Farm Practice and Management

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 63, Issue 4, 15 October 1941, Page 331

Farm Practice and Management

Bumper Crop from New Zealand-grown Rape Seed

IN view of the , article in the April issue of the “Journal” by J. H. Claridge and J. O. Wallace on the growing of turnip and swede seed in New Zealand, the results achieved by Messrs. Mirfin Bros., of Ikamatua. with their first trial of New Zealand rape seed are of some interest. Fifteen acres of Broad-leaf Essex were sown together' with grass seed following a crop of oats, and the rate of seeding (2-J lb. per acre) was heavier than is usually sown with grass because of a doubt whether the seed would prove equal to the imported

lines customarily sown. The result exceeded all expectations. An excellent strike followed, and the crop was the heaviest ever experienced on the property. The illustration shows the last ‘ break just before feeding off, and at that time the first break had made a strong and rapid recovery from grazing. • The crop was actually thicker and heavier than was desirable, as the grass

and clover growth was smothered, and the resulting pasture is poor and open. A seeding of lj lb. of rape per acre should prove ample when sown with grass. The 15 acres carried 420 lambs for eight weeks, after which 150 ewes and 80 calves were maintained for a month on the second growth. —A. D. MERCER, Fields I Instructor, Greymouth.

The illustrations show the efficacy of the rushes and the method of using them. —G. A. BLAKE, Instructor in Agriculture, Stratford.

An Aid to Better Ensilage

IN some districts many stacks of fair silage are saved without weighting the top, but ’ it is generally recognised that covering with earth gives a better product. Difficulty is often experienced, however, in providing a suitable retaining medium for the earth. on the edge of the stack. On the farm of Mr. J. Shepherd, Tariki,

rushes dug from an adjoining swamp have effectively solved the difficulty, The rush plants are placed in position with the roots on the edge of the stack, and are held there by a layer of earth on their tops. The second row of rushes is then added, and the process repeated until a, sufficient weight is obtained.

Automatic Device to Ensure Permanently Open Mole Drain Outlets

A MOST ingenious but simple device to ensure permanently open outfalls in mole drain outlets has been invented by Mr. O. L. Sykes, of Westmere, and Mr. H. A. Harcombe, of Masterton, . which promises to find wide favour among mole drainers. Briefly, it consists of a device attached to the end of an ordinary mole plug, whereby a field tile may be drawn into the end of the mole drain. When the tile is pulled in to its full depth

a simple automatic release permits the mole plough to continue up the pad,dock while the tile remains firmly fixed in the outlet. There is no need to emphasise to experienced mole drainers the vital importance of maintaining a clear and open outlet for each mole drain. Indeed, other things being equal, the life of a mole drain depends on the care which is devoted to the regular clearing of unprotected outlets. In fact,

most will agree that it is practically essential to insert a tile in the end of a mole in order to ensure the free escape of water, and while the usual practice of digging back along the length of the mole and setting : in a tile is fairly satisfactory, it cannot be compared with the device invented by Messrs. Sykes and Harcombe. Not only is this simple to handle—it takes only a few seconds to attach it eliminates the time and labour of digging and provides an absolutely solid job, leaving no possibility of the . tile being displaced by seepage of water, as may result where the soil is disturbed by digging. The potentialities. of this device will be readily appreciated by exponents

of the McLeod system of mole drainage. On many types of country the collection of a number of “major" or gathering moles to one tiled outlet could be eliminated and the “major” outfalls simply dropped over a bank and protected by pulling a tile into the mole end, with consequent saving of.time, labour and tiles. On the other hand, the possibility has also been explored of using this device to protect further the junctions of “major” moles with the main tiled outlet, where this procedure is preferred, by pulling tiles into the ends of the majors along the side of the main outlet trench. , This would, of course, necessitate opening

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiii up a fairly wide outlet drain, and it remains to be seen from further experience whether the benefit gained would justify this, or whether it might be more satisfactory to simply eliminate the main tiled outlet as suggested above. The use of the attachment is illustrated in the accompanying series of photographs. — LAMONT, Instructor in Agriculture, Masterton.

Ari Old Style of Tile Drain Pipe

ABOUT 1850, when farming in England was in a progressive state due to the attention it received from the nobility and the low cost of agricultural labour, great pride was taken in every class of work , performed on the larger estates. Tn underground drainage, for instance, the tiles used were in two parts— flat piece which was placed in the bottom of the drain, and a curved or rounded

piece which was placed over the flat one, thus completing the drainage channel.

Tiles were later manufactured which combined these two features, that is, a round tile with a flat surface to pre-

vent rolling or moving when the earth was replaced. Pioneers who came to New Zealand about this time found this type of tile unprocurable, but in 1870 the late Colonel Trimble, of Inglewood, had tiles to these specifications made at the Smart Road, New Plymouth, brick and tile works. They were used to

drain a garden site, and on being lifted recently, were found to be in perfect order. It is possible that this flat-sided tile may have been manufactured in other parts of New Zealand, but today they are so rare that their type is worthy of mention. Their use was discontinued with the advent of a, draining

spade that left a rounded bottom into which the present-day circular tile fits to prevent movement The accompanying' illustration shows one of these flat-sided tiles, made in 1870 at New Plymouth. —G. A. BLAKE, Instructor in Agriculture, Stratford.

New Tools for Old

IN the old story of Aladdin’s lamp there is the well-known cry of “New lamps for old,” and I am sure present-day farmers ’ will appreciaafe the value of these new and useful implements made out of old shovel and spade blades fitted to old pick or adze, heads. ' These implements can be made by any farmer who has. a small forge and is handy with tools. The implements are made by either welding or rivetting a worn-out pick or adze head to the blade of an old shovel or spade, and the composite head fitted to a pick handle. When the implement is completed it may be necessary to adjust the set of the blade, but this can easily be done by heating the head and

bending the prong of the pick to the required angle This implement will be found useful for a variety of purposes. For instance, these implements are most suitable for cutting through benches

when' fencing in hilly country and for cutting down and levelling steep benches where a hillside' plough has been unable to work. —W. T. BROWN, Fields Instructor, Taumarunui.

Liming Pays in the Hutt and Makara Counties

OUTSTANDING responses to liming have been obtained in both the Lu it and Makara Counties. The clay hill country of such localities as the Ohariu 1 Valley, Haywards, Tawa Flat, and around Porirua, as well as the lower foothills of the , ranges from Otaki north, have long been known to give a good response to basic slag, but besides being unprocurable for some time, basic slag is difficult to handle and to sow on hill country. , In order to find an' alternative to basic slag a number of observational trials were, established some three years ago by the Instructor in these two counties. Without exception, these trials have clearly shown that adequate liming is essential to good results from phosphate manuring, ' and that provided the lime shortage is put right, very good results can be obtained by the use of superphosphate. Liming alone is not advocated, because the phosphate is still required to give really good results. The trials referred to. are on the farms of'Messrs. Gordon Bros., Ohariu Valley, W. S. Kells, Haywards, C. G. Steel, Takapu North, Tawa Flat, W. Mexted, Porirua, and C. C. Holmes, Otaki. On Messrs. Gordon Bros.’ farm the limed area is outstanding, and is visible from the hills more than two miles away, but on each of the other areas very good results from the addition of lime have been obtained. It takes about one year for the lime to show up well, but when it does there can be no mistake about its value or the fact that liming pays on this type of country. , Farmers topdressing any of the. clay hill and rolling country of the Hutt and Makara Counties can definitely use lime freely to assist in getting returns during the present shortage of phosphate manures. —G. S. ROBINSON, Instructor in Agriculture, Levin.

Surplus apples are economically stored, with great saving in space, in the form of apple juice and apple treacle. Natural sugar makes this product extremely sweet, and it is a valuable substitute for sugar in all forms of household cooking. Soft fruit, plums and apples are reduced to a dry fine powder, useful for food processing. Plum powder can be made into jam at any time of the year. In their work on blackcurrant syrups, the experts have found that,

after a long period of storage, there was present, in some cases, double the amount of Vitamin C (a preventative against scurvy) ‘as in fresh citrus juices. The shortage of Vitamin A has also drawn attention to the need for using all surplus carrots, and a powder is now being extracted commercially in plant normally used for the spray drying of milk. ~

Jam From Powder

NEW storage processes for fruit have been devised by chemists at Bristol University Research Station. The work was originally designed to meet the problem of Britain’s own surplus fruit, but, with the cessation of imports', the results are now available for Empire producers. ; *