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Taranaki Daily News, 19 August 1922, Page 12

PEDIGREES BRED FOR 30 YEARS. AN INTERESTING FARM. By usurping the prominent / position lately occupied by the sheep' farmer, dairying has now become our Most important national industry, and it is to tins branch of agriculture that the Dommion must look for any great increase ■in wealth production and population. I Dairying ls governed to a lar4 extent by climatic conditions. Given abundance of sunshine and a plentiful rainfall, wherever suitable soil is to be found the cow will surpiant the sheep, so that the future of the fertile North Island of _ ew Zealand is bound up to a great extent with the development and progress o the dairying industry. Since firstclass land is limited it behoves farmers to improve their holdings and work for the betterment of butter-fat producing qualities in their herds. °

A striking example of the manner in which some of our prominent farmers are following along these lines of progress was shown to a News representative during a recent visit to ‘ Te Puke Awa, ’ the homestead of Mr. H. B. Leuper. of Lepperton. r

Sixty-five years ago a military grant gave Mr. Lepper’s father possession of a tract of bush land surrounding the settlement, which now bears his nam-, and, although portions have been sold the major part of the estate is still .etamed by the family. Mr. Lepper and ' hls 3O ?’ wlth one assistant, farm an ar w-?v -s*° T acres ’ and f arm it well. With Mr. Lepper as adviser a tour was made of the property, and the observer was at once struck with the plentiful provision for watering stock. Besides several small creeks the beautiful level pastures at the top of the farm are provided with concrete troughs to which water is fed by mains whch tap the Waitara borough supply flowing nearhoil i h , ough 18 complete with a ball cock valve, thus maintaining the level at a desired height. A epntinna.ion of pipe lines conveys water to tanks at the second house, from which a gravity flow connects with the cowshed below. By this means the shed is kept clean and wholesome, for here it is fully realised that in order to turn out ractory cheese of the finest quality that will keep Its flavor for a long time the producers aim should be to keep the bacterial content of his milk as lbw as possible, and this is only possible bv obtaining the milk under sanitary conditions from healthy cows. Filtered milk w’ll be cleansed from small portions of extraneous matter inevitably present but is not thus freed from germs. Last winter the sub-divisions of these top paddocks were planted out with box-thorn hedges, the method employed being to turn two furrows one above the other. The top layer was then loosened with a spade and the young plants were laid one foot apart horizontally on the improvised bed. Earth was then thrown over them and trampled down. The new shoots all seek the sun and rise straight up at right angles to the parent plant. Over 4000 plants have been grown in this manner, and very few failures were noticed. Although only a year old th£se hedges have alread v attained a height of from three to four feet, and are now being cut back to stimulate root growth and Snake the hedge more compact. The pastures themselves show a remarkable sole of grass for this time of the year. One paddock of about five acres had sixty loads of farm-yard manure spread over one half last year, and sixty more just recently. Moreover, a stack of oaten sheaf,’ in which was included a large percentage of perennial rye. was consistently fed out over it. The result is a splendid paddock practically self-top-dressed, the trampled* in rye making a particularly strong showing and promises to provide an enormous crop of hay this summer. Out or say seven chemical substances required by plants, the majority are present in superabundance for growing many crops, and only three—nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash—are likely to become deficient. Of these it has been found that the Lepperton soil reacts well to basic slag. All other accessible pastures on this farm are therefore subjected to an annual top-dressing of from two to two and a-half cwt. of slag. Slag appears to have the added virtue of being detrimental to rank fern growth, and fields so effected have been (cleared by top-dressing. Ensilage has evidently come to stay in

Taranaki. On the «lope of a steep bank a large three-sided square 18 feet by 24 feet has been excavated in which I meadow grass is stored as ensilage. A track winds round behind the hill, and gives access below so that from the open side the matured ensilage may be easily forked on to a cart. Mr. Lepper has made one mistake. In arranging successive cuts the earth, which provides the weight, has been totally removed. This was accidental, but as the cows readily eat their ration it would appear that no great harm has resulted. It will, however, prevent any ensilage being detained, and it is intended to feed out continuously from now on. ERADICATING BLACKBERRY. The greater portion of “Te Puke Awa” was once a. maze of blackberry. A prominent native land commissioner once remarked that never had he seen blackberries until he viewed a plot on Mr. Lepper’s farm. Year after year a silent battle for supremacy has raged, and each spring sees a victory for progress. Once the stout heart of the owner used to find a rest’ng place near his boots as he surveyed his blackberry possession, but now he no longer fears the scourge. His methods are direct and simple, but the evidence is startling. To-dav one may stand on a boundary fence, to the left a wilderness, unproductive unsightly, hut on the right a clean grass paddock rich in feed and possibilities, no trace of the vine being seen. Having decided upon the particular patch, it is ring fenced with dose strands of barbed wire. and x the i first objective is gained when a herd of goats is turned on. Mr. Lepper cannot i speak too highly of his angoras. They (reduce masses of tangled creepers ten |f p et high to mere roots, and eat their |way into every nook, cranny and creek where the plough cannot reach. (This takes time, but by providing many igoats the ground can be got ready for a second offensive in late autumn, when I after a bout with grubber and scythe the | sod is turned for the first time. It is I arduous work, but three good horses and ja single furrow plough do the trick. I Without much cultivation and with no J manure a crop of oats inflicts a serious I wound in this death struggle. The oats are quickly got off. Then the two forces -reallv come to grips, for the soil is now and extensively cultivated.

THE HERD. much raking and burning also taking place. A second crop of oats sowed with--2 cwt. of super gives the coup de grace to the berry, and the land can be grassed out soon afterwards. Exit a noxious weed; enter a succulent pasture. On February 12. 1892, Mr. Lepper bought his first pure-bred animal, a young bull, from the late Mr. W. K. Hulke. Two years later he purchased from the same gentleman two pedigree cows, viz.. Lily (Charles Bradlaugh— Mite), and Mite 2nd (Tom —Mab). Lily was one year older than Mite 2nd, whose dam Mab was also out of Mite. Thus both Mr. Lepper's first ventures were related to that famous cow Jeannie, the premier animal on Jersey Island of that period. In those days the Jersey was not the popular breed it is now, but this well known farmer., working along right lines, has been breeding Jerseys ever since. He has always striven to produce an animal conforming to the ideal •Jersey type, and his efforts have been abundantly successful. There are today 122 pedigree animals on his farm, and a glance at their records reveals the blood of many famous sires. Each ani mal is reared with a definite object. The future mating of two unborn offspring plays an important part in selecting foundation mothers, and often Mr. Lepper has had to expend large sums on the purchase of a particular animal to follow out some pre-arranged line of breeding. Last year six cows selected from this large herd were placed under semi-official test. The cows were fed on ordinary pastures and no special protein rations were administered. One beautiful creature, Elf's Beauty (Prospero—Elf) deserves special mention, j During a lactation period of 3G5 days she has produced over 800 lb of fat and won many champion prizes. When one | remembers the extra strain put upon a cow through travelling to and from shows and the uncertain conditions of • the show ring her record is truly re- ; markable.

• “Te Puke Awa? is possessed of a beautiful garden, the domain of Mrs. I Lepper, and while wandering among the i beds of asters, anemonies and daffodils, Mr. Lepper let fall some instructive remarks pertaining to the management of pure- ; bred stock. “It is.” he said, ‘a great ! advantage for dairy farmers to keep (milk and butter-fat records m conjuncjtion with careful breeding and feeding of i their cattle. It is then possible to build i up a herd the yield of which will be of a maximum and the quality excellent 'without consuming an excessive amount •of food. This is. naturally, a source of igreat gain, and one so often overlooked.” I Regarding the calf, Mr. Lepper pointled out that whereas a cow can transmit her characteristics to only one calf ’each year, the bull influences a large (number. A carefully selected sire, ther?jfore, is of the utmost importance. Heir Ifers. in order to develop good udders, I must be heavily fed during their first lactation period, and on no account should they be intimidated or made to fear the ordeal of milking.