MR MURPHY’S LECTURE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2052, 29 May 1890, Page 2

MR MURPHY’S LECTURE.

(Continued.) The next subject discussed by Mr Murphy was,

THE BREEDING OF STOCK, and he drew particular attention to the necessity of (ho c ireful selection of sires In no case should quality be sacrificed to cheapness. With regard to sheep breeding for the frozen chamber, coisiderable judgment would be required in the selection of swes beet suited for the purpose, the different classes of soil being adapted for some special breed, whether Lincolns, Leicester, Downs, or Merinos but in any case the rams shoo'd be the purest procurable. Reference was made to the loss inflicted upon the co'ony bv the indiscriminate use of unsuitable stallions, and mention was made of a movement set on foot in Victoria and in Queensland, hating for its object the taxing of stallions, the money so raised to bs spent in procuring the service of firstclass animals to stand in certain districts at a reduced rate, thus enabling the small farmer to secure for his mare the use of a sire otherwise beyond his roach. One of the results of the use of nonescript animals was the filling of the horse baziara with worthless w-eds, the prices realised for which contrasted very unfavorably with those bid for such well-bred animals as Mr W. Boag’s, which ranged from 15 to 35 guineas per head for 18 months and 2 year olds. For horses of a certain stamp the Indian market was a'wavs open, but unfortunately at present there were few animals of the class required in the country. The advisability of import- ‘ io g g° od P^ B was urged, and the lecturer was of opinion that this might ba done without danger of cholera infection, as th« Valued breeds at home were so carefully guarded against infection that the nt-fe r was reduced almost to nil. The frozen! J meat trade had not only raised the price 1 of sheep very nearly 100 per cent, but had inaugerated a betlsr system of farming and the Urger areas required for turnips had rendered the cultivation of light lands profitable, which, but far the new order ef things would have been of very little value indeed. During the infancy of the trade the Hon. Matthew Holmes predicted that before many years New Zetland would furnish 1,000,009 sheep annually. The prediction was considered chiqjericalj but it was now not improbable that this number would ba supplied from the flocks of Canterbury alone Every farmer might now find a profitable outlet for his fat lambs and fat sheep, but there was a aide to the jubilant picture that must be forced upon farmers namely, the indiscriminate freezing of prime maiden ewes. Flock owners were cautioned that such a system continued i tor any length of time must result in the deterioration of the whole flock. Another aspect ef the trade was that every million of sheep exported carried awoy 270 q tons of bones, which lyent to enrich the fields of instead of New Zealand. Sooner or latpr such a course would fceli its tale upon the soil unless steps were taken to supply the deficiency. FRUIT GROWING

was a subject that ought to aemauu more attention, as it was one that would add materially to the wealth of the colony especially povy it *49 possible to ezn 0r t apples and pears to the London market where they could be landed at a season when supplies from other countries were not forthcoming. The trees should be planted in rows 30 feet apart, the inter bei »K devoted to drill Cr op, si that the ground raieht ho weeds. The spade ghoul! oh no account be used near the trees, the proper ?m element being the fork. It wa 6efl tima“d -

that a well-cared for orchard would yield when in full bearing from £SO to £IOO per acre. Another subject much neglected m the ordinary farm was the systematic rearing of BEES AMD POULTRY, which was a work that would not pay?or the hire of extraneous labor, but was eminently adapted for women or young persons. In America bees were the source of considerable wealth, and an instance was’given of a case where by a judicious system fowls had netted their ov-ner a clean profit of 10s per head. They required, however, much attention and intelligent management. The lecturer dealt at some length with the subject of , WEEDS, - f .. ~ v '■ nearly all of which had been imported, and had spread, chiefly through ths liusbandmm’s neglect. Some weeds ware comparatively harmless, but ; others contested with the cultivated pl.ets for complet* possession of the soil. Of these were wild turnips, fat-hen, Californian thistle, ox-eye daisy, and Cape weed/ The first-named had spread alarmingly, and was a difficult weed to eradioste. Fat-hen unlike wild luroips, which would thrive in Jhe poorest soils, generally selected rich lands, where it had proved most exhausting. The Californian thistle also appeared to be spreading rapidly.- It was perennial, and a most insidious weed. The method of destroying it was by never al'pwing it to come above ground, or by sowing crops in drills and freely using the. drill-grnbber and handhoa.. This treatment would .have ta,be continued for .two or three years,' as-Jf allowed one month to, deveiop its leaves the previous work would be all thrown away. In small patches it might be get rid of by salting if, or treating it with arsenic and covering it completely ovet, to the depth of several feat, with straw or rubbish. The ox-eye daisy was described as essentially a pasture weed, where its spreading radial leaves soon smothered the better grasses. Its presence in hay rendered it most unpalatable: to horsee or stock of any.kind., Cape weed was cbufiy troublesome in light and medium aoils. Top dressing, so as to encourage the growth of other plants, as to overcome the preponderance of Capo weed, wae recommended a« an experiment worth trying. Sorrel possessed the good point ' of growing in places where it would be difficult to £et other plant* to grow," tod as it afforded some little food for sheep it could not be condemned to such an extent as the other weeds. In addition to ordinary weeds the lecturer drew attention to the loss to the farmer canned by the presence of worthless grasses, instancing the poa pratensis, or Kentucky bluegrass, and English couch-grass. York-shira-fog, although not so bad as' the others mentioned, was not to bo tolerated where better grasses would grow. Wiregrass, goose-grass, sod worthless fescues, wore also a source of trouble, and farmers wer» advised to avail themselves of the most perfected machinery, so that they might keep their pastures free from rubbish, Mr Murphy continued, on the subject of

[ manuebs: Mr Mechi was not far out when he said •hat “ muck was the mother of wealth." The condition of things in this colony renders the manufacture of farm yard manure (the best of all) in anything like appreciable quantities impossible.. The demand for auxiliary manures must, therefore, go on increasing in proportion as our maiden soils become exhausted and the culture of turnips extends. Al ready the demand has reached soma hundreds of tons per annum, and as the raw material cannot be procured in anything like sufficient quantity within the colony we shall have to import largely to make up the deficiency. Perhaps there is no form of imposture from which the British farmer has suffered so much in the past as that practiced on him by the vendors of spurious manures, worthless seeds, and feeding stuff. Hundreds of tons of worthless rubbish used to be palmed upon unsuspecting farmers to their serious loss, until at last the evil became so serious that the Royal Agricultural Societies of England, Scotland, and Ireland took the nutter in hand, and erap'oyed comoetent chemists, such as Vooleker, Way, Cameron, and others, who undertook the analysing 0 f manure, feeding stuffs, and soils, at a nominal charge, and large numbers of frauds wore detected and exposed in the journals of the societies referred to. The result is - th , B great bulk of manures now off<red for sale are genuine, and worth the money demanded for them. Colonial farmers wi 1 have to take the matter in hand, and take care that the growing demand for ra mures do.s not, lead to a spurious trade, wh'ch may be attempted so soon as the demand becomes so great as to attract the attention of outside spegulatqrs. The ?etpec|y is in oqp own \ hands. It is to refuse to purchase except ou an analysis No honest trader will object to supply this. J 5 it It may be replied that few farmer* know enough about chemistry to understand an analysis. My reply te this is that the laboratory at Lincoln College la always open to leceive, and to test, free of cost, any samples of , manures ■ int there. It w»ll thus be seen that we have the power of protecting ourselves against fraud. I must in just add that so Ur a* I h-.ve ever heard the manures imported into this colony for lima manuUc ores have prqved to fee of hjgh quality, Dealing with farms of Jong landing patent in-nums is an additional safeguard. Iha application of artificial m-.nure# requires much consideration. The majority of our soils, however, are deficient in lime, so that, generally speaking, superphosphates will meet most requirement*. However, this is too large a subject to do more than to refer to it in a paper like this, bpssking of manures reminds me of the story pf the old Scotch farmer, who, s^A 6 -** 8 b ' B called hj9 aoq to him and said ; “ Andy, my boy, for daft “ ’ bDt if y ° U d 0 let U

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. h “ aIw «y* appealed to me a strange aod a fatal omiasion on the part of the framers of our otherwise fine educational sy.fcem that the subject of, agriculture was entirely ignored. If you 3 seaiph the pending bpoks from Standard L to VI you will not find a chapter devoted croTw dol S* gtl ? or cultivated P • Surely this is a great omission, dXIfA 17 8? ® gr i cul,nre for an ia definite per.od, be the leading industry o the C olo o y. The exclusion of Zch subjects from public schools can have hut one effect upon the minds of boys reared in country districts, and CtatW «ro,B£Jf

or rural pursuit?. Hence it is that we find our boys so soon as they pass the 6 h standard flocking into the large towns looking for genteel employments and office work, I have frequently ventilated this.subject, and shall continue to do ao on the principle that “ constant dripping wears a hole.” It is pleasing to mote that Professor Thomas, of Auckland ■‘University, h.aa taken up the matter of agricultural education warmly. We want a set of scholarships to enable our boys from the national schools to go into the Lincoln Agricultural School. This institution has a magnificent endowment, and the commissioners lately employed by Government reported that the funds belonging to that institution were ample jHUd.-rthey strong'y recommended, that scholarships should be available for the CODS, of oar farmers and others attending the .public schools. If these and other recommendations made by the commissioners are -carried on', Lincoln College will soon be doing the work which its founders contemplated, viz., giving free education for the intelligent sons of .. the farmers of New , Zealand. Mr Murphy drew/attention to ample opportunities afforded in America to those who ywere onable to help themselves, and to the fact: that in France and Germany .the poorest peasant could without cost obtain a sound agricultural education.. In Iceland an agricultural class book was read in schools, and teachers designed for rural districts- had to undergo a coarse of instruction in elementary agriculture. Something of that kind the lecturer urged should., be done in New Zealand. In! S'oiitb. Australia a Bureau of Agriculture ! had been estab'ished in 1888, and much good bad already been done in and publishing information of every kind ca'culated to prove beneficial to the colonists engaged in agricultural, horticultural, and pastoral pursuits. Mr Murphy read copious extracts detailing the objects of this department, and in conclusion said : I have now -touched upon the leading j features of the agricultural position and 1 QUtldok as they have presealed themselves to my mind, and I thick it will be conceded that there is much to b,e done in New, Zealand'.by.the friends of agriculture if. .we are, to occupy a prominent position amongst the colonies of Australasia, and, Indeed, with the other agricultural nations of the earth.. New’ Zealand is, and must be/for a lengthened period, un exporting country, and therefore we must not lag no long-r afford to neglect the greatest interest of the colony, industries. Combinat^ -order of the day. Our farmers maa| poinbine for their own protection. A single slick is easily broken, but a bundle is not sd.readily defeated. I have already referred to what Victoria has done. Ne».sOUthr Wales and' Queensland have followed'suit..: Each has its State Department.of agriculture. Surely it is not asking too-much that .New Zealand should follow their good example with such an inktflotipn., Our best interests would receive/that, attention to which they are justly, entitled."-’