FARMING NOTES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 148, 17 April 1940, Page 3

FARMING NOTES

WON FROM WASTE SCRUB LAND AND SWAMP EDGECUMBE DEVELOPMENT! Three years of efficient developmental work by the Lands Department have produced results on the Edgecumbe block, which are termed "magical" even by practical farmers who had long possessed familiar knowledge of the country. Of a total area of 6'SOO acres, which figure includes the !};">() acres of swamp known as the Orini block, tnc bulk of this land in its natural state had a very forbidding aspect. For the most part undulating and hilly, this country, which carried ft lot of fern and manuka, received a heavy coating of 'larawera ash fiom the eruption, it is not bush sick, but through the great settlement years it was passed by: its great potentialities were locked by the key of ignorance, which has now'been turn ed by the hand of new agricultural knowledge.

Rapidity of Transformation. | Surface sown after the clearing and burning of the scrub, 3300 acres had been put into pasture or had become pasture in the making by last autumn, the programme of last season embracing 2200 acies. This year the sowing of a further 1200 acres Avill complete the 1 armable area of the ash country. Here, as elsewhere,, on pumice and ash areas, tackled in a comprehensive manner, the rapidity ol the tiansformation has excited "wonder c\en in the best-informed circles, and has brought to the business men of country towns in the territory the assurance of a steady expansion oi their trade.

There may be some misgivings as to whether a socialistic government policy, combined perhaps with grow ing bureaucratic influences, may tend to retard the close settlement of land developed by State departments, for it is obvious that trade is enlarged and best distributed where land is closely settled on the individualistic principle. Against State Farming. However, it is recognised generally that development by the State in large blocks is a sound principle for the times and that whatever the method of utilisation every new acre brought into production is n local and national asset that means more earning and more spending, althoufh rural opinion is against the State farming developed lane] inelefinitelj'. Edgecumbe is carrying at present 1200 run cattle and 200 heacj ol dairy stock. It is the policy to buy Jersey calves of gooel buttcrfat heredity for dairy replacement purposes. The swamp area near Thornton, which is very low-lying, having not much more than 2ft of "freeboard" on the average, is rich, but requires time to consolielate. It is proving to be splendid fattening land. The grass mixture used, after experiments, on the ash area is 201b of rye, 81b of cocksfoot, 31b of cresteel dog's tail, 31b of white clover and 51b of reel clover. In the first year reel clover reached a height ol 4ft and in the fourth year it is still predominant. Seeing that the ash has a elepth up to 18in, several years of consolidation may be required before the pasture is brought to its proper permanent balance.

Time to Mature. The department has reported: Although permanent pasture establishment on this area is fairly rapid and dairying can be engaged in with success at an early pasture age, past cxpcriencc in handling this class of land has shown that better results can be obtained by fanning the land with dry stock, until the red clover, which is predominant in the early stages, is replaced with rye and white clover." There are several settlers on the oldest area and there is no doubt that much of the remainder of the land will eventually be suitable for dairying. There are two sources for a water supply by gravity distribution . Another block of great potential va'ue that is being attacked, by the Lands Department is Wharere ol

3(500 acres, which includes 2200 acres }f strong swamp country in the vicinity of Pongakawa, on the East □oast railway, and a lengthy strip extending some 10 miles up the Pongakawa Valley. On the swamp land, most of which is abandoned flax lease, and carrics rom three to eight feet of peat, a number of dairy farms have been settled. A portion is so low-lying that an electric ilood pump has joen installed, one of many operated automatically through a float ivhich are at work in the Auckland Province. Great Beef Output. An area of 700 acres has been surface-sown and the pasture is of ;ueh quality that on this feed and vhat is growing naturally among he raupo and flax of the undeveloped portion no fewer than 1000 bullocks were carried last winter. Of these (500 were sold as lats and Ira Its were despatched regularly throughout the winter months. Drain ing and fencing is proceeding and [consolidation Avith the aid of (the heavy cattle is going on satisfactorily. Some 20 acres of the valley ia.nd which Avas cleared in years past and eventually abandoned was almost a straight stand of ragwort when the department took it over,, the remainder being -covered Avith scrub. When stocking Avith sheep was adopted the ragwort Avas practically eliminated in a brief period. Most of this year's lambs went off as fats in the first draft and the former Avaste of ragwort has also j fattened a line of old wethers. * Bush Sickness and Ragwort. Cobaltised superphosphate Avas used to topdress the pasture and the result has been two-fold —bush sickness has been banished and, through the consequent regular stocking Avith sheep* ragwort has been overcome,. Thus the upper areas of the Wharere block can iioav be marked as good lamb country.

SEASONAL DON'T DON'T leave any ground lying idle. It is not improving except if it is heavy and is left dug so that frosts might mellow it. "When a crop is taken out and another is not to be planted immediately a gren cover may be sown. It may be blue lupils,. Italian ryegrass, oats or the quick-grow-ing mustard. Even if the ground is required again before the crop has made maximum growth the material that is dug under will replenish some, at least, of the humus that has been used up. In addition to supplying humus, the cover crop, through its dense growth, smothers weeds and saves the trouble of weeding. The cover crop should receive a light dressing of superphosphate at the time of sowing. DON'T forget to label home-saved seed and to indicate clearly on the container hte year of the saving ol the seed. Nothing is more disappointing than to plant a quantity of seed and to find that nothing comes up. The reason may be that the seed has lost its viability through being kept too long. Also, it is most disappointing to plant a line of only to find that some unexpected plant comes up. Some seeds are very similar in appearance., and may tax the experience of an expert in differentiating them. Both these annoyances can be avoided if homo-saved seed is properly labelled as to variety and date of i:aive c t.