On the Land

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 32, 26 August 1925, Page 53

On the Land

V MARKET REPORTS, kvAt Burnside last week the yard-; /-Wig of \ fat-, cattle consisted .of 234 Bead, a fair - proportion being good' quality bullocks and heifers. The market opened at /.slightly below the closing rates of, the previous week, but quickly firmed to prices equal to the preceding market, these being * maintained until the finish. Prime heavy ’ bullocks made £24 17s 6d to £2B ss, prime £l9 10s to £23 15s, light and unfinished from £l4, prime heavy cows and heifers made £l3 12s 6d to £l6 12s 6d, others from £8 10s. Fat Sheep. —There were 2669 penned for last week’s market, a large proportion of the yarding being of beautiful quality. Owing to a number of country speculators operating freely kept the market well up to the previous week’s prices, there being an easing of about Is to Is 6d per head. Prime heavy wethers y/* made 53s 6d to 58s 6d, extra to 61s, prime 47s to 51s 9d, medium 40s to 44s 6d, light from : 355, heavy ewes 44s to 495, prime 36s .• : to 42s 6d, others from 30s.’ Pigs. —An entry of 48 fats and 27 stores. There were no heavy baconers forward.' Light baconers sold up ' to £4 15s, and porkers from £3 to £3 17s 6d. .Store pigs sold well. Entries were large at Addington last eek, there being no sale on the previous week yi on account of the Grand National holidays. Though very high prices prevailed at the double market they were not maintained. The sal© of both beef and mutton was good. Fat Cattle. —There was a very heavy yarding of 635 head, which is nearly 200 more than at the double market. Opening prices ■Sp'cre £3 a head easier but there was a hardW eiltng in the final stages. Extra prime beef made to 55s per 1001 b, prime 48s 6d to 525, k medium 42s 6d to 47s 6d, light 35s to 48s 6d, and rough 30s to 345. A North Island line y of 42 averaged £22 15s a head, and one of n 14 from South Canterbury £24 15s 9d. Extra prime steers made £24 to £2B 7s 6d; prime [|.y steers £l9 10s to £22 10s, medium steers £l6 5s to £l9, light steers £l4 to £l6, rough . , steers £ll to £l3, extra prime heifers to |v- £l6 17s 6d, prime heifers £l2 to £l4 10s, 0 Ordinary heifers £9 -10 s to £ll 15s, extra Kj prime cows £l6 to £2l 2s 6d, prime cows £ll'lss to £l4 10s, medium cows £9 10s to " £ll 10s, light cows £7 to £9 ss. Vealers.— 3 There was very small entry. Anything fit . for killing sold very well. Runners made to. £7 10s, good vealers £5 15s to £6 15s, . medium £4 5s to £5 ss, good calves £2 15s * to £4, small £1 5s to £2. Fat Pigs.—Baconi • • • ' - . - ers met with a very keen demand, and shout- ■| ed a 1 considerable advance in prices. Porkers .>* sold well. Choppers made £4 10s to £B, light • baconers £4 12s to £5 10s, heavy £6 to £6 / -15 s, extra heavy to £7 10s, The average price per lb was .9d to lOd. Light . porkers k . realised £2 10s to £3, heavy £3 8s to £3 18s. The average price per lb was 9£d to lOd. THEORY OF ROTATIONS AND FERTIS \ LISERS. a* The difference of various crop requirements wfr plant foods is the basis of a proper system of crop rotations; and methods of crop Cultivation which are not based on the sys- . . tem are pnma facie not . economical.

For instance, first comes a, cereal crop, for which nitrogen is the dominant necessity, while phosphate of lime and potash play a secondary role. • - Next follow the important root crops, turnips, and swedes; for them nitrogen is not so important, while they make a big demand on the phosphates and potash in the soil. Then comes the legumionosae; for them an application of nitrogen, except in quite small proportions to give the plant a start, would be wasteful. The crops in the rotation have each their special functions in the rotation, and although with the variety of fertilisers at the farmer’s disposal a rotation may not be a necessity, it forms, nevertheless, the basis of the most economical and scientific system, as by it one crop can thrive in what another crop leaves. DISSOLVED BONES AND BONE COMPOUNDS. For many years there has been throughout the Old Country ah extensive demand for this class of manure, which is used principally for turnip and swede crops and for grass lands. Their organic origin is a point in their favor. Farmers know from experience that excellent results are obtained from their application, and continue to use them, in spite of the suggestion of some chemists that equal results can be obtained more cheaply by mixtures of superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia. c The crops are the best judges, and their growth will generally confirm the opinion that there is something in the organic nature of dissolved bones which is absent from the mineral mixtures. The use of bone fertilisers of reliable character and obtainable at a moderate price can be recommended. SPRAYING OF FRUIT TREES : DANGER TO BEES. The British Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries bring to the notice of fruit growers throughout the country the danger to bees which may be caused by the spraying of fruit trees when in open blossom with washes containing arsenate of lead. , It is not desired to discourage the us© of arsenate of lead sprays, as these are of the greatest value in controlling the Winter and “Tortrix” moths, the larvae of which are responsible for an enormous amount of damage to fruit trees. Spraying with this substance, however, should be restricted, as far as possible, to two definite periods, viz., before the blossom buds open and immediately the petals have fallen. > V In the case of apples, an application during the earlier period will give better results than at any subsequent timeespecially against “Tortrix” moths. Spraying during the actual blossoming period is particularly; to be deprecated on account of the fact'that heavy "mortality may be caused to bees visiting blossoms on which the spray has fallen. It is realised that, as the different varieties of fruit trees do not come into blossom at the same time, it may, be a matter of some difficulty to arrange that no open blossoms whatever are sprayed, .but instances have been brought to the,notice of the Min-

• •>: • / ' . . ■' ' - '■ istry of the indiscriminate spraying of open blossom wih lead arsenate, for t which , no - , , ' , ■ - . c j . ) , reasonable excuse can be put forward., • U Bees are of , great value to the fruit grower by the assistance they render in the fertilisation of fruit blossom, and in his own in-* terests, therefore, as well as for the sake of the bee-keeper, the fruit grower should spare no effort to avoid any unnecessary mortality among these beneficial creatures. ' ■ . ' THE BLACKBERRY PEST: ERADICATION METHODS. At a recent meeting of the Ohinemuri County Council the following interesting information was contained in a letter' from Mr. R. L. Harris, of Avondale: i Personally, I am of the opinion that up to the present there is but one way to exterminate this obnoxious growth, and that is by cutting the blackberry down during the early part of February, and, if possible, get a good Jmrn-off and plough during the last two weeks of the same month, the furrow to be no more than 2in to 21in deep. About the end of March put the harrows over, and again, on collecting, burn the roots. Again plough and crop with grass, when you will discover that few blackberry shoots will appear. , When the berry is turning black, that is the indicator, of the bulbwhich of course you well know is just immediately under the soilbeing at its weakest, because the greater part of sap has gone to feed the berry and new foliage. Consequently, by treating the blackberry as I have already outlined, the bulb, which in turn also feeds the roots and has already exhausted the sap, generally dies. The removal of the bulb is the main aim, and it must be done when the plant is at its weakest. By ploughing shallow the sun will have an opportunity of thoroughly drying that turned over. Deep ploughing in •this case is of no advantage; in fact, it is a failure, because the blackberry bulb containing sap sends down new shoots. Where the land cannot be ploughed a light mattock or adze can be used. Once . the sap commences to return to the root or bulb there is little use in then ploughing or grubbing. In my opinion they can, if properly treated at the right time, be-killed.