On the Land

New Zealand Tablet, 15 May 1913, Page 59

On the Land

GENERAL. . Whereas there ■.„ were only thirty-nine agricultural credit societies in Russia in ly09 ; the number increased to 107 by 1912. - * " Indigestion in horses, like the same trouble in the human : being, is - very common, and productive of a multitude of ills and afflictions. Treating indigestion in the four-legged animal is about the same as trying to cure dyspepsia in the human being. The more one uses drugs, as a rule, the more the need. . The logical course in both instances is to endeavour to'discover the cause and the rest is easy. / The greatest loss, probably, in the manure made on a farm is from the loss of liquid voided from the animals when tied up in their sheds, and which is allowed to run to waste down drains and into ditches. It has been calculated that 1000 gallons of cows' urine, if applied skilfully to grass land, would have the same beneficial, effect as would be obtained from the application %f 2cwt. of the best Peruvian guano. The land intended for a potato crop should receive a liberal dressing of farmyard manure. The researches of chemists have shown that a crop of 6 tons of tubers extracts from the soil 471 b. of nitrogen, 211 b of phosphoric acid, and 76ib of potash. If we compare those figures with the amount of constituents taken from the soil by a wheat cropabout 331 b of nitrogen, 161 b of phosphoric acid, and 101 b of potashwe get a good idea of the heavy feeding • capacity of the potato crop, particularly as regards potash. — Australasian. There was a large entry of fat cattle and fat lambs at Burnside last week. The fat sheep yarded totalled 2341. The entry consisted of a fair number of pens of good heavy sheep. The market opened about Is per head better than previous week, but eased off as the sale progressed, and towards the close prices were down to previous week's rates. Quotations:. Extra heavy ■wethers to 30s 3d, best wethers 22s 6d to 25s 6d, good wethers 18s to 19s; extra heavy ewes to 26s 3d, best ewes 18s to 235, good ewes 16s 6d to 17s 6d. There were 2219 fat lambs forward, for which prices were about 9d per head above the previous week's rates. Extra heavy lambs brought up to 245; best lambs, 16s 6d to 20s; lighter sorts, 13s to 15s. The 235 fat cattle forward included a few pens of prime bullocks. The sale started 10s to 20s per head lower than the previous week, and towards the finish prices were quite 30s per head down. Quotations: Best bullocks, £ll to £l2 10s; good, £9 10s to £lO 10s; best heifers, £8 10s to.£lo 17s 6d; good, £6 5s to £7 10s. The entry of fat pigs was an average one, and prices were on a par with those ruling at previous sale.

At Addington last week entries of stock were not so large as they have been of late, there being a consideraole falling off in the yarding of store sheep. There was a good attendance, Store sheep again sold well, especially better sorts, inferior being a little easier. Fat cattle were easier, and fat lambs showed a sharp rise in consequence of keen competition between two export buyers. Fat sheep were firmer by about Is per head. There was a good sale for pigs. The range of prices for store sheep was as follow;—Two-tooth (inferior to medium), 16s to 16s Id; two, four, six, and eighttooth, 12s to 13s; four, six, and eight-tooth, 12s 6cl to 14s 6d ; four and six-tooth, 14s 6d to 15s 6d; six and eight-tooth, 14s to 14s 7d; better sorts, 16s to 16s 9d. The range of prices for fat lambs was; Prime wethers, 20s to 27s Id; extra, to 295; lighter, 17s to 19s 6d; prime, 18s to 25s 6d; medium, 15s to 17s 6d; aged and light, 10s 4d to 14s 6d ; .merino ewes, 10s 3d. In the fat cattle class, steers made £7 10s to £ll 10s; extra, to £lB (passed); heifers, £5 17s 6d to £8 7s 6d; cows, £5 to £9 12s 6d. Beef made 21s to 29s per 1001 b. In the class for pigs, choppers made 50s to 80s; heavy baconers, 60s to 73s ; lighter, 50s to 57s 6d, equal to 5d to 5-M per lb. Heavy porkers realised 1 44s to 475; lighter, 38s to 435, equal to sfd to 6d per lb. Store

pigs,- large sorts, realised 365. to 44sV, medium,* 25s to 355; small stores, 18s to 245. ';'' _- " " " * - AGRICULTURAL LAND IN ENGLAND. '■■■■■■-'.' The extension of land under # plough in England in.... 191 and the further reduction of the acreage under permanent pasture give sign of a reversion to the older and better balance in British agriculture. From 1897 until last year there was a steady decline in arable land. Thirty "years ago one-half the ;cultivated'' land was under plough; now it is more than two-fifths. By the extension of permanent pasture the country lost no less than 700,000 acres of wheat and 600,000;acres of barley. Another change recorded in. the statistics of the Board of Agriculture, is the diminution in the number of large holdings is to say,. farms of 300 or more acreswhereas smaller holdings are increasing. It is curious and surprising to note, however, that the fruit acreage is diminishing, especially in orchards, and that the apple is losing substantially in its acreage. On the other hand, pears, cherries, and plums are receiving increased attention. The report says that no satisfactory explanation of this decline in the apple area is forthcoming, but the competition of imported fruit, especially from the colonies, has, of course, tended towards this result.

GOOD QUALITIES OF DAIRY BREEDS. Answering a subscriber who asks, ' Can't you tell ma which is the most profitable breed of dairy cows?' Hoard's Dairyman says: No; for the reason that there are so many men in all the breeds that are making their cows highly profitable it is impossible for us to make a choice for this or any other man but ourselves, and when we come to look into our own choice we find it is Very largely a matter of taste. With cows as with other domestic animals, they always do the best with those men. who have a fondness or liking for them. Indeed, we may say this is more true with cows than any other animal, because the cow is a female and a mother and as such is particularly susceptible to her own likes and "dislikes. There are a lot of cow owners who are blind to this principle when it plays a very important part with their profit. Every breed of cows has its distinctive v line of qualities. The Jersey is a wonderfully economic consumer, and close manufacturer of food into milk solids. So is the Guernsey. Both yield milk rich in butter fat, and both are highly profitable provided they are good cows and you do your part. The Ayrshire is a very hardy, robust breed and another highly economic consumer of feed and of medium weight, but her milk rarely exceeds 4 per cent, in butter fat. As a basis for crossing with pure bred Guernsey or Jersey sires there is no foundation that is finer than the Ayrshire grade cow. Some great business herds have been produced in this way. There seems to be a natural '.nick between the Ayrshire grade female and the pure bred Guernsey or Jersey male, whereby heifers are produced that show great capacity for profitable dairy work. The Holstein is a gross feeder and a wonderful producer. On a farm where there is an abundance of good roughage, well backed up with a generous grain ration, she can and has beaten all other breeds in gross production. Whether this has been done economically is disputed by the partisans of other breeds.