FARM NOTES

Shannon News, 21 November 1922, Page 4

FARM NOTES

AMONG THE CROPS AND PASTURES. Grass should now be plentiful in the North Island, says the Agricultural Journal, and the matter of pasturemanagement will demand special attention. One of the greatest difficulties, particularly on cow country, is to control the growth and keep pastures in a succulent condition.. Every endeavour should be made to have fields evenly grazed, as rough pasture is inferior for either milk-production or fattening. Green Crops.; —November is a. good period for sowing rape and kale. Maize and millet may be sown early in the month of the northern and east coast districts, but on the west coast, except in very warm. situations, the sowing is better deferred until the last week. Maize for green feeding may be sown at the rate of two bushels per acre, and a suitable manuring for average conditions is a mixture of half super aud half blood-and-bone, at from 2cwt. to 3cwt. per acre. Hickory King is a proved variety of maize for green feed, while Ninety Day is good for both grain and green feeding. Many dairyfarmers do not favour maize on account of the expense of handling when feeding out; but where turnip feeding is not allowed by the dairy factory, or where this is known to be a risky crop,' maize should have a place. It makes good silage, in which form it can be conserved for use when required. It is also quite a good crop for lamb-fat-tening, and for this purpose it is best fed just at the flowering stage. Millet is a crop that is growing in favour, especially with dairy farmers.

Cattle and sheep like it, and dairy

cows milk well on it. The crop can be fed off or cut and fed out. Under favourable conditions stock can be turned on to millet when 9in. to 12in. high, about ten weeks after it is sown. It is best fed off in breaks, and it comes away again after being eaten down. Japanese millet is to be recommended in preference to other varieties. Prom 151 b. to 201 b. will sow an acre of broadcasted, while about 151 b. will do if drilled through every coulter. The same manure as for maize can be used, or superphosphate applied alone at the rate of 2cwt. to 2jjcwt. per acre. If the crop is not required for grazing it may bo left until the flowering stage' and cut for hay or ensilage. Sorghum .requires less moisture than maize, and can be grown under drier

soil and weather conditions. It is a warm-climate crop, best suited to North Auckland, and elsewhere should be grown only in fields which are- well sheltered. Owing to toxic properties, this crop should not be fed to stock until it comes into fiowtir. uuless it i;: made into ensilage, in wlieh case it is safe. i(«po is generally sown w. ; th the or-

dinary drill at the rate of ?1-S seed per

l acre. Freezing-works manures at 2ewt. I to 3cwt. per acre usually .gri'e satisfactory results, but in situations where the rape is inclined to grow tell better fattening crops will be obtained by the use of basic super or mixtures of half j super and half Nauru or Ephos phos-

phate. Experienced farmers will understand that a heavy leafy crop which is produced by an excess of nitrogen will not fatten like a firm but lighter crop grown with phosphates. The heavy leafy crop is all right for dairy cows, but generally for this purpose the genuino green Buda kale gives better results. Of the kales, both for lambfattening and cow-feeding, the Buda is the best. It can be sowm at the same rate as rape, and the same manures used. Kale has an advantage over rape in that it gives a second feeding quicker, an.d is not so heating for dairy cowsj on the other hand, rape is better for fattening lambs. Further sowings of soft turnips may be made during November.

Cereals will now mostly have been sown and making good growth, but in lato districts barley, particularly Black Skinless, may still be sowm for . a grain crop; also oats, of which Green's Buakura will be preferable, as it comes to maturity very quickly. Either this oat or Black Skinless barley sown in November should be ready for harvesting in three months. Both may bo sown at the rate of 3 bushels, with 1£ cwt. of superphosphate per acre.

Intercultivation. —Crops sown in wide drills, such as mangolds, carrots, and early crops of maize, should be cultivated between the row's to keep down weed-growth and check the loss of moisture by keeping a loose mulch on the surface. Care should be taken to ensure that -the surface is not made too line. A tine cultivator will break up the soil, allow tho finer material to drop below, and leave the surface somewhat cloddy. This will prevent tho soil running together after Tain and lator setting, hard. The good done by frequently stirring the soil between the rows cannot bo overestimated, par-

, ticularly in the warmer and drier dis- , tricts.

Lucerne.* - On most stands the first cut will he ready for removal in November, and is best either fed out to ;cows or made into ensilage, the weathci at this time of the year usually not being favourable for haymaking. If removed at this period it should be ready for cutting again in six weeks. In some cases farmers will not be ready to cut in November, although their lui cerne is ready, and,in such cases it may !be left without any .danger of hurting the stand. The new growth will come up through it, and much of the earlier growth leaves will fall. • The subse-quent-cutting will contain a fair amount of stalk, but. the stand will not be injured.