NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 7

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS

Harvest is coming on rapidly this year,, several fields of stooks being | The- alteady in evidence" on the A]>pr«*ckiHg terraces. Some of the 1 oale Barrett. have coloured up before they, ■were properly filled; and will not pan out too well in sample; but most of them in this neighbourhood are still, quite green, and the hum of the selfbinder will not be heard' all round for two or three weeks yet. Some very fine crops of wheat are to be seen on the heavy ground-, dean an<} heavy headed, and giving promise of a good' yield. On the whole the- grain crop- will be above the average. It is standing up well on its feet, andshould be easily; harvested, but one comes across an occasional field "raffled" in all directions by wind and rain, which it will/ take the binders all. their time to- cope with. It would repay anyone not' thoroughly conversant with his~binder before harvest comes on to take his machine to pieces, clean and oil all the bearings, and put it together again without assistance. Ine knowledge so gained would probably, save much- valuable time when the crop is ready for cutting. The milking machine is condemned' in. some quarters, to my mind* Fure Milk unjustly, on. account, of the sWptr- difficulty an thoroughly-, cleaning the tubes, and because the- inside ot the tube cannot' ,he examined 1 ' when cleaned. It is a pity that any suspicion- should arise about such a labour-saving angliance, for when tpe position is fairly "considered there must be more cliance of contamination, to the milfcfrom the human hand than from the. machine or -utensil in. use. As- a rule dairy-, men. keep all their pails, coolers, and. milk cans, etc., spotlessly clean, but, they do not' seam to realise that contact between the- milk, and-dirty hands is just, as bad, if not worse, than contact with dirty pails. No farmer T have ever seen would, thinkof milking into a dirty pail, and. yet it 's. the most difficult thing in the world to get cowboys to keep their hands clean. If ever we- are to have chemically clean milk free' from deleterious bacteria it will have to be drawn. hy> an absolutely clean machin-s without contact, of any kind with the hand, and without exposure- to. the air: ' With a. large number/of cows milking in «. byre the owner cannot always keep his eyes on, the milkers. The greatest difficulty our new inspectors will experience- in the use persuasive methods will hinge on the point that it is almost- impossible to get comparatively uneducated youths to realise the danger that lurks in. the atmosphere of the cow-house for one thing, and' that hangs unobserved on the^ udders of the cows with which their hands coma in contact for another. The machines now work with wonderful precision; exposure to the atmosphere of the byre is minimised to the greatest possible extent, and if care is taken to keep the tubes properly sterilised there is no possibility of any -impurity gettingnear the milk. The machine works so automatically that there is practically- no* stress on. the udder when the milk ceasqe to flow, and the cow gets to appreciate the ■steady drain. The only validn objection to me machine is that the process is done an a wholesale scsde. To» many cows are gathered', together into one byre, and when this is the ease the test cannot, be: kept, "up to th_ mark. But this- might be easilyovercome by bringing-- the cattle in and tying them up in detachments-- or by dehorning. Dairymen act on the assumption that the utensils used must be scrupulously cloan, but tha cleanest of them will dip his fingers into the milk, "to slip _ them easily over the teats, and never think of the bacteria he is charging the milk with. This disease is very. preya l ent this year, and; is difficult to> get rid of, Aimle Tree. as the mycelium is- said to Mildew-. hi3e over the winter in the bark- or between tKe- bud: scales. It seems, to- attack- the Bibst-an apple worse than other varieties, but does not appear to be particular what kind settles on. The following information in reference to it is taken from the Earmers' A* a. rule the fungus; compl«i«]y ch'ecis the growth of the brandies, conKJiuenily all the leaves that under- normal; conditions would have been scattered at intervals on a long shootr are crowded into a rosette, at the end o£ a branch, at the previous season. Such leaves are- - stunted, in growth, and covered with & dense white powder, consisting of the summer form of" fruit" of the fungus. Wh-en th» fungus ia present in I»bs quantity in the- spring; the growth "of the shoot is not checked; and. tße scattered leaves bear- a small amount of milflew. only. This disnas© is much- more prevalent , on old- or- full-grown- trees- than, on jraraery. stock, and when present <m. ike latter rarelx ' ai-rests: the growth', ati the branches. Pre.ven.tive- Measures.— Wßen. ihe' disease* is present in its worst form the only cex^aiar

method of arresting its progress is to cut offand burn all the infected 1 rosettes of leaves. ' •The- cut should be "made about two inches behind the tuft of leaves: • Trees; that h'avs been treated" in this manner throw ouiv hea-ltiby branches* and remain fsse from thedisease-.' -Wtien • the- disease - appears in. a raildiormon the scattered, leaves, the tre«<" sUonld be sprayed* with- a solution of sulpnide or- potassiuif>(liver- of sulphur) loz, dissolved' in- two- '"galloiiß^of-; water. Infection of the leaves- only -rates placftwhen- they. *re quite young, consequently this is the time to ;look. for the rm-dew, and on tEe first -sypipfcoraß of its appear- ' ance commence spraying: v "if this opportunity is neglected' and' IBe-- 1 mildew be allowed * start, spraying may .be ctmaidered- useless. It vcouid under all cireiitnstances be advisable- in spray trees- -whewf the disease hadj previously existed, commencing when* the-leaf-buds are expanding.- •- No definite proof is as yet fortfioomin^ as to whether insects- assist in distributing the spores oi the^ <fßngtis>,f Bngtis>, or aiding in it» attack, in any otheK way.,-f However, it ia quite certain, that mEdew, ia r most abundant on trees that »re> urfeßtedt -with "woollyscale" and "greeny fly," .consequently these pests should: be destit -with. , Agricultural" rsearch is gencrallvv regarded by the "old hand" as somo-State-jrfded thing, too much of- "book Besearch. larmn' ", and* theory, and nof bearing sufficiently on th« practical' work of. the farm. It is dis< credited" on. account of .'its. experimental nature,- and* condemned thoughtle«iy by j those, who , forget that it is necessary to establish theories, in order, to excite even, curiosity for research.- work. The farmer is greatly, discouraged' also- in many. case*, in ■< attempting. t6 keep abreast\of J the scien. tifierresearch.recbjfdedlßy. not understairding [ the language used By; the- scientist. Intri" cate. techniqalities-T he cannot be expected, without: any training to follow. But it fi i easy to demonstrate tKe necessity for State< aided research without usipg' any' difficult scientific termß.- Its function is to. proeuxa all tii© knowledge, it is possible to get in. reference ta the crops' we grow and th« animals we breed; vast sums-. are spent annually in combatting tha insect and. fun* goid growths which, affect- our crops, and", trees. These' require investigation on some thing more than. a. local scale. Successful investigation - would, mean, thousands of pounds sa.THxL tor tne country. ' In oun orchards the lime-salt and' sulphur wash has jleaned' up our^ apple tree* and the Bordeaux mixture- saved' 'the pear crop; out in the field sucfi. diseases- as anthrax, tuberculosis, swine fever," and< others naea ' only be mentioned" to realise what enormous

Vvings have been, and may etill be made, i}r farmers, if research were carried to faceessful conclusions. Importations are iften responsible for some new troubles, Is witness the anthrax scare we had a year $r two ago, which our ohief veterinary •urgeon traced to imported bonedustj or .the recent introduction of the fruit fly, which threatened to put an end to the glowing of stone fruit in the North Island. Active State-directed research comes down like a sledge hammer on things of this sort. In the food and nourishment of plants and- animals there is a wide field oi operations. If the winter food for dairy oows which would yield the highest percentage of butter fat was determined in each district of the Dominion the export of produce would be enormously increased. The atmosphere we breathe is largely composed of the nitrogen we require to feed alKour crops with. Is it possible for anyone' to estimate ' the benefit the country •would derive from research which would turn this unlimited store into profitable use at a reasonable cost? In every department of our farm there ia urgent need for further research. Mechanical invention has done much in the way of making our crops jnore profitable j -but much more might be in this respect. What a "field there is here for the clever electrical engineer. Enormous strides have been made in Ganada with plant-breeding by eelectipir, the- whole crops over vast districts being raised '10 bushels per acre. The same thing might easily be done here, only thj necessary direction and care are - waniing .The diseases of plants and animals have ■been investigated to some extent, food-stuffs have been submitted to ail sorts of tests, the commercial value of all our products have been raised to the grower, mainly by past research. But there is still room for much work to be done, and every vital point ascertained is a national gain. We should have no- hesitation in insisting upon the establishment of scientific experts in our midst, Tyhose training "would enable them to prosecute work of this sort with every chance- of success, and give our farmers equal advantages to those working in other countries. "At to social conditions in New Zealand, generally spealcinsr, I believe li Others , the average comfort of your See U». " people is better than that of outs. I think that where you have a great advantage is in your labouring population' in the country districts, In comparison' with the same class in England 'they are as aristocrats to paupers. Almost all farm labourers in some of the .English rural counties have to live on a mere pittance compared with the ■wages of firet-olass farming men here. There is no denying it, our farm labourers at Home would find New Zealand an earthly paradise. An exceptionally good •wage on an English rural parish farm js £1 per week, whilst the prospect of ever becoming a farmer is quite- out of the ■question. Here -there is a chance of every ,rugal man to become «, farmer." v, And yet the law : of the land permits the jarmer to be dragged ' before the court :or higher wages. Little wonder the visitmg English politician, who is responsible for the 'above statement, is impelled to idd- * ""To my mind the only thing New Zealand has got to fear is herself, through her legislation. An ordinary country— by whicn I mean a country with les6 natural resources—^oould not possibly have withstood some ©f the legislation that has been passed here, such, for instance, 'as the J ranch of it which artificially 1 fixes wages, t must follow ihat if you raise the value fit nrorkraan's wages beyond a natural line, everything those workmen make or manipulate musi increase in cost." This has already been the experience of the men. and <hey seek to accentuate it by bringingthe same process to bear' on products of the farm. They will gain nothing by it, and the Australian wheatgrower will benefit instead of raising the cost of grain by demanding increased wages for the farmer's men. The labour unions should induce the Government to give a tonus of £1 per acre to the grower of wheat. This would help towards the free breakfast table, and increase the demand >nd consequently the value of labour enormously. The difference between the labour expended on grazing land and wheat-grow-ing land runs into high figures. The fa"mer's outlay in' one case would amounsio about £3 per week, including the cost periodical renewal, and in the other on Account of the" green crops which, would have to bs grown and the utilisation of the straw and handling- farmyard manure it woujd run in£6" £12 or £13 per week. There lias been nothing much for the farmer in growing wheat during the last 10 years, and if wages are .increased the upshot will be- that the bulk of ' the above difference wilL be lost .to the rrien, and the price of wheatand other products be raised- to the -conv«nef without the farmer profiting by it. Our visitor might also have observed thai, the legislation which has been passed also ' accounts for the Tact that employers of , much labour in the chief centres who have been payiug rates beyond those fixed by j the law of supply and demand have em- I ployed their capital for next to nothing, I aad would-be glad' to get out of their businesses altogether if they oould, but that nobody will buy in for fear of labour troubles. No doubt the same cheerful experience will in time be the lot of our farmers if they are so foolish as to allow themselves to be cornered permanently in fchis way.