On the Land

New Zealand Tablet, 19 June 1913, Page 59

On the Land

GENERAL. On farms where potatoes are grown something has to be done with the diseased ones, and also the small tubers. . Pigs are obviously the best kind of animals to utilise such produce, but if fed in a raw state they seem to give very poor results, while the pigs themselves are not very fond of them. But if boiled, mashed up, and mixed with meal or sharps, they form a very good food for either fat or store pigs, the meal, of course, being added for fattening animals. Officials of the American Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture estimate that 20 per cent, of the average annual crops of the country is destroyed by insects. Away back as far as 1904 it was found that the damage done through the ravages of insects amounted to 420,000,000 dollars. This is a direct loss to the nation, and one which must have a very appreciable effect in determining the price of products. The farmer must depend on the birds more than any other agency to eliminate this loss, yet the bird slaughter continues. The destruction of insectivorous birds is of special concern ‘to many sections of the country, because of extensive fruit growing.

At Addington last week there were average yardings in all departments. Fat cattle sold irregularly, but with no change in the average prices. Store sheep also sold at late rates and there was an advance of about Is per headin fat lambs. The fat sheep sale also opened well, and prices were firmer. Baconers and choppers sold at late rates and porkers were firmer. Fat lambs were on the whole about Is better than last week, and were equal to about s|d to 6d per lb. Tegs made 20s to 255; average weights, 17s to 19s 6d; and lighter, 15s to 16s 6d. Prime wethers made 21s to 26s 6d; others, 17s to 20s 6d prime ewes, 18s 6d to 23s lOd; medium, 15s 6d to 18s; aged and light, 9s 3d to 15s; merino .wethers, 16s lid to 18s lid; merino ewes, lis. The prices for fat cattle were on a par with those ruling a week earliernamely, 21s to 29s per 1001 b. Steers realised £7 15s to £ll ss; extra, to £l6 12s 6d; heifers, £5 10s to £9 17s 6d; and cows, £5 to £lO 2s 6d. The yarding of fat pigs was a medium one. Choppers and baconers sold at unchanged prices, but baconers were slightly better. Choppers made £3 10s to £5; heavy baconers, £3 2s 6d to £3 15s; lighter, £2 12s to £3 —equivalent to 5f d per lb. Heavy porkers realised £2 7s to £2 10s; and lighter, £1 18s to £2 ss—equal to 6d per lb.

There were full yardings of cattle and sheep at Burnside last week, whilst pigs were in small supply. The fat cattle forward totalled 200. Competition was good, prices being much on a par with late rates. Quotations: Extra prime heavy bullocks, £l4 10s; prime bullocks, £l2 to £l3 10s; medium bullocks, £9 10s to £ll 15s; others, £8 10s to £9 10s; best prime heifers, to £ll 10s; prime heifers and cows, £8 10s to £lO 10s; others, £5 10s to £7. There was an entry of 5000 fat sheep, consisting mainly of medium-weight wethers and old ewes. There were very few heavy-weight wethers forward. Owing to there being no sale the previous week butchers' stocks were light, consequently there was a good demand. Prices for prime sheep were firm at last market's rates, but for medium wethers and ewes prices were, a little easier. Quotations : Best wethers, 25s to 30s; medium do, 19s to 24s 6d; others, 17s to 18s 6d; extra heavy ewes, 27s 3d. The fat lambs forward totalled 2500. There was the usual attendance of export buyers-present, and a clearance was effected at prices on a par with late rates. Quotations: Extra, to 245; prime, 18s 6d to 20s 6d; medium, 16s to 17s 6d; others, to 15s 6d. The yarding of pigs consisted of 41 fats and 33 stores. Store pigs were rather neglected, but fats were in keen demand at prices quite on a par with those ruling at last sale. Quotations: Best baconers, £2 15s to £3 10s; light do, £2 5s to £2 15s ; porkers, £2 to £2 10s; stores, £1 to £1 ss; slips, 15s to £1; suckers, 5s to 12s.

FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH BACON PIGS. ! . The bacon industry in Canada has r grown to con- ; siderable importance, and while it is well knownV that ® the best food for young pigs is plenty, of skim milk, as the quantity available of this > material is no dongerl| sufficient, the question has arisen as to what is the best substitute or the most suitable food to -Kelp out the short . supply of skim-milk. To obtain information on the subject the Central Experimental Farm at Ottawa | conducted experiments with mixtures which, according to composition, should take the place of skim-milk as nearly -as possible* For these mixtures materials easily obtainable and low in price were selected. v The pigs were all fed in pens in winter. - „ One lot was fed on shorts and skim-milk—consi-dered to be an ideal ration. The young pigs gainedS 41b to 51b per day, and made 1001 b on 1521 b of meal!: and 5541 bof skim-milk. When put on heavier foodsi for finishing they made gains right along, having had a good start. . ' • ' - v Another lot received shorts and gluten meal in equal parts. The reports describe this as a good food for milk or. beef, but apparently not so suitable for pork, and the results -were not satisfactory. ‘ • A third lot had 4001 b of shorts and 1001 b of : oily meal. Where there is no skim-milk this is about as cheap a feed as can be used, and has a good effect in! digestion. With 2801 bof this mixture a gain of 1001bV was made at a cost of 13s per cwt, A fourth lot, fed on oats and ground oil cake, or ! oil meal, gained 1001 bon 3221 bof food. But this food! is objectionable unless the husks are removed from the • oats, or the oats very finely ground. A fifth lot was fed on a combination of oil - cake, shorts, and oats mixed, and to this were added equal is parts of skim-milk. The pigs put on flesh at the rate! of 21b to 31b per day. From these experiments the conclusion is drawn ’ that where no, or insufficient, skim-milk is available, shorts and oil meal will come very near it, and is as cheap a mixture as can be got. ' CONSTITUENTS OF FARMYARD MANURE. * Valuable as farmyard manure is (remarks a writer in the Weekly Freeman ), there are times when it is not! as valuable as it might be, even though all due care may have been observed in the care of the manure heap. Young cattle are building up bones, which are! composed largely of phosphate of lime. They take this " out of their food, so that the dung produced by such ' animals is poor in phosphate of lime. Full-grown cattle that are not breeding stock are not growing any bones, ' so that the phosphate of lime contained in the food | passes through them, and reappears in the dung. Dairy cows may be classed with growing cattle, for if they are not growing bones for themselves they are develop-., ing calves and producing milk, which contains all the bone material that calves require. When these calvesare sold the phosphate of lime in their frames is so'' much lost to the farm. Similarly nitrogen may be lost '! to the farm by sales of live stock and milk. Nitro- ' genous compounds form a large part of the animal! body. .Lean meat, blood, the various other fluids of the body, tendons, ligaments, hide, hair, and wool,-’ each contain an appreciable proportion of nitrogen, which is derived from the food. Thus the dung has lost considerably in this respect by the time it leaves . the body, and, as every farmer knows, it loses much more afterwards by exposure .to weather. Potash does not enter largely into the composition of the animal, I so that the food does not lose much in this respect in' ■ passing through the animal. The principal losses of potash from the farm are due to sales of'crops. It will T be seen from the above that farmyard manure may be ■ of very variable value according to circumstances. !. From the same quality of food different animals will! ; produce manure of very different values ; from different® qualities of food animals of one dess will produce manure varying in value with the value of the food. ■ The constituent in the manure that is most affected ; by the quality of the food is nitrogen, so much so that the manure value of any food is calculated largely,!; though not entirely, on the proportion of nitrogen com-S pounds in the food. ~ ■