FARMING NOTES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 24, 26 March 1915, Page 4

FARMING NOTES.

Care of Permanent Pastures

In a rtctnt bulletin of the International Inatiitute of Agriculture, there id un interesting note un the laying down and care of permanent pasture in Sweden; but the observations of the author apply equally well to this country. It is pointed out that by the aid of control societies a gross * return has b.en reached in cattle breeding such as could scarcely havi been imagined possible, but progress of those stuck farms, wbirh sre co:ductid on f-xten.-ivc lines, has been checked or n even declining. The zeoith a; regards the capacity if the animals has been reached, and the ntt returns a:e no looger satisfactory.

The ciusj of this position is attribuiai.l: to the fart th t tco much reliance has been placid <r; tha result cf researches in se'entifk f < dint? without due regaid to the demands of nature. r ihs fiuits of intei'.sive, unnatural stall feeding have proved to lie decr.-as d power of rcsis'.anc?, les-seied productive power, f!c hence fjr.at expanse in rearing trcsh n r J I-.:-- complete utilisation of raw food stuff:?.

Trie main feoj should c.n.-i t of hay and ioo's in wintvr ard pasture in sum:i er. Special attention should be paid to the imoiovt.nn.nts of iay production, eo that a heavy and ale cheap crop may be procured.

Pastuuge is the cheapest f r od in relation to production, but the

pasturage must te good a d this quality can only be attained wiiti cuie. In considering laying down ot pjbture, it is remarked that o: h su.":h areas ?,s arc well suited for growing cereals should ne iisul for tr-i j purpese. I'asture fanning on a 1 :rgs: scale should r.f t be allowed to interfere with t e output of ceri ah. hi laying down permanent pasture speiial atL-n 11 ull must be paid to m.ir.urmg, a:.d tha seed must be of ava itt> luat v.ii! stand the winter, in.; er.ssmg of manure should mrlu.it u dressing of iim 3 , «ith a : i applicatian of superphosphate or slag evtrv three years. Heavy and dry soils should get as much m nu.e euppiyka humus &3 possible;, nnrog'ti should be given avoiding to >cqui'eaents; the quantity used in thesj parts L abcut Acwi cf nitrate of rccla ar.d sulphate cf amn.ona an acre a j ear. ■°<gaAction of Artifical Manures on Weeds. The valu; or a meadow ii sometimes binoi'tli prejudiced by the presence in it of a large number of weeds. Nut only is the thick giuwth cf the nourishing jjrass hinriered, but also noxious weeds spoil the quality, so that it is an essential part if good cultivation to keep the nn-adow free irom such unsatisfactory constituents. In the cultivation ot arable land it is not a difficult matter to do an, as the operation necessary for ttie preparation of the toil ti receive the seed" help to clean the land; besides more attention is usually gisen to aratle land than to meadow land.

'lh : question i- often asked: How | can I keep my meadows ffee tn,m weeds':' It is :,ot ea;y !o give a ! general reply, because the life cors- | ditions of weids is so different Up ! to the present lime this matter has I not been sulli iciUly investigated, ; or, ai a'y rate, there is little i iGfnrmatioD available a'nout if. I There is, however, no do be that by I a judicious use of chrmic.l fer- | tilisera much e'3n b= done. I Of course, chemical fertilisers alone will not do ev-.rj thing. Their j use must often Le a= r isitd by ether ' means. | To eradicate moss, for instance, I the most important measure is drainage, atid this must be suppleI men ed by a liberal dtcssing of pliasphatc if lime. Experiments ; have shown that with arable Idiid I drainage dune will otten suffice, I but that i ; i the treatment of messy ' meadows it is t?sei:tial also to apply i the ehemici-ls tiri=t mentioned. Equally with brushy meadows, | drait.aga 13 necessary. Then the | clumps of rushes should be hacked jiut, put in a heap, and compjsted I with lime. The cleaned meadnw should he well dressed with qiiek ! lime and basic slag, ;a\i, later on, ' the compost spread over it to I supply h-jiTi;... to ihi soil.

Stnei is caused by sourneis of the ''oil .through wint ol ventilation ar.d deficiency of plant food, especially lime. A dressing of phosphate ol lime with au additional application of Fine has a very good effect. Buttercups ii u;ish on damp land poor m lime Ti.ey can be get rid of ; y harrowing, lolljwe.l by a libaal uresairii; of phosphate of 11 me. Simiiany v.'iin .ther eommon meadow vvee.is, much can be dote ivitti chemical ma T arcs. ',,!;>, aheuid u-.rtilisers work in i';. ii.r.«.iiciai way'.' rue reason is tiijt it.-,-' wee 1 a llounsu in s.iis p.or ii miueiii ejr.stitut.iit3, iime, phoai.liat? aiid potash, 'these good plant loods ,1 j not agree with weeds, Willi j, o.i the otlur hand, the lioan Ling grasset hive them, by their ajtpli atii ii the best herbage is thickly developed, while the ur.i.c.-irable coarse growths dftincle a way.

The Jersey. HOW FAMOUS COWS AnE PROTEC I ED. pine Dairy," London). How the famous Jersey cows are protected in their tight little island may be assumed from a communication which a correspondent send to the "Jersey Bulletin.'' The writer says:—You cannot get cows from Jersey just now, but what's the matter with tomatoes—just to keep en lner.dly terms with us, and until we again become a free country. Just now we are sending tomatoes to England at the rate of 300 ton 3 daily. And at whit price? Merciful Frovirience! forty cents a hundredweight, twenty-five cents, twtlve Cent.-, urri yet they find them too dear. Now cattle exportation, l utter at half the price it Bhould he, and if you offer a present of (.ears to a frre d, he'll look hurt if you don't also supply the centring bafket! The only thinu flourishing just now is harvest festivals. Notwithstanding war and all evils htt:iched thereunto, our shepheids hold that we hav* cause tu be thankful for the plenteous fruits of tre earth—even though are rotting ;n ground. Someone wrote a newspaper article othe, day .uggciting that, instead of preventing the exportation of ra!tk', 'he treat of which is of quite aecondary value, our authorities" should permit such exportation, commar.deer the money—giving credit (o the owners, of course - ?nd hold tre n or.ey as a stand-by to pre.re meat in case of emergency. The idea thrown out has had eeme effect, apparently, for I read of an official meeting to be held shortly, for the purpose of devising ways and means out of the difficulty. So perhaps you sha'l get some cows after all. The Harbours Committee met in S'lemn conclave recently. After arduous and mature deliberation, and in view of the fact that they unnecessarily got scared to deoth 8; me weeks ago, they have opened the dior to exportation—just a wee bi>. We mav now export cattle up In 2u(J head; no m«re. But you shall not get any of these, the stipulation being that they be for England only'. (You see? If we do net eat them, England may possibly get hungry, and there they are) We may also export butter, so iorg as local prices do net get beyond thirty-nine cents p:r pound; aid prohibiten is aho lifted for such p-rishahle articles as grapeß, peaches, pears, etc. We have here a gentleman from Australia, come for the purpose of bunching up a small and choice hrd. The bunching up of a small and choice herd i= as easy as winking just now. But as to gettng them away, that's an altcgeth:r a "different pair of sleeves," as our friends and Allies, the French, so picturesquely ssy.