Farm Practice and Management

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 60, Issue 2, 15 February 1940, Page 136

Farm Practice and Management

Contributed by Officers of the Fields Division

Memorial to Founder of Corriedale Breed of Sheep

IN the history of the sheep industry in New . Zealand, one . of the most outstanding events has been the evolution, of, the Corriedale breed, the first and only breed of sheep to be evolved in; the Dominion, and it is fitting that the Centennial celebrations should include the erection of a monument to the founder of the breed, Mr. James Little, who died in 1921. Mr. Little was bom in 1834, and came to New Zealand in 1863, bringing a consignment of Romneys for his employer, . Dr. Webster, who had settled at . Corriedale, North Otago. . These sheep were not altogether suitable for

this class of country, and with his employer’s permission,. Mr, Little, in the face of derision from his neighbours, set about evolving a half-breed type of sheep which would thrive under the prevailing conditions. First Experiments About 1866 or 1867, Dr. Webster handed over to him 600 carefully selected Merino ewes for the purpose of the experiment, states a writer in the “New Zealand Farmer” of December 1, 1921. Romney rams were first mated with these ewes, and later half-bred rams . were used on half-bred ewes; this resulted, in some fairly close inbreeding. Straight-out first-cross sheep were also bred at the same time, and a close

comparison was made between the inbred . half-breds on these first-cross sheep for quality of wool and carcass. The comparison was carried out systematically, and Mr. Little and his employer came to the conclusion that, taking everything into consideration, the sheep that was to become known as the Corriedale in the future was as good a proposition as the sheep sired by a long wool from a Merino at the first cross. . ' Intensive Breeding On . the death of Dr. Webster, Mr. Little acquired land at Allandale where, to use his own words, “I went for the breeding of Corriedales neck and crop, and put all my eggs in one

basket.” In 1878-79, he bought the biggest framed Merino ewes he could find. He also purchased some of his employer’s Lincoln rams as well as one from Mr. George Sutton, of Southland. From one hundred of the best resulting rams, he selected twenty for service, and these were mated with the best half-bred ewes. Careful management and heavy culling were the two watchwords of the day, and the ideal that Mr. Little kept before him was to get the solid shapely carcass of the Southdown or the Shropshire, covered with a good staple of the right quality of half-bred wool. Constitution and ability to rustle were two of the points that were carefully watched.

Topped the Market Mr. Little soon had the satisfaction of topping the market for wool, and it was then that he made the error of breeding for finer and finer wool, until he discovered that he- was in danger of getting back to the Merino quality, which was not what he intended. The problem that now confronted him was to get a stronger wool on his sheep, and this meant starting at the beginning and breeding a type of ram with the desired quality of strength in its covering. He procured a score of old Leslie Hills’s stud Merino ewes of the strong Murray type from Mr. Duncan Ruther- ,

ford, and also some from the Horsley Downs Station, and by this means overcame the difficulty with the added advantage of obtaining a needed dash of fresh blood, though, of course, time was - necessary to bring about the improvement. Today, there are approximately 56,500 stud Corriedales in New Zealand, and the Corriedale flocks total nearly 1,400,000 sheep. Not only is the breed securely founded in the Dominion, but a considerable export trade has been built up with Australia, South America, Japan, and other countries.

Pasture Problems of the Arable Farmer

MUCH has been written on the advantages of using superior strains of ryegrass and clover for permanent pasture, and for the dominantly grazing farm the case has been proven up to the hilt. Advice to these people is relatively easy,, and may be stated, simply, “When you buy seeds, , buy only the best.” The use of the word “certified” at the top of this article would probably lead to many of those engaged in mixed farming turning over the page, but it is they who should be most interested. In spite of publicity in the . form of lectures, newspaper .articles!, . demonstrations, etc., the majority of the farmers in Canterbury are ■ still using mongrel strains of ryegrass and lowproducing types of clovers. It is always easy to induce a farmer to try out something new, such as a special fertiliser or a different brand of oil, but ask him to alter his methods of management and it is a different problem. Changes in Management The successful use of , the special strains of pasture plants entails changes in the present system of pasture management, and perhaps the biggest factor against their adoption is that there is an outlay of hard cash at the beginning. The man . who grows wheat and oats and fattens lambs also, as a rule, harvests his own. ryegrass, which is sold off the place, at an

average price of 5s a bushel, and he is loth to buy in fresh seed with a tag on it at 15s a bushel. The good resolutions formed after some lecture by an officer of the Department go overboard when, he comes to buy his seed, and what usually happens is that ; a bag or two of the old strain on the farm is retained and sown year after year. The argument is often put forward that the paddock will have to be ploughed again in a few years for rape, turnips, or green feed, so why sow expensive permanent pasture? . • . In the normal cropping rotation ■it is seldom possible to get right round the farm with the, plough under six years,, and what usually happens is that the pastures give young grass for' green feed the first year, -fair pasture the second year, and are an eyesore for -the next four years. . In breaking up a paddock for rape the farmer

usually chooses the worst of a number of run-out paddocks instead of deciding which is the, poorest of many good ones. It is not likely that the Canterbury farmer will ever get away from the , plough— in fact, production would drop if he did — when pastures are sown down for more than two years the superior permanent strains of pasture plants should be used. ' . Extra Cost Balanced \ The extra cost of certified seed spread, over five years (supposing it costs £1 extra an acre to sow certified seed) represents an overhead of 4s an acre, and the paddock will not have to show very much increased production to, make the proposition profitable. , In . addition, a crop of certified seed from it will balance the initial extra cost of seed. True, temporary , pastures have a place in arable farming, ■ but ; here

again there is a vast difference between the mixed lines sold as Italian ryegrass and the pure certified strain. False perennial ryegrass and mixtures of Italian and perennial ryegrass are much slower growing, and do not produce the same bulk of food as the true Italian ryegrass. Lack of working capital and courage prevents many would-be progressive farmers from making a start, but the old idea of sowing a ' nucleus seed block is still a good one. Many farms have changed hands lately, and new occupiers with extensive sowing-down programmes ahead would do well to put down five or ten acres of mother seed ryegrass and mother seed white clover and harvest it in order to have seed available in a year or two. The

header harvester contracting in nearly all districts has solved the problem of the labour and machinery required to grow your own seed. The same policy can be advocated for those who wish to start with Montgomery red clover, which is still expensive compared with the common broad red clover. Palatability No discussion on ryegrass in Canter-, bury would be complete without mentioning palatability. The true perennial would not be a perennial if it were as tender and as quick-growing the first year as Italian ryegrass. It must b'e sown with a good vigorous strain of white clover, and must not be allowed to get away in the spring. The

present trend of farming is to eliminate expensive cultivation costs and to topdress with lime and superphosphate to try to hold the pastures. This policy will fail unless it is built on a solid foundation, and the only safe foundation is correct strain in the seed sown. There are many sheep farms in North Canterbury on which all the pastures can be traced back to one or two bushels of certified ryegrass bought ten years ago at 255. a bushel. It was harvested - and sown around the farm, and now the whole property is down in the permanent strain. ■ From these people one hears only praise of its lasting qualities. Alongside is found the man who has never made a start, still with his run-out pastures.

—A. S. NASH,

Instructor in

Agriculture, Rangiora.

Clover Dodder Is A Dangerous Parasitic Weed

ALL farmers are familiar with the more common varieties of weeds which flourish so luxuriantly on their neighbour’s farm. Not all, however, will readily recognise the less familiar but highly objectionable clover dodder; 1 and yet, judging from observations dur-

ing the past year, this weed is by no means uncommon. Unlike the great majority of weeds which, having green leaves, are able to be entirely self-supporting, the dodder has no green tissue whatever, i and can live, and grow only by de-

vouring the substance of its unfortunate host—usually red or white clover. Most weeds are objectionable because they compete . with crops and waste ground space, or they may be dangerous to .stock or cause taints in' cream, etc. Dodder is objectionable because it actually kills the clovers. Start as a Seed Starting as a small seed, very like a white clover seed, it germinates in the soil and presently sends forth a thin, thread-like brownish and completely leafless stem, which entwines closely round any clover plants within , reach, and may eventually form a dense mat covering an area of several square yards. Once in contact with a clover plant, the dodder sucks in the plant juice through a myriad of tiny suckers which penetrate into the tissue. Growing at the expense of its unfortunate —and victim— dodder ultimately produces a dense mat of pinkish-white coloured flowers, so profuse that the infested area appears to be covered with a rose-tinted snow. These flowers presently produce seeds, . which fall to the ground, to cause further trouble next year, or they may be transported in clover seed to spread the weed in fresh sowings.

Difficult to Remove , Because of its similarity in size and weight to clover seed, it is difficult to remove completely every seed of dodder in a line by screens or fans. Where a line of seed is passed over a velvet conveyor, however, the rough dodder tends to adhere to the velvet, while the. smooth clover readily falls off. , Dodder seed has also been removed from a suspected line by mixing in fine iron filings. These tend to adhere to the dodder rather than to the clover, so,that the dodder can be removed by a specially designed magnetic device. Eradication Objectionable as it is in a pasture sward, dodder is doubly undesirable where clover is being harvested for seed, as the presence of even a small percentage in a sample greatly reduces the value of the line. Fortunately for the farmer, dodder has its weak spot. Being an annual, it can readily be controlled by preventing it from seeding. Where a field is cut for hay and afterwards kept close grazed, this treatment is generally fairly effective, al-

though it may not always be the best management for the pasture, and there is also the possibility that some seeds may survive, to provide further infection.

Two Methods For this reason, it is usually the wisest policy to keep all' infected patches close scythed, or, better still,

to sprinkle them with a 5 per cent, mixture of sodium chlorate and ground limestone. This latter method has proved highly effective, in practice, as the affected clover which acts as the host ,is easily killed in this way. The grasses also suffer to some extent, but they recover if the treatment is not made too drastic. -- Even though the sward on the patch were completely destroyed, however, this would be a cheap price to pay for the certainty of having completely removed the risk of further infection. Dealt - with in the early stages, the treatment is simple, rapid, and effective. If the dodder is neglected and allowed to seed, however, it is by no means so easily or cheaply eradicated.

—P. S. SYME,

Instructor in

Agriculture, Warkworth.

Lamb Fattening in Southland

TEW ZEALAND is one of the largIN estrape-growing countries in the world, and some years ago the annual crop of rape was about 250,000 acres, Of more recent years, however, the annual acreage of rape grown in this country has decreased by about ; 50,000 acres, which is definite proof that there has been a greater percentage of lambs fattened directly off the mothers.

This has been made possible by the farmer exercising better management of pastures, by . the increased use of topdressing, by the use of better strains of grasses and clovers, and by the greater use of the Down rams, However, the farmer is not always able to fatten all of his lambs as milk lambs, and for this reason he is obliged to grow feed which will enable him to

fatten his lambs after- weaning has taken place. . . ■ Few Rivals The most commonly used feed for lamb fattening in Southland is the rape crop, and when used for this purpose this crop has few rivals. It supplies an easily. digestible food of high nutritive value, especially when properly matured. The stage of maturity is reached when the' leaves have turned a silvery green colour, and have purplish tinged patches about Their margins. ... , ' / Rape which has not reached the mature stage has a dry-matter-content of about nine to twelve per cent., while the dry-matter-content of matured rape is about 20 to 25 per cent. If fed before it has reached the matured stage, rape is less palatable to stock, does not fatten readily, and. may have harmful effects. In Southland a good crop of rape may supply 30 tons per acre of green food, although this is above the average yield. In Canterbury the average yield is about seven to eight tons per acre, and such a crop is considered sufficient to fatten from twenty to twenty-five lambs. From these figures the area of rape required can be reckoned, and it will be seen that when the Southland farmer is so fortunate

as to secure a 30-ton-per-acre crop he is able to fatten a considerably greater number of lambs per acre. When sowing the rape crop some farmers prefer to sow blocks of the paddock at such times as will allow for a continuous supply of freshlymatured rape. This, however, is largely governed by the ' yield of crop produced, as store lambs will be purchased if a surplus results. As a Nurse Crop Rape is often sown as a nurse crop to grass. It enables the farmer to be more certain of a supply of feed, for if the rape is a failure he always has the young grass. This is a sound' policy under successful conditions, for the variety of feed from the grass and rape is better than rape alone. There, are three. methods of sowing ridged, in drills, or broadcast. Undoubtedly, the best crop is procured when the crop is sown in ridges; also, it allows for intercultivation between the rows, which tends always to clean the paddock. Generally, when it is sown with grass it is sown in drills 14in. apart? Were it sown in 7in. rows

it would tend to retard the growth of grass too much. When sowing rape it is advisable to sow three to four ounces of mustard with the seed. This plant acts as a blood purifier, and tends to keep the animal in a less heated condition than when fed on rape alone. The feeding off should be done in breaks, and the stock must have access to clean water. Swede Tops Another feed used extensively in Southland for lamb fattening is the swede' tops. Many farmers favour the method of cutting out the front or. incisor teeth of the lambs and letting them feed on the leaves of this crop. By removing the teeth the lambs are still able to break off adequate feed, but are unable to eat or mark the bulb. When marked, the bulb usually rots before it is required for use. Some farmers in Southland make a point of weaning early and feeding the lambs in this manner, and very often in good seasons may get away all, or nearly all, the fat lambs. Care must be taken to see that the teeth are cut off cleanly and,- if possible, below the level

of the . gum; otherwise, . any jagged edges or corners will mark the turnips. A set of sharp pinchers or wire snips are commonly used for the purpose. When sowing the turnip crop with a view to feeding the tops in this manner, it is advisable to sow a small quantity of rape, which may be sown through the manure box of the ridger. Kale / Where clubroot limits the use of rape, thousand-headed kale . is often used as a substitute, and although .this crop is recognised as inferior to rape, for lamb fattening, it is generally ad-, mitted to be superior to chou moellier for this purpose. ■ . Another good feed for fattening purposes is to sow a temporary pasture of Italian ryegrass. Sown early in the spring or the previous ' autumn at the rate of 251 b. of Italian ryegrass and 51b. of broad red clover, this pasture will afford a good supply of luscious feed for fattening purposes.

—W. L. HARBORD,

Fields

Instructor, Invercargill.