NEWS FOR FARMERS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14325, 15 October 1910, Page 3 (Supplement)

NEWS FOR FARMERS.

USEFUL HINTS AND INFORMATION. CBY KORADI.) SOWING DOWN TO PASTURE. A CRITICISM. "8.P." has written tu the Editor, ;raiviaiiii; autue remarks or mine ieLilt: matter Ot SUWIUg, U-OWII LO o ,i». xue .kauor nas iur«iU'o.td Lbe. ii.-ic.-ur uu to me for iticlusiuu in niy .uui.cs, and 1 have mueii pleasure m uoiug bo. '■Ji..f. ' writes us follows: — "ine quantity 01 sued to sow must ever be a cuveisuyiiig subject, siuc» so many have tiietr own opuuons even ttlieu all are uu the same plum. 1 , so btncu no two situations or Ueids are exactly the same, dirferenees needs must diverge, but sir, tiiuugh 1 cannot claim to be au authority on the same level as your "ixoraui, ' having out, of recent years, been a squatterook in the Mackenzie, but sir, it is surprising at times what a little observation ana a tew quiet chats with those or experience will do. Being anxious to do my best, when 1 wished to do a littio laying down, 1 cast about my district raid noticed where the best soles oi' grass were, and then enquired variously, viz:—The previous working oi laud preparatory to sowing, when sown how put- in, what quantity oi seed, etc., aud as you can well imagine quite a perplexity ot facts were revealed, and, as so often is the case, mere chance or accident seemed to come out on top. viz.—by the mischance of a "careless'' friend close on SOibs of seed per acre had been sown with ultimate result of a most gratifying pasturage, which though, cut for hay or seed regularly for 10 or 11 years, still remained "the best grass paddock in the district." Another surpriser was the fruits of a mistake in that turnip seed had been added to grass mixture in mistake for raj>a —result a " pavened paddock of turnips aud no grass to speak °?/' until the- following year when "quite a mat"' of a sward of grass developed. Bo sir. you can. imagine tlie perplexity cf the poor beginner 1 ' who resolved on a number of experiments, especially i with quantity of seed to put per acre, so having got a mixture to allow of lOlh? perenial rye grass, lolbs Italian, oibs cow grass, 21bs alsyke, and lib white clover, we, myself and my henchman, "Sandy," set the machine first at 301bs per acre, then 35, and then 40; when Saudy suggested ''going the double,'-' "so putting the machine back to 301bs we went a couple of turns up and down the field, twice i.e. Clilbs, or in fact what really run out nearer TOlbs per acre which. Sandy termed really "manuring the blessed ground" with gacd seed, aud to see its appearance, certainly suggested such—but time proved the quantity none too liberal an allowance. So sir, I would suggest to any aud all your readers when sowing their grasses, just to take an extra turn, over a part af their field and I'm sure observations will surprise (agreeably) •he majority. Another suggestion I would make, let those who tliink a ?-01b seeding sufficient, go into any of their fields, shut their eyes, step a chain and note a circle round the spot where they stand, and see how much ground is wasting either bare, or producing only weeds."

EIGHTY POUNDS A\ ACRE. "B.P."' mentions that u sowing of SOlbs an acre gave the bust pauucck ui grass in the district; even after it tuiu oeen cut tor hay or seed for 10 or U years. There is iiu evidence, of course., to show that the fact of the grass being so good was the direct result of the heavy seeding. Host prob- | tbly a third of the seed would have given equally good results. It is surprising that the paddock was so n-jtii so thick a seeding, because me plants, if all the seed grew, would be very much overcrowded. It is just as welt to Sgure out as fax as possible wiiat such a seeding means. There are 0,272,640 square inches in au acre, and there are about 250,000 seeds in a lb of red clover, and nearly 700.000 seeds in alb of white clover. Supposing that the mixture was at the rate of lolbs of rye grass to 4 of red clover and 1 of white. That would mean in sowing SOlbs an acre there would be 601bs of ryegrass, 161b of red clover, and 41b of white clover. Leaving the ryegrass out of the question altogether, and that is by. far the greatest bulk of the mixture, there would be sown in clovers alone over one seed to each square inch. Clovers, remember, only amount to 201bs an acre. Now, take the ryegrass, which at a low estimate may be puc down at 200,000 seeds to a lb. Therefore b'Olbs contain 12 million seeds or about, tw3 per square inch at the rate stated. The clovers and ryegrass together would therefore amount to fully three to each square inch. How many inches will one strong tuft- of clover or ryegrass cover? The herbage, in thickly sown paddocks, is often sp:nd!v and delicate, whereas with a moderate seeding it 'will be tufty, long and succulent. The land can "only stand .i certain amount of grass, and grass cannot do well when there is a continual struggle for existence going on. A seeding of 201bs of ryegrass and olbs of red clover per acre" work? out to something like one seed to the square inch or roughly 125 seeds to the square foot, that should be ample to allow for non-germination, and the toll taken by birds and insects.

THIN" SOWING. One only needs to bring against the instances cited by ■\B.IV of the good results from thick sowing, experiences that prove that a thin sowing will frequently give a. splendid sole of grass that will last for years. A go-d deal depends on the state of the ground and the weather at the time of sowing. There are many instances in which a few pounds of red clover, three or four only, sown with crop far tho purpose of giving a bit of stubble feed after harvest, have struck so well that the paddock was practically covered with clover. Other examples could be brought forward showing that half a dozen pounds of ryegrass and a couple of clover sown with crops for stubbie and spring feed have done so well that the owner could not bring himself to plough up the paddock for a year or two. Ten or twelve pounds *of red clover will give a splendid crop, as a rule. Rape sown at the rate of three and four pounds an acre will practically cover a paddock, and there is less than half the qnantitv of seeds in a pound of rape that there is in ;; lb of red clover. Turnips sown nt th* rate of half a pound an acre will, with a good strike, give an immense amount of feed to the acre. If a good strike takes place the roots will bo ton thick All this proves that thick seeding, if the seed is good, is really a waste. It must be acknowledged that different h:nd requires different amount= of e <(. The standard is about a bushed of ryegrass and five lbs of clover. Mackenzie Country may. of course, imerl wr.ro seed than that, but ii is probable thai 301bs of seed will bo found as useful as that double that quantity. At any rate the result from the larger sowing trill not be sufficiently superior to the thinner seeding to warrant the extra expenditure. Some grasses g've an immense sr-eding. Poa nraten-is has about a quarter of a million seeds to the ounce, yarrow slightly whiie Timothy has about 75.000 sesds to th n •BBC*.

Mr J.C. X. Grigg, an acknowledge'! on agricultural matters makes the following sowing per am: ■l-Jlbs of ryegrass. Slbs ot eoeksioot, oibs of reel clover, and 2ibs or white or 27lbs in all. RYEGRASS. This grass forms the bas : s of all our pastures) which, on our arable laud, arc practically only umpoia.y pastures. It grows quickly in almost any variety of soil, it germinates lively. ayd p.»>duces a large amount oi herbage. Itis, however, in must localities a short lived phmt, and is placed by botamsis rather low in the scale as regards nutritive qualities. It- has been put lower down thau cocks;oot, meadow fescue, and meadow foxtail. Most wiii agree, however, that it is about, the most valuable grass- iiitreuuecd mto the Dominion. It niaiie.--. g'-idh.y. and it pays wed to grew lor s-ecu. it does not take possession ot the Land as do some giv.--svs, w.ikm have ui be worked out of the land once they ge.. an entrance, if the g i.und is to lie iu,ed for cropping <■" turiiipmg purposes. .So many graces, sown m former vears for the purpose ot termin..- permanent pastures, have proved themselves to belong to the • -twitch'" class of grass, that farmers are now charv of putting m anything else Inu ryegrass cocksfoot. T.mothy. and .lie clovers. ' Even these contain impurities. Twitch and couch are olten round in ryegrass seed, and r,b grass is frequently met?" with m clover seeds. i?ve<n-ass" gives twitch a good chance when tliev are both .in the same paddock. The ryegrass in time gets thin and weak, and then couch and twitch rapidly get away. . One* objection to ryegrass is its tendency to tro to rust, and to act as a host for ergot, that very objectionable parasite. Mr Cngg does not favour too much ryegrass, because .it feed* the crass grub. It gets rusty in autumn, and Mr Grig- states that .his docks-the percentage 01 lambs. 11" defies anyone to have a good percentaue of l.ambs if there is rust m the ryegrass in autumn: He considers that sheep like a change in their grass, and that is why he sows cocksfoot. rROZ"EXJtfEAT. DR. CHAPPT/E NOT APPROVED. Probably when Dr Chnpnle mad.' Ids statements reciardiiui the treatment of meat on its arrival at the Loudon docks, he was well ; r,vnm of th- adverse criticism which he wnuTd boiiiv: l.owu upon his own hc-nd. The "Pa s

toralists' Review" is not altogether pleased at Dr. Chappie's strictures, and this is how "Drover" in the " Otago Witness" deals with that disapproval: •• 1 notice that the Pastoralists' Review disapproves of Dr. Chappie's attack on the methods of handling meat in London. Now, Dr. Chapple T s fate wiL be just the same as all others who have ever made an attempt to do or say something to improve our methods. The multitudinous agents, meat companies, and others, who constitute the disorganised great' authorities in the meat trade have always resisted every effort made at .Vnprov<ement. They call the remarks about the sale of frozen meat as English as "did. old gag." Well, it may be all that, and yet I believe that this long-continued and largely-practised fraud is, and will continue to be, very disastrous to our trade, although I am well aware that our great authorities and most of our frozen meat companies look upon it as a. great blessing to us. and don't want it banned at ail. T think Dr. Chappie has done good service by his statements, although I do not follow him in all 31is conclusions." OUR'MUTTON TOO CHEAP - The same writer has some very trenchant remarks to make regarding the fact that our frozen mutton brings in London only half the price of Scotch mutton. He says:—• "Can we really do nothing better than get for our best frozen mutton only one-half the prica. realised by Scotch sheep. I do not think New Zealand farmers should be content to let things rest in that position. It is quite true that our mutton is not. what it used to be—Canterbury or any other brand. Our buyers always cry out for small, prime carcases, but by the relative prices offered for prim© light and heavies they have persistently 'encouraged the farmer to go in for heavy, coarse carcasps, as they pay biin best. Outside the buyers there is no one to lead or direct farmers. There is no ono in. London paid to take any real interests in the frozen meat trade. All the firms are simply interested in earning as much commission as they can for the time being, but no one is really interested in improving matters. There is no organisation and no head. If there were, seeing that such n large proportion of the British public eat frozen meat, knowing or not knowing it (mostly the Jatter), I am confident that prime NewZeailand mutton could be made to realise more than half the price of Scotch as at present. Evidently it is a case of what's everybody's business is nobody's business, and so things have drifted along. We have increased our exports, but real progress there has been none for .years.''

A COMPARISON* '"'''"''- Tlie London market quotations on 19tk August were:—: Per IK d. d. Scotch Sheep ».»• »- 7 to T& English, sheep" ..* . 61- to &i Ewes ... ... 4i| to 5 Dutch sheep ... ... 6 to 6i Canterbury' (N.Z.) sheep ... 3i to 3i| Southland 3i to 3? WelUngtort ... ... 3-J to 3f Gisborne' ... ... 3i to 3i N.Z. Ewes > 25 to 3} English lambs ... ... 7-i to 8JCanterbury (N.Z.) ... 45 to lj I- ■ . < JOIUKGSi Air. William Wrighi;, of NortH-East Harbour, had a line lot of early potatoes on the Dunedin market this week. This is his second digging, and thoy realised the magnificent price of KM. per lb. Most of the potatoes measured at least 4in. They are the Sutton's Seedling variety. Mr Wright had his first digging on the market on September 30; they also realised the price of lOd. It speaks very highly for some of the land on our Peninsula that it is mostly suitable for early market gardening. It is especially to be commented upon, as this year the season has been very dry indeed. The settlors want rain badly, or al'l the crops will suffer. I/ast year the first early potatoes wore put on the market by Mr Wright on October 15. An. agricultural correspondent writes: " The proper time to tackle a, foal is when ho is two days old. With the aid of his mother.j jam him into the corner of a box or stall,; standing on his near side pass your right arm over his back and your left round his neck. He can't do anything, and you have him at your mercy. Hub him. and pat him, and maul him ' about. Next you can slip a little halter on and hold him, and finally lead him around. I have led a foal U days old into the kitchen with nothing but a whip lash. Fasten a saddle on, so that it won't shift, or, failing this, a draught collar upside down will grip his body nicely. After a month of this 'leave him alone,beyond exchanging a few words when you meet otherwise you may create the familiarity which breeds contempt. The main idea is to show him that resistance is futile, and there is nothing to to be afraid of; that no one. is going to hurt him. This secures submission and confidence, and he is yours for life." ''Straggler" ("Weekly Press" states: A case of some interest to sheepowners came under notice at a country saleyard in Canterbury recently. A line of ewes and lambs was knocked down to a buyer at so much per head, " all counted." Before delivery was taken another lamb had been dropped, and the buyer refused to pay for it, claiming that lie had bought it in the ewe. He was allowed to have his way, but this was unquestionably wrong. The rule is that the number of sheep in a pen as announced by the auctioneer is not accepted by the buyer, who pays on the count out when taking delivery. If the number counted out does not correspond with the number given by the auctioneer, a. correction is made. Had a lamb died in ii.e pen before the buyer had the sheep counted.out, he would net have had to pay for it, so that to refuse to pay for a lamb that had been born would be a case of "heads I win, tails you lose" as between buyer and sellers

Some farmers hold exceedingly peculiar ideas. In discussing mortalityy among lambs with an " Express" reporter, a Forty-mile Bush farmer stated that it gave him great satisfaction to see dead lambs lying about, as it was an indication of a. large percentage of twins and triplets, and consequently a Big average. A southern paper states that two brothers at Coiyton were .anxious to obtain farms. The older pursued htr.d ballots all over the North Island, and failed every time. Quite recently he. died, xlis brother, discouraged, cleared out for Canada, saying lie did lot intend to waste time waiting for a marble in a land ballot. He now writes stating that he has secured a farm of 820 acres. Tlie legal definition of butter in the United States of America is:—The clean hon-rancid product made by gathering in any manner fat of fresh ripened milk or cream into a mass, which also contains a small portion of the other milk constituents, with or "without salt and harmless colouring matter, and contains not less than eighty-two ' and five-tenths (52.5) per cent, of milk fat "Most persons -think that giving down or holding up the milk by the cow is a voluntary act," says John Burroughs, the well-known naturalist. "In fact, they -fancv that the udder is a vessel filled with milk, and that the cow releases or withholds it just as she chooses. But the udder is a manufactory; it is filled with blood from which the milk is manufactured while you mlk. This process is controlled by the cow's nervous system; when she is excited,, or in anv wav disturbed, as by a stranger, or'bv taking away her calf, or by any other caused the process is arrested, and the milk will not flow. The nervous energy goes elsewhere. The whole proeSs is a.s involuntary as is digestion in man, and is disturbed or arrested in about the same way."

GREAT SHEARERS. A NEW ZEALAXDKR WORLD'S CHAMPION. Another world's shearing record lias been put up in Queensland at Bunderan. Dan Cooper, a New Zea/iander, using the Moffat-Virtue narrow-guage ary working day. The machine record was previously held by Jas. Power, who shore 315 at Barenya, on tho Landsborough, in 1891. Writing of a Queensiander, Harry Livingstone, who recently shore in successive days 233, 225, 237, 237, and 221, a profitable game at 245. per 100, the Sydney " Mail" styles him the champion, bathe is not in it with Cooper. Livingstone is certainly a good man. When he goes to a shed (says the " Mail") men for miles around come along to see him at work. So many turned np at Winton shed recently, that the manager was obliged to let them get a glimpse of the champion at work in groups. Luke McOol'l, who spends most of his time in Queensland, sheds, is another flier, and there are dozens of others who have, in ringing their sheds, put -up remarkable figures for eight hours amongst the heavily-woolled sheep of to-day. Those men used at one time to be known as big guns. They are now styled Dreadnoughts. At the Corinda shed, where McColl and Flenhngton have been heading the list, splendid returns have been made. Several of the gang got through over 200 during the eight hours. Recently at Oondooroo. near "Winton, 35 men averaged 174 each in a day's shearing. This, however, prdes into insignificance before the work done at Cambridge Downs. The shearing lasted four weeks and two days. 117,000 sheep being put through during that time by n board of 38 shearers. Harrison rung the shad, and one day, in ewes .and 'lambs, the 3S men cut the remarkable average of .198* sheep per man. Harrison was top with 265, then came TV. Garvey with 259, S. Hokway 250, J. Boyland 246. Jack Reary 244, and ma-ny others over tho 200 mark. It can be safely said that this is a result that wilt take a. lot of beatinjr. and for the number of men just about ••taiids as a world's record*