Farm and Dairy.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 210, 5 March 1914, Page 6

Farm and Dairy.

KIKLDCIti'I'S. KSTIMATK l.'Ol: T:!:-. MCASON. The (lovcrnment statistician has completed the estimates of the. Dominion's field crops for 1913-14, and the figures j are regarded as highly satisfactory, j The three main crops, wheat, oats and barley, are estimated to turn out as follows: — Bushels per Acre. District Wheat. Oats. Barley Auckland 30.25 42.03 48.78 Taranaki 37.11 44.50 45.90 Hawke's Bav ... 37.47 45.53 4(1.12 Wellington " .... 31i.!)2 43.40 35.71 Nelson & Marl. .. 32.17 40.35 33.70 Canterbury .... 32.04 42.111 :ili.Hfl Utago— Olago portion :;2.i1."> 41.74 4101 Southland do. 30.05 38.45 37.20 Averages for the Dominion .... 32.33 41.0.'. 38.31 The following are condensed reports of enumerators on the prospect of Velds of crops in the various districts: Auckland.—Season good, and yields I generally above the average. l'otaI toes, however, atl'ected by blight in ::ovI eral localities. I Taranaki.—Wheat and oats, good | crops generally, and barley fair to !gond. Yields of grass seed very satisfactory. Potatoes, fair average, but other roots crops irregular; late-sown turnips and mangolds, however, arc doing well. Hawke's Bay.—flood yields of wheat, oats, barley and rye-grass. Turnips and mangolds also good, though wea- | ther has affected root crops in some localities.

Wellington.—Heavy yields of wheat and oats in Wanganui district, and good yields of other crops, except that early-sown turnips are unsatisfactory. Wairarapa crops looked promising, but bad weather will diminish yields. In the remainder of province oats failed, and potatoes severely affected by blight flood crops of turnips. Marlborough and Kelson. —Crops doing fairly well, and good yields expected. Canterbury.—Grain crops and cocksfoot well up to average, in spite of had weather. Early potatoes attacked with blight, but later crops more satisfactory, and yields should equal last year's. Otago.—Wheat and oat crops not good, except' in Manioto, Vincent and Waitaki counties. Oood yields of turnips and also of potatoes, though blight is fairly widespread, especially in coastal districts.

Southland.—Oats lighter than usual and rye-grass not quite up to standard. Average crop of potatoes; blight prevalent. Prospects of turnip crops good. ESTIMATED TOTAL YIELDS. According to the returns furnished the total etsimated yield of the principal crops will he approximately as given below. The estimate is based on a collection of returns by post. All forms posted to fanners were not returned, the percentage of returns received out of the forms issued varying from 82.72 hi Auckland to 1)5.53 in Canterbury, and averaging 80.01 per cent, over Llie whole Dominion: — Wheat (bushels) 5.355,77« Oats (bushels) 14,005,250 Barlev (bushels) 1,100,772 live-grass (lbs) 27,005,130 Cocksfoot (lbs) 5,734,787 I'otatoes (tons) 1!)2,1i3(i Turnips (tons) 7,705,001 Mangolds (tons) 280,352

THE DAIRY SEASON, A I'KOFITABLE ONE. In tho course of conversation with a prominent exporter of dairy produce, a representative of Hie Dominion ascertained tliat the season now ncaring its close has been one. of the most successful and the most profitable in the history of the industry. The total export of butter from New Zealand to date is about l.">,!) 00 tons, as against l.'i.lltlll tons for the corresponding period of last season, showing an increase of about 14 per cent. The quality of the product lias been well maintained, and there have bi"en comparatively few com-. plaints from buyers. All the we.llknowit brands have maintained their reputation for producing high-grade butter. ■ ■■•; The cheese exports to date aggregate about "20,100 tons, as compared with 17.")(l(l tons for the corresponding period of last season, there being an increase of about 15 per cent. The quality has been satisfactory, and values have been in favor of the producers. The market for dairy produce has been . firmer Ibis year, and has displayed great buoyancy.

The markets on the Pacific Coast are being steadily developed, and with the. experience gained this year, better resuits are hoped for next season, wlien ell'orts will be made to bring about improvements in methods of marketing, transport facilities, etc. South Africa appears to be a vanishing market, for the South Africans are making strenuous and apparently successful ell'orts to provide for their requirements. An emissary of the Union Government is at present in New Zealand studying the methods of control, the grading and other helps all'onleil by our (iovernment to the dairy farmers. Our methods, while not perfect, are regarded as the '..■>:,: i,i l!i:> world.

UX'ERXR KXI'KMKNCK AT MOUMAIIAKT. I'ntil quite recently, lucerne (wvifis Mr. T. W. Lonsdale 'in the Jounri of tin' IVpiii'Linciit of Agriculture) has been regarded merely as a suppleiiK'nliiry crop to he ninde use of during those portions of the year when the regular farm crops are not available and the pastures are either fed down or dried up. Kvcn viewed, from this standpoint, lucerne is a most important crop; but its value in this connection sinks into insignificance when it is regarded as a permanent crop, giving an abundant suplily of succulent fodder during the greater part of the vear. The whole I rend of New Zealand'agriculture is towards the production of green pasture from the soil, or the direct fecdiug-ofT by animals of eve.rvthing produced on the_ agricultural farm. Kvery ion of additional green pasture produced on a farm means increased carrying capacity, whereas every ton of supplementary crop to grass that rei|nires to he hand-fed adds enormously to tin- cost of producing the marketable commodity. Here lucerne stands out from all other fodder crops, for it alone can be used as a pasture, and a pasture whose yield is enormously in excess of even the most productive of temporary grass pastures. It is the highest character of pasture known to the agricultural world. From an economic viewpoint its value cannot be over-estimated. It lasts for many years, and therefore

tlk: lirst cost of production does not re<l" :: I o x be. fully recovered.imtil the cud of ■ s/lui'.ition; whereas with the tempi,.:rA pasture the cost of establishmil!.. Must be recovered as the lirst charge within the three or four years of its existence.

■ A temporary pasture, to last fmtr years, and costing .C2 10s to establ»h, requires to have Its per annum debited against its initial cost; whereas the lucerne field, with a duration of ten years, and established under expensive conditions—at a cost of, say, L'l requires only 8s per annum to be delated against the initial expenditure of its .establishment. , If the rotation is « longer one the, comparative cost is. of course, very much less. Then, of course, there, is to be considered the added fertility to the soil by the growth of lueernc, which is very much higher than in the case of ploughed-in pasture. There is a great field of experimental im: before us in the determination of the various classes <if soils in which lucerne can be grown and grazed with advantage. Its success as a permanent pasture crop lias been amply demonstrated under ordinary farming conditions in the Marlborough district by the sheep as well as the cattle-feeder, and this experience is being repeated in the Moumahaki experiments.

NEWS AND NOTES. A load of dairy produce valued at about £IOO,OOO was (says the. Post) taken to London by the lonic, which .sailed from Wellington on Thursday. The butter totalled 20,715 boxes and the cheese 17,912 crates. The bulk of the produce was shipped at Wellington, and came from the following districts:New Plymouth, 1)047 butter and -13K3 cheese; Patea, 285 butter and 553!) cheese; Wanganui. 1044 butter and 120 cheese; Wellington, 8725 butter and 358!) cheese; Lvttelton. 7014 butter and 1274 cheese.

Some idea may be gathered from the Feilding sheep fair on Friday as to the up-grade in the price of sheep. Apart altogether from the large yarding of studs, there were 7702 sheep sold las; year at an average of lis 8d per bead. This year 703!) were disposed of at an average, of 10s !)'/ 2 d per head. The quality all round was about equal to last year. The big increase in prices is attributed to the high prices ruling for fat sheep and the consequent shortage of ewes available at present for breeding purposes. The highest price obtained was 31s for a pen of 2-tooth ewes.

''There is always a silver lining to any cloud," writes* "Settler" in llie Wellington Pod. "Sliccp-farracrs were complaining bitterly of missing tlie January wool sales' through the strike, hut now word comes through that the Antwerp sales have opened out with from a 10 per cent, to 12 per cent. rise. As this is likely to he repealed for the London series, opening on Tuesday, the sheepfarmers will be shaking hands with themselves. To sliow what ii means. for the January sales in 1013 in London 53,521) bales left New Zealand; for the January sale for 1014 only about LSSi! bales, shipped by the Atheii.ie. went. The diil'erenee represents 111.442 ba,!cs. '•and as the rise is equal to about '.V)e per bale, it means over .tM.'i.nnil in the pockets of the growers."

i The Ekham Argus learns from good authority that contagious maminit'is i< again somewhat prevalent in Taranaki. Some farmers are threatened with ■ heavy losses by this disease getting into their herds. In one case that we have heard of a farmer is likely to have to condemn eight tine cows,'worth about £ls. The disease germ is carried from farm to farm, and its presence in a district is a very serious matter for farmers. Mammitis is a very dillicnlt disease to combat. It would be easy to devise an injection that would destroy 'the germ that enters the cows' teaU, but an injectioti strong enough to destroy the germ would also destroy the inner membranes of the cows' udders and seriously injure the cows. Injections of a solution of horaeic acid i- 'tin' usual treatment.