FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 July 1921, Page 12

FARM AND DAIRY.

REVOLUTIONISING THE FERTIL-

ISER INDUSTRY,

It remains for America to make a discovery which may revolutionise? the fertiliser industry. The U/S.A. Bureau |of Soils (according to the N.Z. Farmer), I has succeeded in extracting phosphoric 1 acid from phosphate rock by heating ! mixtures of this mineral, sand and coke to a smelting temperature in a fuel-fed i furnace. The established method of proi ducing soluble phosphates in Australia l is to treat the rock with sulphuric acid. An equal quantity of acid and [rock is used, and the resulting product, [ known as superphosphate, contains only [ one-half the acid contained in the rock from which it was derived. ‘ Commercial acid phosphate, for instance, made from a 32 per" cent, rock, contains only 16 per cent, of phosphoric acid. The elaborate washing and screening process now used in preparing phosphate rock for treatment with sulphuric acid often results in the loss of two-thirds of the rock, and it was with a view to saving this immense waste of phosphoric that the new process was evolved. The practical value of the new development is indicated by the fact that in the experimental runs at Allington, Virginia, the departmental chemists were able to recover 64 per cent, phosphoric acid, as against 16 per cent, product ordinarily obtained by the sulphuric acid process. By passing ammonia gas into this phosphoric acid, solid ammonium phosphate, a very concentrated material containing two valuable fertilizer ingredients, - results. This material can stand heavy transportation and handling charges. It is also practicable to mix the phosphoric acid with phosphate rock in such proportions as to give a product containing 50 per cent, of soluble phosphoric acid. This product is similar in its properties to ordinary 16 per cent, acid phosphate, is convenient to handle, and may be used by> an intelligent farmer who has the technical knowledge to reduce the quantity placed upon the soil, and to guard against direct contact with seed. It also will permit a material saving in freight to central plants where the product may be diluted or mixed with other ingredients for shorter hauls. The difference between a-50 per cent, product and a 16 per cent, product means an immense saving in the freight charges.

MINERAL PHOSPHATES. With the acquirements of a share of the mineral phosphates of the island of Nauru, New Zealand is now in the fortunate position of the possession of an assured supply’ of this important resource for the fertilisation of the soil. There comes with this the question: Are mineral phosphates effective as fertilisers? This is now being asked by a of farmers; experiments have been caJtfied out in Great Britain with the object of arriving at an authoritative determination on this point. The question is, are ground, raw, mineral phosphates, in. the usual acceptance, effective? The British Ministry of Agriculture, in a report of January 7 last, announces, “That broadly speaking the result at present is, where basic slag cannot be obtained in sufficient quantity it is worth while trying mineral phosphates, providing that they are sufficiently finely ground and that judging from trials already made, there is reason to expect that they will prove useful on heavy clay grazing land where the herbage is in poor condition, also that they may prove useful, although the evidence at present is not complete, for the growih of swedes and turnips. The report goes on to state that judging from foreign communications they should also be useful on our soils that are particularly deficient in lime.” Our own experiences in New Zealand have not led us very far in the determination of the actual results of raw mineral phosphates (says the Auckland Star). We are inclined to the belief that the great value of these phosphates is that they are the raw material for conversion to superphosphate. The fur. ther experiences that we may expect to receive from the British Ministry of Agriculture and the repoils of tests that we may 7 have from our own practical fanners and from the Experiment Stations of the State should go far to determine this question of the efficiency of mineral phosphates. In the meantime we may at least feel a very great relief that we are assured of an ample supply of raw material for the manufacture of the superphosphate, the. effectiveness of which we are well assured.

REST FOR COWS. Not all cows are allowed to go dry for a sufficient length of time to put them in good shape for another long period of milk production. In most large herds and in purebred herds the cows are given a "ood chance to rest and flesh-up before freshening, but less experienced dairymen often allow the cows to milk continuously, under which method they have no chance to recuperate, and are thus handicapped at calving time. Authorities state that a cow will give more milk if she is dried up for a period of six weeks before calving than if she is milked continuously. The explanation of this lies in the fact that milk production is hard work, and the cow gets no rest from calving to calving unless it is provided for her by (X-y--her off. It is sometimes said that the effect of milking continuously is to weaken the calf, but Eekle’s observations do not, he says, bear out this statement. Injury to the cow rather than the calf is likely to follow. Probably if a cow is very thin and in poor condition the calf may be weakened to some extent, but the maternal instinct and the nature of the cow’s body is to take’ care of the foetus first at the expense of the dam. It is too much to expect that the double burden of milk production and the foetus can be under- ■ gone by the average cow up to the time ’ of freshening without injury to herself. GENERAL. Two-thirds of what Australian mutton is worth in London to-day goes in the cost of getting ihe moat there. So serious has the position become that exporters and stock-owners in all the States are almost continuously urging the shipping companies to reduce freights and thereby give the pastoral industry a chance. Unless relief can be I obtained in this way, it is feared that the pastoral industry will receive an- I other set-back. Before the war it was j possible to put Australian frozen meat on the London market for a penny-per pound. That covered everything. Now the freight alone costs practically twice that much. Before the war the freight >n beef was just over ? halfpenny per • pound, and on mutton it was 5-Bd. Now i it is just on 2d for bojh beef and mut-

ton. There has been an increase of considerably over 200 per cent. ■ Dairy cows about Shannon are causing a' good deal of afiliety to their owners this year. One farmer, in conversation with a News reporter, sifid fifteen of his cows had calved, and in every instance the calves had been dead. He estimated that each ' cow would produce about 100fl> less butterfat in consequence this season. Evidence of the wonderful expans ran of the dairy industry is afforded by the annual report of the Northern Wairoa Dairy Company. The number of suppliers during the year was 510, and the total output of butter 1074 tons, as against 830 tons last season an increase of 244 tons. For the season, just closed £253,000 has been paid to suppliers, an advance of 2s 3d per lb butterfat has been made to suppliers, and £35,000 remains to be distributed in bonus. The new brick factory nearing completion a® Mangawhare for this dairy company will be the largest in the Dominion, with a capacity for a 3000 tons output.

An illustration of the lavish manner in which some commercial firms seek orders for their goods, and incidentally the keenness of competition, was mentioned by a speaker a-t a conference at Wanganui between delegates from the Farmers’ Union Sub-Provin-cial Executive and the associated auctioneers. The speaker was a farmer, and he s'aid that he contemplated installing a small milking machine plant ■which would cost less than £2OO. He had kept a' careful tally of the visits of agents of competing plants and estimated that they must have spent close on £2OO on motor cars and wa‘ges during negotiations. Some of the agents came more than once from towns as far away as Palmerston North and Hawera.

A ne\y explosive is being used in England for land-clearing in the form of liquid air, or liquid oxygen. Tire material is put into the stumps in a cartridge made of sawdust, which absorbs the liquid air. A detonator is attached, and an immense volume of gas is generated, which blows up the stump. An advantage over gelignite is that both the air and the. sawdust are harmless in themselves, and a further advantage is that if the charge does not go off it becomes harmless in an hour. The blasting method as practised in this country for some years has not been an unqualified success. The new explosive sounds good.

Pedigree Ayrshire bulls at Lanark, Scotland, averaged £4O 3s per head for 117, compared with £49 18s 3d for 138 head, last year. Netherall Aspiration, a junior bull, was bopght by Mr. James Howie, of Hillhouse, for £220. The first prize winner in the same class made £lOO, as did the fourth prize winner. The first prize senior bull made £132. The South Americans want money just as much as we do, and, with no [limits to harass them, they will sacrifice much of their wool at prices considerably below the cost of production. Probably the only way in which we can | meet them is by so undervaluing our inferior wool that the limits fixed by the Bawra will in the end really represent almost “giving away” prices. ' Germany is buying seed potatoes freely in England. The steamer Golfer of •Methil sailed for Bremen with 300 tons of seed potatoes on April 7. A second cargo followed with the Rattray Head, and two other cargoes are also booked, the whole amounting to about 900 tons. The potatoes are being sent to the order of the British Relief Credit Committee. The top price for a Clydesdale stallioh at Lanark spring sales was £6OO, which was paid for a four-year-old black horse, Hilton Autocrat. A five-year-old mare, Rosie of Brunstane, by Dunure Tower, and in foal to Dunure Footprint, realised £270.. Scotland’s Excellency, by Auchenflower, was sold at 500 guineas, to go to Cumberland, England. Scientists have got their eye on the potato, and are carrying out researches to rejuvenate its vigor. At present, in their opinion, says an English writer, it is in a serious condition, liable to more diseases than any other cultivated crop, and generally losing, stamina. Nature’s revenge for continued in-breeding, and the problem is, How can the potato get back to nature?

There is very keen enquiry in Southland for dairy, stock at "the present time, but cows are very hard to locate, states The Southland Times. Clearing sales just now are very few, and for those offering privately there, are many eager buyers for there is plenty of feed for wintering. At a sale at Benmore recently the tops touched £2l. Despite a drop in the British produce market good cows will sell up to £35 agsin in the spring A great many dairy men are installing milking machines which is sure' evidence of intention to increase existing herds.