THE FARM.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XII, Issue 4, 20 April 1916, Page 305

THE FARM.

CULTIVATION.

During May favourable weather should be made the most of for further cultivating the land for winter wheat, and for the preliminary conditioning of the soil for spring-sown crops by ploughing. Heavy soils particularly are greatly benefited by exposure, to the frosts of winter, the texture being improved considerably and the larvae of destructive insects appreciably reduced. For spring-sown grains especially the fallowing of the land during the frosts of winter is particularly desirable, .if not essential. The operation also conserves moisture, and this is important for districts of comparatively low rainfall.

TREATMENT OF WHEAT-SEED.

. ' The .procuring of good seed of a variety or varieties of wheat suitable to the soil and climate is important. Clean seed is particularly desirable, and for .ensuring this the use of a fanning-mill should be availed of. ' To prevent bunt,, or stinking-smut,, of wheat the grain should be treated with formalin solution. There are two smuts that more commonly attack wheat - namely, the loose smut of wheat (and barley) (Ustilago tritici) and the stinking-smut, or bunt, of wheat ■ (Tilletia foe-tens). For the former ordinary formalin and bluestone methods are not effective. The only effective method is what is known as Jensen’s modified hot-water treatment,' but, unfortunately, this is not practicable on a large scale. For stinking-smut of - wheat (and for loose smut of oats) - the formalin (a 40-per-cent. solution of commercial formaldehyde) treatment is considered the best; • In Canada it has been tested' fully, and.

has given the best results of any of the various treatments tried. It is effective, handy, and cheap. The method consists of dissolving i lb. (i pint) of formalin in 42 gallons of water, and immersing the sack of seed in the solution for twenty minutes. The operation is best performed by making use of a good-sized barrel, and a rope, connected with a pulley overhead, for suspending the grain in the solution. After immersion the grain should be rapidly dried on a clean floor, to avoid injury to the germinatingpower. The smut balls, if any, should .be skimmed off as they rise to the surface of the solution. Though this treatment is : suitable for stinking-smut of wheat and loose smut of oats only, yet it should be used for" all seed-wheat in preference to the bluestone treatment. Jensen’s modified hot-water treatment cannot, for the reason indicated above, be recommended for use for large seedings, but for the production of a source of seed free from loose smut it is highly suitable. • ■

WHEAT AND OAT VARIETIES.

In Canterbury and North Otago the following wheats have given a good account of themselves from the point of view of yield : Red Marvel (French), Dreadnought (French), Hunter’s White, Velvet Ear, Velvet Chaff, Webb’s Challenge, Talavera Tuscan, Red Chaff, Solid-straw Tuscan. For South Otago, Velvet Ear and Hunter’s White are two very suitable varieties ; while for the windswept areas of Canterbury and Marlborough the Tuscan varieties are specially suitable. Among other good varieties suitable for sowing in early winter in the South Island (especially in Canterbury) are Snowdrop White, Essex Conqueror Red, Kinver Red, Eclipse Red, and McCallum’s Solid Straw.

The varieties of wheat mostly grown in the North Island are Marshall’s White, White Tuscan, Solid-straw Tuscan, Federation, and John Brown. In the Rangitikei district Marshall’s White was at one time the chief wheat, and is still fairly largely grown. There is a good deal of Federation also grown in the district. Tuscan wheat is largely grown in the Wairarapa.

The variety of oat mostly grown in the North Island is Algerian, on account of its rust-resistance. Green's Ruakura oat has made a reputation as a rust-resister and a good ea ly cropper. Among other varieties grown in districts where rust is not so prevalent are Garton’s, Sparrowbill Record, and White Ligowo. The latter is a special favourite in the Wairarapa. As an early forage crop, very good results have been obtained with this oat in Rangitikei, Manawatu, and Taranaki. In the South Island the oats chiefly grown

are Garton’s, Sparrowbill, Leader, Record, Abundance, Yielder, and Waverley.

WINTER SOWING OF OATS.

The principle of sowing oats early and feeding them off is believed to enable the oat crop to ultimately resist rust to a degree, the explanation being that the crop, through advanced development, is ; better fortified against attack by rust - spores when they appear with. warmer weather in the spring. Some farmers affirm that Algerians sown in May and fed back during winter are never affected by rust,. although the straw is heavier and the oats are lighter in the chaff resulting from such crop ; whereas spring-sown Algerians are more liable to rust, and will yield chaff containing less straw and more oats than autumn-sown crops. • • •

POTATOES.

When digging the main crop of potatoes, which is usually lifted during the month of May, an endeavour should be made to select in the field, and not from the mass, seed for next year’s crop. Sound, shapely tubers, about medium size, should be selected from the shaws yielding the largest number of potatoes. This can readily be done by keeping the shaws separate when digging, and placing in special sacks the selected potatoes taken from the prolific shaws.

Where potato-moth is present the tubers should be gathered and boiled for ,pig-feed. Where either potato-moth or Irish blight has attacked the potatoes all shaws should also be gathered and burned. In the event of growers being compelled to use seed from such crops (the practice is . bad), the tubers should be treated with a weak solution of formalin.

PASTURES.

At this time of year pastures should be harrowed with a chain harrow or ordinary tine harrows turned upside down, for the purpose of scattering the droppings of manure, dragging out moss when present, and generally aerating the soil. The scattering of the manure aids materially in maintaining the proper balance between the coarse grasses and the finer grasses and clovers. Where the droppings of stock accumulate, the coarser, less nutritious grasses are encouraged.

LUCERNE.

In the milder sections of the country the last growth of the season of lucerne should be cut (not too closely), ox - fed off lightly.

Being too late to be made into hay, this, last cut could be made into ensilage. Such lucerne chaffed with maize, if available, and blown into a silo, in the proportion of 1 part by weight of the former to 2 of the latter, makes a most excellent “ balanced ” ensilage. The late growth of lucerne may also be used for soiling, being fed out to stock as required.

LIMING.

The liming of lands in late autumn or early winter is desirable, in order . that the lime may exert an appreciable action by the following spring. Grass land is ■ greatly benefited by an application of lime. For sour soils well supplied with humus i ton per acre of ground burnt lime will be sufficient, while for sour soils not well supplied with humus 2 tons per acre of ground limestone (carbonate of lime)which is the equivalent, approximately, of 1 ton of burnt lime will be required. Where sour soils are situated a good distance from the railway the burnt lime 'is the . most economical form to use; and where light sour soils obtain, small dressings (5 cwt. to 10 cwt. per acre) of ground burnt lime every three years should be used in preference to 1 ton per acre every five or six years. For cultivated land the lime is best applied half before ploughing and the other half on the ploughing, to be disked and harrowed in. If this method is not convenient the whole can be applied to the ploughing, and well disked and ' harrowed in.

COW-SHEDS AND YARDS.

If not already done, all material such as timber, gravel, cement, &c., required for repairing cow-sheds and yards should be got on the ground, so that the work may be put in hand immediately the bulk of the herd is dried off. The wet days of the month could be utilized at this work and for generally attending to the sanitary arrangements connected with the milking of the cows. The cow-sheds should be cleansed and whitewashed, the inclusion of a little crude carbolic in the whitewash being desirable for disinfecting purposes.

OTHER WORK.

The crutching of sheep should, if possible, be completed this month, and where foot-rot is prevalent the feet of the sheep affected should be attended to, and the flock grazed as far as possible on high ground or land that has been well drained.

The majority of farmers who are troubled with rabbits will have made an attempt during the past. three months to reduce the pest by means of pollard poison, thus assisting to preserve their winter

feed. Where the work has been neglected it should be put in hand at once. It is bad policy to feed rabbits now and have your stock starve later. When poisoning choose dry weather, and do the work carefully and well.

When pressing work has been completed a general cleaning-up of paddocks, compatible with the labour available, should be carried out. Ditches overgrown with weeds should be cleaned out, rubbish removed from fence-corners and headlands, fences trimmed, and gorse and other ‘ rubbish grubbed. •