Farming Column

Hokitika Guardian, 10 December 1932, Page 8

Farming Column

SEED CERTIFICATION

FARMERS MORE DISCRIMINATING

Growers' are‘ ‘becdmittg 'iiicre and more discriminating in regaid to t-.e purchase of agricincUrii’l seeds'. Impair? ed germination, inadaptability of the variety’ or strain, seed boriie diseases, and inherently low vigour are a.l t‘outriUuioiy laoaors ieilueiing seed unproductive; The realisation or thebe' facts mote particularly pUf-pse / i’elati^g', ( fo strain differences,;,ia ; otje of t.h^. standing ’leatu.'es of niodei n sjgj'icijiture, writes .Messrs.,, «J. W. and R. Thompson' in tjie current nuiuber of the Journai of Agriculture. ? The average farm crop is 'regarded by the piano breeder as . a tvlipctmu of individual plants which are net ait alike. In this mixed p.upulgt'ipu , variations in height, yie.d, maturity, shell and iiiauy characters of this kind cap be detected, and tiiey »orni a basis tor selection. in attempting .any improvement within a variety the individual plants have first to-be studied to; determine \v hat promising variants are present, and tnese are then lucn eased and tested. This preJiniinary study oi the crop, entailing the isolation and investigation in ‘ its .componelit • strains, occupies a considerable amount of time and necessitates extensive ' plot wo'rlt of a technical nature. So fur, investigations at the Pure See'd Station--lit Lincoln , have been confined mainly to those varieties which have proved themselves under New Zealand conditions, biit having explored all possible avenues in tuis direction lurtlief /achievement Will entail the introduction and testing of' varifetios f.-om other countries, and finally the crossing of selected individuals, having in r, iew seine definite objective. Trie stage is 1 approaching ' when iurtner au» eiopnieut in certain crops Will necessitate the application of more advanced methods. 1 Li soiiie crops notably potatoes, wheat, and barley, seed is hemg distrjriU.ed annually; . in peas and. lin-, seed tliis stage is about to he . reaclieu; simultaneous. y 'other, c-fpps tue' being (studied which will, 'in clue course, follow along' similar lines/ The Vjilue to the farming community of the seed distributed each year would be very much less were it hot for the system or certification undertaken by the Fields-. Division, heed which is distributed by the Pure Seed Station is' grown by termers under certification. This ensures careful inspection of the fanner’s crop, and Ifie sealing arid tagging of his produce. Ever widening distributiqh is thus ef-ue-ted,'and ..full benefit is derived from the nucleus seed distributed each year. 'Commenting on the wheat, trims, the article states that 75 per cent, of tire Wheat acreage in New Zealand end 85 per cent, of that in Canterbury is devoted to solid, straw .Tuscan! Seed, of this variety js leniarkuhly pure, The other varieties, representing 25 per cent, of the wheat area, .were for .the most part in, a very mixed state in 1927. Since then pure lines of all standard varieties nave been raised and distributed. Thus an annual supply of pure seed is avaiiab.e. ;

Jj uture work will consist of making, each year, single plant selections within tup pure hues, and multiplying these till they reach a sufficient bulk tor distribution. It is not intended, to develop beyond this stage. All Wheat. breeding is undertaken by the Wheat Research Institute, and the part pluyed by the station consists in maintaining a supply of puie seed oi standard varieties or of new varieties raised by the institute. Natural crossing in wheat has presented a difficult problem. Wheat is normally self pollinated and tuerefore it sliomd be possible, for two varieties to be grown m' adjoining piot.ss, without serious danger of crossing, ill Canterbury hot winds at pollinating time are probably responsible for tne flower opening either earlier or to a greater extent than is normally the case, and receiving poden which is liable to be scattered some' distance under these conditions.

Tne control of covered smut has offered no difficulty. Loose smut, on the other hand, lias proved more difficult to control than was at first anticipated.

ABUNDANCE OF FEED. From all parts of New Zealand come reports of an abundance of feed and tins is so pronounced in the North 'lsland that a firm doing business in Invercargill with branches in the North Island report .being sold out- of the stocks of hay. making implem&itij'ihc&e and have been .obliged to draw on ilieir Christchurch bfj)rieh ior suppi'es. .Tliis. js very gratifying and. if bufterfat bad been worth 2s per pound it would have lifted many worries from Mr Forbes and hundreds of others who are suffering from what might be called financial prostration As things stand the wonder is where is the market for what will lie a record output oi dairy produce?. Pessimistic forecasts are worse than useless but delay is a crime and though it may be late to get the fu benefits of the Eastern market the position mow would seem to domain prompt action arid "'ho is g°i n H t° take it? The main difficulty is to discover who is responsible.

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Agricultural produce sold from farms j„ R,miand and Wales, in 1 "30/31 "' ns valued a.t £197.400,000.' This was a drop of £18,830,000 on the previous j-sarf

FARM PRICES FALL

NEW LOW RECORD AT HOME*

No fewer than nine of the major agricultural products o. .Britain' are now making less' than pre-war prices, by anibuites varying freiri 10 per cent, in the case of barley arid lat’slieep to 82 per cent, lor hay tend 39 pier cent, for ,101)1. . . !

The index' figtire 1 'of'‘ firm prices: in August sliows a further. fa|l ipf. one MowL tif 5 per tefit/laboveaitlie uyerfiige 'of prices in August-1011-13. Fur'tfier lie/r eases in "fit sheep an a potatoes were • only partly offset--by--a. *ew small increases.

There lias been a steady decline to new low records all through this year. Jn ristimating what this means to farmers, one has to remember that tile costs of production (of which on most firms the labour bill is the heaviest item) are approximately 100 per cent, higher than before the war. , The disparity between farmers’ prices and consumers’ prices is wide and is ;r frequent cause of complaint by the farmers, who state that consumers do pot receive any benefit from the low prices ruling. .. .. Tradesmen, however, also point to much higher costs in their businesses since pre-war days. But the fact is that they 1 are relatively in a much better position 'f'lijan producers, vl'io must take what they ate offered, while 'tradesmen .get wfiftt. they charge. ,

WHY MEAT PRICES ARE LOW. The successful adoption of the chilling process of Australian beef now under practical test may result in a big expansion of the shipments of beef to the United Kingdom, as it would enable, it to compete on a mere even footing with the Argentine chi.led beef. According to a statement issued by the Empire Marketing Board, the principal features of Empire, trade in beef are the very large imports into the United'Kingdom, mainly in recrint years, of chilled 'beef.-and the much small exports from Australia; NeW Zealand, South Africa' and Canada, film os t entirely of .frrizen beef.

It has been found within the last year or two that the lower prices tor fieef have resulted in an even wider disparity' between the Argentine chilled beef •anti the Australian frozen .article. Tri ’ July," .who'll the lowest figures were reached, the average price in four large English cities was 4fcl per II). for' Argentine first quality, ana only 215-16 d for the corresponding Australian'-grade. Evert last December when Argentine was again at 4fd, the ;Australian,ofiguce. wp.? .only fractionally, higher. than, its previous point at 3 l-lfid. • -

The disparity .between these prices could ..be .'reduced . very considerably, if not entirely' removed, by the adoption of chi Hinge Mr Gplett. ill his ,speech on the,-Ottawa agreement, pointed out that at present Australia and New Zealand supplied only 5i per rent, of the /total consumption of beef in England and"l3 per cent, of the total beef imports.

MAINTAINING N.Z.’S EXPORT SERVICE.

! Fprty three ships had to be sent out in ballast during the past twelve months in order to maintain those exr port services which are indispensable to New Zealand’s economic existence. The cost of sending these empty vessels to New Zealand fa’ls, of course, on the shipping companies. But they represented 40 per cent, of-the yes-sels loading export cargoes (declares an exj change) Costly ‘“o.-ne way” traffic may explain the use of the Cape Ho.n route Homeward by over sixty vessels last vriar. as compared with ten for the year before. Not only does the Cape Horn route eliminate the cost of the I 'Panama. ' Canal dues, but also the I heavy loss of exchange incurred in pay--1 jnonf. of those dues in United States ‘ ijolla rs and in payment in the same | Currency' for fuel ing, .and ctlmr sup--1 piie<s arid services necessitated by use of the Panama Canal. Notwithstanding all the difficulties arid expense involved in maintaining the export services I of New Zealand, they have been mainj itaiijed throughout the past twelve ! months with their customary regularity and efficiency and freedom from serious accident. The new export season is opening, and the prospects cf bettew returns! to producers are heartening, to say the least. But there will j,ave to be still further improvement i in the economic situation if all ships * coming out to load in New Zealand are to do so with their holds filled, or even 'partially filled with cargoes in pnyaiil.e' quaiititids 1 ? . i!il V .1 l Mf - ; -' l ’ 'vnfiua—HriA i‘i' ... j "A. pcniiyfrriHlri'iof/.-gupi. of. sal am"nioiuac will fe'movc all the .warts oil a big herd of cows and will not-cause anv irritation or sore or had eflects, and ivill 'clean the warts up in a smooth apd clean way. When finished milking, dampen film gum ana (rub well on the warts. Do this for two or three weeks and the warts will vanish.

A bad crack in a cow’s hoof is always likely to extend into the quick, but there is a painless method of prevent? ing this. Place the animal in a c’usb, if it is not quite enough to he handled otherwise, and-. burn the hoof fairly

deeply with a hot iron above the crack

in n Tine running at right angles to the course of the litter. The crack will not extend beyond tlie hum. and will gradual I v he removed . Tiv the usual wearing away on the hoof at the extrsmityi: •' i . f