SEASONAL NOTES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXVII, Issue 5, 20 November 1923, Page 328

SEASONAL NOTES.

THE FARM.

ROOT CROPS,

Mangolds and carrots will be making good growth in December, and every endeavour should be made to get them thinned as early as possible, so as to check weeds and let, the young plants become well established before the hot weather sets in. Carrots should be thinned out to about 6 in. apart, and mangolds to i ft. Wider thinning is frequently recommended, but many results go to show that the spacings mentioned give the heaviest crops and the bestquality roots. The land between the drills should have frequent cultivation, so as to encourage root-development and control weeds. For the horse-hoe the L-shaped tines with flat blades are best while the plants are young. • In cultivating mangolds care should be taken not to bank the soil around the plants on the contrary, it should be pulled away from them. If the plants are pale and showing poor leaf-growth a top-dressing with i cwt. of nitrate of soda after thinning will help to push them along, but if doing well they are better without the nitrate. ' '

Further sowings of soft turnips for cow-feeding and lamb-fattening may be made early in December, and when grown for late autumn and winter feeding they should be put in towards the end of the month. Good varieties for this purpose are Green Globe and Green-top Aberdeen, or " Green-top Scotch ” as they are frequently called. Green-top varieties are hardier and better keepers than purple-tops, but mature more slowly. All the Aberdeens are apt to bury themselves, and are more suitable for ridging than for sowing on the flat.

Swedes. — In districts where swedes are - still a staple crop the later part of December is the best time to sow, unless early sowings have been proved by experience to be .satisfactory. For example, near the coast in north-west Wellington and Taranaki it is necessary to get them in during the first half of the month, but in higher situations any time between, say, the 20th and the end of the month will be found to be suitable. The later the crop is sown, the less likely it is to be destroyed by dry-rot ; on the other hand, if left too late there is the danger of dry weather and a poor strike.: Superlative, Masterpiece, Magnum Bonum, Grandmaster, and • Up-to-date are among the best varieties. They are all liable to attacks of dry-rot, particularly the first mentioned, Grandmaster and Up-to-date being the most resistant. A fine, firm, moist seed-bed is essential, in order that the crop may make a good start and so stand a good chance against the “ fly.” From 10 oz. to 14 oz. of seed should be sown through every second coulter of the drill ; the better the land and the seed-bed, the less seed required. New seed of reliable origin should always be used ; old seed is very apt to be disappointing. Fertilizers should be used with the seed at the rate of 2 cwt. to 3 cwt. per acre. Most of the proprietary manures give good results, but where the farmer wishes to mix his own' the following will be found very suitable generally : Half superphosphate and half: either Ephos phosphate, ba-ic slag, bone-meal, or Nauru phosphate; on old land: J cwt. sulphate of potash per acre added to the above will in some cases be advantageous.

Care must be taken that a run-off of rough grazing will be available adjacent to the swede-paddock when the latter is fed off. Failing this, a supply of hay will be a great asset.

HAY AND ENSILAGE.

In the earlier districts crops for both hay and ensilage will be ready for cutting from the beginning of December onwards. To get the best of grass for either purpose it should be cut when the majority of plants are in bloom ; if allowed to stand until the seed is ripening, the quality of both hay and ensilage will be inferior. Further, if the crop is removed at the proper time the clover

and fine grasses then come away rapidly and a good aftermath is produced. Where special crops, like oats . and tares or oats and peas, have been grown for hay or ensilage care should also be taken to see that they are cut at the proper time. For hay the oats-should be cut in the milky stage, and for ensilage in the dough state.

The making of ensilage is steadily coming into favour either for autumn or winter feeding, . for both of which purposes it is very valuable. Apart from the good fodder saved, the cleaning-up of pastures at this time of the year helps greatly towards a succulent autumn growth. On most farms there is now a great deal of rank grass which is not palatable to stock. If this is removed before it gets too dry it makes quite good ensilage.

Until the erection of silos is more general farmers will have to rely on the pit or stack methods of ensilage. The stack has the great advantage that it can be made in the field where the material is grown;; its greatest disadvantage is the labour involved, but if this is set against the labour and worry of making hay in a wet season the ensilage probably has the best of it, and the fodder saved is better.

Making Stack Ensilage

About 40 tons is the minimum quantity of green material that it is profitable to make into stack ensilage. If the quantity is less the farmer should try a small pit. . With a small quantity of material the loss around the sides in a stack is considerable, whereas if it is put into a pit it can be covered right up. and the loss reduced to a minimum. A fair average crop of grass will produce from 6 to 8 tons per acre of green material, and special crops like oats and tares 8 to 10 tons ; heavy crops will give an extra 2 or 3 tons. A stack to contain 30 to 40 tons should be approximately 14 ft. by 14 ft. ; 50 to 70 tons, 16 ft. by 18 ft. ; 100 tons, 20 ft. by 24 ft. and so on.

Having selected the site, the stack should be built up from 6 ft. to 8 ft. high the first day,\ and then allowed to stand for a day or two to allow the heat to generate up to about 130° F. After this a few feet may be added each day for two or three days, when the stack should be again spelled for a day or two. The builder is guided by the stack : if it is settling rapidly building should be continued every day, but if the settling is slight the stack should be rested until this is ■satisfactory. While the stack is being built great care should be taken to see that the sides are kept, if anything, a little firmer than the centre, and the top of the stack should always be kept as nearly level as possible. Further, if there is a continuous wind from one direction there will be a danger of the heat being driven to the lee side and of the stack settling unevenly. To prevent this, hang a tarpaulin or some bags on the windy side. It is also an advantage to add from 3 lb. to 6 lb. of salt per ton of green material when' building; ■ the poorer the material, the more salt required. Salt improves the quality of the ensilage, and it is a convenient way of feeding it to the stock.

When finished, the stack should be covered with from 9 in. to 12 in. of soil, so as to exclude the air; about 9 in. at the sides, running to 15 in. at the centre, gives a good finish. If the stack is very hot and settling rapidly the soil should be put on the day following the last material. If, on the other hand, the temperature is low and settling is slow the covering is best deferred for a few days.

The best ensilage is made at a temperature between 120° and 140°. If the stack gets too hot during the process of building add more material ; on the other hand, if it is not hot enough spell for a time as already recommended. Experienced persons generally discard the thermometer, but it is a very useful guide for a beginner. At the end of each day’s work drive a 4 ft. length of 1 in. or larger piping down the centre of the stack ; then place an ordinary milk thermometer attached to a string down this pipe. In the morning the temperature is read, and, if satisfactory, the pipe is removed and stacking proceeded with, the pipe being again placed in position at the end of the day’s work.

Lucerne Hay.

Lucerne is probably the most difficult plant to convert into first-class hay. The preservation of the leaf and a certain amount of moisture is essential if the green colour is to be retained.. Too much moisture, however, is sure to result in heating, and a fusty hay. If weather permits, and the crop is not too heavy, the whole operation may be completed in three or four days. In the event of a heavy

crop, lucerne should be dried out in small cocks rather than big ones. Should rain fall on the small cocks less damage will be done than if it .fell on big ones.

Where lucerne is planted in rows and used for haying purposes it is not advisable to intercultivate after every cut, as dirt is sure to get in the subsequent cut of hay. Proper attention to autumn and spring cultivation should be sufficient to keep the stand clean. Where the stand is used as a grazing proposition, grubbing after each grazing could be resorted to for keeping the surface free from weeds and forming a mulch.

PASTURES

Under Canterbury conditions the ordinary rye-grass and red-clover pasture becomes hard and unpalatable in December. It has been noticed that several farmers in that district are safeguarding themselves by providing a pure cocksfoot, dogstail, and white-clover pasture, and keeping it shut up till the cocksfoot gets away. This feed then fits in nicely with the usual summer shortage, as grazing on such. pasture can be commenced at the end of November. Western Wolths rye-grass, February-sown, gives the most satisfactory feed for October.

GREEN FORAGES AND POTATOES

Most of the rape will now be in, but where this crop is favoured for late feed additional sowings, can now be made. Late sowings of millet or maize for fodder may be completed in December.

The harvesting of the earlier potato crops will be in full swing, while the later plantings will need earthing and weeding. Potatoes, like mangolds, require a good deal of labour, but generally give a handsome return for it.

—Fields Division

PREPARING LAMBS’ WOOL FOR MARKET.

The difficulty usually experienced by the fleece-picker in “ gathering ” lambs’ wool on the shearing-board can be overcome by using the simply made device shown in the illustration. The contrivance is made with two pieces of 4 in. by 1 in. boarding, each 2 ft. long. Having planed all sides to make them smooth, the two boards or battens are connected by tacking on at one end of each a piece of canvas or sacking 18 in. long and 4 in. wide. When the lamb is shorn and

the wool is on the floor the fleece-picker takes the free end of each board in each hand, spreads the boards apart so as to allow them to come on the outside of the wool, then closes the boards towards each other. This quickly gathers the wool between the boards and canvas, and it can then easily be carried away and tossed on the wool-table.

Previous to putting lambs’ wool on the table the latter should be covered with a piece of hessian or sacking in order to prevent locks going through. When the wool is put on top of this it can be quickly sorted into its different

lots. All the best even-quality, clean, well-grown wool should be. put into the first or A grade. Any very short, slightly discoloured wool or trimmings from low down on the legs go into the second or B grade. Any wool stained either by excreta or urine should be put into the third line, marking it Stained pieces.” When sorting according to spinning-quality it is necessary to keep each of the following as separate lines: 36’s, 40’s, 46’s, 50’s, and 56’s. Very little of the two latter counts are shorn as lambs, the majority being from 40’s to 46’s (mostly Romney or Romney cross). Too many lines should not be made, but Lincoln or Lincoln'crossbred must be kept separate from any other betterquality wool. Too often all these wools are found mixed together; this is an unwise proceeding, as the producer does not receive the best price for his best wool, which he would have done had the different qualities been kept separate.

Then, there is the wool carrying seed, such as piripiri (hutiwai), horehound, burr clover, and Bathurst or Australian burr, which must be kept separate from clean wool. This cannot be emphasized too strongly, and such wool must always be entered in the wool-book as “ seedy,” so that there is no chance of its ever being put up for auction with clean wool. As regards leaves of trees, gorse, broom, fern, &c., these do not affect the wool in the same way, because they crumble to dust during the process of sorting, scouring, drying, dyeing, and blending of colours to which wool is subjected prior to the manufacturing process. To destroy the seeds and burrs previously mentioned it is necessary for the wool to be carbonized.

— J. G. Cook,

Wool Instructor, Live-stock Division