On the Land

New Zealand Tablet, 24 June 1915, Page 59

On the Land

f ' p .... - GENERAL.: 1 Milk-testing has shown that the Ayrshire responds to increased care and liberal feeding. V | France is the only country in Europe that is selfsupporting in normal times. The country produces sufficient corn and meat for the whole population.

I- The British War department is gradually lessening the number of docked horses purchased, and the War Secretary has announced that none will be accepted at the end of three years. -

A ‘ record ’ wheat - harvest is expected for next season in New South Wales. On present indications the Government expects that anything up to 60,000,000 bushels will be realised. The Government is seriously perturbed over the question of dealing with the exportable surplus, and consideration is being given even at this early stage to the question of freightage.

| There is in the minds of a great many people a hazy idea (says the Australasian ) that anything which is purchased for the purpose of applying to the Soil should be classed as a fertiliser. But a distinction must be made between apparent and real enrichment. The word, fertiliser, is used to include only those materials which contain one or more of the following kinds of plant food— nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, or, as they are more commonly called, ammonia, phosphoric acid, and potash. The use of a fertiliser is justified when there is a deficiency in the soil of any of the above-named plant foods. Lime, on the other hand, does not contain any of these elements or compounds, and, therefore, does not come in the fertiliser class. The use of lime will not of itself increase the amount of plant food which a soil contains. It must be used for other reasons.

The feature of the Addington market last week was a heavy entry of fat sheep and an increased yarding of fat lambs. Fat Lambs. —Prime, 18s to 23s 3d; medium, 15s to 17s fid: light and unfinished, 12s 6d to 13s fid. Fat Sheep.—The yarding of fat sheep was one of the largest for this year. . The quality was mixed, but there was a fair proportion of prime sheep. The bulk of the yarding, as usual of late, consisted of ewes. The market opened weak, owing to a heavy supply. Medium and inferior sheep showed the most decline. Extra prime wethers, to 26s 8d ; prime wethers, 19s fid to 25s Id; others, 17s fid to 19s: merino wethers, 13s to 15s 4d ; extra prime ewes, to 27s 9d ; prime ewes, 17s to 245; medium ewes, 14s to 16s fid; inferior ewes, 8s fid to 13s fid. Fat Cattle. —Extra steers, to £ls 10s; ordinary,' £7 10s to £lO 10s; extra heifers, to £l3 ; ordinary, £5 5s to £10; extra cows, to £l3: ordinary, £5 to £B —price of beef per 1001 b, 23s to 37s fid ; extra, to 40s; vealers, 8s to 70s. —Choppers, 60s to 115 s; extra heavy baconers, 73s to 80s ; heavy baconers, 60s to 70s; light baconers, 50s to 57s fid— price per lb, s|d to fid; heavy porkers, 36s to 42s ; light porkers, 30s to 35s— per lb, fid; medium stores, 25s to 32s ; small stores, 18s to 22s ; weaners, 7s to 11s.

At Burnside last week fat cattle were in keen demand at improved rates, fat sheep of good quality sold at prices ruling lately, whilst fat lambs showed a -decline owing to scarcity of freezing space. Fat Cattle.—l 67 head were yarded for this week’s supply. Competition was keen, and prices were higher by IDs to 20s per head. Best bullocks, £l4 to £ls ; extra prime and heavy, to £2O ss; good bullocks, £l2 to £l3; light, £9 to £10; best heifers, £l2 to £l3; fair to good, £9 to £lO. Fat Sheep. — 4237 penned, the bulk of which were fair to medium ewes, with a small proportion of prime wethers. Prime wethers and young ewes sold about last week’s prices, while other sorts were easier. Best wethers . brought 24s to 265; extra, to 28s fid; medium to good, 20s to 225; light, 17s to 18s fid; prim© ewes, 20s to 225; good, 17s fid to 19s; medium, 14s to 15s fid. Fat Lambs.34oo penned. On account of the scarcity of freezing space and graziers not operat-

* ing to any extent, prices showed a decline of fully per head on last week’s rates. Extra prime lambs, to 22s fid; good,/ 16s s to 18s; good stores, from 12s 6d to 13s 9d ; inferior sorts, 9s to 11s. The supply of pigs was about the same as the previous week, and prices showed little change from ,those ruling of late. V "

WIRE WORMS. \ -| Replying to a query with regard, to the .destruction of wireworms, the Journal of Agriculture says: Several species of wireworms are abundant in New Zealand, but these differ only in minor characters. All are larvse of ‘ click-beetles. ’ Ordinarily they breed in grass land, the larvae feeding on the roots of the grasses'. Under such circumstances their presence is rarely noted, because the ground is so filled with roots that their work does not attract attention. When such ground is broken up and used for potatoes or root crops the larvae have not the same abundant supply of food, and they quickly become a serious menace to the crop. The larvae remain in the grub stage for two or three years, so that they are often abundant in soil that has been broken up only one or two years. Suitable croprotation, autumn ploughing, and thorough cultivation are the only means of dealing with this pest. Wireworms do not attack clover or other related plants, and where fields are badly infested the growing of legume crops is advised. There are no suitable applications that can be made to the soil that will kill the larvae unless made so strong as to be injurious to plant-life. Manuring, however, is often extremely beneficial, not for the purpose of killing the grubs, but to stimulate the growth of the crop so that it can resist and recover from an attack.

LUCERNE EXPERIENCE. Forty years ago (writes Mr. W. Dibble in the Journal of Agriculture) I saw lucerne being grazed by stock for the first time. It was a luxuriant and profitable field growing in sand on the foreshore of the County of Somersetshire. Apart from the fact that the lucerne was thriving on pure sand, the feature which appealed to me at the time was the remarkable development of the individual plants, which were from 2ft to 3ft apart. The owner, a relative of my own, systematically grazed the lucerne with cattle, which remained on the lucerne the whole of the summer and autumn months, and, from what I remember, the stock did amazingly well on it. The next time I saw lucerne profitably employed was on an ostrich farm in the Auckland district, the Whitford Park Estate, of which an uncle was manager. The soil could hardly be regarded as an ideal medium for lucerne, being a poor marsh clay which puddled in the winter and baked hard in the summer. Yet lucerne was a most successful crop. The reason for this was that care had been' taken in‘the first place to provide the best seed-bed possible under the circumstances. The soil was ploughed to a depth of lOin, and was very thoroughly cultivated. Red clover was then sown and subsequently ploughed in, preparatory for the lucerne seeding. The lucerne was sown in drills about 16in apart. A good strike was obtained, and then the factor which was principally responsible for the success achieved came in—a Planet cultivator was periodically used to keep the soil between the rows well stirred and to kill any weeds which appeared. Under this continuous cultural treatment the lucerne provided a great wealth of green material in all but two or three winter months. The lucerne was cut with a sickle and chaffed for. feeding to the young ostriches. By the time the last of the acre patch was reached the first portion was ready to cut again. * ■