FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1918, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY.

iwx>r crops mD v/ixter feeding, j At tiie close of the general 'business of the Model Dairy Faun- meeting at .Stratford on Saturday last, ths chairman, Mr Deem* said he was down on the order paper for an address on growing root crops, but what he desired was to review tlie work of the past year, with a few persona! observations and then invite a general discussion whereby fanners could relate their own experiences. The question of cult,vat ion was the base of all good farming. The earlier the ploughing on new ground the better, a< lint they had the frost that killed the grubs, then the spring and M.n sweetened the soil, and the luimos was decayed. This allowed the soil to get that consolidation between top and sub-soil which was so necessary for the moisture to keep the crops going. They mi'st keep the surface loos* and m good condition Th\s meant retaining the ammnnia, and did not wash awav the plant focd, whilst the loose surface also helped to destroy weeds and other growths. TURNIPS. .Last year they did not plough till September, but this year they started in July, and from October to December they would sow turnips, and by the summer time they were well forward. Turnip* tacy had sown on August 29 were ready lor feed in January, and the October j planting came in a fortnight later. In feeding stock farmers should see that the ti'.rmps were fresh and well matured, and not woody. A number of yellow-flesh variety gave good weight, but were diftV MlttopulJ. lie did not'believe in feeding oft the turnips. This was the cause of fainted milk. They should give the stock a iced of these 12 hours ahead of milk»>g. 'Br doing this they would find the flavor in milk not so pronounced. Soft turnips required a quick-acting fertiliser and laranaki was badly off in this respect. The average crop at the farm was .)••< tons Superphosphate damaged the grouna being an acid manure. Its use bv itse.r m„st be avoided. Basic super took i-s own place. This contained a fair •< mount oi lime, and there was no danger oi soMnnsr the land, and it cost no more. Wood manure was also good for turnips !);'.« i: attracted a lot of flies. Dock imMphatc was a good fertiliser, 'but they l' c, i' a b " '"-refill, as although it was g..n ( i was very slow in acting. Feeding MANGOLDS Mangolds he considered something in Sisroor ofa r in3uranceo » ti,e^ illis root was a bit troublesome to W ork . teedrt to r, essitstrue^^ and JJi,J l v-*P ac ' ~etween «« turnip ana grass. Without mangolds the eras, «<« not much good. If it cost £2,fp hj" '° «™ roan -™M» * paid wellX *olis Ik e0 " **&*«*& ««* man- ?« i . °™ v wc » »> tin's district »t they bad an average of « ton, „ C r crc, a,,, tll „ fertiHse - ton, p CI "T F f rts of lb « si « «'per, basicsan "aVrL b n e " mea '- Hc reminded 1& Vr« r> " lan * oM " onsinally came from |I, B M literrnnean and required a d™l o :,v tore , U,ewartl '«.> ; 'mdthences sar> sirit ,„ kiunir bu( (j - wt. "alt f T d ike man = old Seated with salt showed an improvement of If meal might be unprocurable, but a rood S£r f sep "" s - ,!, "'«^^i£ nil lushed n fair amount of potash and armerscould save this by 4 gin ;;,, n e >"■« go throng], the drill but rather hj« own broadcast, and on the fa nthe' £n™nyV ,y, \ fte^-^d . , mi,lc(l - They preferred sowing ?fi mches apart by band, long Zl\% Pr ewmner went ofi tens to° the a r ' v r,ey Owen 43 tons, and S B . ar 41 foTs' Mangolds should never lie "fed to the ock until the crops had been pulled £ o. three months. Otherwise the rows r' hj& ' bteto ," We lVv"' o. f niJ ° ds COVCrc,! in -""to trees. V' 7 ■° X * "i' 4 f"t then, here, as wa tT "' tnc S ™". « the e4s W uld

SWEDES. Swedes wore most universally grown. V 1 T" t,,o> ' sowcd on December 12. and the fertiliser used was 3cwt. bonmeal, slag and basic, giving an average 01 40'/ 2 tons, using Sozs se'ed. Superbtive se Pm? (l to b» the most favored with Elephant, Monatti, Keep-well. Elephant 'vas most immune from drv rot which had caused much trouble in'the South Island. With ground well cultivated Bozs seed was pUnty. fe,,t they could use 10 to Jo«. rbcy wed sn acre to every ciijht cows. = Besides 'these roots, tlicv bad tricH quite a number of other kinds Kale' maize, Sudan crass, etc. Jiuda Kale originally was a Kali which ha<l a crickly leaf, but owing to a bis run other Kale's got on the market. They grew two varieties on the farm, and found the tru» Kale was ready in six weeks, whereas tiie other took nearly three months. The results obtained from Sudan grass and maize did not suggest that ih«n were goin?.' to ;w of much value U 'Jle farmers of ih'.« iisirkt.

CARROTS. Carrots were also experimented with. One and three-quarter pounds were sown to the nero, and the heat variety appeared to be Matchless White, Sinclair's Champion, and Magnum Bonum. The first ploughing was not too good, but it was generally recognised that this crop required deeper cultivation. The Toko Settlers' Association had fine crops grown in competition, one field of White Belgian! yielding SS tons to the acre. Growing well out of the ground iheac affwJ*! a great feeding ground for har«*. i'u> Quia *Hfcnd f«>r questions. QTOSTIONS. Mr Thomas asked if the farm had tried any red varieties. —Yes, severalMr T. Eanford said he believed mangolds preferable to carrots. The Chairman; On the whole carrots beat mangoldsIn answer to a question re lucerne, Mr Deem stated they were endeavoring to g»t two or three varieties. He did not approve of sowing broadcast, as it would not last any time, two seasons at the most being choked by other growths. To Mr Thomas: Ton for ton tlm red beat the whit* variety of carrot. To Mr Ranford: Lucerne was a fine fodder but too rich in protein for ensilage, (Basic super held only 15 per cent of lime and another lot of lime would do th» ground no Starra. To Mr Tltf *»: Could not say whethen'iiD woi) \*eeommend lucerne for hay. Leaves hs double the feeding of stalks, but stscU'wanted it in the new stage. It was a question of cutting at the right moment. (Co lie aiarfell:. mere a fume* ,w«t<

using large quantities lie would recommend tliem making their own basic super. Care had to be exercised that it was not tagged until the heat of the lime was out, Twenty-four hours at tile .least should elapse before bagging.* Mr Pitt pouched on the necessity of saving and growing seeds. Mr Richards gave a few details of how mangolds wore treated in Canterbury. There they had frequently placed thesa on a. sheet on the rafters of a bam. He also spoke on preparing the ground, and in light soil the more rolling the better. Mr Thomas, In moving a vote of thanks to Mr Deem, said when he attended the meeting lie was 'not a member of the farm, but he' had enioyed the discussion, and considered he had that afternoon got his as membership fee back, plus 10s more in information. Mr Deem acknowledged the vote, and trusted that instead of having an annual meeting they might make these ouarterty A vote of thanks to Mr Stanley for the use of the rooms concluded tho mating.