Farming in the Catlins District.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 58, Issue 2, 20 February 1939, Page 141

Farming in the Catlins District.

Conversion of Bush Land into Farms.

A. F. GREENALL,

Instructor in Agriculture, Balclutha.

(Continued from December and January issues.)

j i I i ii i 11 11 11 ill C Stumping and logging opera- | tions are discussed in this, j the third of a series of articles | dealing with the conversion J of the heavily-timbered j Catlins district of Otago j into farm lands. Crops | commonly grown on virgin | ground and typical seed | mixtures used are also | described. HiiiiiniiiiiiiiiniiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiniiiiitiiiiiniiiiiniiiisiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiirfF

WHERE scrub or secondary growth has been cut and burnt, and where logs or stumps have been similarly dealt with it pays handsomely to sow the resultant burns with grass-seed. Much useful work can be so accomplished, and the total area of such burns at times amounts to many acres in the aggregate.

The operations in connection with logging and stumping are important in their effect on the subsequent pasture. Against the cost of this work must be balanced the returns from the sale of posts and firewood obtained during this process. Logging up commences any time after burning, but stumping does not usually commence until some degree

of decay has taken place, as this results in the stumps being more easily removed by crowbars,' jacks, teams, &c. For logging up, the axe, saw, wedge, and maul and splitting-gun are the usual implements employed, while power, is provided by horses and occasionally by tractors. Posts, stakes, and firewood result from this work, the waste being heaped and burnt. During logging up and stumping any scrub is cut and burnt.

It is common for extensive logging up to be carried out some fifteen to twenty years after burning, this work being undertaken at the same time as the stumping. It is usually undertaken in a slack period. Tractors, jacks, horses, and blasting are resorted to in stumping. Experience has also taught the, expert stumper just how many plugs of “ jelly ” will be required to loosen each stump, for similar-sized stumps of different trees require varying amounts. The degree of decay, depth of rooting, and hardness are also factors to be gauged to a nicety, and make this work a specialized job. Stumps, once disrupted, are split up and burnt and the cavity in the ground filled in. The work is extremely slow, only a few acres being brought in each year; One hears of costs ranging from £5 to £s° per acre for stumping, with about £lO per acre being the average cost. The only out-of-pocket expense to the settler is for tools and blastingmaterial, the bulk of the “cost” being his own labour.

Up till the time of writing the majority of the land logged and stumped has been cleared for the purpose of bringing additional land under cultivation for the growing of root crops, hay, . oats, &c. However, in many cases clearing has proceeded beyond the requirements of crops for wintering stock. This is in some measure due to the. prevalence of crop diseases, especially in swedes, but also with the knowledge that pastures can be more satisfactorily established and maintained if. sown down following cultivation rather than surface sown after burning. . Following logging, stumping, and the burning of waste wood and scrub it is essential to make sure that all underrunners or earth-faults are. filled in and the area made safe for teams and implements. At times rock outcrops occur, but these may be removed by blasting, while erring streams can often be confined to bounds. The single furrow plough (and occasionally the hillside plough) is the initial implement used. Following this, harrows, clod-crushers, cultivators, &c., are used

to advantage. The aim in all cultivation is fineness and consolidation, at times a difficult task on account of the accumulation of humus and ash. Deep ploughing should be attempted as it gives better aeration and drainage and brings up a little of the clay, which assists consolidation. .. Crops for Virgin Ground. The crops commonly grown on virgin ground are swedes, chou moellier, oats, or potatoes. Swedes are usually ridged, i lb. . of seed being sown per acre often without manure. Chou moellier is grown in a similar, manner, but given a slightly higher seeding of i| lb. per acre. Oats are often broadcast by hand or machine and harrowed in, or where a drill is available they are drilled in. Potatoes are at times ploughed in, being planted in every second or third furrow, at other times are hand-sown in furrows • made by a moulding-plough. They are then covered by splitting the ridges. The value of manure is becoming much more appreciated in connection

with potatoes. Rape is sown occasionally. There is no definite rotation, root crops often being grown for several years in the one field with an occasional intervening crop of oats. When grassing after the plough the seed is often sown with oats or rape, but sometimes alone. Of these three methods that of sowing down grass alone is to be preferred, as this results in a more even and denser strike with more rapid 'establishment. This in turn reduces the ingress of ragwort, daisies, bidi-bidi, &c. When grass is sown with oats there is a tendency for the resultant crop. to be stocked too heavily, and this results in some of the important pasture constituents, on which the subsequent success of the field as a pasture depends, being trampled out. Pastures on Ploughed Land. It is interesting to note that practically the same species of pasture plants are used for pastures on ploughed land as those for surface sowing, although the proportions in each case vary ■ a little.

This represents a sowing of from 40 lb. to 45 lb. per acre. . ' In a large number of cases it was stated that cocksfoot was not proving as valuable where sown after the plough as it was on bush burns, the suggestion being that lowered fertility resulting from cropping was inimical to the development of cocksfoot. lam fairly certain that this is not so, and would suggest that the reason underlying this apparent paucity of cocksfoot after the plough is rather in the different management and more intensive grazing that such pastures are subjected to. Rye-grass v. Cocksfoot. As the result of observations it would seem that in spite of the fact that a large proportion of the district is so-called cocksfoot country, cocksfoot should not be relied on to the extent that it has been in the past for sown pastures on

ploughed land. ' The three most satisfactory pastures observed in the district from the point of view of density, growth, vigour, and freedom from ragwort were dominantly certified rye-grass fields ; : also a grass-clover-strain trial at Owaka would indicate that the presence of densegrowing certified rye-grass even under loose grazing conditions is inimical to the growth • and spread of cocksfoot, which thrives under a similar condition of grazing when the certified perennial ryegrass is replaced by Italian rye-grass.

There was little opportunity of observing the pasture responses to either lime or manure over the bulk of the district. However, certain farmers are using both carbonate of lime and superphosphate and obtaining responses which indicate that the practice of liming and topdressing in this" district should follow the practices adopted in similar districts of New Zealand where the value of lime and super is appreciated.. One farmer using certified rye-grass and top-dressing with . lime and super has pastures which have been down for seven years, are fairly free from ragwort, and would be a credit to many farmers on first-class land. Management of Pastures. The general management of pastures on ploughed land is generally in line with that adopted in other districts except that special problems connected with weedcontrol require some adjustment. As a general rule farmers experience little difficulty in preventing the ingress of scrub on ploughed land, though ragwort is more prevalent in such areas. Supplementary Fodder. Owing to the climatic conditions in this district the growth of grass is seasonal. From about May to August there is a period during which the supply of feed is at a minimum. If the winter-carrying capacity is based on pasture growth alone flocks will not be large enough to economically utilize seasonal growth, while if flocks are large enough to utilize the bulk of spring feed, grass alone will not winter them. The growing of swedes is . a common practice in the district, and this crop fits in very well with farm-management. However, as they are too bulky, swedes alone are probably a bare maintenance diet and are not eminently suitable for in-lamb ewes and cows in calf. Consequently, attention has been directed at the use of fodders such' as hay or ensilage for the purpose of increasing the effectiveness of the swede crops.

The great difficulty in this connection is the fact that ragwort in hay or ensilage is injurious or dangerous to animal health so that only those paddocks that are relatively free from ragwort are shut up. This is a problem of major importance, the solution of which would materially

increase the carrying-capacity and the productivity of the ‘ district. . Crops for Hay. Where the value of hay is appreciated use is being made of oats, or oats and tares, or peas to provide this desirable supplement in the form of oaten hay. The crop is broadcast or drilled in the spring after roots or out of grass. No manure is used, and the oats are cut at the milky stage and stacked. This material is usually fed out on surfacesown country to assist in the control of weeds and secondary growth. The ragwort does not appear to be prevalent in such crops, and so little danger to stock need be feared. The main reason why this practice is not as popular as it might be appears to be the cost of growing such a crop, also many farmers have not the labour or plant to handle a heavy hay crop. Climatic conditions also make haymaking uncertain. The use of temporary pastures, including bulky growing plants such as red clover and Italian rye-grass, seems to afford scope for use in making hay, a fair bulk of which could doubtless be produced at a slightly lower cost than' in the case of oats. , Doubtless, ragwort would be more in evidence in such hay. Control of Ragwort; In only a few cases.was the use of permanent pasture for haymaking observed. In one case the farmer experienced no difficulty in obtaining a good

bulk of ragwort-free hay. In this case a mixture of perennial rye-grass, cocksfoot, &c., was used on land that had been limed and was being top-dressed. Sheep were grazed during. winter and early spring to keep back growth of ragwort, the field for hay being topdressed and closed up . later , than would normally be the case. The result was a rapid growth' of grass which competed more than favourably with the closegrazed ragwort, which consequently was not aggressive. Mowing was carried out earlier than usual before the ragwort had started to flower, and the result was a slightly lower yield of hay of good quality, almost free from mature ragwort. This hay was fed out on recent burns to check weed and scrub invasion, and altogether the method proved sound and practicable. As a result of unstable weather at or about harvesting-time haymaking is a little precarious and so attention was given to the possibility of ensilagemaking. Wet weather or broken weather interferes but little with ensilage-making, nor does it have any very deleterious effect on the quality of the silage. One farmer, realizing this, has made a pit silo and, using green oats, gets good results. Either oats, temporary pasture, or permanent pasture can be used for this purpose. However, ensilage generally is not as high as good hay in feeding-value and is not so suitable for feeding with turnips and swedes. (To be continued.)

1 ' Pounds per Acre. Certified perennial rye-grass IO Certified cocksfoot • • • 8 ■ Certified white clover .. ■ i Lotus major i Browntop •• • • 2 Crested dogstail . . . .. 4 Total .. ■ • • 26

For patch sowing the following mixture is recommended :-

Pounds per Acre. Cocksfoot .. Pounds per Acre. ... IO Perennial rye-grass . . 20 Italian rye-grass 5 Timothy 2 • White clover •tj? 2 Red clover • • 3 Total - . .* . • . 4

The following represents a typical mixture sown :-

Pounds per Acre. Certified cocksfoot > per Acre. IO Certified perennial rye-grass 22 Certified white clover . 2 Timothy . .. ' .. 3 Montgomery red clover 3 Crested dogstail ... : ; . 3 Total .. 43

The following mixture is recommended following the plough and where it is intended to give the pasture reasonably good treatment : -