SECOND-CLASS LAND

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 72, Issue 105, 4 May 1929, Page 22 (Supplement)

SECOND-CLASS LAND

PIGS AS A SIDE LINE (WRITTEN SPECIALLY' FOR THE “CHRONICLE”) One of the proposals which has been brought down by the new Government has been the breaking in of second-class country on more or less communal lines, after which it is to be handed over to settlers who have made good. The idea is an attractive one, and in a country where land settlement has been made difficult owing to inflated land values, seems to have possibilities.

The area with which it is proposed at first to deal is the Taupo-Rotorua pumice land, most of which is unproductive at the present time. The idea of working it in large blocks and then dividing these among the settlers who have gained their experience on it, is by no means now and it has yet to be shown that, it would be profitable. In this connection some remarks of the British Economic. Mission to Australia are of direct interest. The mission found that in \ustralia very large sums of money had been spent on group settlement. which had proved unremunerative. The Government bore the cost of broaking-in the land, but it was found that the returns secured by the settlors were insufficient to pay interest on the capital expenditure. While knowing that the work was largely experimental, the. mission unhesitatingly condemned future work on those lines and suggested that expansion could be best secured through fuller utilisation of the lands already being farmed. Will thiio bo any great difference in Ne.v Zealand It is difficult to see that this would be any different. It is always difficult to curb public expen lituro and it seems almost certain that the broaking-in of this secondclass country would not be as cheaply carried out by the Government as it would be by private enterprise. If this is the case it simply means that the settlement of this second-class country will be done largely at the expense of the State—or in other words out of the pockets of the tax-payers. It would certainly be advisable for the Government to pause and carefully consider the commission’s report on affairs in Australia. Composed of most able British financiers and experienced men, the commission speaks with, an authoritative voice which cannot be ignored. Growing Use of Ensilage. The use of ensilage, which has assumed such proportions in the Waikato and Taranaki districts during the last few seasons, is steadily becoming more general. In practically every district in New Zealand to-day dairy farmers are cither making ensilage or arc planning to make it next year. Modern appliances have greatly reduced the amount of work required and to-day there are many farmers who consider the ensilage making is much easier than hay-making. The South Island has, so far, given less attention than the North, but it, too, is coming into line, and the writer knows of many Southland farmers who are now making a little ensilage and using it for winter feeding in conjunction with turnips. Rout crops appear to be getting less popular each season, largely owing to the inroads of disease in the crops. The farmer who can combine ensilage and roots has an advantage over his neighbour who sticks

to one or the other. A point worth mentioning is that it is advisable to feed hay with ensilage, as the ensilage by itself is inclined to have an acidifying effect on the stomachs of cows. Pigs as a Side Line. The recent economic, survey carried out on dairy farms in the Waikato and Taranaki districts has again drawn attention to the neglect of the pig as a side line on dairy farms. 11 was shown that while on some farms no return whatever was secured from pigs, there were farms which showed a profit of £5 per cow from the pigs on the farm. A very considerable number of the farms netted at least £2 per cow, a result which is surely worth striving for. The system which was shown to provide the biggest profits was that in which the farmer bred his own pigs ami fed them to maturity, and this is a system 'hich should become universal in dairying. When the farmer relies entirely on the saleyards for the purchase of weaners he is placing himself in a poor position for profitable pig-keeping. Prices are invariably high in the spring when there is a good demand for weaners and the profits are accordingly reduced. The Use of Nitrogen. A very great deal of ingenious propaganda for the use of nitrogen has been broadcast through New Zealand during the last twelve months or so. While there is a good deal of truth in many of the statements made, they are inclined to err on the generous side and to suggest greater profits than those which have actually been accrued in practice. The success of New Zealand pastures has been due, up till now, to reliance on phosphatic manuring. New Zealand soils arc very deficient in phosphates with the result that liberal applications of these doubled and even trebled the grass in the pad docks. We have by no means reached maximum production as yet, but it is obvious that to further increase our returns production must be very considerably stimulated. At the low prices which arc now ruling for nitrogenous fertilisers, reasonable profits should be made. The recent statement of Air Cockrayne, Director of the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture bears out this contention. In it he suggested that it would be possible to secure earlier spring growth and later autumn growth through the use of nitrogen, but the necessity for ample dressings with phosphate was stressed. Under no circumstances will the basis of our present system be upset. Phosphate will always remain our most important need, but the proper use of nitrogenous fertilisers should give us an earlier spring growth, successfully increase butter-fat, and return reasonable dividends.