NEWS FOR FARMERS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14476, 24 June 1911, Page 3 (Supplement)

NEWS FOR FARMERS.

(By IW.di^

BAIiLEi. ""Advice 1 ' wr<trs; "1 have always - '• aows for l'am;ora,'' and uid now Ij-j glad <jf u word ol advice in my own case. The laud i au\ Harming consist of about tax to cijiiit inches vi \.veaiy loam on clay.—The advice i am w-ek-ing ifl tlie I'oihnving questions: (1) Wouid this laud be £>uitab-:e for growmg barley (not Cap.-)(2) What- time is uhe most favourable for Sowing this cereal ? M I think that barley sljould do well enough on my correspondent'** land. Tho best malting bariey is grown on rather lighp, dry, friablesoil, lasting on & woll draim-d subsoil. Heavier yields of grain and straw are, however, obtained on hoavy knd, such its fortilo clays, and clay loams. It is a mistake to touch barley for malting purposes, unless you have suitable land and' a suitable clinssto* Then if a good crop E°k. and tho prioe is at all decent, £ood money may be made in gi-owing Jt. It la very often quite easy to got a good many bushels of it per acre, but It ;s tKrt al"ways possible to get a good A gjooa eample of malting barley should be of a briglit Yellow colour, plump, slightly wrinkled la tho I a ',j , ti>o S- rain n '"Bn broken across should be white inside, not glassy looting. Brewers aro most particular about the:r barley. Thev must have sv«b germination in malting, or they Wil not be able to get even maltih" Uarley for maltmg is therefore iisualfv pwn on a nice tree soil, where there is not too much ram in summer. Of jojtrse, if barley witl not-do for malt 1, W + for feed purposes, but it is the malting crop that tnnfis in the big cheques. Feed ba7ley is often little better than oats, or a Tery second rate wheat crop. CULTIVATION. Barley likes, above everything else & fine tilth. It is a shallow plant, and. & quick grower. It has been known, to occupy the land only fci fourteen weeks from sowing to ■ harvesting. If sown in the spiW It ripenß on an average within 10(J days. The ground must, therefore, be in a condition to permit the easy formation, of roots. It must be permeable, warm, and rich in The elements of plant food. The nrper portion of the land must be well v» 5 ' 33 1 bare stated, baxtay is really a sorfaoe feeder. It does Veiy .well after turnips. ' KANTTKBi.

It Jifcs been said that although 'barley "ii/P Bood and careful tillage, it should bo treated very cautiously with inanure. Ajj a . rule it does not need nitrogenous manure, as these fertilisers tend to give a heavy growth of straw. 3%m may oause the crop to be laid, 55? a OJBooloured somnlo is almost gowtebls Many a good croo of oariey on the rich swampy lands along bel ? w Temuka, have been spoiled through becoming badly laid, bnperphosphates may be used at the rate of from one honored-weight to two £wSf < i~ Treis po , r acra - Superphosphates have a tendency to produce a heavy Kram, nch in starch, and poor weU waited for malting nnrposes.

Tiaffi OF SQTVESTG. ■ I now come to the second of jay correspondent s queries:—The most favourable time for sowing this cereal. I believe that the best malting samples are produced from autumn and early winter sowings. But spring sown barw»™> rich soff, mates rapid growth, j»<J, as I have stated, is fit for harvesting in a few months. Spring ~f r fev£ a 3j,? a soirn from the beginning September to tll«5 begin ning of November, but :tha earlier it is in. in lesson, the better. It is yexr often hat lan 9» last) break has been eaten of?., Harvesting. .4Tfif■rirss fts;: S»."K- , Bu ta £fA^£ pen<fe a good deal on the weight per bushel- Therefore, barley thlt S trom 52 to sSlbs per bushel is generally of supenor malting quality. The 2wsa of im P ortall <». It S? 118 darfc colour it gives sus ¥ clon ttat it has bean i ° r , that $ been allowed S °Ht immediately it is dead ripe. If it is cut before thai stage, there is the risk of unevSVrmw - a , nd ifc M lef to o It shoiiM 0 !)? 3 j." e fi. sk P umo t f 9 tkm m , the skin and piump A shower may do a eood denl towards spoiling it, and eve s heavv the S ™f 1 ™ E J ra - T .^towards spoil, -Site riL if af T-, li has quixe npe. It must be siaeW? when it is quite dry, for heatfn'l fTir .grains to become stained la threshing it must be carefully Strict Is' tl fMitS ° f ■ unevenness in the Barl «J mvirt not. fc threshed too cJcsclr. or it is liabh +« Buffer injury Tf +l,-* U3 J° Ss.'s? w i clJver W aud^r?eed P^t' C ? *P" S«%I? erß is usua!l y a £cod"strik" generally F^! ' t i not always ß^

«« NOTE. SSs&?£ *ith manure £f SOU V.'heil film,'-,- i> iiandfiil of £*** , a tli« grain *"» Ml 2 - f e€cl 1,1 do™ the V'^Zr^l' b^ LdricSei r o?th Shcd $ tbe rapidity that I had solva e | nd "'if' 1 "' With it «F +', • ■ P ildt! '' c ' K liad to be drilled in tVc" r "?-f'i n ' l " dl •Bed to "do a'Wta : a J ea ™ S '° 1 do ra with ti^ps aam^7i,F a^: -l raultf Part S nf 35 ir ; vari aWy the Brass I attributed to f 1 ® fifed* 1 S 6 tnraips got ' eS iT" ' the *** •*»- X T!sea xo notice the £ra. s s trns S dn!l n ? a , rk - ®>e difScnltv 2? so^!C " Srass wita tnrnins •> tJ>at I# ?Wn - V J 0 ' 1 ' n: ' ;i erne-; sfze Tt • snf? ". r !n »"mt «f size, it mien!, »>:> <n>!!«med t'l.-ii «.» -hTIi d " hen fes ' off «» twi.ips, bnt t!rs „. as rare ,_- t!le WIRE STTUIXKRS. '"A. F. \T„" sor.cl*! ir.« o nnfe irVcTi savours somewhat of a fr?p advertisement for o certain w:ro-.«trnm?-r. As n matter ■of fnr-t the l }?r> n^nare iis>:d throurrhoiit the d'3tricrfc. cad tlieir proved excellence is

USEFUL HINTS AND INFORMATION

the ivi£f.*iblo aUvertV,n:ent they cuii hav.~. "A. L*-\ \\«j wriu.s: — "V, hvu - a lljo - .:ljjucc or put iu u »vi;iu ior a ohuin i.tru.tiui*. It has mala lavminti a <i :1 hi\.\ J\K-SOTS Pi'iCSt w-ii 1110 a- gicui, many ta.-iiKr;> U:.v Ueiu and Unii s scrumer. .No dou'oLi i)(ju:iki's iuid oUiars are also .vj«:d, bul i iiuvvs uut Uieai." We:l, 1 and use all three, as tho lil mc. and i lind each of thorn very I hire tho Po-d and Gray (Titan) strainer v/iw.-n putting up a new fence, and i. proim- tho otihor two when repairing. I'agc's chain strainer is certainly a very powerful, quick, and handy strainer for all fencing purposes. tn repairing fences one go.»d point in favour of Page's and Donald's strainer© is that tho wires can Ik? strained before tho wire is cut lor taking up tho slack. This is mi advantage, because when tlie wires liavo to bo cut hefoio the strainer is put on, the whole strain is slackened, and this is sometimes- a nuisance where thcro are "tie-downs." Donald's is a, very quick and handy strainer. The travelling grips pro liable to get out of order, but they can bo renewed at a small cost. It is a very light, small strainer for carrying about. Ono fault with Pago's strainer is that the ohnin is too shorty This, however, can bo easily remedied by add'ng as much as ono likes to the chain. Its food points easily outweigh that little fault, a fault which is so simply and cheaply remedied. The grips on Page's strainer are simnlv perfect- Thcv nerer slip aijd they" will last a life-time. Keid and Gray's Titan strainer is J believe, very -largely used, bein«- \in earlier make. It is a good strainer, ono of tho best, and I should not like to bo without it. One; big noint in its favour is tho fact that when triii «■ the wire after sufficient strain has been got, there is practically no "give." dirty sheep. The question of dirty sheep has several tiniea been brought before farmers by the Farmers' Union, particularly in North. Canterbury. Now a ciroular letter «Ho Daggmjr" lias been sent by the Canterbury Meat Company, and the Christehurch Moat Comply, setting the disadvantages cf dealing with daggy sheen. The matter jb such a serious one that the above named Companies give farmers notice that in future any such sheep will be drarbed at the Works and rejected.

matter opens up one that also affects the farmers, the dealers, and tiic froczmg Companies. It i 3 the use sw; for the carriage, «f +W? jocularly to such big sales as £ eJ - 1? a ?, A <Mington and m ji- ' s saatl tlwt lambs are frequently delivered at these centre? afci fOT Wli ?* d ° „ ?!,„] %,? rope r Tn! ™ ty at least Is the m t !? r s,giht5 ,giht a,so claim tv? J?£ n * p ?™cjrs' Union, ?™ tte operant Freezing Commn;« because there is no use in C fceepmj; their sheen clean if they are 4nd lb' 7 1U rall T ay transit. *3ra tile dirt they accumulate on their wool when travelling in thoL 53 1 2 or<i detrimental to their i e -v 3iare than t! ie mere Presence of n Ss»d a £ the tai \ B ™St stated ,a fairness to tlie" Raihvav Department that the new sheer) trucks grated floors, are a great improvement on the old class L d £»L tri \ There, however! seems to bo a. shortage of these trucks' »* —y» « WJS JoinxGs. ■005?" in his last restates "tie points to better prices owimr tn. anticipated lighter tha^>p?f loe ? 6 °° mo > apd lan »bs at ■is® -P 2 ' sales are now bringing up to vreek at M weeic ofdper lb. was bemg paid'. TJnJ ll6re a ™ not manv who -f ■?T eaf:Jler continues, at the tiW eries ~i? tlf and FfehCiv'ni.v! T nt j es " lambi,?,, proved to" be V tried cL:.vV" The lambs ?S ""'m 1 man T d-*itr. ; cts th'<? f c " :, -»o3 to tlie check ; v«n b« ZnJ Weatl!er to the gJWth <if d A 7if r- Hi n ' Union the Prcs - sa « behoved +,, -J-T ; " L - T ; a]n!T .T Zi ° support tlie dcvoVorf V u *? lost - ■ sie emploreo ccTSted'-m--■id if -'-£b.->ur papers there. •-J it ...c norders could do that surely There secant .? wgard to « 13 oueseiJ j.,, . v , !: - ar - ) -Hie union \ no ;>ol:T'ical party, and a<jreed to +l,l" 1 ' 1 as .t ,le Spritest producers in the country they must unite or ek-» expect, cate ; it. Jf they did not look ?r . Ul - lr wanis, they could not expect anyone else to do so.