On the Land

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIII, Issue 18, 4 May 1916, Page 51

On the Land

4- , The successful keeping of fowls in confinement requires that each bird should' have not less than five square ‘ feet of space. ’ ; . ' ■ '

By marketing the products of the farm in the form of butter or cream, only 5 per cent, of the fertility contained in farm crops is sold in the produce.

? As a general thing, when confined fowls lay soft-shelled eggs the cause is due to an over-fat condition. When the soft shells are • noted, ■ the shell-grit supply shouldl be examined. If. there is plenty : of, shell, cut the food down by from 25 to 50 per cent., feed plenty of green stuff, and provide scratching litter for purpose of exercise. , - • Several North Otago farmers have now sufficient pasture to maintain part of the flocks sent to Southland, and are bringing back a small portion of their sheep (says the Oamaru Mail). Whether growth will forestall the frosts depends upon weather conditions, but even this partial recovery of the district is encouraging.

Feed is now abundant in the . Gisborne country districts, ■' owing to the early rains, • which came before the grass roots were burned up (says the Times). Every circumstance points to an abundance of feed throughout the winter, and the only thing to be feared by the farmers is a succession of heavy frosts, which might have the effect of killing the grass as effectively as a long drought. Poultry manure has approximately twice the fertilising value of cattle manure if a comparison of the two - products ,is based upon the nitrogen contents. The nitrogenous compounds contained in poultry manure, however, are very unstable, and decompose readily into ammonia and volatile ammonium compounds. Consequently, unless proper care be exercised,' large quantities of nitrogen which might be used for fertilisation are lost. ’ Which means that the manure should be mixed with an absorbent sui stance, or aft acid compound, which will chemically combine with the ammonia as fast as it is formed. Experiments have proved that when the excrement is mixed with an equal amount of gypsum, and about one-fifth of its weight in sawdust, it will retain all of the original nitrogen: - At Addington' last week there were small entries of stock in all departments, and a much reduced attendance. Store sheep sold well, also fat lambs, and: fat ' cattle sold rather better. Fat sheep were a little easier at the opening of the sale, but they firmed towards the end. No business was done for export. There was a very small yarding of store cattle. Dairy cows sold well, but pigs were easier owing to a limited demand. Fat Lambs.— Prime, 21s to 24s 3d ; others, 18s to 24s 6d ; merino wethers, 20s 3d to 235; prime ewes, 24s to 27s Id; medium, 19s to 23s 6d ; others, 14s 7d to 18s 6d ; merino ewes, 13s lOd to 16s. Fat Cattle. —Extra prime steers, to £2O ; ordinary, £9 to £l3; extra prime heifers, to £l3; ordinary, £7 12s 6d to £9 10s; extra prime cows, to £l4 15s; ordinary, £6 10s to £9; dairy cows, £3 10s to £ls 15s. . Pigs. Choppers, 50s to 80s; heavy baconers, 75s to 90s; light baconers, 58s to 70s —price per lb, 6£d; heavy porkers, 44s to 48s; light porkers, 34s to 40sprice per lb, 7d to 7£d; medium stores, 28s to 31s; small stores, , 16s to 255; weaners, 7s to 12s.

There were only small yardings at Burnside last week, and consequently prices showed an improvement on late sales. Fat Cattle. One hundred and twenty yarded. This was a small yarding, mostly of medium quality. Butchers’ stocks were light, and the trade secured - the total yarding at prices about 15s per head higher than at previous sale. Values were well over exporters’ limits. Best bullocks, £l6 10s to £l7 10s; extra heavy, to £lB ss; medium, , £l3 10s to £ls 10s; light and unfinished, £8 10s to £l2; heavy cows, £l2 to £l4 10s; medium, £9 10s to £11 ; light, £7 10s to £9 10s. Fat Sheep.—lßls penned; a small yarding. The sale opened at prices much on a par with previous week, but values gradually hardened, and at the close of the day prices were up about Is 6d. Prime wethers were in short supply, and sold especially well. Heavy wethers, 27s 6d to 31s; extra prime wethers, to 35s 3d; medium, 24s 6d to 26s 6d; light, 19s 6d to 21s; unfinished, 15s upwards; heavy ewes, 27s to 30s; extra prime heavy, 31s 6d to 34s 3d medium, 20s to 235; light, 14s upwards. Lambs.-815 penned. , Quality was above the average of late, and there wds keen competition throughout the sale, prices being up about Is per head compared with last week. : Best ,lambs; 5 t 22s 6d to 245 ;; extra heavy, 24s 6d to 27s 9d; medium, 18s to 21s; light and unfinished, 13s to 15s 6d.- —There was a small' yarding of fat pigs. Prices were exceptionally high

owing to the short supply. r' Best hacbriers sold’ to £4' 15s; medium stores, 28s to Sis; small ' stores, 16s ' to 255; weaners, 7s to 12s. , * |to •V- •>-

VALUE OF.: BRAN.

il t V Among wheat offals bran takes the "rinci"al ' "lace. The digestible, feed constituents -in . bran are : albuminoids 10 per cent., oil 3 per cent.,, and carbo-hydrates 37 per cent. Barley bran .is somewhat higher in quality, and • oat bran considerably lower. , "For comparison, it may be mentioned that good clover _ hay contains 5 per cent, albuminoids, 1J per cent, of oil, and 37 per cent, of carbohydrates. The residue manurial value" of bran is estimated in England at 8s 6d per ton. - Bran, as is pointed out in the Journal of the British Board of Agriculture, is particularly rich in mineral - ingredients (lime and phosphates), arid is therefore-specially suited for. young growing animals and. for brood animals of all kinds, both before and after parturition. It is a very palatable food, and this fact, , coupled with its wellknown laxative influence, peculiarly fits it for feeding in association with such concentrated 'foods as cotton cakes, > bean meal, and maize, or with coarse -fodders, such as wheat, or barley' straw, when the supply of roots is ,restricted. In experiments conducted by the Edinburgh and East of Scotland College of Agriculture, with two-year-old fattening- bullocks,_ bran proved equal to linseed cake in respect to the quantity and quality of the beef produced, and was slightly the more profitable feeding stuff. In America bran has been extensively used as a partial substitute for oats in feeding heavy horses, and has resulted in a very considerable saving in the cost of maintenance. It was found that these two foods might suitably be mixed in equal proportions for horses.

GYPSUM AS A FERTILISER. Gypsum (sulphate of lime) is composed of lime, sulphuric acid, and water in the following proportions : .Lime, 32.56 per cent.; sulphuric acid, 46,51 per cent. ; water, 20.93 per cent. total, 100.00. - In the actual nourishment of plants it plays a small part, but it makes itself felt by exerting an influence in rendering the plantfood constituents in the soil more soluble and available. Superphosphate contains a large quantity of gypsum, as the result of the action of the sulphuric acid on the lime in the raw phosphate. An application of scwt of superphosphate to the acre involves the supply of 2cwt. of gypsum. The application of gypsum to clover, vetches, peas, and beans is attended with very good results, especially on clay soils: It should be applied at the rate of 2 to 3cwt an acre in the spring, and its -effect is increased if it is mixed with about an equal quantity of kainit. ‘ Besides the value of gypsum for application to the soil, it can be used with advantage for other purposes in agriculture. Sprinkled about in stables and cowsheds, it is said to have the effect of preventing the evaporation of ammonia, thus improving the fertilising value of the manure, and at the same- time rendering more wholesome the atmosphere of the stables. , With the same object of preventing the escape of the valuable ammonia, gypsum should also be spread over manure heaps.

JERSEY CATTLE.

The butter-making properties of the Jersey breed of cattle were well illustrated at the St. Louis Exhibition, that breed winning every contest that was open. The rations allowed, however, were more than liberal, and would; appear to point to the fact . that the cattle ere rather large specimens of their breed. It is pretty generally believed, and has been proved, that the amount of food consumed varies according to the output, so to speak, rather than the size of the animal. The amount of food consumed by the Jerseys in that test was upon the average 211 b of hay, 121 b of silage, and 16£lb of grain per cow- per day,. which is an extraordinary consumption for such cattle. In spite of the heavy cost of feeding, however, the milk yield of the Jerseys was so superior, both in quantity and quality—the former aided very much by the persistent milking of the breed—that the only cow that made a net profit of £lO was a Jersey. With this good feeding and heavy milking, however, it is rather remarkable that the cows‘should have made a gain in their own weight. Jerseys are not ordinarily great gainers of flesh whilst they are in milk, though when young and healthy they-fatten as rapidly as other-breeds when they -have nothing better to do in-the > way of making dairy produce. Jerseys' are a dairy breed, however, and the making of beef should not be encouraged, beyond the constitutional point. - , ' ' • >■■■>