SHELTER AND SHADE ON FARMS. (The Leader)

Waikato Times, Volume II, Issue 118, 6 February 1873, Page 2

SHELTER AND SHADE ON FARMS. (The Leader)

Frequently from time to time \pe havo directed the attention ot our readers to the advantages derivable from judicious planting and the substitution of live fences for the shelterless posts md rails. Shade in summer and shelter iy venter are just as imgort^it to the well-being of lire stock w an ample •upply of ftod and watpr. To see cattle orouching and shivering, with thojp bacjji up, heads dowjj, .and turned aws.y from the storm, in a bleak shelterless paddock surrounded merely by n po3t a^d rail fence, is anything byt a pleasing sight. But when it is rcmombercd that the bleak bold wind under mch circumstances is extracting and carrying away heat from the unimal system which has to be suplied and maintained by the food consumed, it must be evident that the exposure of stock to the pitileas pelting storms and cold wintry winds is not merely a question Qf sympathy, but also ono of po^jds, shillings, and pence. With proper shelter, the warmth abstracted by tho cold winds from the animal system would go to form fat, and food consumed, if it did not increase, would at all events maintain the condition ef the beast. Thus shelter in winter becomes a means whereby tho profits of tho stockowners may be increased or secured, and as such is deserving of^ attention. Then again, who has not watched with feelings of pity Jbfi w&tless and unavailing efforts of sheep when confined in treeloss paddocks to obtain &tiao(o from tiy> fieroo glijAQ of the summer' • sun by constantly poking their heads underneath eac,h other's bodies? True, sheep fatten well in hot weather. Still, comfort and repose favour accumulation of adipose matter, and tho restless movements of the panting and tortured animals struggling to avoid tho midday heat is certainly anything but conducive to the, la\ ing <}n of fat. Shelter and shade, therefore, are essential to the well-doing of stock, and consequently to the success of the farmer who keeps stock, aijd it is by means of live fences and plantations of trees that the simplest forms of these jmgort^ijt rpqujsity ar,o qfyfainable,. ' ' Morcpyor, it is not only aninril hfo on tho farm fiat derives benefit from the shelter afforded b}* living fences and plantations of trees judiciously dispose! so as to break the sweep of strong winds. YegetublQ life is also equally amenable to t'te Kcnial influences of warmth in winter, secured by a clue amount of shelter. Jfow the grass grows during the winter months m tho wnrm sheltered gullies, and on the cast ml north side 3 of live fences, qr n belt of uncleared timber'! Ifow cozy and comfortable animals jqok as they crop the Render herbage, or bask in tho wnr,in sunshine \]i suuty sheitov'od spots ( Compare them with those grazing on cvpi} bettor jand bi|t exposed to the cold biting blast, and in point of condition a useful lesson may be learned Warmth eeonomjsQs food ; in fart, the terms food and warmth are syuomnpus, and so it is that in the warm summer months stock fatten on comparatively poor land. Reduce the temperature and the herbage in itself would never render a boast fit for the butchep. $o>" is this all that can bo taid ia fi»vor of planting trees and live fences on farms. Dry north winds, as they sweep unimpeded over the olear and cultivated ground, ln,\ nn J:ho moisture &nd psqinaturaly oheck the growth of grain crops or grass as tho case may be, hereby causing great loss to tho farmer. Hedge rows and plantations bv breaking tho wind and conserving the moisture in the soil, in addition to preventing injury and loss, would cause a positive improvement in tho quality and quantity of the grain, and an increased production of herbage. Indeed, \icwcd from any stand point, whether it be tho tempering of the cold winds in winter for thq benefit of live stook ; checking a<ul inudifwiig the force and drying influence of hot winds in summer, and lessening the destructive effect of ihoso qn vegetation ; shading animals from tho »cqrqbinH sui), or simply as a means of beautifying the country and lending the charm of home to each homestead , to say nothing of the influence plantations are said to exercise in increasing rainfall, t!io subject of planting trees and raising live fences to the place of the fast decaying posts and rails is one deserving Jjjp se.rjous consideration oi every laudownci; m tho colony. Such being the caso, we note with pl<Miire that it in not lost sight of by farmers Due prominence was gnen to it by Mr Martin in his admirable paper " Sheep Breeding on Tillage Farms," read at a recent meeting of the Ballorafc Farmers' Club, and published in our, columns at the time. Again, at the last monthly meeting of tho same body, Mr Martin referred to what had been done in the way of tree planting bv the hon J. Cumming and Mr, Anderson. Belts or plantations formed by these gentlemen, }t would appear, have exercised a powerful influence on the adjoining pasture lq.nd, the grass -producing capabilities of which, it is said, hjjve bp,ep doubled by tho shelter afforded. I[ow:ever, the gentlemen' alluded to have bpen requested to fayour the club with the result of their experience in treo planting; therefore Bime inteivg ing information on tho subject may he looked for at the next meetingUnder the impression that planting operations are expensive, many formers who aro fully alive to the advantages of shelter and shade refrain from running a belt of plantation along the exposed side pf the. %m, or devoting a few angles in (no corners of paddocks to tree cultivation. But if rightly net about the cost of raising trees that will give shelter in the first instances, afterwards yield grateful shade, and ultimately usefu} timber, is not sq great. Seeds of the various Tiative trees, sheo\k, light or blapjf wqqd, thq blue-gum, and any other of the olicalvpti that may be found growing in the neighbourhood, should be gathorod as they ripon, which will take pla.ee fl'Q'n this time up to the month of March or April. \b soon as tho crops are off, and tho harvest finished, when time will permit, the ground intended for planting or rather sowing should be deeply ploughed, exposed to tho influence of tho atmosphere, and treated as a fallow, allowing no weeds to grow. In the month of August the ground may be worked to a nice tilth, the seed sown and harrowed in with a set of light harrows. E.efore sowing it has been found a. good plan to wet the seed, and dry it ajjain with wood asliQs, the salts of which appear to exercis a beneficial influence m promong graduatiqn. After tho seed has been sown, tho only thing Requisite is n temporary fence of some sort to prevent stock from roaming over tho ground and dcstro\ing the jountr plants. Where sheep arc kept it has been found that the fence may bo removed from plantations made in thi3 way at thq cud of three jears, but it would of course requiro a longer period, say five, years, before the plants attained to a stro largo enough to admit of cattle going amongst them. In thi« siniplo and inexpensive manner shelter, lundo, and t imber may be- raised on the farms, and by judicious selection of sites for the plantations, tho ornamental and tho useful may be combined in tree planting.