FARMERS’ COLUMN.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2120, 1 July 1907, Page 1

FARMERS’ COLUMN.

An exchange says that Wairarapa dairymon are still unablo to grapplo with the difaculty of providing winter feed.for their-stock, nnl'in many cases they • are being forced! td’.pay the penalty. The ruin of many of the rape 'and turnip crops iu tho district has, resulted in a greater de-lUjiiul-for .grass .feed for sheep, and, . necessarily, there has been, an increase in 'the grazing charges for depasturing stock. Fully a thousand cows are wintered in the Gladstonedistrict, and the price for - grazing has been raised, from 9d- to Is per head' per week. • On Juno 15th three factories in the Stratford district paid out £7OOO by _wav of bonuses-to supplier*;. It is yery disappointing to know that the trial shipment of apples sent from this colony to t)ie London market in April last was a failure, Tho fruit only realised 2s 6d a case,

Tlio shipment 'cßusisted of 390 eases of London Pippins, and was sent by the Motueka Orcliurdists’ Association,. tho fruit?' boing graded and packed tindor, tho supervision of an officer, of tho Agricultural Department.'... • ?•» ’

MIXED STOCK ON PASTURE.-’

There is no doubt that tlio results obtainable from pastures depend to : to a considerable extent upon the judgment with which the pastures are stocked.;, 1 do not mean altogether the number."of aninials which flic land is. made Id- curry per acre, Ihit-illsO' -thc kinds "of- stock whichshould bo; grazed on tlio .same ,pas iiire. Opinions, even among exporir cuc'od -practical stockowners, differ ■considerably in respect to the latter point as well /as to the former, but • possibly,” inasmuch as local circumstances vary widely, most of the different ideas may be correct under, the peculiar conditions at which they have - been arrived at. As to the heavy stocking of pastures with one class of animals, it is conceivable that in the now fertile lands it is advantageous to keep tlio grass well down, whilo in less favorablo localities a similar system would be fatal to the success of tlio grazing season, so that it is clear that tlio individual fanner should pursue a policy suitable to bis own holding, irrespective of wliat may be the opinion or practice ol other stockowners. As a rule it-is not a prudent,-pro-

ceeding- to oat'pastures too closely at tlio advent of the season, as supposing 'there be a few weeks of unproductiveness, the supply of grass foi the rest of the season is seriously endangered. Blit when permitted to obtain a good start there is much to he said in making the pasture to carry a fairly large head of stock, as it is extremely de.sirablo that the stronger grasses should be kept down, and above all prevented from running, to seed, as in the event of tlieir doing so they.are no longer palatable or very useful to anv class of animals. Fairly heavy stocking, therefore, , is conducive to the prosperity of tlie better quality grasses ,and to this extent at least is deserving of favor. On the other hand, excessive stocking is likely to lead to the ground being rendered foul and unwholesome and in the case.of 'sheep-in.particular, 1 disastrous results, sometimes follow imprudence in this direction. Hut whether a, holding is to carry a heavy or a. light stocking, it is unquestionably advantageous so to ar-

range the system of management as to ensure a frequent change of pasture for tho animals, say- at intervals of two or three weeks, more or less according to the nature ol the season, and the state of the herbage.

Turning to the question of putting a mixed stock into the same field, there is a good deal to be said on both sides respecting this also. The system is believed bv many to possess economical merits of considerable importance. No doubt this grass can be more thoroughly eaten' by this system without incurring any hardships or privations to the animals, as. if we take cattle and sheen, for instance, the one class may relish, and thrive upon plants that are less appreciated by the'other, while there is not the same danger of losses a risLtng from-.laud becoming unhealthy or ‘ fainted'.'' Perhaps the advantage to-be gained in this respect is more noticeable in', the case of sheep than cattle, as the.former are much more likelv to suffer from overcrowding than the latter. Cattle may not thrive so well when they are too thick upon the land, hut they seldom contract disorders of a serious nature from overstocking, while sheep frequently do. ' " In many cases the prevalence of diseases among sheep lias been traced to the overstocking or the exclusive stocking with sheep. Sheep seem to ho much healthier, aud to flourish better when they share the same pasta res with cattle, a result which may possibly not be duo to the presence of the cattle but to-the smaller number of their own kind upon the land, or i - other words, to tlio superior purity and freshness of the pasture.. The point is a very important one in spring, when fanners arc forming’ their plans for the stocking of tlieir, grass lands for the coming sea- , No doubt tlio proportions of cattle and sheep -that*.they will buy will be determined to a. large extent b-- the relative conditions of tile markets. It is natural , and nerlinps essential, that whichever is cheaper should be accorded predominance, but marketing ; considerations being equal, important attention might well be given to the balancing of the two classes in stocking the pastures. A mixed stock may involve a little more trouble m

watching .the markets, but it is more reasonable to believe that a better return can be obtained from tho best class of pastures than if only sheep alone or cattle alone were grazed, while the system also has the merit of obviating the axiomatic error of putting all the eggs in one basket. — W. It. Gilbert, Alberta, Canada.