SEASONAL NOTES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXI, Issue 6, 21 December 1925, Page 399

SEASONAL NOTES.

THE FARM.

HARVEST.

The season being late, harvesting operations will not be so general as usual during January. In Canterbury, however, wheat cutting and •stocking will form the chief agricultural work. Barley will also be ready, and late oat crops may yet be standing. The time for cutting wheat should be given greater attention. Loss frequently takes place by crops being cut when the nodes on the stems are still green, and in other cases through the crop being allowed to get too ripe, when a good deal of shaking takes place. The former is the lesser evil of the two, for shaken grain is a complete loss, whereas a bushel or two per acre lost through early cutting often gives some compensation in the sample being thin-skinned and consequently attractive to the miller. It is often assumed that Velvet wheat shakes badly, and in a measure it does, but College Hunter’s is certainly no better in this respect. It is best to keep stooks on the moderate side as regards size, from eight to ten sheaves being usually ample. The material then dries quickly, and may be either stacked or threshed out of the stook much sooner. This is specially important where the weather is unreliable.

Plains cocksfoot, where grown for seed, will be ready for threshing during the coming month, and should, where possible, be threshed out of stook, as shaking occasions heavy loss. Cocksfoot should be cut on the early side, so to avoid the seed-sample containing too many husks and kernels.

It is generally an indication that a white-clover stand is ready to cut for seed when the stalks begin to lean over at an angle of 45 °. It will be found that at this stage the seed is set. Cutting should be done in the opposite direction to the inclination of the clover-stems. On one well-known make of mower there is an adjustment for lengthening the reach of the spring. This allows the knife to fall lower. As the clover is frequently short the knife should be kept as close to the ground as possible. Crops of seed-peas, either of the long-strawed or medium-strawed varieties, provided the crop is thick enough, may be advantageously harvested with the mower fitted with special steel bands which trail behind and roll the peas to one side. This method is less wasteful than that of the mower and hay-rake. Another system of harvesting is by using the side deliverer. Peas should be well fielded before stacking, but not so long as to allow the pods to split open and shed their seed. Peas are generally right for putting into the stack when only about one-third of the pod appears green, the rest being dry. Pea stacks should be covered or thatched as soon as possible after building, as the straws do not easily turn the rain. Tares may be harvested in practically the same way as peas, the best method being with the mower-bands.

FEEDING OF FORAGE CROPS.

Early-sown crops of millet and rape should be ready for feeding towards the end of the coming month. ~ To get the best out of millet,

feeding should start when it is 6 in. to 8 in. high. If this is done it will stool out and give a lot of feeding during the autumn, and stock will do better on it. Rape, on the other hand, should be allowed to ripen before being stocked. When the leaves take on a bluish tinge it is about right, although if urgently required it may be fed earlier.

Lambs confined on rape are inclined to scald, and, where possible, they should have access to some other fodder. If available, millet is very suitable for this purpose. The alternative is a run-off on grass or clover.

If rape or turnip crops are being badly attacked by aphis or moth it is good practice to feed the leaves off quickly with lambs or other suitable stock, and thus starve out the pest. The subsequent growth is then usually fairly clean. Dairymen careful of their reputation at the factory will. see that any turnips they may be feeding to their cows are allowed to wilt at least twenty-four hours. The feeding-out should be conducted in a systematic manner, the roots being scattered lightly in long lines across the field, at intervals sufficient to minimize " hunting ” by the dominant cows of the herd, yet close enough to ensure a covering of the field with dung. As soon as the roots are cleaned up, the cows should be turned on to a clean uncontaminated pasture. Much of the taint in milk is undoubtedly due to the fact that cows are often allowed to remain on the same befouled pasture, where they lie down to ruminate, and so contaminate the belly and udder with the turnip refuse. This means ■evil-smelling cattle and a shed reeking of turnips, with the natural result of the odours being taken up by the warm, freshly-drawn milk. As soon as the field has been well dunged it should be harrowed, shut up, and a fresh growth of grass allowed to come away.

WINTER AND SPRING FORAGE CROPS.

Where the sowing of turnips and swedes has not been completed by the end of the year this work should be pushed along if the weather is favourable. On the higher situations and where the rainfall is good sowing may continue right up to the end of January, but in most places it will be found more profitable to sow turnips than swedes after about the third week of that month, as they come on quicker and the chances of a good crop are greater. Hardy or Imperial •Green Globe are suitable turnips for January sowing. If any later, better results will be obtained' from White Stubble. The land should be worked to a fine tilth’ to ensure moisture for a rapid germination. Super or basic super, at cwt. to 2 cwt. per acre, are suitable fertilizers. If more than these quantities are being used at this season (particularly if the ground is dry) it is best to broadcast half of the material and harrow in, sowing the remainder with the seed. If large quantities of fertilizer are applied with the seed in ■dry, warm weather there is a danger of it having a detrimental ■effect on the germination. In Southland and south Otago crops such as chou moellier, thousand-headed kale, and cabbage are generally sown before the middle of the coming month. A usual seeding is 10 oz. to 16 oz. per acre, in ridges 28 in. wide ; manuring, a mixture of 1 cwt. superphosphate and 1 cwt. ground rock phosphate. Chou moellier is of great value as a winter forage, the fact that it grows well

■on club - root - infected soil being of importance. It stands frost well, does not taint milk, and has a very robust habit of growth. It is thinned out eventually to about 12 in. apart, with either the hand or horse hoe. The land intended for such forage crops should be well worked, so as to encourage rapid growth.

The end of January is about the best time of the year to sow Western Wolths rye-grass for winter and spring feeding in Canterbury. Summer - fallowed land is particularly suitable, and larger .areas of this valuable crop should be . sown. In the north-west shower areas, near the hills, January sowing of Western ’ Wolths is strongly recommended, while February sowings will be more suitable for the plains. . A mixture of Italian, rye-grass at 30 lb., with crimson clover at 5 lb., and 3 lb. or 4 lb. cow-grass, per acre. will provide useful winter grazing. Where the land is required for spring sowing, Algerian oats 'or Black Skinless barley also make good winter and -early spring fodder. . *

POTATOES.

Main crops of potatoes should receive attention for weed-control by horse-hoeing and moulding up as growth progresses. Spraying should be done during early growth, and repeat dressings given as required. A suitable spray is Burgundy mixture, which is made as follows : Dissolve 4 lb. sulphate of copper in a 40-gallon barrel ; when dissolved, add water to make up to 35 gallons. In another vessel ■dissolve 5 lb. washing-soda in 5 gallons water. When the soda is completely dissolved, add two parts copper sulphate to one part washing-soda, stirring vigorously all the time. The mixture should be bright blue in colour and be used within ten hours of mixing.

LUCERNE.

Where lucerne stands are becoming infested with weeds or grass -advantage should be taken to thoroughly cultivate during hot, dry weather immediately after cutting. Many stands have become badly consolidated this season, and as soon as weather conditions .are favourable the soil should be thoroughly stirred with the narrowpointed cultivator, and every effort made to kill foreign growth which has taken hold as a result of consolidation. Owing to unfavourable weather many areas intended to be sown in lucerne have been held over, and these should be kept stirred with the idea ■of sowing in February.

BUSH-FELLINGS.

Fallen bush ready for the fire during February should be looked over, and where practicable the axe used to lop branches and compact the. fall so as to aid a good burn. This will lessen the amount of logging up in the future. Logging should also be carried out preparatory to firing, and tracks cut for stock. The piling of sticks, &c., on second growth ensures the hot fire necessary to kill the surface roots of troublesome plants, such as hard fern and water fern.

On all but the richest bush country, and certainly on all secondary burns, the grasses demanding lower fertility conditions should be sown. Mixtures, however, must be varied to suit the conditions

of the country, its natural fertility, soil-moisture content, rainfall, and aspect. A shady face requires a different mixture from that sown on a sunny face, and the haphazard practice of sowing hill country, with its ever-changing features of faces, knolls, and gullys, with the one mixture is to be deprecated.

MISCELLANEOUS.

The wireworm pest is in evidence in some localities. Good and frequent cultivation, where possible, is one of the best methods of control. On wireworm-infested land it is advisable to grow temporarily such crops as beans, rape, or peas, as these are not to any degree susceptible to attack.

The sowing of Japanese millet under irrigation ■is advocated for Central Otago. Sown at the rate of 16 lb. per acre, this crop will come in very useful for feeding off during January or February, and in the event of not being required for that purpose will make an excellent hay. * • Land which has been ploughed out of old pasture, and which is intended for autumn sowing, ’ should be periodically grubbed, especially where yarrow, brown-top, or other twitches are present. Thin, old pastures may be allowed to run to seed - head if convenient, and subsequently thoroughly tripod - harrowed. ■ In many instances this method will assist in making a better sole. In the case of young grass it is very necessary not to allow seeding to take place in the first year. If stock cannot be depended upon to check seeding a mower should be used.

• Fields Division.