CAMBRIDGE FARMERS' CLUB

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 769, 1 May 1877, Page 2

CAMBRIDGE FARMERS' CLUB

Our Pueseht System op Gauming.

Can it be. Improved Upon ?

(Continued from our last.)

I do not intend - this, "evening to make any; -lengthened remark's upon all the. - .'reasons--Tyhiah I stated as -causing oiir r farming operations to be Unprofi- , table. : I shall just refer to one or > two of them and then r have dorte. - I need not sayanything I am sure I about the desirableness if not the I necessity of. he more free.., use, of > manures. That is a question upon ■. which I am sure you will all -agree • with me, and comes more within the i range of increased capital, whicb, ) cannot, perhaps, be investedto^better ) advantage We all know that 'If 'I we - intend to increase or even keep, up : the present ■ fertility of our lands it ' will only be done by the -liberal ap- • plication of manure3r Feed our. lands arid our landa will both feed . ai)id .cloth 1 us-andgiVe-AisMsoffletbtng r tO: boot, but stir ye. them. and. f they will m time effectually starve usj^ off i them. It is becoming a question' amongst emiderit agriculturalists of the present day, ; whether .a small amount of manure but oitater ap-; plied is not better -than a . larger amount at more lengthened periods. For instance, wquld not Scwt of bones qr other manure with_a crop of mangolds or potatoes, and 3cwt more with succeeding crop, : and a couple of cwfc. sown- on the land when it has been m grass two or three years,, be better than putting lQcwt on to the one first crop and leaving the land to starve fd(r' the next six or eight years. Thisqs a question which might be gone .intp by sonje member of this Club,, at* i f attire meeting, and also the most suitable manures to use with 'the various kinds of crops. I r -feel'''sftro of this that when "the. virgin^ Jus:-!* uriance of our pasturierhas-wpViipff; which m many instances it iis aU ready doing or has. done :soj only be by using inanure3 liberally than lias ' yet b,een'theTrule, ? that the production of qur lands will be retained. Another question which I will just refer to, and that is the neglecting to , secura good parentage to our Jive stock. And , this sir, I con"sidei ;^a!most important l question indeed, not only^to our-' selves but also : to v the oduntry at! large. When we sea as we do every monlh so many hundreds .of b.ead of the 'most mongrel bred cattle filling our s,ale yards and infesting our farms and'ruqs, and wh^n we, \es so many thousands I may ■.say o^ ill bred rams brought forward and disposed of at our annual fares, it is, I consider, a most laraentable sight, and no wonder the cry is raised that it does not pay to . breed g-ood stock. I was quite shocked to see scores of rains sold for breed, ,

ing purposes, at the last sheep fare m Auckland at from 20s to 40s each. I cpnside.r that a niatv £hat would do sa^^tliing^tis not fit to own a flock of pke^jp,^'afiot* is, unjwortihy to be sjbeep farmer. I consider it #i .rajcc ; tfpthing less than a disgrace ' ta; wre ifarining cumrauuity . to impose they progeny; of- sucji stock upon the ipQiteXv| A f l tbno^ir, aujd.f think l|Ee^|i^.l9' : djE, e tlio. t country is due, to s"uch me|t as~our worthy president 'his brother, to Mr Thomas Uu33611, the Messrs Morrin and ■*ma.ny others whom I might name who against popular predjudices have done so much, 4 and are still Lendeavouring^to do more to improve J- the breed of oar cattle and sheep. I cannot leavb^ this question, without '.making' references to a most valuable short-jbipvn bull which • our fellow .jfettferVand.- v neighbour , Mr. E B * r Walle ; r,' : ' of Moatia'' Vale, has reiCently imported into the district. .He is deserving of our thanks for ;his -"erilerprise m the matter, and I bfcly^hope as I feel sure he will be amply Rewarded for it. There was too much truth m the remark made by a gentleman from Victoria wJbo^ recently visited this district, that we had a glorious country, But that- it was most shamefully stocks. Arid I think the time has fully come when we should all of us endeavour to wipe out the stain which m this respect is attached to the Auckland province particularly. Passing over ..without making any further remarks upon two or three things which I consider very materially to retard 'the' progress and profitableness of agriculture, such as keeping too i >much useless and unremunerative stock upon our farms, the being satisfied with farming as it is, rather than 4 as it ought to be, and the i being behind hand with our work, . jrather- than keeping ahead of it, L .upon all of which much might be said, I will just mention one other , ' suKject/and then I have don .5, and : that is the want of general informal . tion upon most farming matters I Ntfhicii is shown by a large propor- » tion \of bur '"'country settlers. The i faulty perhaps, lies with ourselves ' more than anything else. How |1 .many of us, I would ask, ever think of sitting down and studying a book > on any particular branch of farming . .or .upon .farming matters generally. >, JflThile I believe thoroughly m praci'"ticai?" farming, Ido not by any means ignore theoretical or book v farming. ., I think we may often, by . studying a book by some good author, say for an hour of an even3. ing, pick up many a little piece of .- information and gain much useful i- .knowledge which otherwise might i take" us- some years of practice to .1 find out. I know that for myself I ' hap gained many a little bit of useful information by taking up and reading at any odd time a little book 3 on •' Ho w to farm profitably " by . Mr Mechi — (price only 5s) — and \. ; ; books; nppn farming subjects. And there are now so many cheap peri- ! qdicals and agricultural papers that '; Veal ly.'orie can have no excuse for „ not ,Jbeihg better informed upon J: farming matters. There is one tiling, however, I should like to mentfon here m connection with this r question, and that is the desirablel" ness of a school of agriculture being 1 commenced m the Auckland district. * I see a correspondent to the 'Herald' c : has lately brought this question very ably before the public notice, and I quite agree with him that the time has come when an effort should be c made" m this direction ; and 1 think 3 there .would be no public institution ' which would be worthier of a substanv tiai subsidy from the Government 3 than would one of this character, ? where our young lads intended for •the 'farming profession might receive * a liberal education m all matters pertaining to the chemistry and .analyses, of soils, and various other > coaneatioji.-WJUJ^ whfehthey -would afterwards have . the. -opportunity of bringing into * . practice* . I think that out of the : millions of money which our Go- , . vernment has been borrowing during \ th^last six or eight years for the L benefit of the country, agriculture has not received th.c CQnsi^er^tioft which its, importance 4 e^erves, nor our agricultural institutions that support which they should have done..* If ». single mining operation at the Thames can bo assisted to the tune of «£SQ}OQOj nqtj tq speak qf large grants, tq gpldQe^s m oti^er parts of the colony, is it unreasonable of us to say that more should have been done for agriculture than has. b.een, . J tljin!s nq,t, Jf by Jiberaily subsidising agricultural a& sqciations, and ftn'mers' clubs al| oveiflthe coqntry, soinet^ing had been do^e towards difi\ising general "agricultural knowledge amongst the settlers,, I am sure that the conntry would m -time reap substantial bene^t therefron^. In bringing the.s.e. le^^r^nj^in^ remarks tq a clqse, allow me, sir, to express my belief that we have a great future before us as agriculturalists. We have given us, I.tbinkj as fine a country as Qiie could wish to liye m; it only renmjns. fqr u^ to makQ it almost anything we like. j*or this end we must all of us put our shoulder to the wheel and resolve that the agricultural carriage shall niovp faster ? and that we will set to work m earnest to remove the obstructions w^ich impede its progress ? and let us, by, ; improvjng pUt system pf farming, by good management^ by an increased and judicious outlay of capital, and by attending to the various other matters which I have this evening hinted at, endeavour to make this a district of which we, as agriculturalists, may be justly proud

" *SncT*oT "whichit " may he saici by all, that <if yotilwanMto see farming carried on as it should be, you must go to th«i\VlUMto¥ *> *" i i >.? ,Mv A Hioksj t wh% agreeing with thVessay ist : pji -jcould ' riot ga in . his remarks upon the. advantages of ftimall holdings. He questioned whether m a new country like this; land was :the best investment fchafc coald be found. 1 I* was by no means concjuslte that small ifarms*were''tne* : k(osJf l profit-, able,^ e v en,when^wc£keck wjfrh a large capital For his part, he would' prefer spreading this oapital over a ' large area than confining it to a small, one. r | r People.' who ;|had expendeds large,^ t Hums r «pf .. mpney ; m higti-class farming rather than iin land were finding diit their mistake. If they barned off acerfcain^quantity of land and: sowed it, 'they knew whafc to expecti~-wW the»: result would i>r6baDiy *§ t but 1 highrclass farming ; wjaS ihoStir A of an 'experi* mental pharab^r^' .sa<^ fitsc results were an^ijhjiig^b^utVVw^ain^ia^^ profitable!; 'asVy^t,, while labour^ was so dear. VWant.jrifr capital of course, ;to<be depJoredy^But ;M kll cades large blocks of l|rfd w^re the most profitable m a country which is being so rapidly- settled, and where, as a cc^sjguenoe f the land rose m yajul^rp^f^, |o. year ; people tthb Capital should not ke6b too small an^area't i : ' -Mr fiu^agreel Wd'rdugfily with' one part of essay >; namely, that; relating to rotation of crops. >y j^liere : had 1 been oiuch said this subject lately; 'It' gr|atimportarice that they should be grown m. proper rotation, because they jwer©^ much better thus than sown promiscuously, i 'Hertf' thoy^had'tb^find out the proper^ rpta]bicro, and if the farmers were each to- try -and do this and compare hofces,-they might arrive at some suitable system.' Mr Gan : e would' like very much to hear an, expression, of^.-opinion upon this siibjecl)."' The besir system of rotation ihefhadseeiiwaS^^ss;^ fern, cattle after grass, and; sheep ; after cattle/ *&& 'm M)Mtir %tim much farther, it.^would^o 5 ; -He' Would like to know what'ca'fiie next. He; fas only a. .learner :~iQathfise matters! Mr Brookes sai4 that Mr Buttle had made-referencp'to sffhat is known .aß^oofc&rrt^f*''ia:o™fcd!id. m c6riVeraatiojx_wlth several farmers thaifya, greab * exisiteS'tQ it. They com plaifted« ; -that? few '] ;of the writers ott "farfiliri^.'tdblcf jnjo, considerationthe difficulties that have to be met in.a new colony. -Perhaps the Club could supply itlris, deficiency. . Very f6w 6f tM^rm^rs of this district were apcusto^ie^ito read much upon. j£he subject of their occupation. . He thought that the papers, &o, read at that Club should be printed, wifh; a A vjevt ; toj circulation. He had 'great pleasure m proposing a vote, of thanks "to" Mr^Buttle for his essay. . i Mr Garie seconded the proposition, which was earned.