FARM NOTES

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 286, 2 May 1929, Page 3

FARM NOTES

I EJP.E EF I,IDS STfIRYHia. j FARMERS’ EXPERIENCES. I The current issue of the Sew ZeaI land Journal of Agriculture contains lan article by Mr. C. B. Aston, Chief Chemist of the Agricultural Department, on the “Cure of Iron Start a- 1 . (Bush Sickness) in Stock.” (Inter alia, the article states: “It is every day becoming more evident that grassland farming must be | looked at from two viewpoints: (1) The production of healthy pasture; (2) the production of healthy stock. j Success in the first does net ncces- ' sarily mean that stock grazed will ! be healthy; for it has been proved, in j several countries, it is possible to have pasture which is normal and healthy in itself, but which fails to , sustain health in the stock which is j grazed on it. In NeAv Zealand this * anomaly is mere frequently found on ! abnormal soils, such as the lighter j I volcanic loams, dune sands, pumice j I sands -and gravel soils of a light na- i I tore and coarse texture, easily reach- ■ ed and very subject to become dry in j periods with a rainfall below the j j average. | “ On many of these lands the o>-- ! dinary pasture plants grow well, | without any signs of disease or lack j of vigour, but ruminants (i.e., animals that chew the cud) fail to ! strive normally or to give normal yields of produce. The pasture may < be healthy with but a trace of iron j in its composition, but the quickly } growing ruminant or pig with a com- i paratively high demand for food iron ! cannot thrive, becomes anaemic and 1 eventually dies. Some farmers seem j to have the opinion that all elements required by the animal should be fed to it through the grass—that it to > say, that the feeding of a lick to j supplement the minerals present in the natural is an unnatural or illegitimate method. This opinion appears to be a fallacy, but it is one that might be discussed w’th profit ■ bv all. One of the most w’delv used minerals in stock feeding is sodium chloride (common salt), and although used with certain crons 1 (mangels, etc.) it is not generally

| used as a grass manure; yet herbivorous stock should always have access to it. At present it will be logical to adopt the quickest method , of keeping stock healthy on “ bush sick ” lands by giving iron medicinal salts as pellets, licks or drench or added to drinking water or feedmilk. Top.dressing the pasture** with phosphates containing iron will certainly enable stock to be carried longer than without dressing even on | the worst soils. The best mixture for such purpose is one of equal parts of basic slag and superphosphate. Basic slag is the only commercial phosphate containing iron in an appreciable amount. This mix- | ture has been constantly advocated | ’°v the writer for many years, j With turnips it is an excellent fer- ‘ tiliser, and it has given the greatest crop of turnips ever grown at the Mnmaku Demonstration Farm, f The fundamental treatment nccer?j sary to convert coarse pumice lar *s j into profitable farms in undoubtedly the incorporation of more organic j matter in the soil by the ploughing j in of green crops such as lupins, j Experiments by the State Forest I Service at Whakarewarewa, and on j the coarsest type of pumice soil, have I shown how the quality and produc- | tiveness me v be increased by this | method. The organic m°tter or j humus is calculated to assist in de- l I composing the pumice particles, and J | the cultivation supplies the neces- j • sary compaction of the soil. The I | final result is the formation of a soil j • which holds the water instead of one | ; which suffers from drought and ex- I j cessive drainage. I' Farmers in the pumice region are , becoming more familiar with the practice of using the preparation known as citrate of ammonium and j iron, which is now sold to bona fide settlers by the Department of Agrij culture at 2s fid per lb. l This substance is supplied in tho » form of brown scales, which readily discniw* in water, and c or| then sprinkled on dry rations in the bails for cows, added to the milk food for calves, or mixed with molasses, salt or green bone, or a mixture of these, for store cattle. I Farmers who had purchased iron and ammonium citrate scales were

i asked recently to give their experiences, and the following are among the replies received:— District D.—From sea level to about 200 feet, only mildly sick. Farmer L.” has had experience i with sick sheep. He found it took about six doses to effect a cure. He { has also successfully used it in tru. *

j feed milk for calves and finds it a ' ; good tonic for cattle. I “ Farmer V'.” finds the use of the , scales as a drench generally inereas- | es the milk yield from treated cows. I It takes from six to thirty days beI fore improvement is shown, j A large number of other farmers j give their experiences, and in every case the treatment is recommended.