THE AGRICULTURIST

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12193, 17 December 1917, Page 3

THE AGRICULTURIST

RURAL TALKS. (By "RUSTICUS.) A GRAC7OUS RAIN. The rain which fell at. the beginning of this week was just what was wanted in those districts where the weather had been too hot and dry for some time past, culminating in a parching nor -wester on last, Saturday. The wind seemed to shrivel up nil vegetation and to make the country drier than it has been at any time since Inst summer. It is the customary experience as far as Canterbury is concerned for a dry spell to set. in during thesummer for a longer or a shorter period. For the past month or more the weather had set in dry and hot with such determination that it was thought that the province was in for another dry season. Luckily the rain that fell during the week has dispelled that; fear to some extent, and Ave shall be safe for a time, particularly if the winds keep away. Unfortunately that does not seem possible as they have set in with the clearing -off of the rain. It is to he hoped that they will not last 1 ontr. The rain will do an incalculable amount of good. It will freshen up the gra=s and the crops, and Avill give the turnips and the rape the start that they needed. Any land that has been we]] worked down will hold the moisture for some time, even if the Avinds do come. The paddocks look beautifully h'esh and green and the country has already improved considerably as n consequence of its bath. Tin-: ( hops. The heavy rain has put. down a good deal of crop. but. on the Avhule it- has done more good than harm, because tin late crop.-, wi!! now stand a chance of mig to -omet hi.ng. Some oi them avcre looking anything but hopeful beiorr> the rani set in. .Many of tliein a\ ere shooting out into head while the straw was very short. They Avili now run up to a reapable length and they wdl till out not. so badly if they m", a tew .--bowers as we fjo a long. On ihe other hand there are hundreds of acres that will be laid in such a Avny that it will he almost impossible to reap them. T'liey have been iwisi.ed in all dirci t 10, -by the viiml and the rain, and it U dhi'm!; ;o know what to do with tlir-m. I'erhaps they wjH he left to harvest with the intention of doiim the best Avirh them at thai.time, but the}- will he most difficult to handle.

It A\'ill be int."resting to note theeffect of the rain on the various pests and disease-; that have made their appearand' in the wheat and the oats this year, hut. particularly in the, wheat.. Probably there never has boon so many different hindrances to the> crops reported as is the case this son. There is. first, of all. the rustAvhich has attacked the oats as Ave!!, as the. Avhe.nt. In some parts this trouble is very serious. Then there, are the mildew, the aphis and the Av.orm that is eating the rootlets of the plants It may be that ivhen the reports first commenced to get- round concerning the fact, that many of the crops wore going off badly, some people were inclined to say-, that these are the usual alarms that are being sounded by the farmers for the purpose of endeavouring to harden the market, f know tha'. 111:s sort of assertion is sometimes mad". But I do not think that furriers are given to making false reports for any purpose whatever. They may be. deceived sometimes as to the seriousness of the troubles: which afflict tlioni and iheir crops, but they do urn spread alarmist statements for the purpose of raising juices. This year the experts of lite Agricultural Department wore soon on the spot- for the purpose of itK|iiir:ng into the reports that were being made, and samples or specimens of disease mir] parasitic growth? Avero seni along for investigation. In all cases the report'; of the experts have borne out wha' 'he farmers and others have said about the crops, and it Avould appear as if wo have several fresh troubles to deal aa ith iliis so,-,son. At, anv rate, if they are not- actually now, they have never been so virulent -is they r, re this time, probably b->cnuse the weather of the past three years, and. part : e>ihr]v this season, has hern favourable 1 o the growth and developmen' of the various pests. The grain aphis is said to ho an old enemy, hut it, is usually kept under, i:, appears, by our friend, one of the

OUR PRIMARY INDUSTRIES. THE MAN ON THE LAND.

varieties of the ladybird. It may injure oats, rye and barley as well as wheat. It sucks the .juices of the young stems and leaves of the crops, and ri it has a good run. as it appears to have had in some cases this year, it can do a lot of damage. Some authorities state, that later in the season this insect attacks the cars of thci corn when still green, and causes considerable loss in that way. There does not seem to be any way of combating the post if the natural enemy does not, do its work for any reason. Good cultivation and manuring are said to help 1o prevent, the attacks of the pe.st. but that has not, been the case this season. Pressings of lime and soot, are recommended. Probahly much of our land would be freer of the pests tha;t trouble us if we used more lime than wo do. In Canterbury there arc Very few farmers who think it worth while to lime rhoir land. Attempts in that direction in the past, have not beeri very satisfactory. But as times goes on it. may be necessary to do more in that direction.

The mildew or straw blight that is attacking some of our crops injures them both in the quantity and the quality of the grain that is produced. The fungii-, often stops growth altogether and is fatal to the plants. It. ma v he recognised by the presence of brown spot near the base of the in fesiod plants. It is stated that tlvre is nothing that can be done to prevent the ! rouble, and that crops should not, be grown in succession on the land thai has borne an infested crop- -So far I. have not heard of the presence of ?mm or bunt in the wheat, though I hero is some of it in the early oats. However, that appears in some of the oats every year, and should not occasion any alarm unless it is more pronounced' than usual. The birds are attacking the car'v crops of oats severely, and a good deal of damage i> being done by them in <-onMoquonce. 11 is ihe early rrojx thai suffer the most- They come in for the auction of all the birds, whereas I he later 'Tops escape individual punishment t<: the same extent because the nio;i is greater ami the birds have a larger field to operate upon. Still the fiier that 1 lie oarly crop'- suffer to the exifiit, thev do shows what- harm the small bmls really cause. Concent rated attention demonstrates the real extent of the toll the birds take, wher»ar> when the feeding is done over a larger area tie damage is not so apparent. There does not seem to lie much in shooting or trying to frighten the birds away whan the crop is ripenin.ee. One has to be constantly on the job to effect any good, ,and then it can only he done on a small scale. The host- v.'av is to fry and kill the birds during the off and if farmers wo;-|(! ir.' l ■ > and poison more s'.vstr in a ti ra 11 v in the winter the pest, could he. reduced considerably more than it TWK ('• RAKS PADDOCKS. The grave paddocks" have received a good washing, and have freshened up a great deal. There should he some growth where the grass had commenced in die off on account ot the dry weather. Many of the paddocks thai, seemed to be full of feed were not wi flush as they seemed to beThere was little or no bottom, grass and ail that could he seen w>"\s t lie si ems of ihe rye. grass which tieures so largely in the South Island. 11. is. a grass that has been overrated. Ir is useful in the early spring and ibe summer, but. in the middle of the summer it is of little use, especially if the sea-on is a dry one. In the North Island there more attempt to grow bottom grasses that will take the place of the rye grass when if runs up In seed. In t]>n South Me have not, bothered 1,0 the same, extent, because we break up our land oftener and the, rye grass soon comes to maturity and. is easily worked out of the ground when the time comes to get. another rotation of cereal and roof, crops. Some experimental farms are badly needed in the South to see what can be. done in the way of getting better pastures, even if they are temporary, and also to experiment with lucerne, which is being taken up very reluctantly by the farmers m the South. As a. matt Plot fact, anything that is likely to interfere. -with the rotation that, has been found so hene.fieinl and necessary on the southern lands is looked upon with suspicion. There is not the pluck or the initiative nbout that, will allow farmers to do some experimenting on their own account.. Xo doubt in the past trials with permanent pastures and similar crops have not been attended with good results, and it. .is

now difficult, to get the agriculturalist out. of the groove thai, ho has found to be payable. However, it does appear as if something more might be done in the direction of having better pastures while the land is in grass. Whether our land will stand or produce the same thick s.ole of grass as is the ease in the North Island is a question that has still to be decided, but it does seem a pity to ha.ve so much of our grass land covered with tufty growth, bare patches being in between. K will pay us when some good bottom grass more> reliable and permanent than dlover can hp found that, will suit our soils and our conditions of farming.

Perhaps the grasses that we do sow would do better if we were not, so hard upon them in the early stages of their growth. We stock them too heavily generally speaking. The young grass comes away in the spring first thing when the feed is scarce, and we stock it to a. far greater extent than is good for it. There can be no doubt that it pays to move the sheep from paddock to paddock as often as possible or convenient. This method of management is better for the sheep and better for the grass than leaving the stock in the paddock till there is nothing more for them to get. Cattle are not. so hard on the grass as tlm sheep, as they do not graze so close, but it is necessary that sheep should not be allowed to eat the grass right into the heart or the crown. Many a flock of sheep, too. suffers by not being moved around sufficiently. here there are ewes and lambs to deal with it is a good thing to shift the mobs about: a bit, if only for the reason that the lambs get tamed down a good deal and are more manageable than is the ease when they are left in_ the one place for a lengthy period. We all know how difficult- it is to va.rd the lambs at tailing time if they have never been molested, and the same holds good in regard to the shean'ng Hiiio. Referring; to flic lambs it is now satisfactory to see some of the streams and creeks running again, especially in the foothills, where the land is steep and the watercourses soon dry up. Sheep do a great deal better if they can get water and the courses should now have some holes full of water for some time to come. It is quite on the cards that we may now have showery weather. A STOPPAGE. The shearing, which has been progressing very slowly, has been p'ut, hack lor the best part ot a week on account ol the rain. Of cour.se. we cannot, have it every way. V* e wanted the rain, and Ave shall have? to put up with hindrances. to the shearing. ]t looks as if we shall have the shearing and the. liai've.-i,. running together as far as theconclusion of the one and the beginning of the other is concerned. In the back country many of the stations will not commence before the Xew Year, and some oi them will be going right into I'ebrnnry. and perhaps the beginning ot March. It is to be hoped that there will now bo a straight run for a fortnight. I hat would s p e most, of the low»r sheds cut, out. Of course, the holiday season comes in, and ihere will not be many sheds that will keep running both at Christmas and ,\"<<w "*1 car. I am afraid tbav thorp, will be a temptation to shear before the sheep are dry in some cases. This is ,a mistake, and it is to be hoped that it, will not be done. Luckily the men are right against the practice, even if some of the owners are ready to cut the wool off before h is properly dry. The clip is in «sich good order in other way* that, it serins to be a pity to cause it injury by injudicious management. A good d >al has been made of the difficulties in connection with the mustering of the high country, and there seems tn be an impression that there has been undue stress laid upon the difficulty of getting this work done- There is a considerable amount of difference in regard to the mustering work iri the backcountry- It is not all hard to ideal with. But. ihe high country on the backbone of the. Island. containing huge gorges and immense precipices, cert,a inlv does need expert men. or rather a leaven of them. Beginners, ready to do a hard day's work, and willing to stick n +, the job in spite of difficulties and some hardship, may be wedged in hpfween men of experience, with one or more year's training at the work. There is a big difference in the way rhat men take to the work. Some will do hotter in a couple of years than Others will do after four or five years 'on the hilß There are still a good, many men left classed as C2. and there are, also many Second Division men who can do the work, and it doe? not, appear necessary at the present time, to mak° anything like wholesale exemptions in order to get, the high country sheep in for the several operations thai, fall duA at this time of the year.