Farmers Golumn

Western Star, 26 January 1906, Page 3

Farmers Golumn

Mr J. C. Blackmore, Government Fomologist, who has been delivering a series of lectures to farmers ■in various parious parts of Canterbury on potato disease, has taken the opportunity during his travels, to inquire into the prospects of the potato yield outlook at the present .time. He thinks there is promise of a remarkably good vield in mos| instance's. Where patches of potatoes have been reported as affected with the blight he found on inspection that it was a disease known as " early blight," and not the Irish blight, which is soi destructive in large at'd small districts where potato growing is carried on. Mr Bhckmore found that growers were spfayi'ig in adv> .-.ce of the disease. Writes a Witness contributor : I mentioned a'Hawke's Bay farmer's experience of searing instead of cutting off the lambs' tails at docking time. He has recently, been drafting fat lambs, and got away just under 50 per cent, off the grass, which is far and away the best he has ever done for one draft He attributes this to a great extent to , searing. It must be taken into consideration that the season has been favorable, but there can be no reasonable doubt that a large measure of this success is due to searing, and it seems that many will give it atrial. It probably makes just the little difference sothat the lamb that is seared is fit for the chambers and the lamb that is cut, is not quite fit.

; The time is drawing on. now to ram sales (writes a North Island correspondent of a contemporary),, and the question of which is the most profitable breed lo go is receiving some attention. The most profitable breed is, of coiuse, the breed that suits best :he country it is to live on. A S'-uall death rate is the first consideration, so that constitution is the first thing to look for in a ram, and a ram with a good thick neck, not too long, almost invariably has that. A lair number offarmers are using the English Leicester, as being a good all-round sheep, and generally fitted out with a good digestion, while they certainly make nice freezers of good sjiape and quality, either as lambs cr grown sheep, and they dct a fair fleece, but rather inclined to become cotted. Lincolns are scarce, wilb a strong inquiry. Southdowns are coming more into prominence on account of the good freezing qualities of the lambs, but those that do not go as lambs cannot be profitable to keep, because the fleece is so light. To mate wirh two-, tooth ewes, it is wise to choose rams with small heads, end the English Leicester is one of the best to use for this reason. A smallheaded ram materially help*, to keep down the death rate at Limbing time. In regard to certain complaints from country" settlers that the Bor deaux mixture for the treatment of the potato blight had in some cases failed to serve its purpose the Government Biologist, Mr T.

Wi Kirk, questioned on the subject remarked :—" In all cases that I have investigated, and we frequently, have specimens forwarded to us examination lias shown that the spray has either been improperly made or not applied to the underside of the leaf. The leaflets and pamphlets issued by the Department specially point out that the spray must be used on the underside for the disease,is chiefly developed there. There is no difficulty whatever, in applying the spray to the underside, as nozzles are made specially for this purpose. If a man can't obtain a side-delivery nozzle, he can easily get a small elbow made on the director of his pump. It is perfectly true that in some districts they have had such continuous wet s weather as to discount considerably the efforts of the Bor-

deaux mixture, but that in no way indicates that the mixture is not efficacious in anything like ordinary

conditions if it is properly made and properly applied. As for appying - it to the upper portion of theleaf that is not affected, they might just as well for instance, try to wet me by pouring water on the top of my umbrella. In cases where there has been failure the spray

has been put on the top of the leaf where there is no disease, and is not absorbed. In one instance where brown patches were observ-

ed on the leaf it was due entirely to the mixture having burnt the foliage a- little through improper spraying. The efficacy of the mixture is undisputed in the United Kingdom and America, besides which I could quote you innumerable cases in New Zealand where the application was carefully made aud. with gratifying results."