FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 156, 8 December 1914, Page 7

FARM AND DAIRY.

FERTILISERS AND FORAGE. There is one phase of the question of soil fertility which has a direct bearing upon the feeding of animals, and is worthy of more consideration than it receives—namely, the. beneficial inlluence which fertilisers exercise on the composition and value of crops. Farmyard manure and fertilisers not only increase the bulk of the crops, but also improve their quality. This is the point we wish to emphasise. , In trials it has been found that timothy hay grown on manured land contained 8.75 per cent albuminoids, while that grown on poor soil contained 6.45 per cent., a difference of 2,3 per cent, in favof of that grown on the manured land. This is au increase of over 30 per tent, of the total albuminoid content of the crop, due to the use of manures. The forage grown upon the manured land contained not only the maximum amount of albuminoid, but also showed a tendency to contain the minimum amount of fibre. Xumerou.-. digestion experiments have sown that forage crops and grain which contain the. least fibre are the most digestible; hence the gain in digestible albuminoid resulting from the use of manure is greater in timothy than 30 per cent. Forage.grown on manured land has a dark, rich green color, indicating greater activity of the plant j cells, particularly of the protoplasm and chlorophyll, the two most active agents which take a part in the. production of plant tissues. The larger amount of plant food in the manured soil places al the disposal of the crop a larger anion of building material in the form of the essential elements, and as a result a crop of higher feeding value is secured. Crops feed upon tlie soil, and if the soil fails to contain the requisite amount of nourishment an inferior crop is produced. In feeding for milk production, and beef production as well, the largest returns at minimum cost are secured from using the most valuable and nutritious fodder. The quality of the. forage is generally the, deciding factor in determining economy of production. When forage of albuminoids, less grain and milled pro- ' ducts are required to secure returns than wlien low quality forage is used-. To secure the maximum nourishment in forage,- farm manures are very valuable, and the • farmer who feeds crops grown upon fertile soils has a decided advantage, over the one who feeds crops from poor soils. Increasing the fertility of soil through this use of farmyard manure and fertilisers will result not only in larger yields, but also in better quality of crops. SCOTTISH AGRICULTURE^ The preliminary statement of the agricultural returns for Scotland, as compared "with last year, shows a net decrease in'the total area under all crop.' and grass of 11,740 acres, of 0.2 per cent, the arable land having diminished by 6914 acres, and that under permanent grass by '5526 acres. Of the grain crops,

wheat shows an increase of 5734 acres, or 10.5 per cent., while barley (including here) is less by 4138 acres, or 2.1 per cent., and oats by 18,338 acres, or 2.0 per cent. Rye shows an increase of 170 acres, or 3.3 per cent. The grain crops as a whole have thus diminished by 10,572 acres, or about 1.4 per cent. Beans, to be harvested, show an increase of 207 acres, or 3.5 per cent., and vetches, tares, beans, mashlum, etc., for fodder, an increase of 333 acres, or 3.2 per cent. Potatoes increased by 3250 acres, or 2.2 per cent., and mangolds by the relativelylarge amount of 105 acres, or 5.7 per cent., while turnips and swedes decreased by 1551 acres, or 0.4 per cent. Rape, shows a remarkable, increase, amounting to 990 acres, of 12.8 per cent., while cabbage decreased by 207 acres, or 4.0 per cent. The figures for rye grass and other rotation grasses and clover show a net increase of 7397 acres, or 0.5 per cent., the area for pasture, having increased by 14,(157 acres, while that for hay diminished by 72U0 acres. In the case of permanent grass the changes were in the opposite direction, the area' for hay having increased by 407 acres, while that for pasture diminished by j 5233 acres, the net decrease being thus 4820 acres, or 0.3 per cent. AUSTRALIAN IRRIGATION. "The dry season in Australia is convincing many men who were sceptical about irrigation," said Mr. Mead, an irrigation expert, "and they are commencing to recognise how it hoth provides profits for the individual and adds to the national wealth. I hope that the figures showing the number of live stock that are being carried on the irrigated farms will be collected. They will prove remarkable statistics. One area of 150 acres, of which only 70 acres are cultivated, lias taken in 3500 sheep. Quite small farms are carrying from 500 to 2000 sheep. The prices paid for them are so high that one could never have believed them possible, were it not that they are ascertained facts.. I know where £COO has been paid for the use of 50 acres for six. months; in another case .C 750 was paid as rent for a similar area. Rentals of £l2 to £ 14 per acre for the. season are being paid in numerous instances." BRITISH AGRICULTURE. The British Board of Agriculture has just completed statistics showing the position of agriculture in England and Wales for the year 1914. The statement shows a decrease in the area under crops and grass of 15,170 acres. The. arable area declined by <)0,000 acres, but there is an increase in the area of permanent grass of 44,000 acres. Wheat has. increased by 100,000 acres, or by more than 6 per cent., this amount being very large-, ly substituted for barley and oats, which declined-by 54,000 ami 45,000 acres respectively. Most of the other crops (apart from clover and rotation grasses) show increases, notably beans hy 20,000 acres, potatoes by nearly 20,000 acres, mangolds by 13,000 acres, and vetches hy 23,000 acres. Clover and rotation grasses declined by 115,000 acres, and

bare fallow also shows a, diminution of 47,000 acres. The live stock returns show a small decrease among liorses, tlie decline of 10,000 among those used for agricultural purposes being more than made up by an increase in "other" horses on the, farm. Cows show an increase of- 2-20,000., Other cattle of two years and above fell off by 198,000, but calves increased by 125,000, and the net result for all cattle is an augmentation of 101,000. Sheep show an increase of 130,000, entirely in the. category of ewes kept for breeding, slice)) above one.year old having dclined, and tlie deficit having made good by lambs. Pigs increased by 3711,000, or 18 per cent., the increase in In-ceding sows being relatively greater than of other pigs.