Eighty-One Tons to the Acre

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 62, 4 June 1927, Page 22 (Supplement)

Eighty-One Tons to the Acre

a fine mangel crop OTOROHANGA COMPETITIONS e An unusually large number of members attended the annual meeting of the Otorohanga A. and P. Association. Mr. W. B. Adams presided. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year;—Patron, Mr. J. C. Rolleston, M.P.; president, Mr. W. B. McAdam; vice-presidents, Messrs. A. J. McGovern and C. B. Hobson; executive committee, Messrs. R. Cowern, Jas. Richmond, J. J. Walker, O. Dalziel, Noel Smith, W. Pye, G. Hall, U. Maxwell, E. Cumpstone and B. Budden.

At the close of the general meeting Mr. Jenks, of the Agricultural Department, announced the names of the successful exhibitors in the root crop competition (in which 19 competed) as —

Swedes. —J. Sing, Kio Kio, 13 points for quality, 14 for cultivation, and 603 for tonnage. This was a magnificent crop of swedes grown w'ith the assistance of 3cwt. of basic super to the acre, which Mr. Jenks considers a superfine swede manure. The second prize was secured by Mr. Young, of Maihiihi, with 18, 15 and 46 points. Messrs Dragovitch and Stephens of Maihiihi, were awarded third prize.

Mr. Lurman, of Rangiatea, secured first honours in the mangel section with a crop which was estimated to yield 81 tons per acre of high-grade roots. Mr. Langkylde secured second prize, and also won first prize for white Belgian carrots, with a crop estimated to produce 41 tons to the acre.

The following exhibitors won the minor prizes and commendations: George Hall, Ivio Kio; A. E. Trott, Mangaoronga; J. Miller, Maihiihi; Mrs. D. Ormsby, Otorohanga; E. Tozer, Kio Kio; J. Geinnie, Mangaorongo; J. J. Walker, Otewa; A. W. Ellis, Otewa; J. W. Holmes, Maihiihi; J. 11. Fortune, Waipa River Road. The average Waikato swede crop was 40 to 50 tons, and in this competition almost all the plots exceeded this weight. “A SATISFACTORY YEAR” AUCKLAND A. AND P. ACTIVITIES On June 10 next the Auckland Metropolitan Agricultural and Pastoral Association will hold its annual meetThe annual report and balance-sheet for the year ending January 31, 1927, records a most satisfactory year, the feature of which was the Royal Show, The hearty co-operation of both town and country, states the report, proved the desire of all to make it an outstanding success, and the experience gained should be most valuable at similar .fixtures in the future. The profit and loss account shows a small loss of £lsl 6s 6d on the show.

The winter show is described as a record financial success. Assets valued at £20,262, and liabilities totalling £19,872, are shown on the balancesheet.

WOOL TERMS TWO DEFINITIONS THE WORD CONDITION Technical terms used to describe wool pften baffle the farmer. A Bradford correspondent supplies the meaning of two oft-repeated terms. He says; A word frequently used in describing wool, particularly by those interested in it from a manufacturing point of view, is “character.” This is a very comprehensive term, and is used in the positive, comparative, or superlative, according to the merits of the raw material in question. The word “character” does not define any particular feature of the wool, but is rather used to define a number of properties which may be present in 'r~>rving degrees. For instance, if a fleece of wool is of lon <v fine, and sound staple, and is also light in condition—that is, if it contains only a comparatively small amount of grease—it is certain to be described from a manufacturing point of view of wool as wool of splendid character. Its combined length, soundness, and fitness of staple will all contribute to it being regarded as an extremely desirable wool for spinning purposes. Offered in competition, it would to-day be eagerly bought , by anyone wishing to produce fine yarn, for these three characteristics are exactly what are wanted by spinners of such yarn. The word “condition” is also used with a strictly technical meaning. It is applied for the purpose of indicating the amount of natural grease present in the fleece. Wool-growers are, of course, acquainted with the greasy character of shorn fleeces, and they know how the proportion of grease varies according to the season and various other causes. If, during the period in which the fleece has been grown, there is an abundance of rich pasturage, it is certain to contain a much larger proportion of grease than if it had been grown during a dry period in which feed was scarce. The use of supplementary rations for the purpose of bringing the sheep on. or keeping them on pastures which have been richly tilled, will, of course, produce similar effects. and any grower who is under the impression that an abundance of condition in wool makes it more valuable as a manufacturing commodity, is entirely mistaken. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon growers that from the standpoint of wool alone an excess of condition is undesirable. The condition is not actually wool, but a sort of “make weight,” for which it is part of the wool-buyer’s business to make allowance. Obviously a fleece which, after being put through scouring process to take out the grease, weighs 50 per cent, less, contains more actual wool than one which, after being subjected to the same process, gives only 40 per cent, of its original weight. A VALUABLE CUP A silver challenge cup. value £SO. has been presented by the Shorthorn Cattle Society of New Zealand for competition at the New Zealand Royal Show. This cup is a genuine William IV. piece, dated 1830. This valuable trophy is offered on the following conditions: For the best pedigree Shorthorn bull in the show, which must be entered in the Shorthorn Herd Book of New Zealand. To be won outright, the cup must be won three times, not necessarily consecutively, but by the same exhibitor, and with a different animal on each occasion. A gold medal will be awarded annually to the winner of the cup, except in the year in which the j cup is won outright, and so becomes the property of the successful exhibi- ! tor. This cup will bo competed for for i the first time at the New Zealand Ro3"al j Show to be held at Christchurch in 1 November next.