ON THE LAND

New Zealand Tablet, 6 November 1919, Page 43

ON THE LAND

I v>. . MARKET REPORTS. ,l. - At Burnside - last; week there ■_ was a fair yarding of fat cattle; 170 head came to hand, consisting of from medium to good quality, with a few, pens of extra prime bullocks. The market opened slightly below the previous week’s rates, and- these prices : were maintained throughout. Prime heavy bullocks £45 to £sl, prime £27 to £35, lighter sorts £lB 10s upwards, prime cows and heifers to £23 17s 6d, medium £l7 to £l9, lighter sorts £ll upwards, Eat sheep : 920 came to hand, consisting of a few pens of prime quality wethers and ewes, but the bulk of the yarding were light and unfinished. The market opened from 2s to 3s above the previous week’s prices, but eased somewhat towards the end of the sale. Lambs: 34 fat lambs came to hand. With the exception of two or three pens, the quality was only fair, to medium. The market opened on a par with the previous week’s rates, but light and unfinished declined 2s to 3s per head. Pigs: A small yarding of fats realised very high prices. A very small yarding of stores sold at very high prices, well-grown slips selling up to £4 ss. The Addington market showed an all-round increase in yarding. Six races of fat sheep were penned, as against four the previous week, and there, were 270 bullocks, compared to 165. Sheep were down a few shillings, but beef maintained previous prices. Lambs: 152 were penned, as compared with 103 the previous week. The quality was slightly improved, and former prices were maintained. Prime fat lambs sold at up to 38s 6d, arid medium up to 335. Fat sheep : There was a bigger proportion than usual, and they were well finished, the yarding being fully sufficient for butchers’ requirements. There was a slackening in the demand, especially for mediums. Some prime quality ewes brought increased, values, and one extra prime wether realised 100 s. Prime 60s 6d to 735, medium 50s 6d to 59s Id, lighter 35s to 48s Id, extra prime ewes to 765, prime ewes 54s to 67s 3d, medium 43s 9d to 51s, lighter 31s to 43s 3d, prime hoggets 33s Id to 36s 3d, lighter to 38s 6d. Fat cattle : A better quality of bullocks were comprised in the yarding than at the previous sale, and the then prevailing high rates were quite maintained. Extra prime steers brought to £47 10s, prime £2l to £36, ordinary £9 12s 6d to £l9, extra prime heifers to £2B 10s, prime heifers £l6 to £24 10s, ordinary £lO 5s to £ls, extra prime cows to £2B, prime £l4 10s to £l9 10s Id, ordinary £lO 5s to £l4. Pigs: There was an average yarding, with keen competition for porkers, but the demand for baconers was unaltered. Prime baconers brought to £B, heavy baconers £6 to £7, medium baconers £5 5s to £5 15s (equal to lOd per lb), heavy porkers 90s to 955, medium porkers 70s to 80s (equal to lid to 11 id per lb), choppers £6 to £9 16s. Vealers; There was strong inquiry, and runners realised up to £lO 15s Id, good vealers £3 5s to £5, vealers 42s 6d to 50s, small and inferior 5s to 40s. THE TIME TO CUT LUCERNE. An experiment in progress at the Kansas Experiment Station shows some interesting things regarding the effect of time of cutting on the yield, quality of hay, and the permanency of stand of lucerne fields (says the N.Z. Farmer). In the experiment, lucerne is cut continuously throughout the season at four different stages of growth ; when the flower buds are well formed, when the plants are one-tenth in bloom, when the plants are in full bloom, and when the seed pods are well developed. These stages are called the bud stage, tenth-bloom stage, full-bloom stage, and seed stage respectively. The experiment was begun in the spring of 1914, and has been continued to the present time. The most important fact shown so far is the effect on the stand. The bud stage plots have deteriorated quite rapidly. The lucerne plants are weak, many of them have died, and grasses have taken their place to a considerable extent. These grasses are especially conspicuous in the later cuttings, the hay of which may consist of as much as 85 per cent, grass and 15 per cent, or less lucerne. This fact no doubt explains in part at least the trouble many

farmers have in maintaining. a good field of lucerne. The common practice has been to cut when one-tenth in bloom. In order to get all , cut by the proper stage -many farmers begin cutting early. As a result, the plants, are weakened, grass ; gets a start and gradually takes the - place of the lucerne. v • -.;• -y, • ' ■" The effect of early cutting Ts also shown in the\total yield of hay. . On an average over five years, the bud . stage plots have produced 3. tons per acre, the tenth-bloom 4.1 tons, -the full-bloom 4.3 tons, and the seed stage 3.4 tons - per acre. ■ • 1 he yield from cutting in full bloom is not only larger than is secured from earlier cutting, but it is also secured at a lower cost because of the fewer cuttings. Usually the bud stage plots are cut five or six times during the season, the tenth-bloom plots four -or five times, the°fullbloom plots four times, and the seed stage plotte three times. Cutting in full bloom saves the labor of cutting one crop about one, year in two as compared with hutting in tenth-bloom. ... ■ . , V .- - The difference in the quality’ of hay from the different cuttings is less than might be expected/ There is a gradual decrease in the percentage of protein as the lucerne matures, but the; difference is not sufficient to balance the greater yield from the full-bloom stage. In other words, the yield of protein per acre has been slightly larger for the full-bloom plots than for the 'others. There is a large loss of leaves and . a material decrease in the protein con-tent-after the full-bloom stage. For these reasons,, as well as from the standpoint of yields, lucerne should not be permitted to stand long after reaching the full-bloom stage. There are several practical applications that can be made of the results of the experiment. Perhaps the - most important is .to avoid cutting before the plants are in tenthbloom or at least' not do so continuously and as a regular farm practice. | Another is in showing the fallacy of the view sometimes held that clipping the new shoots which necessarily follows late cutting injures the lucerne. Apparently it does not, but may reduce the yield for the season if the lucerne goes beyond the full-bloom stage.