PURE SEED.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2324, 4 December 1914, Page 8

PURE SEED.

SECRET OF THE HARVEST OF PEACE. A WAR BOOK. . FOR NOT ZEALAND FARMERS. "As you sow, so shall you reap." One of the most important things to a farmer is pure seed; and one of tlio most serious problems confronting the New Zealand farmer is the adequate control of noxious • weeds. Impure seed is the source of the weed problem. It is essential to use only seeds of tho highest grade,' and farmers'can .secure immunity ■ from . many of the most mischievous weeds by taking the simple' precaution of., avoiding, 'the: sowing of their seed. . This means, of course, passing by impure seed, and purchasing pure eeed. The'fallacy that any kind of seed is worthy of a place in one's land has often been made clear bv Mr. A. H. Cockayne, the State Biologist, who has waged against impurity of seed o . campaign . which is reckoned to be worth many thousands, of pounds to • the Dominion. Writing of low-grade,' inferior lines'of seed, Mr. Cockayne says: — ' : . "Those, seeds aria sown,.' unfortunately only too •of ten, under the totally erroneous conception that, being cheaper 'in price, ; they must, : therefore, .bo tho more profitable. It is essential to bring home to the farmer the indisputable fact that the sowing of- low-grade ' weed-infested seed is not only of .immediate and incalculable harm to the user himself, but also forms a very grave menace to' the future prosperity of tho wholo Dominion." Nearly all the weeds we have on our farms got there through' being sown, and, as the Agricultural Department officials tell us, impure seed is tho greatest factor in the noxious weed problem. .The farmer who employs men to clear his land of noxious weeds is frequently a counterpart of the man •who would - maintain an. ambulance at the foot of a dangerouß cliff, while the farmer with clean land 'is generally the man who has taken his cue from the careful individual who placed a fence at the top of the cliff so that there would never be any work for an ambulance: the farmer whose land is clean is the farmer who has bought clean seed. The" land which yields no, weeds is the land in which the .seed of weeds has not been sown—for, "as you sow, so shall you reap." Practical Men on Pure Seed,

While on the subject' of. the necessity for purity of seed it may ,be mentioned that we have been shown a budget of over 80 testimonies which farmers in various parts of the country have subscribed to do credit and justice to a firm which has for many years been performing a national service by advocating the use of. only pure seed and. by refusing to sell any seed that could not pass the most strict test that could reasonably be applied. It may be said that .the firm referred to— Messrs. Barraud • and. Abraham,' Ltd., of Palmerston North, . who publish a. book of entirely . fresh •testimonials every year—has reaped a commercial reward for its policy of honesty,_ but while there is. every outward evidence that this is true, there is a wider aspect which is. not easily overlooked,.and that is the service done to hundreds of farmers whose thousands and thousands of acres of land have been laid down in perfect crops, free from _ harmful ..nd costly rubbish, and ;the • indirect .service done to the country which has been spared, the immense loss which would have resulted in its production had'a firm which had the power in its hands succumbed to thel' temptation' to simply allow the seed which farmers sought to . purchase to go forth' to the soil careless of Whether it was pure or impure. The average farmer is so oandid in hia observations on his business deal-' ings that when he bestows unqualified praise .there is not the faintest doubt but that it is merited. Here is a fair sample from among, the testimonials with which farmers have ' presented Messrs. Barraud and Abraham this year:— Taihapo, September Brd, 1914. Dear Sirs, I have been. associated with the growing of grass seeds in this district for twelve years, the last five of which I have used none by Barraud and Abraham's, and can safely say that the results I have obtained during the latter period far exceeded that during the' other seven years. Anyone desirous of being convinced of tlio excellence of the pasture sown with B. and A.'s seeds can obtain the strongest evidence on visiting my property. Yours faithfully, J. A. ANDERSON. Results of Experience,

Quite naturally, Messrs. Barraud and Abraham are very proud of these testimonials, and they have made them the chief feature of a .very neat, handy, and interesting book which they have just published. In a preface to the book, which they call their War Number of Testimonials, the firm expresses its extreme pleasure at the complete recognition that has been made of their conscientious and determined efforts to supply only seeds that are true to naniej clean, and of good germmation. Every season they are fortunate in making many new : friends and securing new customers, and they wish to assure all—old and new —that it will ever be their earnest endeavour to continue to conduct their business generally, and their 6eed business- particularly, on the same honourable lines which they have followed in the past. When a firm Bets about its business.in this highly commendable spirit, it' is not surprising to find such testimonials as the following figuring in tho book:— - Pokaka, Taihape, Aug. 7th, 1914. Dear Sirs, I am posting you my order early for 350 acres this year, as I expect prices must harden considerably' later on. For a very long time, since you started business', I have had all my seeds from you, a big sowing down every j-ear—they have always given me the greatest satisfaction, and it will please you to know that wherever I go I hear your seeds and your business methods warmly praised. Yours faithfully, M. MORRISON. The Value of Root Crops." Among tho most valuable crops grown by us on tho farm aro root crops. This is what Mr. F. Gillanders, manager of the Moumahaki Experimental Farm, says about root crops:— 1 "The object of the growing of roote in this country ig. almost wholly to produce food for live-stock during the winter months, while in older countries they are grown for the double purpose of producing winter food for stock and at the same time cleaning the soil of. weeds. In almost all agricultural countries where the land is of considerable value the old custom of fallowing for a whole summer season cannot be aiforded; therefore, in many countries the root-crop akso fulfils the purpose of summer-fallowing the land. In time this country will,, no . doubt, have to adopt the cleaning- of tho soil by cultivation during tho growing of the root-crop. To summerfallow where tho bulk of tho soil is so friable and looso would bo undesirable; besides,' ploughable land is altogether too valuable to ho laid asido for six months." Mr. Gillanders considers that the most imiwrtaiit of the root crops is tho turnip, and it is interesting to observe that contained in tho following toatimonial to Moasra, Barraud and Abra/.

ham _is a special reference to the result obtained from sowing their turnip 6eed: Kaitieke, September 2nd, 1914. Dear Sirs, We sowed 400 aores late this season with_ your seeds as supplied, sowing heavily and carefully, with a splondid result.

The sward has got -the reputation of being the best in the block, and is free from weeds. The rye especially has grown very fast. Tlio turnips, though we did not sow them heavily, have given perfect satisfaction. Yours truly, J. P. BARBER.

The < advantages of a mangold-crop from a dairyman's standpoint cannot be overestimated. In the first place no other farm-crop will produce the same amount of feed, and there is no crop so suitable, for feed, in the spring and early summer when good pasture is scarce. _ Mangolds can also be fed to cows without any injurious effects on either milk or butter. On ordinary soil, with liberal manuring and cultiva> tion, there need bo no difficulty in growing from forty to fifty tons of roots per acre. For feeding in the autumn or early winter, there is no doubt they are unsuitable. It is also a mistake to pull mangolds and feed them to s'tdok .'right away, as they have a great endenoy to scour. Then general way is to pull and heap the mangolds .for- at least eix weeks before they are used. "Like good Scotch 'whisky," says the Gillanders, "they improve by keeping.'" Analysts claim that seventyfive tons of matured mangolds are equal to a hundred tons of turnips. Dr. Volckor gives the analysis of mangolds as follows:— • Per cent. Water ... 87.78' Albuminoids 1.54 Sugar , ... 6.10 Hum etc. 2.50 Woody fibre ... 1.12 Ash ... 0.96 100.00 Dr. Volcker adds that in some seasons the dry matter in mangolds has been; known to go as high as sixteen per cent.,, but the' above' analysis is given as a general average. . These remarks should .sufficiently impress farmers with tho necessity for sowing mangolds, and with the profit to be.derived from doing so; and it is interesting to hear from Messrs. Barraud and Abraham that they find pn ever-increasing trade for Sutton's pedigree Root Seeds—this 6eas,on shows -n enormous demand for their Superlative and Magnum Bonum Swedes and Prize-winner Mangolds, as well as Broad Loaf Essex and Giant Rape. Besides this assurance from the firm, there is the evidence of a farmer (among many others) expressed in the following letter:— ■ ■ ' ' ' Pohangina, Juno 26th,' 1914. Dear Sirs, I am pleased to say that all seeds purchased from you were very satisfactory, especially Sutton's Root Seedß which are the finest in yield and quality I have even grown, and I intend sowing tho same kind again. Yours faithfully, A PASSEY. War and the Soed Markets. Passing for a moment from the harvest of peace to the subject of war as it particularly concerns the man on the land, it is deemed highly desirable that the very laudable sentiments and sound advice which are given a conspicuous place in the front of Messrs. liarraud and Abraham's book should bj favoured with the widest publicity: "Those who cannot go away and light" (it is .written therein) "can do their duty to their country by carrying on a normal life. Let every farmer carry on his ordinary work, and let there be no talk of reducing the necessary expenditure on farms." Here, surely, is a declaration of faith in. the country, and it is accompanied by the following lines which emphasise the firm's'unshakeablo New Zealand:—"For some years tirior to the Declaration of War, New Zealand has been enjoying Royal times —her Produce in all departments meeting great markets and commanding high values. New Zealand is- in splendid condition to face tho financial troubles that War brings, and in our opinion at the end of the War she ,will enter into a new and even greater era of prosperity than she h'as ever enjeyed, and the demand for our main exports must bo very keen—oven during the continuance of the War We, ourselves,

hold that this war will not be unduly prolonged, and that possibly tho end may come quicker than many believe— brought about not only by fighting, but by "Famine," and even assisted by the great masses of the country and commercial people of Germany, so long doM-ntroddeu by Military Despotism." There is the advice and opinion of a firm to whom a very well-known Sandon farmer, whose business dealings with them go back almost a quarter of a century, writes this letter:— Candown, Sanson, Sept. 22nd, 1914. Dear Sirs, I hav6 pleasure in again testifying to the excellence of your seeds as supplied to me—they have proved true to name, of high germinating quality and free from noxious weeds. I appreciate very highly the business morality and methods of your firm —in an experience extending over twenty j ears I can with confidence say that I feel sure you would not knowingly sell to anyone seedß that were not up to standard. Yours faithfully, JOHN H. PERRETT. Importance of Pure Seed In New Country. Before concluding this article it ia essential to touch on one other phase of. the pure seed question. Every year largo areas of virgin country, in many cases quite free from weeds, are sown with grass and clover seeds. During the past ten years about two million acres have been dealt with in this way. If on this area only pure seed had been used the weed problem would on it be quite a negligible quantity. The significance of this is apparent. On a very large proportion of the pasture annually 'aid down the first sowing is the only ono that can ever be successfully carried out. When-this is considered it can be clearly understood that the future results from such ground depend to a very large extent on the quality of the seed used. It is _ perhaps well •known that along the Main Trunk line, and far back on either side of it, a great deal .of , new. ground is being broken, and in this country tho use of pure seed is telling its tale. As a rosult of providing nothing but the best of seed, Messrs. Barraud and Abraham have found their business along the Main Trunk extend so greatly that they have opened a branch at Te Kuiti. It seems little wonder that the firmV business 'is flourishing and expanding in this new and promisinc; land when one Toads such.testimonials as these two which follow (and there:are many more): — ' ' • '; Otewa, Otorohanga, Sept. 9th, 1914.

Dear Sirs, ' : .. We purchased seed from you last season, and may say it has given more than satisfaction. We had tho best take.l.have ever seen on a bush burn, arid the place'is a standing.advertisement for the quality of your seeds. ' Yours truly, . McltAE & LIVINGSTONE. •'•'. - To.Kuiti, September Ist, 1914. Dear. Sirs, I have much pleasure in stating that the seeds I purchased from you last Autumn have given every satisfaction, and'l'have an excellent take. I sowed 311bs. to : tho acre, without counting the turnips, and can recommend sowing heavily. I am sowing 1200 acres this year, and will order tho seeds from you for this. Youra faithfully, a fl. SWAINSQN,