NEWS FOR FARMERS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CIII, Issue 15742, 28 August 1915, Page 13

NEWS FOR FARMERS.

ROOTS IN STORE. It is most interesting to note the changes that take place in roots that are stored during the winter months. The bulb or root in mangolds or turnips is, of course, a storage organ. These plants axe in reality biennials, and they contain a good percentage of sugar, some kinds more than others. There is also a variation in sugar content according to size. The larger the root the more watery it becomes. It is said that mangolds weighing two pounds contain about two per cent, more dry matter than mangolds weighing seven pounds apiece, above which the falling off in dry matter is not so marked. The age of the mangold has not a great deal of influence. It possesses much the same composition all the time that it is growing. As the mangold bulb swells it is being packed with materials of a fixed typo as regards the proportions of dry matter, sugars and other matters which axe manufactured in the leaf. If, however, the mangold is allowed to grow the second year for seed, a number of changes take place. The sugar is removed from the cells of the root in order to form the flowering stem, and eventually the seed. When the seed ripens the former root will be found to be almost devoid of sugar, in fact little remains but fibre. "When mangolds are stored in the winter, the ripening process proceeds rapidly. The roots respire, and thus lose a little sugar, but the loss of material is not great so long as the weather remains cool. "When the warmer weather of spring sets in, respiration increases, and when sprouting commences a considerable chango takes place. The mgars in swedes are different from the sugars in swedes, but the changes that take place in swedes during storage and when growing a second year for seed are similar to tnkinsr place in the mangold. "White turnips are said to resemble swedes in composition but they are more watery. Although mangolds shrink when kept for the winter, thev are really mora palatable and better for stock in everv way than when eaten earlier in the season. Turnips, on the other band, appear to Tose a

great deal of their good qualities as tho season advances, and are better f«;l earlier in the season. DRY FARMING. It looks as ir we shall have _to an for dry farming in our district for this season. Up to the time of writing there lias been very little rain, and there does not appear to bo goirfg to be any, judging by the way in which showers threaten but come to notliing. That is a, sure sign of dry weather, and w« farmers who have had some experienco of droughts in ' the past dread tlies o portents. It is to be hoped, however, that t-hey aro not true prophets on this occasion. We usually do go in for dry farming in the sense that we keep the surface of the ground as dry and as loose as possible, and we shall have to pay spocaal atention to these matters this spring. I know of some farmers who have got their land worked down very fine, much finer than usual, and t-hey are hoping that this system of agriculture will help to tide them over another drv season.

A loose surface tilth soon dries, itself. but as it possesses 110 close connection with the layer below there is no continuous water film from the water-bearing layers to the surface, where losses occur through eyapor.'vtion. The water ascends through the more - closely packed soil underneath but it cannot get into the top layer because this layer is only lying loosely on the water holding soil with large gaps; between. The top soil is in fact a soil mulch, protecting the land from evaporation. Ifc acts much the same as any other mulch, such as straw, farmyard manure and so on. By keeping tiiis surface soil continually afcirred. the soil mulch may be quite effective in preserving all the water originally present in the sod], until the only loss of water to the soil is that which the crop takes and utilises. I am afraid however, there is not a great l deal of water in the soil this season either for the plant or anything else. Old gardeners will tell you that they water their gardens with tie hoe, meaning of course that they ktep the top soil loose and open. light rain during a 'drought may cause more loss than gain of moisture in the soil. The wotting of the surface soil which comes with a shower may l>e sufficient to re-establish evaporation of the under supplies of water, without replenishing the "upply of water in the soil to any appreciable extent. This is no doubt why, in dry countries, the ground is harrowed, if possible, directly after a shower. In gardeus it has been found to be advantageous to do some hoeing as soon as possible a'-'ter rain has fallen.

Of course a growing crop must vob S0!l of a certain amoving of moisture. I j. he growth of a crop leaves the i ground drier than it was before. On 1 the other hand, a paddock that is fallowed wvll will retain a considerable portion of its moisture, if it is kept stirred on the surface. It is this system that renders it possible to grow good crops of wheat on areas that usually have a rainfall of from 10 to lo inches for the- year. Tu some parts of "Western America* Canada. Russia, and Australia, the. principle of the bare summer fallow makes decent crops possible eyen in a tlr y year. Ifc is enstomary • there to tfike only one or on i" two years, or at most, two crops in three years. In between the crops the land" is kept ploughed so as to make a airfare that"wi'i! retain, any rain that, faMs, and that will also hold any moisture that sinks into the soil. The chief feature of dry farming, then, is to keep the surface soil loose, ana to pack the soil underneath as hard as possible. But after all dry farming is nothing new. although it was tremendously boomed a few years ago, particularly in America, probably because some speculators had some lands tliev wished to dispose of in tlie drouclity areas. Farmers out here and m the Old Country have known and practised the principles of dry farmfor years, although probably they did not know their system by that name. In parts of England the rainfall is not great, and the soil is light, nryl farmers haye found tbat ifc pays to fallow, and to preserve a food soil, mulch. I

HARVEST LABOUR. A good deal of discussion is at present taking place concerning the probability of labour in harvest time, should wc be fortunate enough to have

USEFUL HINTS AND INFORMATION. (BY "KORADI.")

sufficient rain before that time to give us some grain /to harvest. The Farmers Union has interested itself in the matter, and is asking the co-operation of the Government and the Government Statistician. There is not much sense in trying to do much organising just, at present, but the system to bo adopted might be considered, in order that it may be ready for putting into operation as soon as it is wanted. It is feared by some that there will also be a shortage at shearing, and in dairying districts during the Viilking season, because so many farm hands have gone to the Front. If a census is taken later on, it may be well to find out those men who have had previous experience in harvest work, and who are ready and willing to tackle the job if necessary in tho coming harvest. Then there are the workers _ who are engaged on various co-operative works in the South Island, and who would probably be allowed to get "away should they be required. There are also organisations in progress in some of the cities for the banding together of volunteers for harvest work should every other method fail to produce a. sufficiency of men. Some farmers have been, unkind enough to say that these city volunteers may be more of a hindrance than a help, but we may be in the position of not having to look a gift horse in tho mouth.

In connection with the organisation of labour to help the farmer should the harvest be a good one this season, we should have the statistics regarding tho area put in crop somewhat earlier than usual Generally they are availablo some time in November, but It would be all tho bettor if they could be procured fully a month earlier. There should be nothing to prevent that, at any rate not in our part oif the country. Further south there may bo more difficulty. The weather has been so fine this winter, and work is so well forward in oonsoquence that the figures should be procured fairly eftrly. Regular harat harvest time, should have first caKl, so as not to upset the balance of labour any more than is necessary. Those from other callings should be drawn upon only in cases of necessity. There is a feeling abroad among some men that the farmers want co-operative works and other jobs closed down in harvest time, in oider that there may be men competing for harvesting, thus reducing the wages. Nothing of the sort. There may bo some hard cases among oar farmers, but the majority of them are reasonable men, who do not mind paying a fair day's wage for a fair day's work. Last season there were too men about, and every farmer I spoke with did not care to see that state of affairs. Of course the crops were light in most districts down this way, and that accounted for less labour than usual being employed. Let us hope that rain will soon fall, giving us a crop that will necessitate all hands turning to in order to harvest it.

LIME. Experiments are to be conducted iii South Canterbury this season in connection with liming the soil. Those experiments should be interesting and instructive, because there is a good deal of debate concerning the advisability of using lime on our South Canterbury soils. It was tried a good many years ago, by our grain growers and others, but the results were not encouraging enough to induce farmers to continue its use. Whether the experiments now about to be carried out, under tho direction of Mr J. Brown, the new Director of Field Experiments, will prove successful in improving our crops and pastures remains to be seen.

Of _ this I think one may be quito certain. Tjio beneficial effects following upon the use of lime have resulted in its growing use in some parts of the Dominion. The Government recognises that it may be of great use to farmers, and in order to encourage its use, free railage is allowed up tr> a distance of one hundred miles. There are very few districts where advantage of this concession cnrmot be taken; but tlia trouble is that in many parts of the country the cost of carting from the railway to tho farm or station makes it a Tery expensive material to use. Lime is used in three forms for agricultural purposes, namely as burnt limestone either in its ground or uncrround form, or in the shape "of ground limestone. Burnt limestone is lime in the quick or hot form. It is made bv burning the limestone and driving off I the carbonic acid gas. This quicki lime is sometimes ground and drilled lon the ground in its quick or hot state. In fact this form of lime is coming into pretty general .use, because ;it cap be applied to the land cheaply, and in comparatively small quantities | per acre, the new system being to give small dressings frequently instead of [large dressings at lengthy intervals. The quick lime in its_ shell form is j applied to tho ground in heaps,, when [it is slaked, and\ then spread with shovels. This, it ivill be seen, is a very expensive process, and one which cannot be adopted largely in this country. Ground limestone is applied by means of a distributor, just as the burnt ground limestone is. It may vary good deal in value according to the locality from which it is obtained. A pure white limestone will give a moro valuable _ product than a stone containing a mixture of sa.nd and clay. The rock must be ground very small indeed, to ensure even distribution, and an easy assimilation by the. soil. The finer the stono is the more readily it gets into the ground when rain comes. Ground limestone, besides being easy of does not deteriorate by keeping in the bags, and is much cheaper than the burnt limestone. However, as more yet has to be put on per acre to get the same j results, the carting is a consideration. Ground burnt limestone is also ap--1 plied 'through a distributor. It is I not at all pleasant to work withj and I unless care is taken the face and hands • may be burnt by it. Its a-ction is rapid, and is, therefore, more favoured by farmers' than the unburn! limestone in its natural staia. The burnt limestone is of great benefit on sour soils or *heavy clays. On light land it is inclined to have an exhausting effect. It should be applied during the winter months, while the land is damp, so that it may become water slaked. Lime that is . water slaked is evidently of more use jon the soil than lime which is air (slaked. In fact, when the shell lime lis put on the ground in heaps, it is J usually slaked as soon as possible by I the addition of water. The slaking must be done gradually, and it is preferable to cover the heaps with soil in order that air slaking may be reduced to a minimum. The air slaking system. by_ which is meant the exposure opt the lime to air and rain, is a very slow_ one, and is inferior to water slaking, because the lime becomes again practically carbonate of lime, and thus loses v the caustic properties of quicklime. " I™ a PPl.ving lime to grass lands, small quantites should be nut on at - a time, rather heavy dressings, because lime has a great tendencv to work downwards in the soil, and consequently, in.grass land, where it is'

never disturbed., it very soon becomes too. low to be of much use to the plants. In land under qaltivation,, the ploughing of the land tends to counteract this sinking of the lime in the soil, and eo is kept for a long time mixed with surxace soil.

THE WHEAT PROBLEM. The middle and northern portions of th a South Island are passing through one of the biggest drought it has known for many years, and if rain does not come very soon there will be something akin to disaster, both in our flocks and crops. The water-courses are dry. The land is absolutely devoid of moisture so. far as the subsoil is concerned, and neither graf-s nor crops can possibly put on much growth till ram comes. The matter is assuming a most serious aspect, more, particularly as our Dominion relies almost wholly upon Canterbury and Otago for its wheat supplies, and also to a. large extent for its supplies of fat lamb. The wheat census has been a long time materialising. It was taken' 1 on Juno 30, and yet up to the time of writing the document has not been printed, though the Prime Minisfcer'uas announced its contents. If the figures given are correct it would appear that we havo sufficient wheat to last into April, and that a surplus above our actual requirements exists. That is, if the harvest comes in at the usual time, we shall have a considerable quantity of wheat in hand, anything from half a million to a million bushels, when tlio new wheat is ready to market. A good many of those who have studied the wheat position for years are inclined to doubt the census returns. They argue that_ the crops whilo they were good m North Canterbury, wore poorer as one proceeded south. They point to the fact that most mills pulled in with a, smaller season than usual, and that importers of cornsaclis tell us that their sales were smaller than usual. The returns collected to the end of June should have been made public property before this, and they should show in what districts the wheat is held. Then the returns could bo checked by those who know where most of the wheat is, and the accuracy or otherwise of the figures could be tested. It is feared that overlapping lias taken place, particularly in instances where farmers are holding a stock in town in the grain stores. On the other hand there are some farmers to my knowledge who did not have any forms forwarded to them, and consequently they made no returns. The Government, therefore, cannot be sure that the figures supplied to it are correct, and those who deal in wheat, and those who manufacture it into flour are in the same position: The Labour, Department were entrusted with the task of collecting the census. With all the best intentions in the world, tho Labour Department must be out of its element in doing this work. The Statistical Deparment is being starved, and it certainly should bo given every facility when dealing With such important figures as thoso relating to our food supplies.

If it is truo that there is a surplus, the question of Exporting some of the surplus should be very seriously considered. It will be remembered that Australia came to our aid at a time when we were in short supply, and the loan we obtained from that quarter practically saved us from a ' flour famine. Thev are now short of wheat over there, while we, with importations of flour coming in, possess a surplus, if the returns *ust mentioned are correct. It would be' good business then to return the compliment, sending to tho Commonwealth some of our wheat at current prices, on a strict agreement that the same quantity should be returned us, if need be, immediately it is .harvested, which should be in a'few months' time. By exporting at present prices, and buying in at the Australian price immediately the stuff is harvested a good margin would result in favour of the Dominion. We want the money at' present, and Australia wants tho wheat. If then we have a surplus it appears to be good business to treat Australia as it as it treated us last season. It is a dangerous thing, everyone must admit, to tamper with food supplies, unless one is sure of one's position. Therefore every effort should be mado to get reliable returns, and if wo have more wheal than we require, send some to Australia with | a contract that it shall be returned if necessary.

JOTTINGS

It has been calculated by scientists that in fairly good soils clover takes oue-thir;"! of the nitrogen from the soil, and two-thirds from the air, and that one-third of the nitrogen of the clover plant is in the roots, and two-thirds in the stems and leaves. If this be true, growing clover and removing the crop neither adds to nor increases the nitrogen of the soil. In very rich soils the plant takes more nitrogen from the soil and less from the air. As Dr. Hopkins has said, "To the soil that hath not shall be given, but from the soil that hath shall be taken away." The Overseas Shipping Committee advise that owing to the fire on the steamer Be nail, the vessel will not come to New Zealand to load meat for London as was first intended. The C and D liner Mimiro is now fixed to load meat in October for Home. She lias a cargo capacity of about 30,000 carcases of mutton more than that of the Benalla. Wool-growers in the North Island are becoming anxious about the supply of labour for the coming shearing season. Large numbers have enlisted for military service. In addition to those already at the front there are sixty shearers now in , the training camps, and the indications are that this will have a serious effect on the shearing season, which opens about the middle of next month. The damage to ceraal crcps wrought by small birds is a matter that frequently occupies the attention of Ellesmere County Council. The Council is paying 9d per dozen for heads and is providing poisoned wheat free. That there is money to be made out of birdtrapping seems very evident, for a man 6s 2d for heads taken to the Council's office within the space ol a few weeks. The following resolution was passed by the recent conference of farmers in New South Wales: "That this Conference assembled representing the primary producers of the State of New South Wales, recognising the want and suffering being experienced By the smaller nations, assisting and forming part of the Allies, in the present great European war, request that each member of this Association shajl give the proceeds of an acre' of wheat of average yield or its equivalent in value towards a fund for the relief of distress." Acknowledging his re-election to the chairmanship of the Auckland Education Board, Mr G. J. Garland, in the course of a review of the progress of education in Auckland, amongst other things, said: —"There can be no doubt as to the necessity for greater effort on the part of the Board in tho country districts for the teaching of practical agriculture, for this country cannot afford to neglect the gifts of Nature; and it is evident that the Board must give duo heed to the requirements pressing upon it for greater extension of this branch of its work.' 5