On the Land

New Zealand Tablet, 25 January 1917, Page 59

On the Land

GENERAL. _ In common with other dairy factories Wyndham is experiencing the effects of the drought (states the Herald). The daily intake of milk, which runs to nearly 5000 gallons in the flush of the season, is now 3200 gallons. Another evidence of the dry season is that the Mataura is lower than it has been for over a quarter of a century.

As evidence of the patriotic way in which some men are prepared to turn to in the present crisis, it was mentioned at the meeting of the Mackenzie County Council last week that a farmer in the Albury district who is nearly 80 years of age, who had been practically retired for some years, and whose only son is at the war, is now doing the whole of the work on a 600-acre farm single-handed.

If wheat is sown in two soils, one dark and the other light, but treated in all other respects in exactly the same way, the -crop in the darker soil will mature more quickly and better than the crop in the light soil. It is one of the advantages of farmyard manure that, in addition to supplying plant nourishment, it produces in the soil a darker color, and thus increases materially its fertility. *

In the annual report of Hobart Chamber of Commerce, it stated this season’s crop of apples was the largest the State has yet produced, the aggregate production of apples of all qualities being estimated at 2,750,000 bushels at least ; 809,000 bushels of apples and pears were exported to Great Britain, that being more than double the quantity sent during 1915. Prospects for 1917 looked good, presuming that satisfactory arrangements can again be made for export to Great Britain. The question of remunerative prices in 1917 practically depended upon the provision made by the Commonwealth for the export trade. There was a large yarding of fat cattle (205) at Burnside last week, and, taken all round, prices were a little easier than previous week. Quotations: Best Bullocks, £l7 to £l9 ; extra prime, to £22 5s ; medium, £ls to £l6 10s: best cows and heifers, £lO to £l2; extra heavy, to £ls ss; medium, £8 to £9 10s. Fat Sheep. — 2oß9 yarded. A fair-sized yarding, and as freezing buyers were operating, prices showed an advance of Is per head on the previous sale’s rates. Quotations: Best wethers, 36s to 39s 6d; good, 33s to 35s 6d; medium, 28s to 30s; best ewes, 30s to 325; extra prime, 38s to 40s ; medium, 24s to 275. Fat Lambs.— 194 yarded. Competition was not very keen, and prices were easier than previous week. Quotations: Best lambs, 24s to 265; extra, to 295; medium, 20s to 225.

At the Addington market last week there were large entries of store and fat cattle and store sheep, an average entry of fat lambs, and another small yarding of fat sheep. Fat cattle sold irregularly, but prices showed no decline. Fat lambs were very firm, as were fat and store sheep, prices, if anything, being a little better in each case. Fat ewes sold exceptionally well, in consequence of the short supply of fat sheep. There was a very large yarding of store cattle, which brought good prices. Pigs sold well. at Lambs. -Best lambs, 26s 6d to 30s lid; medium, 23s 6d to 265; unfinished, 19s 6d to 235. Fat Sheep.— Prime wethers, 32s 6d to 40s; lighter wethers, 26s 6d to 325; prime merino wethers, 30s to 33s 2d; lighter merino wethers, 21s 6d to 275; prime ewes, 31s to 38s; medium ewes, 26s to 30s; lighter ewes, 23s to 25s 6d. Fat Cattle.— Extra prime steers,, to .£23 ss ; ordinary steers, £ls to £2O 10s; extra , prime cows, £l7; prime cows, £ll 10s to £l3~ 17s 6d; ordinary cows, £8 10s to £ll ss , prime heifers, £l2 10s to, £l6; ordinary heifers, £8 10s td' £l2 ss. Pigs.—Choppers, £4 to £5 12s; extra heavy baconers, £5 Is; heavy baconers, £4 5s to £4 15s; lighter baconers, £3 12s to £4—equal to 7d per lb; heavy porkers, £2 17s to £3 ; lighter porkers, £2 8s to £2 14s—equal to 8d to Bid per lb;

medium stores,- £1 16s to Os , 6d smaller, £1 2s to £1 12s; weaners, 18s ? to £1 3s. • U Ofer;£V‘ ':*)/

ARSENIC SPRAYING. FOR BLACKBERRY U;; . • . ■- • W PEST. ; ; ::; V'~ ; Th 6 spray hiethdd of treatment bids fair to counter the blackberry menace, furnishing an effective and coniparatively inexpensive weapon of destruction-

especial value where other ■ methods, such' as ’. ploughing and cultivation-, are impracticable or inexpedient (says the Journal of Agriculture Remarkable success with arsenic solution as the . spraying-material - has been attained in several localities. - Mr. Allen M. Williams, of Te Aute Station, Pukehou, Hawke’s Bay, has kindly furnished the following account of, his method and . experience : - V v , ~ ... - ‘ In reference to our treatment of blackberries, we first cleared the stock out of the paddock and. then sprayed the blackberries .with 2oz arsenic to the gallon of water. When the bushes had quite dried off—say, in a monthwe burnt them. The man in charge of the work would then go to each bush twice a week to spray the young shoots as they appeared. In our soil (limestone subsoil) after the first week or two it would only require looking at once a week, and gradually eased off until no more shoots appeared. The point is not to let the young shoots get into leaf. The best time to spray is when the blackberries are in flower and the sap well up. If one is careful not to let the young shoots get into leaf the stock can be put back into the paddock after the blackberries have been burnt, including any grass which may have been affected by the poison. We have always done this and never lost a hoof. All our blackberries were absolutely destroyed in a very short time, but in lighter soils I can quite understand that it might take much longer. Do not cut the blackberry bushes down, but spray them as they stand.’

INFLUENCE OF FERTILISERS. It is often asserted that the application of some fertilisers exercises an indirect influence on the physical condition of the soil, in addition to the amount of plant food supplied by them, and farmers are told that this action should not be left out of consideration in the selection of the fertilisers it is intended to employ. Some years ago (says Mark Lane Express), Professor Garola made a series of experiments, and arrived at the conclusion that the application of lime and potash increases the porosity of the soil, but that nitrate of soda acted in an opposite manner. "" More recently an American expert found that both nitrate of soda and potash diminish the porous nature of land. Within the last year or so a Continental professor proved to his own satisfaction that almost all fertilisers — potash salts, superphosphate, lime, chalk, nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, basic slag, and complete manures— favor the permeability of soils. We doubt whether in practical farming there is any real foundation for all these opinions, which seem to be based on small experiments carried out under conditions that do not resemble actual farming operations. •A Because, consider what really takes place. A farmer applies lewt or 1-icwt nitrate of soda to an acre; that is, about Joz of nitrate to a square yard, and as a square yard of soil to a depth of Gin weighs about 5001 b, we are asked to believe that ioz mixed with 5001 b is able to exercise a definite physical action on the mass. An application of 3cwt or 4cwt applied once or twice in rotation with the intervening operations of ploughing, soil aeration, and croppings could only have a quite insignificant effect. It is, of course, different when an acid fertiliser, for instance, sulphate of ammonia, is applied year after year, as in the Rothamsted experiments, but this ; is not ordinary farming. In such a case the character of the soil would suffer unless lime was applied in sufficient quantities to check acidity. And dressings of lime. are known to improve heavy soils, but then lime is applied at the rate of a ton to the acre. , v . '