AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 27, 1 February 1913, Page 12

AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS.

WHEAT-GROWING EXPERIMENTS IN IRELAND. Tn or dor to ie?t Iho vioklihß cr v p'ictf i"<and qua! it > of fccvernl French mul corlain other varieties of >\beat, the Dopfirl mont of AtrricuHuro for Ireland cnr?io<l out a scries of fosfs :if llip In i ni, Gins lwvin, in ]911 fsaj-s llip Kn^ll'iti correspondent of the Pastoral Iteufw. form oily the Pa«toi a lists' Review). The tf-fs have been repeated this year, ami ihe lipt has boon supplemented liy four other Three of lht»sp were Dnrmli wheats imported by the Department from Copenhagen, and ono a vnriHy grown \ n some extent as a spring whent in foun tiw Carlow and Kildare. The yields for 1912 are, amHi one exception, cnti=i<W ably below those for 1911. The n\ern(f' 1 yield of wheat on the farm for a tiumU r of years pa=t has been about twehe barrels per statute acre. All the French wheats show a large decrease, and the only increased yield for the whole, series is that of Red Fife, the seed of which \va« obtained from the produce of fcome hand-selected ears grown by the Depart ment. in 1910. The_ report states that the three Danish varieties. Queen Wilhelmina, Tytofte Small Wheat, and Danish Square Head, gave very good yields. In. point of quality Red Fife was undoubtedly the best wheat of the series, nest in order coming Burgoyiie's Fife. Queen Wilhelmina, a white wheat, may be placed next, and then, a lohg uay behind, White Marvel. Tystofte Small Wheat and Danish Square Head are varieties of the Square Head Master type, but not so coarse. Tho French varieties, with tho exception of White Marvel, are very poor quality, Dreadnought md Perfection being wholly unsuited for milling requirements. ' The partial failure of Perfection this year was in large measure due to bad germination of the seed. April Red, a variety resembling Red Fife in shape of ear, excepting that it has a distinct awn, is a late spring wheat. In yield it does not equal Red Fife, to which variety it is also ihferior in quality. Regarding the two new hybrid wheats, Little Joss and Burgoyne's Fife, while the former is undoubtedly the heavier yielder, in quality it is greatly inferior to Burgoyno s I< lfe. Other things, such as quality of straw, being _ equal, there is nothing to recommend Little Joss in preference to Tystofle Small Wheat, a variety which, by reason of ite productiv* ity and generally acceptable quality, is grown extcnsi\ely in Denmark. Of all the varieties tested,. Queen Wilhclmina, on account of its yielding capacity and quality, appears at present to be the most desirable wheat, and certainly merits the attention of Irish wheatgrowsrs. Verily tho farmer is "a man of sorrows," for it seometh that no sooner hath ohe scourge of tho land taken its departure than an. even worse one arises and, pointing tho finger of destruction at the result of his arduous labours, scatters his brightest hopes to the four winds (soys tho Timaru Post). For the past few seasons the complainings against the depredations of the grass grub developed into a monotonous chant, and no sooner has that destructive little post practically taken its departure — it is fervently hoped for ever — than worse troubles arise. At present the threatened strike looms largo on the horizon, while the lamentations regarding the dry weather grow louder and morb prolonged. Thett there is the turnip fly, the Hessian fly, the small birds, the potato blight, the light crops and hosts and hosts of other things too numerous to mention. The Mataura Ensign, state* that the Waimea Plains district prosents a very dried' up and parched appearance at present. The crops are much Fhortor than usual, and tho returns" will bo below that of former years. Turnips have done fairly well, but would benefit immensely by moisture. - A paragraph has gone the rounds of southern papers stating that Lihcoln Collego Agricultural Farm had put up a remarkablo record. From 3200 sheep it had said £1024 worth of wool and sfcins. A Hawkes Bay farmer does not think much of this. "I started the winter,' 1 ho | says, "with 2315 sheep. I bought none. I ha^ two bales of wool and 25 heavy skins still to soil. If these fetch £35 my returns will be JGBBO. I did not touch a shilling a pound either. This is off 1130 acres of bush country, all grass, no turnips, no rape, no nothing, but grass." — Ilawkes Bay Herald. According to a letter written by Captain W. B. Rhodes tin 1870 to Mr. R. Walton, it appears that tho first cattlo imported into Canterbury were landed at Akaroa. Captain Rhodes purchased fifty head from a Mr. Rust, of the Hunter River, New South Wales, at £16 per head, Tho cattlo voro nearly purebr.od Durham or Shorthorns from the herd of Mr. Potter M'Qucon, M.P., England. The cattlo were brought out to Akaroa in the barquo Eleanor, arid were placed in charge of Mr. W. Green, manager for Captain Rhodes, who then had a run extending fiom Purau to Akaroa. Green's Point, where the obelisk stands, is named after him. The first draft from this herd was sold to Messrs. Hay and Sinclair, of Pigeon Bay. The suggestion cornea from America to run lambs in a standing maize crop, where they live and thrive at practically no expense. They rarely molest the ears of the corn, but the tender, succulent blades will furnish them with an abundance of excellent food. After the lambs have nibbled the blades from the stalks to as high up as they can reach, they will go after the weeds that have isprutig. up between the rows since the last cultivation, thus turning the pests into mutton and preventing them from seeding the field to weeds again for next season. This destruction of the weeds will leave tho ground free . from their obstruction when it comes time to gather the corn crop. Then, while the lambs arc making good use of the blades that aro usually lost, and destroying the troublesome weeds, they will be fertilising the land with their rich manure, giving it art e\en di&tiibution over the field without tho labour and expense of hauling it out and epreodingvit. The orchards in Timaru ahd district (says the Post) show a satisfactory incroabe upon last year, several new ones having sprung into existence. The crops are generally light, this being due principally to the fungus disease known as black spot. The disease in question has been particularly severe upon tho apples and pears, preventing them front.maturing. Apples ailected become distorted ulid tho fruit! »plil«, white the pears attacked are dotted all over with largo black scabs. Other orchard pests have not been moro than ordinarily severe. The crops in the Kcnnington, Longbush and surrounding districts never looked better than at the present time, and. if indications continue fiwourablo until harvest, there should bo largo yields (says tho Southland Daily News). Mr. Fairweathor (Kennington), who had a. heavy yield of turnips last year, has a nice paddock of oats thai should produce substantial returns, and Mr. Dow ling has liftcou acres of the cereal estimated to yield eighty bushels to the acre. The latter was fortunate in golfing his seed in early, and is reaping the benefit. Mr. Burns, who purchased from Mr. Steve M'Gaw, over twelve months ago, has atno a crop that promises well. Mr. 11. Hunter is growing potatoes, rape, and oats and, though tho last-named were not sown till late in iho season, they aie coming away rapidly. Tho field V>[ ra.pe is a sight that oannot fail to excite admiration, and neighbour-, ha\o been paving > Lsils to the farm to f-eo il. Tho potatoes, which woro machine planted, also givo promise of n hea\y \iekl. I'ut the farms generally in tho chstrir* between ItiverCfupiil and Woodlands all show the eSi'ects of thu favourable «pa,<«jn, !>nd pitting along tho road* ono mnnot otherwise than bo impressed by tho gioat ijrowUi of grass and while olovor lo be seen on farms ■devoted to grazing purposes. M>\ Dowling had a number of coHIr depasturing on a paddock on his fiu-ni, and so little elVeet had they on the grass (list ho found il advisable, to cut) it into !mv, which ninde eexoral "-lacks In ntdiiinry opo^hmip the feed lclt would not warrant the tune and Übuiu involved iv this operation. '