ON THE LAND

New Zealand Tablet, 12 January 1922, Page 43

ON THE LAND

A large yarding of fat cattle came forward at Burnside sale last week, 250 head being penned. Prices opened below the 'previous week’s rates, and did not improve as the sale progressed. At the end of the day only prime bullocks met with any competition, and for these prices receded to the extent of 30s per head below opening rates. Medium and unfinished cattle were practically.unsaleable, and a big proportion of the yarding had to be turned out unsold. Prime bullocks sold from £lO 2s 6d to £ll 12s 6d, medium from £7 5s to £9 10s, lighter kinds from £5 upwards, best cows and heifers to £7 15s, medium from £4 15s to £5 12s 6d, others from £4 upwards. Fat Sheep.—l 677 were penned. A medium yarding, the bulk of which was not up to- Christmas week’s quality. Best heavy weight wethers sold at late rates, but medium and lighter sheep showed a drop of from Is 6d to 2s per head. Prime wethers sold from 18s to 20s, medium from 15s to 17s 6d, lighter kinds from 11s upwards, prime ewes from 13s 9d to 15s, medium from 11s to 12s 6d, others from 6s upwards. Fat Lambs. — 1097 were penned a yarding of fair quality. Fortunately for vendors, a freezing buyer was operating, otherwise „a very disastrous sale would have resulted. Prices, however, were below those at Christmas week’s sale to the extent of 3s per head. Extra prime lambs sold to 30s, prime from 13s to 15s, others from 8s upwards. Pigs. —* A small yarding, and in consequence porkers were dearer " but baconers sold at prices equal to late rates. Best baconers realised from 6£d to 7d per lb, and best porkers from 7|d to 8d per lb. At Addington market last week there was an oversupply of.beef and prices further receded by about 20s per head. - Mutton was easier by 2s to 2s 6d per head. Lambs sold well, freezing buyers operating freely, up to 5£ per lb. They also bought a fair proportion of ewe and • lighter wether mutton. For store stock the market was Lg. dragging. Fat Sheep.—A moderate yarding and a poor sale, butchers having supplies from the previous market. Freezing operators took a good proportion of suitable weights. Extra prime wethers up to 22s Id, prime 16s 9d to 18s 9d, medium 14s 9d to 16s 6d, light and unfinished 12s to 13s 9d, prime ewes 13s to 14s 9d, medium 11s 3d to 12s 9d, light and unfinished 6s 6d to 11s. Fat Cattle. Four hundred and nine yarded. The lowest values for beef for a long time, the bulk being at up to 25s from 1001 b. Extra prime bullocks brought from £l2 15s to £l4 10s, prime £9 5s to £l2 10s, medium £6 7s 6d to £9, inferior £4 15s to £6 os, extra prime heifers to £9 17s Od, prime £6 to £7, ordinary £4 7s 6d to £5 17s 6d, prime cows £4 10s to £6, ordinary £2 10s to £4 ss. Fat Pigs.—A weak demand. Prices were slightly lower, Choppers £2 10s to £4, light baconers £2 15s to £3, heavy £3 5s to £3 15s, extra heavy £4 10.

. _ SINGLING i (JENIPS AND SWEDES. First it may be said that both these crops are often sown thicker than is absolutely necessary, and this may be attributed to the fact that the seed, in proportion to its numbers, is, comparatively cheap, and, in addition to this, its capacity for germination can generally be relied upon (says a writer in a British journal). Under ordinary conditions it is usual to sow about 41bs of seed per acre, but a moist soil, where a fine, even tilth has been prepared and the ground is in good heart, 3 or 21bs of seed will prove ample. Many root drills are not constructed with a capacity for sowing this quantity, but it is an easy matter to cook some old seed (turnip, mustard, or rape) by boiling -or roasting, and to mix this with the new in order to make up the bulk according to the amount i ~ - the drill will sow. ' a* The remark is often made that it is-well to sow several extra pounds of seed for the fly to feed upon, but observation has proved that this plan is not always practical, as the supply of additional food gives increased facilities to

the breeding of these pests. Thick sowing is always more ’ ffacult and consequently more expensive to single. Further ere is more risk to the remaining plant when the work Has to proceed during seasons of drought, as the soil becomes loosened around 1 its tender roots. wbpJi be time to single either turnips or swedes is vhen a week or ten days old, after they have developed the first rough” , ? It is, of . course, impossible to get all labor ° P Smg w at . tins particular stage, especially wha-e labor is scarce, and it is well known that during showery weather their growth is considerably accelerated, and toe Mork has to be proceeded with at a rapid pace in „,d»r to keep up with the growth of the plants. i., Where thickly-seeded rows are allowed to develop into large plants before singling takes place they rob the soil unnecessarily of a large amount of its nutritive properties • the Toil'? rVrf kS TVvT aIIO ' r kS them to extraot - much of t e while T il! y aS a ” aVCTage crop would do during the w hole of the growing period. Plants which have to rugg e one against the other soon become hardened and thickened at the neck, and when singled out they receive considerable check from which they take a long time to recover, and not infrequently become malformed In the north of England and Scotland, where the best crops of turnips are to be found, the usual practice is to sow turnips in ridges. Should drought accompany sowing peiations, the drills should be immediately rolled after sowing, so as to retain all the moisture possible in orde to assist germination. follow' the ’f-n frosts , are Prevalent the roller should not dri IJ e ’ asth 6 edges of the furrows left by the frosts which 0 '' 6 a meanS ° Preteeting the plants from hosts, which, when severe, cause them to wither and die although should night frosts be followed by bright sunshine nothing can be done to save the plants. & POTATO BLIGHT. A useful contribution to the various expedients for coping with the potato blight is given by the Omata cor respondent of the Taranaki “ writes- tot C a°to Person ally fhf many & 4>roraisin S crop « this locality. Personally I have no reason to complain on this score plantW Pe iTp 6 Visitation 1 “‘tribute to method of planting, and the secret is nothing new, but considering no spraying has been done, the end justifies the means When planting, I allowed four feet between each row and io-i i f ’ UlU " oa 10111 teet between each row and 12 inches to 14 inches between each set. When breaking through the ground the bog oranges look too far apartnot on speaking terms in-fact. Later on the foliage had loom to expand, and also when in full 30111 amidst the continuous bhghty, misty rain, the water was not retained but had room to escape, whilst what bit of sunshine hapWhat looked f° t d 7 th 6 water - lo sodden soil. +1 ‘ + + d lke a lot of waste ground eventually saved the potatoes Now the tubers are ready for dig<nng_l2 weeks from planting. The space between the rows after the potatoes had been earthed up was made use of in planting cattle cabbage and mangolds, and, being . well sheltered from the winds, they have com© along famously.