AGRICULTURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 3 August 1907, Page 6

AGRICULTURE.

THE CONFERENCE AT WELLINGTON SECOND DAY'S WORK. (By telegraph.—From our Special Reporter). Wellington, August 2. The Agricultural Conference at Wulliugtun made an early start with lec tures aud papers by Government experts. .Mr Kirk, the Biologist told some interesting things about diseases of cabbage and root and other crops. He explained, with the .simplicity whieh characterises his deliveries, the latest about the habits of the funguotis diseases whieh take such a large share in the annual burdens of the farmers. Potato blight, he declared, need 110-longer dismay because accurate spraying with Bordeaux mixture is a reliable preventative. Spraying is the farmer's insurance premium, and no farmer should neglect to insure. The cabbage leaf spot in New Zealand was not v<'t epidemic, but it was destined to become so. For this and for the funguous blight of the turnip, and for wheat rust the same mixture was the remedy. Moist weather, of course, encouraged the disease, although at times drought was also a contributory cause as in the latest southern turnip crop. Mr Kirk gave the spraying business an equivalent in £ s. d. by pointing out that if the loss suffered by farm crops through diseases was only ten per cent, it amounted to the immense sum of £701),000, or over half a million annually. It was worth, therefore, an effort to resist this loss. The recognised remedies for green lly of rape crops? and the dianiond-baek.moth of cabbages were brought into discussion, and the value of dipping potatoes before storing for the winter was aflirmed.

Jlr Aston, Chief Chemist, interested the delegates "with a review of manuring experiments. In his conclusions lie confirmed the general impression that potash is abundant in most New Zealand soils, and that where it is insoluble, applications of lime will release it. The discussion, which was freely indulged in, served to show that there is a low limit, to the amount of the caustic manures that it is safe to apply, particularly when drilled with the seed. A hundredweight and a-half of superphosphate drilled gave letter results than three hundredweiglft again. On the germinating powers of seed the effect of caustic manures was also marked. Thus in ail experiment of Mi- Patullo's superphosphate drilled with the seed gave a, brairding of 30 seeds out of a hundred, when the superphosphate was mixed with the soil before the brairding was sixty, and when 110 manure was used the handsome number of ninety seeds sprang into growth. Speaking of rocK phosphate, Jlr Aston gave away a manure merchant's secret by explaining that Xew Zealand 'rock phosphate when powdered up and mixed with dried blood was sold as artificial guano, and possessed some value.

'luesday's discussion of sheep tick fouuil its counterpart to-day in a brisk debate on cattle tick, a much worse pest which lias not yet invaded the colony, iir Reakes, Government Veterinary, read au able and somewhat alarming paper on the powers of this pest to kill cattle and the probability of its invading us in the next cargo of hay or chaff from Queensland and some parts of New South Wales—even if it is not already here He asked the Conference to consider whether the convenience of haviug these imports was worth the risk. He put the egg crop of one tick at 1500 to 30U. Mr flail said it existed in Montana, which was colder than New Zealand, so it could easily thrive here. Mr Rutlierlord said large quantities of Queensland chaff were imported at Auckland. "Jt would injure commerce to prohibit this chaff. Ought we to do soV v asked the chairman (Mr Wilson). Mr (lilnith: "it will injure commerce if the tick gets here. You can't cross an infected paddock in Queensland without getting your pants covered with white spots, each spot being a live tick. On tile mere tip n! every blade of grass you can count, a hundred ticks." H c explained that the remedy adopted was to fallow the paddocks for twelve months. If that period were neT'essarv to disinfect, then hay from infected paddocks could easily bring the pest to New Zealand because the ticks could live over a hundred days without food. Mr Kirk warned the Conference to learn the lessen taught by the fruit ll.v invasion. With such evidence before it, the Conference readily passed a resolution of Mr liunny's that tho (lovermnent should prohibit the importation of any goods that in the opinion of the experts might convey tick infection.