THE FARM.

Timaru Herald, Volume 170, Issue 170205, 1 May 1920, Page 5

THE FARM.

NOTES BY "KOIUDI." MANURES. At a recent meeting of one of the North. Island branches of the Fanners' Union, one of the members said: ''The Government talks about increased production, but it is impossible for the iarmers to increase their production when manures are not available to them, ior else are available ab 'extortionate prices." There can be no doubt that the position is nob at all reassuring. The shortage in supplies find the very high prices that are being asked are 'oeing taken up all over the Dominion, ; and the Government is being asked to add to its other duties that of supplying manures to iarmers. At the meeting above mentioned the following resolution was passed.—"That- the Government bo urged to do their utmost to supply iarmers the necessary fertilisers, especially superphosphate . and basic slag, otherwise the production of foodstuffs will be seriously curtailed.' 3 The Timaru Branch recently discussed the matter, and decided to approach the Government. It is difficult to see what the Government ca.ii do to ease the position, unless by pushing on t-foe Nauru Island proposition. It seems improbable that ? anything will come of that scheme for some time. There are always a number of tedious negotiations to be concluded in matters of the sort, and Governments are notorious for the length of time taken over any project. In thie meantime we are paying double the price that we paid for some of the manures some years ago", and the quality in some cases is not' there. The s u|)erphosphates thiat we used to build on until recently arenow unprocurable, and works manures are taking their place. On the whole we may consider ourselves lucky that these are available, and certainly if they were not to be had the area of wheat to be put in next month would not be very great. These manures teem to suit some lands very well,: and gpod results are obtained from theni in these cases. On other land they do not appeal- to have the same effect, and experience has proved that the super fertilisers are preferable in these cases. It-would appear as if the opportunity of tho freezing companies has now come to get their manures into general favour. Those who were prejudiced against them in the past have perforce to use them, and if the fertilisers are good and the crops 'oenefit it may ,ba that this dislike will be broken down. By turning ouit a good article many new friends may be. made. At the same time tli<> phosphatic manures that »me of us favoured to the exclusion of everything else had very much to comment! them, especially to the grain grower. They are closely bound up in grain formation, and they had a ripening action that was very acceptable here in the south. Tliey were excellent for pushing the plants ahead in the early stages, and had also a big effect, at the end of the growing and ripening processes. Especially in a wet year is the good effect of super seen at harvest time. Moreover the phosphoric acid increases tho proportion of grain to the straw. In' turnips the superphosphate is excellent forgetting the young (plants away from the . fly, and it helps - ' the: development of the roots. The Australian people are now large' Users of super; and it lias been found that the application of even half a htindred per acre is sufficient to double the yields in some localities. No doubt one reason for this is that the fertiliser helps the plants to quickly send their roots info the soil, a big factor towards success in a dry climate.

It may foe that thle fact that the Government of New Zealand possesses a share in the output of Nauru Island is camsing farmers to turn to the Min-istry-for some help in tlieil - troubles in this connection. We are to get 16 per cent, only of the output, and a share of any portion that the others interested, Australia and the Old Country, does not require. It is to be presumed that the Commonwealth will take' all their own allotment and more if i"" can get it. Great Britain may not take all its portion, 42 per cent., but the chances are that it will, seeing that other sources are not keeping pace with the demand.* (There, is-much more to be done than secure our portion.. The phosphatic rock lias to be turned into super before it is in the best form for farmers. No doubt the rook phosphate, well ground, would be of much benefit to the soil and to plant life, but its action. ...w-ould- be too slow for most crops that w e grow here. There are plants in the dominion that could deal with the rock, but there is not much information available as to their extent ior capacity. To- erect new works would take twelve months at the least ■Some are advocating that the rock be treated at Nauru Island and the super, shipped hero, as labour is so much cheaper in the islands than it is in the Dominion. But it must be remembered tbat_ tho question of coal has to be considered ' among other things. All tine coal that- is consumed on the island has to be- taken there, and this would effectually discount the cheapness of labour in all probability. No doubt the best way is to bring the rock here and treat . it in the dominion, and it will be good news when word is received that shipments are arriving. The scarcity of manures has' stirred lip much, interest in the Nauru i island project, and • farmers' all over i the dominion v.-i! i push the Covern-i iTiGiit in the'.matter during the next! lew months. Deputations are already being, formed to wait on the Prime ..Minister,, as .this now appears to be the leeognised .method of getting requests attended to. The deputation habit is .no doubt getting a nuisance. ' but in this instance no stone should be left unturned to get the Government to push, matters at Nauru'. TRUCES. ... satisfactory to learn that a big ..building programme,: is being inaugnr-' a ted by tho Government in connection with railway rolling stock". Thene is a .good excuse in the dislocation that occurred in construction and building of all sorts; during the war, but it mustbe remembered .that -before • liositilities the same troubles existed, though they have "oeen accentuated to a. considerable extent tliroiigh , war difficulties. Still there is not the same grain to be handled, and some believe that thlere must be some defect in management to' have the shortage so, acute at the present time. . Grain is being -held up all over. the district. Some of the goods sheds are full, and piles of sacks may be seen on the way side. We are notpeculiar in our troubles. In the North Island the same difficulties are occurring, and the authorities, from the stationmasters and district. traffic managers right, .up to. .the officials v at head-1 quarters, ( are- being! .urged to try to I effect ah> improvement..) Members of i Parliament are also being used in the matter. It will be seen therefore that the difficulty is wide-spread., A great deal of inward stuff; is being handled as things are brisk: all round, • and the ] Railway Departrment is likely to liave! trouble till the easier -time of -winteri sets in. In the .meantime we shall have | to do the best we can,-; and hope thab the authorities will see that no one abuses the use of- trucks. - -Shipping naturally has first claim, but thwe are instances where trucks ■■'-have■••been allowed to remain Idle when they shkmld have been unloaded and put into com-'

mission straight away. The 'nuilding programme gives fanners hope for the future, and if the Minister is fully alive to the troubles- that producers have to put up with in regard to carriage of goods on the railway, ih© will hasten on hds proposals to the utmost-. No one can guage the loss and' vexation that, farmers are occasioned, and •tho post-ion would be still worse if it were not for the work that •is being done in some localities by haulers and motor lorries. We may see our roads being worn out by them, but there is this consolation that they are doing something towards relieving the congestion in the station yards. SAKE YARDS AND FOOT ROT. Foot rot is not as prevalent in South. Canterbury as is some other parts of the dominion but there are localities w here it is difficult to deal-with and legular methods of dealing with it have to be adopted. It has alwavs been contended that saleyards are a fruitful source of infection, and so imrlle ■ farmers in som e parts of the dominion with this fact that hey. are asking the auctioneering firms and saleyard companies to exclude i n . fected sheep. fr° m the yards. In the Marlborough district replies have been received to the effect that the proprietors of the yards had always been anuous to prevent the entry of infected sheep into the yards, but detection was difficult, and they would strongly recommend viewing th e whole problem in the light of individual responsibility of sheepowners. In parts where the trouble is acute farmers are of opinion tnat the disease is mor Q serious, and is a greater source of loss than lice and other troubles which receive more attention from the Department. Indeed some of the branches of the Farmers' Union have gone to the length of asking the Department to have foot rot brought under the enforceable provisions of the Stock Act. One sometimes buys sheep in yards that are more or less lame when they are got out on tlie road, and.' wlieii sheep are jammed togeteher in the sheep pens in saleyards it is difficult to detect the trouble. Foot rot, or some forms of it, is known, to be contagious. and healthy sheep arc, Q f coiuse, very liable to be affected by standing in yai-dis that have been occupied. by stock with diseased feet. Itere can he no doubt that more might- be done in the matter of preventing contamination in that way. IS THIS YANKEE "BLOW?"

A bulletin has reached me through Mr Moodie, the Agricultural Instructor, issued in connection with .'the U.S.A. Experimental Stations,, and dealing with a wonderful new "wheat that has been produced over there. It has been named lied Rock Wheat, and it comes from an individual kernel of wheat picked out of a white wheat (Plymouth Rock) and planted in the autumn of 1908. It i!s a bearded red whieat, and has a red chaff. It has been introduced among the farmers of the States, and is by far the best wheat produced for the Lower Michigan State by the Experimental Station. The principal characteristics of Red Rock axe ■ Exceptional winter hardiness, high yield, extra stiff "straw and "tlio«o characteristics that yield a bread far above that usually produced from wheats grown in Michigan. In fact, accoi*9ing to the report, it is a wheat of exceptionally high quality. A photo is given in the Bulletin of bread made with Red-Rock and from , a representative wheat, and this shows that, the loaf from the former- is about twice the size of the other, although they were both made at the same time and under the ■ sanio conditions. -Tiie unusual hardiness of the Red Rock wheat appeared in the spring of 1912, from its endurance of the ice sheets of the winter and the superior crop it then gave. A. comparison between this wheat. and another as they were growing side by side is -given in a. n-hnto reproduced in t-li e "Bulletin," and Red Rock seems to have been little affected by the severe weather -conditions, while the other wheat was badly winter killThe report goes on to |3ay: —: The extreme stiffness of it* straw was previously observed, but it was especially tested in 1914. The wheat variety series had been planted' on a clover sod that year and l as a result the straw grew exceptionally tall. Tlie heads of the wheat oould in many places touch the rim of one's hat. A series of rainy spell 9 came just before harvest. The wheat lodged badly and several of the varieties went flat, yet tile Red Rock always found its way. up until it stood erect at harvest time. iJuriiig tlie -rainy harvest of 1915 a strip of Red Rock on the College farm was not cut until two weeks after being fully ripe, and during these two weeks the piece received a series of! iainS; yet it was stall sfc&ndiiio- when cut and liad not lost its grain. J If all this is true, this is just the wheat that is required for some parts of the South Island, and it is a pity that we have not an experimental station somewhere down tyere to try i it out. In any case it would be worth, getting a few 'oushels and giving it a trial. At the Fairlie Show this year there was a fine sheaf of wheat from Guide Hill, in the Mackenzie Country, and it w-ould -be 6 worth trying this wheat up there'. In other parts of South Canterbury the weather is sometimes severe, and if'it stands frosts and l ain as reported it should find a place amongst us. As" far as I am aware the American wheats have not done well in tlie dominion, but that .is no reason why we should not go on experiment-] ing. This is a big reason why we j should have experimental stations where "such trials can . be made,- and'if, these were established we might discover a wheat that w.ould be eminently suited! to-our climate.- The peculiar thing about new wheats that havo beenintroduced is that they have not held their own to any extent, and we. have, had to fall back on the old standard, varieties, such as Velvet, Red Chaff,! Pearl, the Tuscans, • and so on. Some ' 1 of the new varieties, though they have! done well as to yield, are not favoured by the millers; but- the variety under review seems to have stood tests made bv the baker. If some of our farmer ] friends who ai-e taking a trip Home, cross America, they might try to get hold of a little of. this wheat for trial °' C ]BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. A new Board of Agriculture has lately been : selected in accordance with the provisions of the Act under which. ', tfae board holds office, and notice of; the appointment of the members ap- j pears iin the Gazette. The board is | now constituted as 'follows Sir James Wilson fciliairman' - ), Mes=vs • W. P.. i Grant-, F.. Averill, D; Marshall .T. Ma'coy. W. R. Mar. A. S. Orhell, ,T. H. Perrett. D. W. We-stenra, J.- C. N. Grigg, E. Hnll, and W. 'Perry.