Notes For Farmers.

Feilding Star, Volume XIX, Issue 133, 4 December 1897, Page 2

Notes For Farmers.

fßy Nemo.) THE PRICK OK WHEAT. A tabular statement, showing the fluctuations in the imperial average price of wheat from 1641 to 1896 has recently been published by Mr Henry Allnatt, of Essex Street. London. It shows the average prices daring this period at a glauce, and affords sonflft carious information. For instance, it may probably surprise many people, especially those %vho are now advocating in Kngland a duty of live shillings per qua her upon imported corn, that the lowest figure per quarter was reached in the yeir 1743 4, when it sank to twenty-two shillings and a penny. This was in this time of bounties on the export of corn , and the harvests must have been vary nbundaa} that year, when even the bounty system, acting as an inducement to otb«r nations to purchase cheap British com, did not prevent the quartern loaf from falling to about fonrpence. On the other hand, the highest level reached in the whole 255 years was also within tho bounty period. This was in IB 12, daring the great war with France, when wheat made an average of 126s 6d pet quarter, and the bounty laws were temporarily Buspendvd,

It is a curious thing that thu price of wheat appears to have risen and fallen | about every four years. This may, perhaps be partly accounted for by the , fact that high prices, by encouraging the ' sowing of a greater breadth, would tead , naturally to correct themselves, and , vice versa. Protection in the familiar , sense of the term, which dated from ' soon after the war. did not prevent wide ; fluctuations, and the price of wheat ptr quarter, which in 1817 was 975, went steadily down till in 1822 it wu 44s 7d ; while in 1836 it was up again to 70s 6d. i SUPERPHOSPHATE FOB OATS. Tbe effect of superphosphate in increasing the proportion of oat grain in tbe crop, as well as in adding to tbe total yield, Las been frequently shown, There is hardly any cultivated land, even of the poorest quality, on which the oat will fail, if tbere be (Efficient rainfall, to give a yield of a larjje quan> tity of straw, but tbe prod notion of grain is often disappointing. A general employment of superphosphate, to be sown with seed in tbe spring, offers an efficacious and in every reaped, a satisfactory remedy. It produces t. highly profitable iucrease of grain, and its tendency is to produce grain of better quality. It costs little to begin with, and the rctnrn for it is obtained in a few months. In certain recen; experiments in England the top dressing coat ouly 6s per acre, and a three fold retnrn was got for it in the increase of he crop. The increase of marketable gran alone repaid the cost of the manure mnre than twice over. Its influence is said to have been beneficial on a number of iarms in hastening the time of harvest, and the ouly soils on which its employment seemed of doubtful utility were those of a light, dry character, on which tbe crop readily burns up with drought. In tbe case of the corn crop aftor roots, with which the grass and clovar needs are usually sown, superphosphates would appear to be a specially suitable manure. POLLED HEMFORD CATTLE A gentleman in Kansas, who fur some years has been endeavouring to breed Hercfords without horns, has coumunicated his experiences, as follows:-"! have now about fifty head of these animals, starting with a ' freak ' from ft crass of a Horeford qn a Sbqrthorn cow. and of course I have had to brted oqt aud in to prevent inbreeding Tbe original bull is now eight years old. I aw more tbau pleased with the resulti> so far, acid f sol certain of finally es &blisb mi» a hornless breed of 4s well marked ' h hitefacoH ' as the original in two or three generations more. So far as J liDow not a calf this jear has baci horns*, and bat one last year ; and of tho calve* get by nay bull on borucd cowj there

have been folly 75 per cent hornless I call them polled Herefords because of the preponderance of Hereford blood." Of tbe advantage of breeding hornless cattle there cannot be two opinions, it is there interesting and useful to know what is being done in other countries in this matter.