THE FARMER'S PAGE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160737, 25 August 1920, Page 6

THE FARMER'S PAGE.

l TOPICS OP DAILY INTEREST,

Milk returned to the farm sour may bo converted into cheese if not too acid, or it may bo churned for butter, and the buttermilk used for pig feeding. Sour milk cannot be separated, a-- it will clog up the machine unless only very slightly acid. Guanos are rich in nitrogen, 7-12 per cent., phosphates 20-40 per cent., and potash 3-4 per cent. In fresh guano there is more nitrogen and phosphates, when it is old more potash.. Of the inorganic and organic dressings, which are used to ameliorate land, salt has a physical effect in checking too rapid growth, and is beneficial to cabbage and mangolds. But over-dosing causes sterility. Gypsum was used much more frequently years ago. It is a sulphate of 1; no, and is n good dressing for clover and also for turnips. It absorbs ammonia when finely powdered, and so may bo spread on manure heaps with advantage. op.'dal inspectors from the horticultural section of the British Ministry of Agriculture have boon to Tonbridge, Kent, to visit the Golden Green llTench (or intensive) garden created by the genius of two French gardeners, , the brothers Le Coq, and the enterprise of a New Zealander, Mr Phillips. They have boon so much struck with the bulk of produce—about £IOOO to the aero—bv the practical devices and tho scientific originality of the method, that there is some talk of making the garden a sort of official model of instructive .horticulture. This is one sign of the great development that is coming in this branch of agriculture. Allotments are now so many and good that horticulture is becoming almost a rival to .agriculture. As an example of the advance of intensive farming it is worth notice that the Kentish fa mars are spending £2OO an acre on their hop crops. THE HESFER. WHEN TO BREED. At a meeting of the Gotta Walla branch of the Agricultural Bureau of New Mouth Wales. Mr S. W 7 . Howard said ih is impossible to be arbitrary regarding tho time to breed a heifer,, as so much depends on the breed, tho size of strain or family, the character or i bo feeds and pastures, and climate. Informal ion that has been collected from different farms and herds and experiment.-; that have I .men conducted in ilia Dominion of Canada have demonstrated two things—(l) Heifers well reared by good feeding reach mature weight and production much sooner than if less generously fed while young ; (2) good rearing will result in a cow weighing from 3001b to 5001b more than a poorly-roared animal, the increase in weight representing greater frame and muscle—in other words, a stronger, .more durable machine, of greater capacity for milk product-ion. It is found profitable to force the calves to a go did sire at an early age by good ferdii g. tlien the heifer may be bred at seventeen to twenty months old. Where weather and feed conditions warrant slower growth and maturity, heifers should not be bred till twentyfour bo twenty-seven months old. Hv-n then they should be sufficiently weß nourished to roach a good size before breeding. Tho well-grown heifer that- is bred to calve first beta-pen twenty-six and thirty months old should produce well frntn the start, and will reach mature weight and production at 'five to six years of age. The slower-grown heifer brad to calve first between thirty and iMrtv-rix months old may, if properly handled, reach the same mature weight and production as the other cow, but a little later. Idle poorly-grown heifer, brad to calvo first- at under thirty mcg-.lhs old, but will never reach lo i’lr-rans/' in weight and production til! raven v-mrs of age, but will never reach <h-» (i-'hred sire, nor bo as, profitable a s the".-' betrer bend'-vl. The foregoing ag:s m.-d:-' allowances for different br.-vJ- - . the smaller and loss hardy H requiring to be bred at the later ages. Within reasonable limits the inf’eriied tendency to production of milk is a greater factor than the size of the ccw. At- tho same time, the larger cows., as a rule, produce most milk, and arc undoubtedly capable of manufacturing larger amounts of rough forage into milk, and with increased profit. Heifers that calve j-onng—under twenty-four months—arc undoubtedly led to develop dairy qualities very young, but there is a. strong tendency to greatly reduce tip; size and constitution, and thus to iessmi the capacity for consumption of feed and production of mdk. Well-grown heifers that calve at the age of twenty-six to thirty months, dr even somewhat slow-grow-ing heifers that- calve at thirty to thirty-six months old, will not acquire tho same degree of dairy refinement noli! a year later than the foregoing class; hut, even so, will produce more heavily. MAIZE. The plant that offers the dairy farmer the most secure of all insurances against bh-s diminution of the butterfat cheque from the shrinkage of milk production of his cows, during the dry months of summer, is very certainly maize. This crop assures a supply of green food at the season when the pastures are no longer furnishing grass to maintain the flow of milk after tho first fin si i of spring has passed. Maize lias the two-fold advantage over the greater number of plants—it supplies the green food so much wanted" in summer, then whatever may have not been made nso of provides tho best of ensilage. In this form, m the silo, or the pit, or the stack, there is a stora of food for the winter or for the following season —one that will remain sound, valuable and nutritious until it is wanted. There should be on every farm an ample acreage of maize and the reserve in the form of ensilage. There is no novelty in the maize crop, but with all its well recognised value it is unfortunately by no means u novelt j lo find the milk supply at the lowest, the pastures at the barest, and the provision of green food neglected. The object in writing this is to remind farmers that it is now the time to have land in preparation for tho maizp crop, and let it be always borne in mind that while all plants benefit

from thorough tillage that no plant of the farm responds more generously to good cultivation than maize. it may be almost described as the plant of cultivation. The true home place of mak-e is no doubt Urn deep, rich alluvial soils; it, however, adapts it self to those of medium fertility, where with liberal fertilising heavy crops nay be produced. The manure that is the most useful should bo complete - , that is, the three chief elements of plant food should bo present; they are nitrogen, phosphoric acid amj potash. The fertiliser that is recommended is ina-Jo up of superphosphate 3cwt, sulphate of ammonia l-cwt, sulphate of potash Icwt—altogether 4owt. This should be applied at the minimum rat© of 3cwt an acre. In districts where the rainfall is light the use of one-half of this fertiliser will be found sufficient. It is to bo assumed that the land selected for maize has already received a liberal dressing of lime, or that it will be so treated if the condition of the soil requires this addition. A liberal application of a fertiliser for this crop is well warranted. Maize yields heavily with good tillage and generous manuring, and to do this it draws strongly on the plant food in the soil. Land for maize should have been ploughed in tho fall or early winter; it should be again ploughed so soon as it is in condition for working, and cultivation up to Hie time of sowing need not be determined by the liability of the occurrence of frost, and that is so varying in different districts that local knowledge is Flic only guide. The very general custom of sowing maize, at the rate of up to two bushels an acre, is nor altogether to be recommended. Maize so thickly sown cannot fully develop, there is not sufficient space on an aero of land, for the plants to grow fairly well. In countries where the cultivation of this crop is -systematised the maizo planter is invariably made use of. The up to two and three feet apart; the planter drops the seed at from six to nine inches from each other. For this mode of sowing from twenty-eight to forty pounds of seed are sufficient; the variation of the quantity is due to the size of the seed of the kind of maize that is made ns-e of. It is not supposed that the custom of heavy seeding for growing fodder will be altogether abandoned. but a lighter seeding through fewer of the drill will result ir. as great a crop and the better feeding .quality. Tire care of tho crop begins so soon as the seed is sown; a light harrow is used until the plants lire almost showing. This both helps Ihc young plant and controls the weeds; the harrowing is useful even when tho plants are well advanced. If the system of the wider rows has been adopted the horse hoo should be used as often as possible This may be continued until it would appear that the plants would bo seriously injured. This horsohoeing wag observed to be carried on in the great maize-growing districts of the United .Stales until the plants were fully three feet high; actually the implements were almost hidden among, them. The crop should not be cut for fodder until tho tassels are fully shown, but tho need of green fodder will be th-9 natural determining factor of when to begin to make use of the crop. Actually the greatest quantity of useful food is obtained when the cars are fully formed. Records of many experiments show that, with normal conditions, twelve tons of maize, when the kernels are in tho glazing stage, contain as much digestible food as fifteen tons at tho commencement of tas-sei-ing. In practice maize, is better used as green food before the cars are approaching maturity, as after that stage animals are inclined to eat tho cobs, to the neglect of the leaves, and even, of tho succulent parts of the stalks. It is when the kernels have- passed 1 the sett or milky stage and are hardening that maize should be ensiled; it is then a more complete ration for stock. The varieties of maize that aro accepted as the more useful for green food are fairly numerous. Amongst them arc tho very generally used Ninety Day, Hickory King and Early Dent; there are the White Flint, Boone Comity White, another known as the Dairy' Cream (this is obtainable in Auckland). The Rural Thoroughbred is a favourite fodder variety in America; it is probably not stocked in this country. There are two varieties grown in the Bay of Plenty that are well appreciated; they are the East Coast Horse Tooth and the Otumo-ctai. It is, after all, not the variety that is of the greater importance; it is the cultivation, the fertiliser, and, above all, the soil.