STOCK AND STATION

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19840, 14 May 1927, Page 21 (Supplement)

STOCK AND STATION

AGRICULTURAL JOTTINGS.

Lucerne requires nitrogen, potash and phosphorous especially. It is better to apply small quantities of limb at I shorter intervals than to apply large (quantities at longer intervals. Farmers [should not be discouraged if the first, results are not 100 promising. The I enormous damage done to corps caused by introduced weeds, etc., should lead farmers to take precautions against such. The disc should be used when necessary. Proper and intelligent cultivation of the soil is one of the primary conditions of success in farming. So that the crops may flourish to the best advantage, we must carry out the ordinary processes of cultivation by which we stir the soil and prepare it for them. To bring about the conditions necessary for the successful growth of crops the soil must be porous and in a [fine state of division, it must lie clean and free from weeds; and it must contain sufficient supplies of plant food and moisture. To prepare for these conditions the soil has to be loosened and turned over, so as to allow air, rain, frost, etc., to exercise their pul■verising influence.

| One morning recently Innocence visit>ed a dairy factory not 100 miles from Gore (states the Ensign). The factory manager had reason to complain about the quality of the milk of a supplier. One morning the manager declined to itakc the milk and told the boy to take [it homo. Next morning the boy appoar!ed with his supply as usual. “Well, [what did your dad say about yester(day’s milk?” asked the manager. “Oh, he just told me to take the water [from the spring instead of from the creek,” said the boy. 1 Many farmers lose a considerable amount annually through over-stocking. Good breeding is of little value unless it is backed by good feeding. A beast in poor condition is just right to contract all the diseases which may be prevalent. Mangels will keep right through the ! winter and early spring, after the other roots have rotted. j Once mangels have been lifted they should be kept from frost, otherwise ‘they will not keep. I Chow Moellier should be cut and [carted out to stock; this will prevent a •good deal of wastage and allow for [subsequent cuttings. | Stagnant and dirty water should [never bo given to stock.

i In 1926 a total of 41. head of purebred dairy cattle were exported from New Zealand. [ A bull is entitled to be called a certi-'ficate-of-record bull when he has sired four certiflcate-of-record daughters, [each daughter being from a different dam. j It has been proved that for yield the potato crop must have a good supply ’of organic matter to be a success. j In 1926 there were 472,534 pigs in 'the Dominion; 364,962 pigs under one ’year, 12,510 breeding boars one year [and over, 63,702 breeding sows one year and over, 31,360 other pigs. ! At the 50th anniversary luncheon of the Patea Harbour Board, Mr C. E. .Dickie mentioned that the Patea Freez[ing Company had had a record' killing [season, the figures being 20,000 ahead of ithe previous best. It was one of the oldest established in New Zealand. Paspalum grass is becoming very widely distributed over the more temperate parts of the Dominion. Climatic factors, such as rainfall, sunshine, frost, etc., have a direct influence [on the type of plant which may inhabit a particular locality. The sanitary disposal of refuse, including vegetable refuse and manure, requires every attention. Shelter from prevailing winds and screens for unsightly views demand suitable blocks for trees and shrubs to be planted. No breed of sheep can be expected to do well on ground that is overstocked. Drainage improves not. only the pasture but also the climate by taking away the chilly atmosphere. Rash employment of probes and teat dilators is liable to result in injury [which may cause paralysis and permanent leakage. The most valuable manurial ingredient of blood manure is nitrogen, the amount present depending chiefly on the progress adopted in its manufacture.