lowerin go ft he price of frozen meat to the. consumer would relieve a congested meat market in a short time. The trouble has been in the past that the butchers have been getting their mutton cheaply but they linv" not b'cn reusing the reduction on to the consumers. The "Pastoralists' Review" summarises the closing season as follows : The disappointing finish of last season for mutton and lamb was continued well into the season now under review, and it was not until March last, when a rather sudden rise took place owing to the scarcity of avainablc supplies. The market remained very firm for some time, hut a week or two ago decay set in, and prices have even quicker than they rose. In the case of beef, values we're at a satisfactory level when the season owned, but weakness set in almost immcdiatelv thereafter, and the market remained low until March last .when it rose in sympathy with mutton and lamb, and very high prices obtained for a short time. It has now started on a downward course, however, the quotations being I.UI per lb lower to-day than they were a. month ago. The huge stocks that_ drugged the market at" the beginning of the season disappeared before people really realised the position, and, as the shipments were in moderate compass, the available supplies were hardly sufficient to meet the demand, [and thus the hardening tendency set in. But the high market brought' the inevitable reaction. Supolies began to increase and began to | tumble, which at the moment thev I have not stopped doing. During the I prevalence of the high wholesale "marj ket the retail trade in the TJnited , Kingdom raised their prices', but so | fa rwe hear no word of them being ■ lowered since the decline took place. , The feeling in the retail trade at Home I is thot meat will be rothcr scarce and | hear for some time, owing to the great (diminution of North 'American supplies jof beef and live stock and the eom- | parativo scareitv of Home snppjtai i which latter has been induced bv the j backwardness of the season and the I growth of the dairying industry

JOTTINGS. The heavy rain of lost Sunday—about an inch—again hindered team work, and l'arm sowing had to be suspended for a few days. The frosts are keeping back the grass, but the crops are looking very well indeed, especially ou warm facings, and high land. The winter, en the whole, has been a good one, and frosts have not been unduly severe. Holders of damaged grain are finding a difficulty in selling at anything like a decent price. There is a good 1 of this class of wheat on hand. The rduction in freights will' probably cause some shipping to ba clone, but most gram growers are chary of shipping on their own account. Good wheat sells well in spite of the reaction in the Horns market. There do:.s not appear to bo any great hurry in selling good wheat at present, at anv rate there is no need to rush it on' the market, because there happens to be a bit of a set back in London. Good wheat is not likely to rocdo in value very much, ond it is difficult to know exactly how the demand and sunolv of prime sumnles are, related to each other. The local markets are ruling the price of good wheat; quotations are above shipping values a good deal. The President of a. Canadian Agricultural College recently said:—"Von call agriculture a solid. monev-makim- business, and pass it bv. But is not an education necessary to make a life worth linn gfor the man of the country? Hut you say. <dvo him culture. < oritur.—leisure, indlenee. idleness—that is not culture. Agriculture—th.it is education. ()M mother o; , r th i< calling out for culture, not for herself but for the sake of her children. Culture means ..lou<_diin<' and harrowineand sowmn- „f ,. V ops. The culture that means indolence means weeds on the land: luit true culture means Crt-ihiv and freedom from u -eeds. ami tlie men who wishes to improve ~„ n, f . ;l | ~,„,,1i. turns is not of the sordid, but of the eternal.