SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES.
'Fkoii Our Own ConKKSPOin>n>T.) Reaping is general at the present time, and there will probably be The little of the oat crop unlUrrest. cut at the end of the
month. In a few places threshing from the stook is being carried! on. The crop is good on the whole, notwithstanding the windy weather experienced last month. There is a. fairly large area of oat crop, but the acreage of wheat is very small, notwithstanding that this season and last have been very favourable for the giowih of wheat in many localities. WTien oats are a good price there is little inducement to grow wheat, ownv* to the latter exhausting the soil to a much greater extent than the other cereal named. Some farmers who ha\c much experience in growing wheat here say that lc'ss than 4s per bushe! is not a payable price, when everything is taken into consideration. Farmers who make a practice of applying artificial manure with the drill at the rate of lewfc per acre assert that there is a sufficient increase in the yield 1 of oats to repay the cost, and that there is secured the advantage of earlier and more even ripening. Therj has been a considerable pressure of farm work this harvest owing to the late shearing, the irregular growth of the turnips, aril the protracted ryegrass threshing. Harvest work has come on before a. number could get the ryegrass crop threshed, so that in these cases the threshing will have to be done when the oata are being threshed, or later.
It is uncertain whether much of the turnip crop will be fair or not. Green Turnip 3 sown early in Crops. No\ ember are turning yellow, and they will not bo of much account. Those sown in December, especially during the early part, are looking well, but if copious rains do not fall within two or three weeks they will probably not attain a largo size. Turnips sown in January are growing slowly on. good clay loams, and may attain a fair size if there be a sufficient rainfall in due time. It must ba remarked, however, that there is a considerable area, that does not show much greenness and altogether the outlook is not encouraging.
Rape has not attained half the bulk of Jast year's crop, and it has ripened too coon. The turnip aphis, or blight, is appearing in some places, and there is a risk of losing some of the crop if the dry veather continues much longer. It is a vrell-known fact that a dry season favours this parasitic disease, and that in dry districts rape is an uncertain crop on th s account. In the few paces in Southland wheie rape is subject to blight, the seed is not sown till early in January. This season it has been found that both rape and turnips have been sown too early in a number of places. The slaughtering of fat lambs has been commenced here. They are Lambs. not as good as they were last year, and the price is only from 13s to 13s 6d for best quality. Store lambs are being bought at present for 11s for fattening, instead of 9s, as was the case last year, but the prospect of receiving as good a price later on for the fats, owing to the fall in price of wool and pelts, especially the latter, which have fallen considerably, is not so bright as it was laat year. Lambs have been weaned in many places, as old pastures have dried up so much that there is not sufficient feed for both ewes and lambs. Dipping had to be performed in many cases owing to the prevalence of ticks, and some people &ay that the law requires to be enforced with, greater stringency regarding dipping. It is apparent that there are some cases in which dipping is only a mere form— j that is to gay, the sheep are dipped too hurriedly or in a bath that is much weaker than the directions require. The price of sheep is affected by the drought as well as that of lambs, especially brokenmouthed sheep, as there is no feed to spare for fattening such animals. During the shearing season paragraphs appear occasionally in the Wo»l. papers regarding the weight of clips from flocks which are better than the average, but it is more interesting to know the weight of the clip from average flocks which have been culled with moderate care and well fed. Such clips usually weigh from 81b 'to 91b. The amount and quality of feed exercises a great influence on the quantity of the clip, which is easily seen by comparing the fleeces of pet sheep which have been fed among cattle with the ordinary flock sheep. I have seen as much as 4-lb of difference in favour of the pet sheep. A number of turnip-thinning machines were sold this season, and I h;ne Miscellaneous, seen one maker's machine at work. Fair work was 'done where the turnips were not crowded, but too many turnips were thrown out where there were numerous gaps in the drills. However, some of the turnipthinning machines are not to be despised lor work on flat land, and improvements will no doubt be devised, even if new inventions are not forthcoming. Some boys— ''nippers," in fact — were demanding "five bob a day and tucker" this season, but between combined double ridgers, double drill turnip-thinners, and improved dri'i grubbers, not to speak of improved implements for pulverising the soil, the late Bummer occupation of the small boy is doomed. There is much less water in channels and wells than there was last year, some having run dry that were never known to be waterless before, and some people have experienced inconvenience and loss in consequence. This condition of affairs has caused a good demand to arise for windmills, but in many cases in which water was tapped at about 10ft depth, which is about the maximum depth of greatest efficiency in pumping, the pipes have had to be lengthened to nearly 30ft. A great deal of water is lost in the Mataura Riyer just now in some places by percolating underground, and some people on flats adjacent who have failed to get water at about 30ft depth, where the rock was reached, feel an interest in discussing the question of the thickness of this Tock which keeps the waters of the river from finding their way to the surface.
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Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 8
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1,090SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES. Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 8
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