THE WAIKATO FARMER

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19911, 13 June 1936, Page 23 (Supplement)

THE WAIKATO FARMER

EDITED BY C. E. CUMING.

The Solontlflo Worker. There Is no country that needs more than does New Zealand the services

young animals Dr. Hammond says that ”the mistuke is to go in for permanent grass. The value of new graSS raised on land in which the old turf has been converted into humus, i.e. oxidised, is really an aeration problem . . Remember one point in your In—dian experience which bears on New Zealand conditions. It is this. Urass in the tropics only does well lf the land is cultivated and manurecl. This is true of grass everywhere, but the lesson is obscured by the fact that in Great Britain, New Zealand, etc., grass of a kind will grow anywhere and anyhow. \Vhat you want for your animals is grass worth eating, with all the nourishment, minerals. etc., you can pack into it. Animals need less or such grass to satisfy themselves. Hence. one of the reasons why grassland freshly ploughed carries so much stock, and why this stock thrives so well . . . There is only one principle in agriculture, viz., to introduce sunlight into a crop or into the stomsch of some animal by means of the crop. All the rest is detailt To do this effectively the sunlight must be fully used, which in turn is only possible if the grass and the soil come into gear properly . . . , My theme (referring to humus manufacture) was that insects and fun-gt are part of the creation for the purpose of keeping agriculture up to the mark. Hence they must not be killed. otherwise the prob—lem is destroyed, not solved. Plants properly grown are not attacked." 111 ’ t I! Born and Turnip Dianna. It is very satisfactory to know that boron, or thorax, can definitely cure “ brown heart " in turnips. On an estate in the central districts of the North Island there were over 900 acres sown to turnips this season, and the whole or the crop was practically useless for feeding purposes, all except a strip taken through the crop which, at the suggestion of Messrs Kempthorne, Presser and Co., had been fertilised with a mixture containing about 'T‘h. of borax to the acre. In the treated strip every turnip was sound. As this small amount of hora); is apparently effective it would be a. wise precaution to use this proved correct've where any sign of this trouble has appeared, and the trouble is more general than ls generally supposed. s- o g . ‘ out and his“... Quite a number of people think that continuous heavy frosts are beneficial for grassland. \Ve Wish we could think so. No doubt frosts are benefetal to ploughed arable land, but the ‘et't‘ect of frost on grass must surely

or the scientifically-trained research worker, and there is no country which. in some quarters at least, that ap—preciates him less. in every phase oi human Activity it is the calibre of the men employed that matters most. And, :'3 the Americans Say. " human eQUiD‘ ment" is the meet scarce commodity in the \\ui‘ltl to—day. Perhaps it is lirwnusv agricultural science has been the Uindvl'ullu in our University syslmn that the \nlue of a complete eduution for the scientitlc worker on agricultural problems is not realised. Then. in many cases. the endeavour made to import properly-trained men to direct agricultural education and agricultural services has had disastrous results, probably because the salaries onered have failed to induce mp right type of men to come to the country. Fortunately, the Department of Scientific and industrial Research has had an appreciation of the really qualified scientist, with the result that some at the research workers it has brought to the Dominion are doing valuable work. It would be well for the country if all research work in connection with agriculture were contlned to this Department. - O O O 0 Selena. and the Former. It is impossible to over emphasise the Importance of the work of the scientist to the farmer. A striking in—stance of the service that can be renc'ersd by the highly-trained worker is contained in a report on the “Metabollsm 01 Fruit and Vegetables in Relation to Their Preservation," by Maurice Copisarow. ‘D.Sc., of the Research Laboratory, Manchester. This shows, in the Journal 0! Pomology and Horticultural Science, that maleic acid has the power or preventing fruit and even potatoes from ripening (exerting at the same time a protective influence against parasitic attack), holding them safely at the same stage or development, and that ethylene acid has the opposite chest. in that it hastens the ripening process. The possibilities of this discovery are very great. Potatoes, for instance. could be made to sprout Just when required. It would be a great aid to lemon growers in ,this country. The rate ,0! ripening could be checked till the deer season. and then Just the amount required for market at any time .could be ripened in a few days. Bananas could be landed green from the islands and then ripened , when required. The commercial ap-1 plication of this valuable principle has not yet been developed, but no doubt this will be soon forthcoming. The eil‘ect of the two acids referred to has been definitely proved, and their use for the pracucal man now only depends on the development of the necessary technique. and this the great manufacturing chemists oi‘ liritain should speedily solve. . t t 0 Grass PhllosophyReference was recently made in these columns to the very Interesting work tiring done by Sir H. Howard. the famous botanist, in the manufacture Jf humus under the Indore process, which he invented. Though this great research worker has specialised rather in crops than in grass, having de-x \‘clnped some notable strains of wheat. he '9 DOW Bivlng thought to grass, having- settled in England. where grass is lemming the main subject of con. sideration in the world of scientific asriculture. Here are some of the “Helm“ thoughts expressed by the sreat botanist in the course or a letlr‘r to Dr. Annett, a fellow research “nrker in lndia: “Under grass the SI” dies slowly, and the plant is un—“X'h‘ 1" “5“ the 50” properly. Hence tiw nerd ot‘ urtiilviuls, salt licks, etc. T’H‘ llt‘i‘d t'ni' llllJSl‘ things is not (IL i-U—‘olin‘r tlllL' in lilillt‘l‘:ll deficiency, but tn imi—lmnnd will for the old grass crnnui uw tlu- .\‘nil. \\'itli your ilcuvy “WM”: )Uu \\ili iii- illllL‘ in .srt-up ”ml" “ 1‘“ "1' WW uriiiicialis, suit 15"k5-lt‘h‘» l‘i‘i)\itll'il you plough up the lulni cu-i'y three or four years and g.) In for ll‘llillol'ill‘) pastures us \vcii. W.

'lnly he to lower the sol! temperature and thereby check growth. There is little tn the argument that the frost destroys germ life. Some years ago a party of Tasmanian fruitsrowers visited Central Otaso in the depth of winter. When they saw the country covered with snow and experienced the bitter frosts they remarked that the local growers SilOuld not be troubled with insect pest: They were sur—pxlsed to find that the extremely cold winter had no «Heat on the pests that annually torment the fruitgrower. The same thing applies to England. And whlle a su‘ccesslon ot’ frosts is not .Jcneflclal to grassland the frosts are certainly not benci‘lrial to cattle, especially those having inadequate shelter and near calving. ‘

thm Dalrylng. One or the keenest and most progressive men in the dairy industry remarked to the writer the other day that he believed the most important reform needed in connection with the dairy industry of this country was the establishment of winter dairying. Be!rx a factory manager and secretary he did not look at the problem so much from the farmer‘s view point as from that of the manufacture of dairy pro—duee. lle sees that. in the way Den. mark. despite all diseouragcments, l'us stuelz tenaciously to winter dairy— Eng. the great asset, from the market \lt'\V point, that country thus possesses (over .\"ew Zealand. obviously butter [wing made right throughout the year, and then immediately put on the mar— Let, has. an enormous advantage over the butter of a country that has to be sent in a refrigerated condition to at distant market and there stored on that market for winter sale. \\'inter dutrylng would undoubtedly, from a quality \‘iL‘\\' point, he of great advan—tage to New Zealand. And there are certainly distinct advantages in winter dairying from the producer‘s View ‘pnint. in the tirat place, the cattle iwnuld came to calving; in better run; tditien, and thereby be better able to ‘withstund disease, while they would thu'e millkprmlueing food in their prm lduring .\I‘IL‘UH because at the more tit‘pt'ittlalth‘ mintall, and then man and thrust would have their period of rest in the best months or the year for that i'|‘>t‘ \\'ith the aid ”1' nitrogen winter ;_'l'.l~.~' ran ln- assured. The main argunh'ul against winter dairy—ing is Hll' mud rrrated by moving cat~ [in in winter. in bringing them in and l't'nn] milking, but the \\nr.~t time 01' the war, from a mml—n'l'eatinx View paint, is in late winter and early spring. periuds during “hieh euws are al—learly being milked. All the advan~ taxes are certainly in favour of “in—ter dairying, and quite .1 number nt' farmers. are realising this unduubted

A page devoted to assisting the W aikato farmer to make the fullest possible use of the great natural advantages of the Waikato and to thereby develop the most prosperous farming community in the world.

tact. Winter dam-ins may not appeal to farmers in the South Island and in] the southern districts of the North Island, but it would be well if summerl dairying were continued in those sec—‘ tions. Then it would be possible to‘ reach the marketing: ideal of having‘ our butter production spread over the [year to quite an appreciable extent. it =ll II * . in. mm Rain. ‘ The long spell of frosty dry weather has been a big disappointment to those ‘who applied nitrogen after the rains ifor winter grass, In future they will, ‘no dowbt. apply the nitrogen earlier, ‘ that is if there is rain about—in fact, if there is rain they will do the work instantly and in the rain. True, nitrogen treated grass will withstand host, but there must be growth in the iflrst place, growth induced by the nitrogen. The fact has to be realised that moisture is the principal factor in grass production, and that nothing will take its place. If there is any decent rain at all the sulphate of ammonia. which is water soluble, and therefore immediately available, will be efl‘ectivo. . ‘ ll I It 0 Sourm of. Nitrogen. . One of the finest things done thy the American experiment stations has been the exhaustive tests they have made to determine which types of fertilisers give the best results under practical conditions. Unfortunately all their work has been done with crops. for grass is not or such moment with them as it. is with us. One of their l most interesting series of experiments in this connection has been to test out the comparative value of nitrate of soda, sulphate. of ammonia and dried blood (the natural organic nitrogen—- ‘ ous manure, the stations which have provided the most complete data are those of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The former has carried out the experi—ments from 1908 and the latter from 1882 to the present time. The re—sults of bot-h these stations are in thorough agreement, and all the other States which have carried out similar itrisls have also arrived at the same conclusions. And the common conclu‘sion is that sulphate of ammonia is easily the best nitrogenous manure when the soil is also timed. Under acid conditions. when liming has been neglected, the result from the use or sulphate of ammonia progressively cleolines, as does also the result from the use of dried blood but to a less l extent. On the other hand. the nitrate of soda apparently enjoys an acid con« dition in the soil.

In an official extended American survey the national work on the nit—rogen problem a late report says: “ Natural organics (dried blood etc.) are not readily leached and do not materially increase soil acidity. They have, however, a low total availability. This property cannot be corrected. Nitrate nitrogen (nitrate of soda) has a high total availability and in the form or calcium (lime) and sodium nitrate does not increase soil acidity. 0.11 the other hand, nitrate nitrogen is not as readily absorbed as is ammonium nitrogen (sulphate or ammonia) and is very readily lost by leaching. This property of nitrate nitrogen cannot be changed. Ammonium nitrogen (sul—phate o! ammonia) is readily absorbed. has a high total availability and is not easily leached from the soil. Its one weakness is that, particularly in the form of ammonium salts. it materially increases soil acidity. This action, however. is easily corrected by the use of limestone. When limestone is used with sulphate of ammonia it is, in most cases, the best source of nit—rogen that can be used in fertilisers," V a: x: :1 Science in Stock Breeding.

[)l‘. John Hammond, the great authority on animal physiology of Cumhridgn University, has published a remarkable informative article on ”New Scioni-e in Stock—invading." The last hundred yr‘m's, he says, have seen l 1 great roulml by man over the physiml forces of llilitll‘O. and the motorvnr, aeroplane. telephone, Wireless, 016., have resulted. in the next hundred years he thinks we shall see Just as grunt :1 i‘ontrol over the animal] body and its produrtion. One of the most

interesting übscm‘ations of Dr. Hammond is that. of the effect of the season or the your on animal production. It has recently been found, he says, that it i-. not so much the temperature changes :13 the rhangos in the length of the clays which are the rauses of many soawm’ii‘ changes. He shows that many animals normally hrvcd in the months at lungi‘sl daylight. hours anrl .tial lu_\‘ lvngthl‘nin: lhv days by moans ut‘ ('it't'il'it‘ tight thoy ran ho niacin to hi'nmt just Us \\(‘ll in tho days of short«wt, ilf—‘iill. ’l'hn Hush nt' milk fl'mn dairy t-im‘s nh‘aimu in 11m .\lti'illg may also, ln‘ thinl‘s, lu- niin- In invi'easml light at, that tinm nt‘ thv )wai', 'l'hi‘ HTML of light. is thus (Willammt: " ’l‘ht‘ nay light arts is pl‘wiluiti)‘ by stimulating the small :mlvi'inr pituitary gland. lying at tho haw ut‘ thi- twain. tn greater an" til-n, {Ui',it_\’iilj“t'iillk“.lllt'Vil'tlt'l at the gland “0 ran liiaki' lhl‘ animal itt‘i‘ed nut {ll' Siumuii. ‘r'ullll't‘ Wurk \Viii ii!‘ in an mtomm it) lhnl methods 10 got this gland in \wi‘lt marriimrl and .m incrvase animal lurmlm-lnily. Writing uf Ihv‘ lmnr f—ll‘ll\\lil ..r some much ul' UH» puui' 51'0““) of lamhs and

pigs after birth is due to lack of milk supply in the dam. The growth of the udder during pregnancy had been studied to find out what caused differ—ences in milk yield. Sect-ions through the udder of the heifer in calf for the first time showed that the growth be—gins at the twentieth week of preg—nancy and continues to the end: this growth of milk-secreting tissue re—places (at. Unless, he says, the udder is fed milk—producing foods during the latter part of pregnancy the udder will not grow to the fullest, extent, and the full milk yield after birth will not ,bE' obtained, no matter how she is, fed after the birth of the young. This state—ment should be weighed well 'by dell"! vi’armer readers. for the greatest weal;— iness in the business or dairy farming lin New Zealand is failure to feed the Low well. with palatable easily digested food in the ilnal stages of pregnancy. >5: * * at: Artlflclal Inseminatlon.

Dr. Hammond sees great possibilities in artificial insemination. One problem in this connection, he says. is how far the sire of the dam is responsible for the size of the young. In order to determine this Dr. Walton has by art!fleial insemination made reciprocal crosses between the largest Shire horse and the smallest Shetland pony. The mother controlled the size of the feel in each case, the cross-bred foal born of the Shire mare being three times the weight of that born of the Shetland mare at birth. Thus is science proving the wisdom of the methods of the old breeders of Britain. who counted as absolutely sound the principle to always mate the small well-made male to the roomy female.