THE ORDER PAPER.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 577, 4 August 1909, Page 5

THE ORDER PAPER.

RAPE AND TURNIP PESTS. Mr. Cunningham (Ellesmere) 1 moved:— "That the attention of the Government be called to the need of preventing tho spreading of tho. blight-and diainond moth among: rapo and turnip; and that the Government bo asked to carry on experiments for tho mitigation of this pest." Ho suggested that tho pest might be-combated by nitrodiicing varieties which might be immune to the'pc6t. , Mr. W. Perry (Masterton) said ho had 'found late-sown crops almost oscapo the attack. . ' .■ Mr. W, C. Buchanan thought good information .could bo .obtaimi4 .from the Old

Country, the home of these diseases. The aphis was often suppressed by a chauge of .weather, but the..diamond-back moth per- , sisted right intv winter. The aphis bad bean found worse on swedes than on tbo ordinary turnips. The diauioiul-back moth lodged 011 the under sides of the leaves and thus escaped destruction from, spraying. Mr. T. \Y. Kirk (Government Biologist) raid there were three pests-to be consideredfungus, aphis, and moth.' ; The fungus, as explained in a leaflet issued by the Depart; incut, was often carried about by the insects. Experiments 011 the control of these pests had been undertaken by the Department. The moth 011 the under side of the leaves' .'could be sprayed just as well as t-lie' potato disease, which also lodged beneath the leaves. The latest information from the Old Country did not carry them any'further in their investigations. ' They must, not r' ; y too much on help from the "natural enemy, '■< although in several cases much help had been received in this way. ' Mr. E. Clifton-(Director' of Experiment Farms) explained the position of experiments on this subject, and said the Government was importing some foreign varieties which were said to be so vigorous that they resisted the ihsect pests. One of these s varieties, however, already tried, had. been found to be not very palatable to sheep. . One thing that seemed to be indicated was a . more extensive usfe • of the ordinary mangold' and the sugar-beet,- and he suggested thjit- • the ■ sheep-owners of Wairarapa and other districts should try these crops experimentally. He did not, : however, suggest that they were, going to take the; place entirely of the present, sheep feeds. 1 - Mr. D. M'Gregor, jun. (Masterton), asked if anything were contemplated in. regard to Mr. Murphy's suggested bonus for a trap to. catch- diamond-back moths. ■ . .. , .. ' Mr. Macfarlane said it was alleged that in Germany a very strong light had been used to attract moths'into a tray, and .in the first night tliev captured several tons. He did not know if tliis was reliable. (Laughter.) The pest was so bad in Canterbury ..that turnips were being abandoned for other crops. The motion was carried.. THE SPARROWS. Mr. Pattullo (Otago) moved:—"That the Government be asked to place a sum of money on the Estimates for a bonus or prize for the discovery of an effective poison for small birds." He said the difficulty at present was to get the,birds to>eat the poison. Mr. J. G. Wilson (Bulls) seconded, ..and said the sparrow, .which had been introduced to suppress caterpillars, had, perhaps, done somo good in that way, but he took too heavy ■ toll, His food hdd been ascertained to be Grain 75 per cent., grass seed 6 to 7 pacent., weca seed 10 to 17 a per cent., insects 2. to 6 per cent., and other things up to '5 per cent. It might be worth while, to consider whether the, little owl should be [tried. ■ In', the course of further discussion, a fear was expressed that the little owl might destroy starlings, which were valuable. , Mr. 'Andrews said in his district the spar-; rows were very active on, the turnip crops,' and there was very little blight 'trouble. Mr. Aston. (Government Chemist) said the strychnine and wheat poison advocated by' the' Governmerit-'had been, the best.they, had .tried, with sugar;syrup used for mixing instead of milk, which turned sour. The wheat •' [should be scattered with' chaff ~'which afc tracted the eye of the sparrows, and also caused them, to think the-wheat had fallenfrom a leaky'sack'.' Mr'. Wilson (Bulls) moved a Marlborough remit: —"That' inquiries be made as to tne advisability of importing swallows and mar.tens info the Dominion. ' Mr.' Edwin Hall (Auckland), seconded,' and - referred to the habits of these, birds and 1 the African'wagtail. - 1 7 > ' ' Mr. T.. W. Kirk- said the-importation of. these birds" was certainly desirablo, because they were entirely insectivorous'. ■' They had liccn driven by a storm ,to New. Zealand, • andbred here for two seasons, but ultimately dis--1 appeared. He doubted if 'they could-ever 1 .bo made to stay here permanently. The African wagtail's habits were much like those ■ of the' Australian mudlark or peewee. If '/ some of' t-heso swallows and other insect-eat--1 ing birds could bo iestablislied hero .(and; ' sportsmen restrained from killing them) they ' would no doubt do. much good. ■ ; The motion was carried. ■'■ ■<. t . -.. PAPER BY MR. ASTON. . 1 Mt. B. C. Aston (Government. Chemist) i read a paper, which was a continuation of j his paper read-at the National Dairy Show, - on "Tho Improvement of Pastures." In tho s first part of, his paper he.had:stated that ■ phosphoric acid and potash were more needed ! than nitrogen, and, could often' bo t liberated in the soil by the ,use of lime.

Basic, slag, one of the best top-dressing manures for pastures, was described at' some length. Tarawera, produced a. valuable slag in its pumice, which,, when mixed Vwitu humus, had'a high fertilising effect. ; More .knowledge was required as to the types of soils beet suited to different native grasses. In regard to wheat, thero was a general impression that New Zealand wheats were of poor milling quality. But in analyses made m Australia, one of the Now Zealand wheats called "Comeback" was favourably reported on.' Its qualities (threo samples) compared with one hundred Australian samples as follow:— ... . . Maximum. N.Z. . . Aus. Appearance ... 10 10 9 Weight per bus. .... — 62.8 63.5 Easo of cleaning ... 10 ; 8.6 8.6 Flour, per cent. ... — -71.5 70.3 Colour of flour ... 15 15 • 13.8 Strength 1.. ... 20 19.3 . • 18.9 Gluten, per cent!... — •' 11.76 13.1 Totals ...100 • 90 ,88 The New Zealand comeback wheat was, therefore, superior in appearance,-colour, percentage of flour, .and compared favourably as regarded easo of cleaning and strength of flour, but was slightly inferior in weight por busbel and percentage of gluten. Mr. Aston, uaiorrcd to tiio betweoa acidity

of soils and the kindslok,, weeds;'which 'they carried; sorrel, he mentioned,'as indicating 'sourness. Lime was its cure. . Sulphate'of ammonia, which left an acid residue, would, after repeated applications, result in tho disappearance of many valuable plants and the' flourishing of sorrel. Mr. Aston was acoorded a hearty vote of thanks for his paper at,' the close of an ininteresting discussion. , .V i" EXPERIMENTAL WORK. - ; Mr. J. Stevenson.(Canterbury)., moved:-— i "That it be a recommendation to tho . Agricultural •' Department , that/ ' experiments by farmers be .conducted- under the., supervision of a Government, director,,in grasses, fodder, crops, root crops; and that 'experimental plots.be provided in thc'Sou'th Island, where new seeds. i»nd plant6..;could he "arid those 'found suitable; . to farmers." " ' ' " Mr. E. Clifton (Director, 'of'' Experiment. Farms) gave an gfcnoral'Jjlah. of.. . experiments . now,', * l^ing^.'Organjsed^ 1 chiefly for'!pastures aii<j fodder crops;in tho North'lsland, and for agricultural crops in the south. .The' improvement of 'varieties with hybridising had notf been so extensively carried, out. in New Zealand as in Canada and some other countries, but work in this direction 'would receive every, encouragement. State farm operations,, ho' explained, were necessarily more expensive ithaii.thoseof the : ordinary.. ~]3ecaussu ".public opinion demanded that ,lhe ,building, the fences, and everything,-o)i; the ; ,farm .should; present a: good appearance.', - ,Tlie ; experi-: mental;, .plots also,, owing 'to their '.varied character, involved; great exppnse when calculated per acre, At, Wacrenga, 'a namo which was' almost' synonymous .with barrenness, .success had been gained, and a number of fruit farms for sale or lease when ready, had been successfully, established'. , Mr. Wilson said' that timothy grass was, often killed through sheep eating, the "bulb"; which, after a.few years, grew above tho surface. He hoped Mfi"Clifton would experiment to find a timothy VTvhose,,bulb was: less liable to destruction.. . . . _ ; Mr. Bayliss, supervisor, of field experiments, also took part in the, discussion'.'; ( The motion was passed. NOXIOUS WEEDS. £ Canterbury remit proposed"That it is desirable to enforce the provisions of the Noxious Weeds Act more stringently, especially with reference to tho , Californiau thistle." ■ ° '■ ... ■, Mr.'R. D. M'Lean (Hawke's Bay), Mr. ,W. C. Buchanan (Wairarapa), Mr. Taylor, and Mr. O'Halloran spoko on tho subject, and quoted their experienoes with prominent weeds. . V- ... , The Hon. T. Mackenzie (Muustcr ~for Agriculture) said ho agreed_ that inspectors had been negligent in allowing plants to go into new territory. If he found that any man in his Department allowed', noxious weeds to. get into and' monopolise new qountry, that man. would cease to be an officer Department. . Ho spoke feelingly bccauso lie had seen tho neglect in tho past. Tho motion said that more stringent measures should bo taken, but he had received rcconUy a petition forwarded by Mr. James Allen, M.E., asking the Department to stay,...its hand from the extreme steps that were being taken in Jws district. Ho (the Minister) sympathised with the. settlors, though 'tte officers were doing their duty., It was like' trying to sweep back tho ocean with a broom. When the matter was first brought beforo Parliament, £100 would have cleared all the Californian thistle in the country, yet our intelligent Parliament, though it had the experience of Tasmania beforo it as a warning, did nothing. The law on the subject should now be revised, and certain districts should bo declared abandoned. Somo settlei-s, if forced to clear' tiro land of the thistle,' would be ruined; \md' f the work would be of, no use, because thoground was so saturated with tho seed that if it was cleared itwould grow again next year. Ho would ! tiy : to prevent tho transmission of containing jwjdous woods.. The objoot to, bo 'kept :n

view must bo to keep reasonably clean all land that they could afford to. clear. In.regard to Crown lands, it would take half a million of. money to: do. what was.requirod on all ■ Crown la,nds ; _ ■ A delegate: A: million wouldn't, do it.. . Tho Minister said he did;not know whether people would / allow the Government to borrow enough money for the purpose. _• :. ; Several, delegates l gave, experiences m t re- . gard to treatment of weeds, and the motion was carried. "v : Tho conference was adjourned tall ...thia, morning.,. -, t ■•' •. ' • An interesting discussion on the improvement of pastures mil be found"on page 10 of this issue. ' V ( ,