EXPERIMENTING BY FARMERS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10299, 31 July 1911, Page 5

EXPERIMENTING BY FARMERS.

THE DIAMOND-BACK X^OTH

At the_meeting of the Masterton A". and P. Association on Saturday last; Mr William Perry read an article from the "Journal of Agriculture," My Mr Primrose McConnell, dealing-with tho aphis and diamond-back moth. Mr McConnell explained that he had used four sprays on a sweed crop at Moumahaki which had been badly affected .with blight. He found the cost in. labour and material of the different sprays to be as (follows:—-Sunlight soap, 7.s 6d per acre; McDougall's insecticide, 13s per'acre; nikotin, £1 2a 6d per acre; kerosene emulsion, 14a per acre. The spraying-machine-used* was attached to an ordinary farm - cart, the pump requiring two men to maintain the necessary pressure. Two, days after spraying had been carried out lie examined the turnip "■foliage carefully, and found that, with the exception of the Sunlight soap, all the sprays had killed or'dispersed the parasites where the two had come in contact, but the lower serfaoe of the leaves, without exception/, was still covered with the live insects. The,, spraying would probably have shown, a better result had, they been carried out at a earlier stage: Mr McConnelr was of opinion that the spraying of swedes would only be successful when done as a preventive. This would pro-; bably require two sprayings, the cosS of which would be very considerable—probably too much to be practical. Taking the drought into consideration the bulbs had grown well, in spite of the parasites, and they were perfectly sound. This he attiibuted to green manuring and thorough cultivation. He considered that if the .soil was thoroughly cultivated and iudiciously manured, so as to make tr~ plant as vigorous as possible, an ordinary attack of aphis, except when the plants are young, need not be dreaded. Mr, .•Perry State<S'. that,- in his as that instituted by Mr McConnell were of great value to the "farmer. "■ "'''' "*' '"_" r # "'_ ' ■'}■ ; .Mr H. A. Nevins mentioned that : maize had been ijsed in certain,parts in plfjce of rape. , He said; that the* Farmers'; Union, Conferenpe had r fay:-; bured experimental, plots instead of an agricultural college, and he expressed pleasure that the farmers were taking an interest in these matters. Mr D. McGregor, junr., said the making of experiments was good for all of them. In this district they had chiefly experimented with wheat and grain in the past, but he thought these were things of the past. The Wairarapa was essentially a pnstorul district, and they should restrict their experiments to pastoral crops. During the last two years, turnip-growing had become almost impossible, whilst rape, had not been as successful as in previous years. He was of opinnn that an experimental plot should ho established on Mr Perry's- farm on inn Taratahi. He.had offered to plait ; "four acres in -selected rape, but the "cutting up of his property prevented Kim from doing so. They should back up the work oftho. Department:Jn, every possible way. He sttggested that the seed from healthy bulbs grown the district should be- distributed among tho farmers. He would fike to see something done on the land offered by Mr Perry for experimental purposes. Mr W. Perry stated that the inoth was more destructive in Canterbury than here. In his opinion there was a good deal in the time of sowing and the way in which the land was handled. Ho explained recent experiments of his own with kale and cow cabbage. One or two others having spoken„ tho matter droDbed.