SEASONAL NOTES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXVII, Issue 6, 20 December 1923, Page 403

SEASONAL NOTES.

THE FARM.

SUMMER DAIRYING.

January is now approaching, and with it the most critical period in the dairyfarmer’s calendar. December sees most .of the grasses reach maturity, and with normal summer weather the period following shows a marked decline in the production of the pastures. This coincides with and tends to encourage the natural tendency of the cows to dry off, or, at any rate, to seriously curtail their milk-yield, and a good supply of succulent food coming forward as the pastures decline will make all the difference in butterfat-production. Japanese millet and early-sown soft turnips provide very useful January feeding. The millet can subsequently be shut up for further feeding, and land that has grown turnips be prepared for an early sowing of grass. Ensilage, too, acts as an excellent brake on the downward trend of production. An ensilage pit or stack can, in fact, be brought into use at any time of the year when most needed.

CEREAL HARVEST.

The dryness and warmth of the early summer this year has hastened the ripening of grain crops, and the harvesting of oats will now have commenced. It is always advisable to cut oats before they become too ripe. Inexperienced farmers are apt to allow their crops to become dead-ripe before cutting, with the result that there is loss of grain and deterioration in quality of straw.

The weather in January is often tricky, and it is advisable to have all grain stocked as soon as cut. The stocks should not be large, from ten to fourteen sheaves being sufficient. These should be put up as firmly as possible so that they will stand heavy wind. It should also be remembered that well-built stocks will turn a lot of rain, while if they are carelessly made and go down, considerable damage may result in loss of colour in the grain.

The round stack is generally best for North Island conditions. These stacks should be made a handy size, so that one or more may be finished in a day, according to the team employed.

The wheat harvest will generally follow oats in Canterbury and other graingrowing districts. It is usually necessary to leave the wheat in stock at . least a fortnight before carting in. From the quantity of badly-conditioned wheat submitted for sale one must stress the importance of putting - wheat into stack before threshing. Circumstances of one kind or another often lead a farmer to thresh out of stook, and sometimes in moist weather. This seriously militates against the obtaining of a first-grade sample, and it is very difficult for such wheat to come into condition. Wheat in stack should not be threshed for at least five or six weeks, and preferably longer, as sweating takes place in the stack and the process extends over several weeks. Owing to the possible shortage of wheat this year, there will be a danger of farmers assuming a “ that will do ” attitude, and a hint will not be out of place.

With the greater need nowadays for pure seed-wheat it behoves growers to secure a clean line of seed, and save their own seed for succeeding years. This will necessitate roguing a few acres and threshing it separately. Roguing, which is the removal of foreign varieties from the crop grown, can best be done just before harvest. Two or three men moving through the standing crop in narrow parallel strips a week or two before harvest will be able to recognize any rogues. These should be pulled out by the roots and not merely picked off, as the short later heads might be missed.

ROOT CROPS

The sowing of root crops is generally completed by Christmas, but in the higher districts swedes may be sown up till the middle of January. After this it is safer to try turnips, and for this purpose Hardy or Imperial Green Globe

will be found among the best. The sowing should be heavier than in the spring, as germination will probably not be so good— 14 oz. to 16 oz. being about the right amount. Except . in wet localities, the results from sowing on the flat as against the ridge will be better during the dry period, and the land should be well rolled before sowing, so as to ensure a supply of moisture from the subsoil. The dipping of seed in turpentine as a preventive of insect attack in the seedling stage, although often suggested, does not appear to be of very much value, but definite, experimental work in this direction , is lacking.

In ridged areas the early-sown crops should be thinned either by hand or machine. The thinning of turnips of late. years has been somewhat overlooked in most districts, but where carried out it has been found a sound practice.

FEEDING OF RAPE AND TURNIPS.

Early-sown rape should be ready toward the end of January, but care must be taken not to stock this crop until it is in a good condition for feeding. This is when the leaves turn a bluish colour, it then having its highest feedingvalue. If the crop is badly infested with aphis or moth the better plan is to feed it off at once, thus destroying the breeding-ground for the insects, with the hope that the second crop will be clean. The same remarks apply to. the swede crop if this is being badly attacked and likely to be ruined. It is then good practice to put some sheep or lambs on to eat off the tops quickly and starve out the pests, trusting to a new growth to develop the roots.

Turnip-feeding to dairy cows still arouses much controversy and sometimes no little heartburning. The best plan for the dairy-farmer is not to treat turnips as a grazing-crop at allat any rate, while the cows are still in milk. The aim should be to secure a supply of good-sized roots from a comparatively small and well-worked, area ; carting-off is not then the laborious work it is apt to be when the bulbs are small and the area large. From 30 lb. to 40 lb. per day per cow is reasonably safe if the roots are fed at the proper time.

THE HAY CROP

The hay crop has been earlier than usual this year in most districts, but in the later localities there will still be a good deal to save. If the .weather is showery the crop should be allowed to remain in the swath until there is a prospect of a fine day or two to save it. It is wonderful how long hay will remain good in the swath if not disturbed, but once it is shaken up it deteriorates rapidly if not put into stack. It is always advisable to add salt to hay ; • about 10 lb. per ton is generally sufficient, but the poorer the material the more salt is required.

Extra care in stacking will be amply repaid by the saving in waste... Aim to build high, so that the roof area will be proportionately small and pressure good. A fiat top will also be avoided should the supply of material fail to come up to expectations. . ‘

Paspalum is now making strong growth in the North Auckland districts, and where it tends to get ahead of the stock it should be cut for ensilage or hay. The subsequent growth also will be more succulent and palatable.

CULTIVATION.

This is the all-important time' of the year, . especially under Canterbury conditions, for . cleaning twitch-infested lands. Where the plough can be used to advantage it is the most effective implement. If the grubber is used it must be worked almost incessantly during the dry weather, as small pieces of twitch left in partly consolidated land will soon infest the area again. Where it is desired to clean up land badly infected with weeds generally the ground should be ploughed as early as possible and given frequent workings to destroy the roots.

January is a good time for preparing land intended for winter or early spring green crops.

■ —Fields Division.

SHEEP-DIPPING.

It is in the ■ interest of every sheepowner to ensure that his flocks are efficiently dipped —that is, dipped so that the sheep will remain clean until the following shearing. In order to obtain satisfactory results it is necessary to use

a poisonous dip. Great care should be taken to follow out the instructions on the packet or drum, as probably half the failures in dipping are due to owners neglecting to carry out the manufacturers' instructions.

One of the most common causes of failure is insufficient immersion. Each sheep should be held for at least one minute in the bath. This is absolutely necessary to obtain effective results. Another: cause of failure is dipping in a dirty bath. Nothing reduces the strength of. a dip like filth, which also seriously affects the character of the wool. The bath should be cleaned out at intervals. It is impossible to lay down a hard-and-fast rule regarding the number of sheep passing through the bath before it. requires cleaning, as this depends entirely on the condition of the animals. It only requires a limited number of sheep that have been travelled long distances, railed, or shipped to make the bath filthy.

A serious mistake that has come under notice is the making-up of a dip three parts poisonous and one part non-poisonous. These two classes of dip are composed of different constituents, and the one does not increase the strength of the other. A dip so constituted could be classed only as of 75-per-cent. strength, and, without doubt, the condition of numbers of tick- or lice-infested sheep is due to this cause. The poisonous dip should be made full strength, with 25 per cent, liquid carbolic dip added. This is especially beneficial where the water is hard. Water can also be softened by the addition of about 3 lb. of washing-soda to every 100 gallons of water, or soap may be added until the water lathers on stirring.

The following rules should be strictly observed in dipping : (1) Avoid dipping in wet weather; (2) measure accurately the water ; (3) dissolve thoroughly powder dip before using ; (4) mix the dip properly ; " (5) thoroughly stir the bath ; (6) immerse sheep for at least one minute ; (7) ' use the dip full strength ; (8) never dip in a dirty bath ;. (9) if sheep are affected with lice, dip again in a fortnight’s interval, as the eggs will hatch in about ten days. On no account should a dog that is inclined to heel the sheep be allowed in the yards when dipping, as this is one of the chief causes of blood-poisoning. . -

—Live-stock Division.