AGRICULTURAL NOTES. A few remarks about Ploughs.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1294, 14 October 1880, Page 3

AGRICULTURAL NOTES. A few remarks about Ploughs.

Ploughing is one of the most important operations involved in the practice of agriculture, It may be said to be tb.9 foundation of all work on the farm. The success of a whole course of tillage depends in a great measure on the ploughing in the first place— on its being performed according to the season of the year, the nature ana depth of the soil,and according to the fall and contour of the land. JNearly every implement and machine necessary to the working of the farm would in the absence of the plough be useless to the farmer as a means of carrying on the work of the farm, though equally' necessary to each other in the proper working of the whole. As to the different descriptions of ploughs in use, both as regards principle and construction, their name is legion. Comparisons are odious, and we do not wish to recommend or disparage any particular maker. Any remarks of the kind would .be invidious and to no purpose, for every farmer has his own opinion, and considers himself the most capable judge of what kind of plough is most suitable for his farm. ( There is a great deal of prejudice regarding ploughs, especially among men who spent most of'their .young days at the tail of the oldrf aanußie'd and primitive implements that .wefc'in rogfle some 20 or 30 yeW since. Years of colonial experitnce'with improved ploughs of modern construction will fail to convince some Scotchmen that there is any better than the old swing " Barroman, which they folio «y*sd '* long -Syne" in their native glens. Fifteen years ago the entire number of double ploughs in Otago, or we may say in the whole coloty, could have been counted one's fingers, while at' tho present time they far outnumber the single ploughs in use, and a person is considered very much behind the times if he does not have the bulk of his work done with them. Of the two sorts of Colonial-made ploughs. viz., those with two wheels and stilts or handle", and those with three whefels and steering rod, the latter are unquestionably better adaptpd for ploughing hilly lands. They obtain a better grip of the land on a steep sidling, and are more easily kept up to the woi k than the others. For muking straight lines and good-looking work on level ground the ploughs with handles have, the advantage. Three-furrow ploughs can be worked with advantage on large blocks, for with them a considerable saving is eff-cted, as five horses and one man can do the work of six horses and three men with single ploughs. Threefurrow ploughs are, however, not fitted for working on broken country. In the construction of ploughs— unlike many other implements of husbandry— strength to a certain .extent should be considered before lightness. Many English makers turn out very highly finished ploughs, which are no doubt suitable for the ofttilled arable land at Home, but cannot compete with the Colonial made articles in breaking the virgin land of the Colonies. , „

Farming prospects in England. The wonderful extension that has taken place in the wheat-growing area in the American States, especially "during the last year or two, has been the means of raising serious doubts in the minds of British agriculturists ■ as td whether it will pay them to cultivate their land in any chape or form. The area under cultivation of wheat alone in the States has been increased this year by 30 per cent., whjJst the almost boundless prairie lands of the West afford scope for extension at the same rate for several years in succession. The va«,t armies of emigrants arriving in America from all parts of the world — close on 46,000 in the month of April 'last ' for the purpose of proceeding to the West, givo promise of further extension and greater facilities for cheap production of wheat, and the use of machines taking a sway the of eighteen foet in width in the wheat fields, leave no hope that the British fanners will be able to compete against their American brethren for many years to come. The land is so cheap;, and the areas allowed to be taken up no exteusive in America and California, that it does not pay to, be careful over the means by which the produce is realised, and the waste of .a few bushels iv gathering in the crops is not regarded as of much consequence— thp great; object being to gather' the wheat off a large area at the least expense. The whole .system of farming— ,jf we may be pardoned for using the term to such a slovenly process — is to get over us much work as possible in the shortest •poriod. The ploughing is done by mearts of gang ploughs or scarifiers, which 111 1 scratch "several furrows at once to the' depth of an inch or two ; the seedin thrown out wholesale by scel-sowing machines; it is harrowed in by immensely wide light harrows, and the heads are cut off in strips fifteen to eighteen feet wide ; the wheat is threshed out by organised gangs of men, who go from farm to, farm taking their whole camp equipage (portable kitchen cooks, and commissariat) with them ; the wheat is thrown without bagging into railway trucks or barges, unloaded by pneumatic machinery without handling by manual labour, and afterwards shot into the holds of the ships whtdh convey it to foreign markets. The yield ' upon virgin prairie land for the first year, or two may be from thirty to fifty bushels per aero ; the third and fourth crops may average twenty to thirty, and finally it decreases to from five to ten. Then the wheat-grower can shift his camp to a new, selection, upon which he can commence afresh. A gainst snob, a system as this it will be impossible for the British farmer to compete, because his landlord, or his own interests if he is a freeholder, would prevent him raining liia holding for the sake of obtaining a present gain by exhausting the strength of the soil, which it has taken years to establish. His only alternative is patience aud the exercise of a most rigid economy to enable him to bridge over the period of depression, which will ' surely come to an ena in time, for even the prairies are limited and in time will become exhausted. When that period arrives the British farmers will have all the advantages on their side— a fertile soil and .a market^lose at hand — whilst the American wheat-growers will have to contend against the disadvantages of an exhausted soil, long distances to markets and an enormous population of discontented agricultural arabs. Meanwhile, what is the British farmer to do for a living? Meat will scarcely pay to grow, although it can be produced with a tithe of the labour and expense which attaches to the cultivation of the land for wheat. Dairy produce cannot competes with great success against the German & American grease factories, where they turn out thousands of tens of oleo-margarine "butter" and "cheese" every week ; and it is very questionable whether beets will pay to grow for sugar, though the cultivation has succeeded in Franco and Germany. Even if this industry would pay for a time, 0} would soon be in danger, fpr the American States have been giving attention to this line also ; and it must not be f orgotton that glucose made from rags and all kinds of vegetable fibre is being made to take the place of sugar to an enormous extent, and that the manufacture is increasing daily. So far as we can see, the only hope lies in growing meat. Australia)) meat — mutton chiefly — can not be well sold in Australia at less than l^d per pound, especially if Japge exports by the refrigerator vessels take place, The Americans confess that already the whole of their beat meat has been seat away, and at present the production is not very likely

to be extended. I E the Freezing Company cannot land the meat in London at a cost of less than 3d per pound, it cannot be expected that beef and mutton can be sold by retail at less than 5d to (id per pound, so tha\, if the Home farmers can for a few years make an existence trom the results of meat growing, with the help of a few ather products, it is more than likely — it is certain— that a fresh tide of prosperity will set in for them. — Adelaide Observer.

Mixing Soils. Deep ploughing may be injudicious in some cases. The deeper ao)ljmqy contain some substance that is harmful* tovVegetation. This fact can usually be discovered by the previous step, always to be taken before deep ploughing in mostj lands— namely, deep draining, that should be done before any attempt is made at deep ploughing.. good draining is rarely effective ' at once.' Time is needed for water to find its proper channels. Possibly for two years or more a subsoil plough may raise as much subsoil as may profitably be mixod with the surface soil the first and second seasons. In all oases of deep draining and deep ploughing, exposure to a winter's freezing and a Bummer's fallowing will improve and mellow it — will dry and oxygenate it bo that it may do ,b.ut little harm. if well mixed with the surface soil. Such draining and deep ploughing should be done, ia latest autumnal' months, that the fros^Vnd. winter may mellow the soil' and kill the' cocooris of insects that have fecund atyinfcer^s home; in the deeper soil. We see, their, great' 1 room for discretion in deep ploughing. Failures in crops do not show the principles on which deep ploughingis basedto befaiee, but local peculiarities exist that demand wisdom in their treatment. Successful .-.ultivation of large tracts' of land must be based on science and experience. No Royal road to the cultivation of the soil is known. One result of viUue in draining and ploughing is that they have a tendency to mix "soils that are near each other, one above the other. , Some soils do ,npt possess all the constituents that contribute to the growth of plants. They may possess too much, of one and too little of another. Peaty soils contain too large a percentage of vegetable material. They may be improved by sandy clay or lime. A sandy soil needs the ; aid of clay to give it more consistency. A clayey soil may need sand, to .give it mpre porosity. Sandy soils sometimes rest on ci.iy, and clayey soils may rest on sand. Mingle them, and ' they < yteld paying crops. This course of treatment improves' greatly the qualities pf the^oil. It consolidates the peats and sands, and renders loose and porous the nearly impendtrable clay.