FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 December 1922, Page 12

FARM AND DAIRY.

RETURNS FROM FIVE HERDS. GOOD AVERAGES. A Stratford correspondent forwards some interesting particulars of the returns from five herds in the Waikato belonging to Mr. F. W. Walters. The average production per cow is 264.50 lb, which compares favorably with the Dominion average of 160 lb. and Taranaki’s 180 lb. The particulars are set out hereunder:

Fa t per cow 283.46 273.22 269.46 258.80 236.50 Total butterfat supplied from 5 herds, 127.753. The above are the quantities supplied to the factory, and not, counting milk for rearing calves, of which we reared 125483 cows: Ayerage 264.50 lb fat. TO CHECK BLACKBERRY. Our Inglewood correspondent writes: Mr. L. Darnell, of Bedford Road, Inglewood, showed your own a communication from an Opunake settler, asking 'for more particulars about the cultivation of the native tarrata as a check to blackberry growth. From actual personal experience your correspondent is not prepared to venture an opinion as to how the shrub under discussion will stand the brunt of sea breezes, but he can speak of conditions in this part of Taranaki, where he has transplanted them direct from their native horiie, in standing bush along the bank of the Waiwakaiho, in December, amongst other months, pulled up almost cruelly and planted without any great care, but has experienced very few failures. When once established they soon become seed bearers and so an almost unlimited supply of young ones can be maintained. Of the other varieties of the pittosporum, native in Taranaki, it is possible that the same destructive influence, as regards blackberry growth, holds good, and if so it is hardly possible to imagine a more beautiful or efficient shelter than could be formed by planting a blackberry-infested, unploughable part of one’s farm with a well-assorted collection of this hardy family.

AMERICA’S ARABLE AREA. The entire United States, excluding foreign possessions, contains about 1.900,000,00-0 acres. Of this area the Department of Agriculture estimates 60 per cent, to be tillable, 19 per cent, valuable for pasture. and fruit, and 21 per cent, not available for any form of agriculture. According to the last census, there were 311,-000,000 acres in crops. This is about 16 per cent, of the total land area, or about 27 per cent, of the estimated potential tillable area. In other words, for every 100 acres that are now tilled, 375 acres may be tilled when the country is fully developed. Tira would indicate at first glance that farm crop production can be nearly quadrupled, but is must be remembered’that all of the undeveloped territory is not equally available nor : s it equally as valuable as that now under cultivation. While this shows that the United States has not yet anywhere near reached the limit of possible extension of agriculture, yet it is still incumbent on the farmer to make his present cultivated fields yield a much larger production if he is really to succeed. lowa has the largest percentage of potentially tillable land (91 per cent.) of any State; it also has a greater percentage of both its total area and tillable area actually under cultivtion. Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio follow closely after lowa in these percentages. Of all the States. Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming have the least percentage of potentially tillable land and the least percentage of such land actually under cultivation, ENGLISH DAIRY COWS.

Lively interest was taken in the milk*, ing trials at the English Royal Show,’ Twelve different breeds of cattle were represented, but the Jerseys had tar the largest number, 31 cows of that breed competing; Shorthorns were next with 16 entries; Ayrshires had 12 entries, and. Holstein-Frietiians 9. In the heavier classes a Dairy Shorthorn won, with a British Friesian second. In the lighter; classes Care ton Cinderalla IL, an Ayrshire entry, won, beating Jerseys and Guernseys. Ayrshires made an excellent show, with no disqualifications through failure to obtain the standard in percentage of butter-fat. Two out ot five Red Polls competing were disqualified from this cause, and three out of nine British Freisians competing failed from the same cause. Both the first prize cows-, Major Yates' dairy Shorthorn Fair Rosamund, which was second in her class on form, and Mr, Murray’s Careton Cinderella IL, are well advanced in years. The fonmer is 12 years old, and the latter 10. FARMYARD MANURE. According to the views- of modern agricultural scientists it is better to apply farmyard manure in moderate dressings at more frequent intervals than has hitherto been the custom, than in a large dressing once every four or five years. One of the great advantages of farmyard manure is the enrichment of the soil with bacteria, and a small dressing of dung suffices to produce this benefit. An idea of the magnitude of the bacterial enrichment thus- produced may be gathered, from the fact, that, according to sientilic researches, 11b. of farmyard manure contains on an average 30,00(1 million of 'bacteria. The farmyard manure, besides containing the bacteria, supplies to the soil easily decomposed organic substance, which further stimulates the bacteria already In the soil. It has been found that in t lie absence of such organic substances, the bacterial life In thp soil languishes. Indeed, It would be wroqg to regard th«

application of farmyard manure as a special means -of soil inoculation with 'bacteria, a function of even more importance than its contents of plant food in the shape of nitrogen, phosphates, and potash. view is gaining strength every year that the most profitable system of crop cultivation is a combination of farmyard manure moderate quantities, supplemented and completed by artificials. The farmyard manure supplies the organic substance, yielding and stimulating bacterial life, together with some plant food, and the supply of artificial fertilisers can be arranged to complete the plant requirements of the crop which it is intended to cultivate. AGRICULTURAL ITEMS. The Friesian cow, Adirondack Wietske Dairy Maid, is the first one, ot the breed in California to give over 10001 b. butterfat in two different years. A cow owned by >a Worthing farmer has- beaten all English records by yielding 2615 gallons -of milk in 284 days. Its present output is a steady 8 gallons a day. Losing her foal, a mate ip Scotland, adopted two calves. She nursed the calves as if they’were her own offspring, and so far her care has met with every success, the youngsters thriving lyIn the great record sale of South African Friesians in England, prices were not all profit—2s per cent, had to.come: off for commissions of one kind or another, and expenses from start to finish worked out at £250 per head. A method of protecting young plants from slugs and snails is to saturate sawdust with phenyl of carbolic acid aqd place the dust around the plants. In some cases superphosphate sprinkled round the plants is- effective, and acts also as a good fertiliser. The Oregon Agricultural College notes that the clips of farm flocks have been increased as high as 4 pounds per sheep (average) by selection. The selection was made at shearing time, and only such sheep were retained as breeders that produced fleeces up to the standard .set.

An English Red Poll cow, Gressenhall Molly, has created a record in the matter of milk yields, for in 42 weeks- 6 day’s she yielded 18.02411 b. of milk, with an average of 4i per cent. of. butterfat. Her 7-months-old bull calf was purchased by Viscount Folk st,one for £lOOO for his herd at Longford in Wiltshire. The British Friesian cow Brookside Colantha is an eigut-yeat-old. cow and has had five calves. Her present yield of 2615 gallons in 284 days followed a lactation in which she gave'236B gallons of milk in 365 days. In her milking career she has given 9045 gallons, which is more than 50 times her own weight.

Hazel 11. of Morden, an Illa war ra milking Shorthorn heifet, bred and owned by Mr. R. Mears, of Morden Farm. Toogoolawah, Q., has completed a *23'7 days' test, and has yielded 87941 b. milk anil 460.411 b. commercial butter. She was a year and *250 days old when she started her test. Hazel 11. of Morden is by George of Nestles (126) from Hazel of Morden (1009).

Amateur gardeners may not know that dwarf or runner beans can be readily transplanted. All that is necessary is to lift the young plants carefully with as much soil as possible, pour water in the nole where the plant is required, and water well after planting. This hint may be useful to those who have gaps within bean rows which they would like to see filled.

No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4 No. 5. 1921. Lb fat. Lb fat. Lb fat. Lb fat Lb fat. .Tune .. 370 258 238 263 0 July . . 414 583 235 349 0 Aug. .. 1720 1648 979 2020 604 Sept. . 3023 2206 1783 3537 1976 Oct. .. 3550 2824 2677 4122 2596 Nov. .. 3496 3029 2845 3695 2744 Dec. .. 3315 3144 2S92 3711 2879 1922 Jan. .. 2900 2923 2663 3415 2626 Feb. .. 2580 2555 2124 3069 2254 March . 2570 2436 2051 3000 2269 April . 2342 2024 1647 2183 1723 May .. 2066 1881 1432 1676 1439 Total 28,346 25,511 21,566 31,040 21,290 for 100 for 93 for 80 for 120 for 90 cows. cows. cows. COWS. COWS.