THE MORTGAGE LIFTER

Shannon News, 19 July 1927, Page 4

THE MORTGAGE LIFTER

Ll CLUNK FOR SMALL FARMERS. Americans say “ lucerne is the 'mortgage lifter,” says a writer in the N. Z. Farmer. It certainly helps to increase the farmer’s income and enables him to pay interest. I kfiiow of no other forage plant that gives such a yield per acre.' It has been cut live times a year in Blenheim, as well as grazed part of the time. The hay saved runs from four to five tons an acre. On one occasion when visiting Blenheim I was taken to one of Messrs.. Adams Bros.’ farms. The date was October 23, and on that day they were cutting the first lot of hay. now we have no grass in the north that comes so early. Mr. Adams told me he regularly took five cuts & year for hay. On the mentioned, after the hay was saved, the paddock would be left for a seed crop, the value of which he said w r ould be not less than £lO an arce. Whcm passing one of his farms on my way back to town I s aw a paddock in -which Californian —or a s It is sometimes called, Canadian —thistle showed freely. When I commented on this he told me he would buV the worst-infested thistle paddock, and in four or five years there would not be one left, as the frequent cutting of the lucefine killed the thistle by bleeding. Seeing some sheep grazing on one of the lucerne paddocks, I asked if he ever lost any. He said ho did, and further, in reply to a question, he said a run-off did not save them, but the losses were not heavy, and w r ere more than offset by the fact that he could run 25 to the acre, which wms more tha'n any other grass would carry. The firm have a large butchery business in the tow r n. and fatten a good deal of the beef and mutton sold in their shops. Mr. Adams said the finest beef in their shops was that which was fattened on lucerne, but the bullocks must be taken off at the right time otherwise they got too fat. I may state that my investigation of lucerne growing in Marlborough by direction of the editor of this paper. * J-