On the Land

New Zealand Tablet, 8 July 1915, Page 59

On the Land

GENERAL. A month ago a Wairarapa farmer had 500 tons of potatoes which he was prepared to sell at £5 per ton, but there were no "buyers at the figure. The other day he cleared out the line at £7 per ton on the ground. It was stated at the National Dairy Show at Palmerston North that the Allied armies were using 700 tons of New Zealand cheese per week. A member of the National Dairy Association states that this quantity represents two-thirds of the whole of New Zealand’s output.

Mr. J. G. Harkness stated at a recent meeting of the Wellington Harbor Board that the time was coming when the export of butter would be a thing of the past, and, instead of butter, cheese would be exported. Last year 36,000 tons of cheese was exported, and this year, given-a favorable season, upwards of 45,000 tons would be sent away. An interim return of the sheep in New Zealand on April 30 shows the following results;Auckland, 1,691,583 (an increase of 216,517 on the figures for

1914) ; Napier and Gisborne, 5,458,462 (a decrease of 329,445) ; Wellington and West Coast, 5,836,320 (a decrease of 56,663) ; Marlborough, Nelson, and Westland, 1,341,758 (an increase of 37,119): Canterbury and Kaikoura, 5,353,776 (a decrease of 203,354) Otago, 4,783,625 (an increase of 2589) —total for New Zealand, 24,465,526 (showing a net decrease of 333,237 for the Dominion as compared with 1914.

At the London wool sales 8279 bales were offered, including' 2439 from New Zealand. There was a good attendance, and keen bidding for good wools. Practically all purchases were for the Home trade. Good greasy combing merinos realised Bfd per cent, above CD O _ 1 last closing rates; medium, 5 per cent, advance; faulty and all clothings, unchanged. Good scoureds showed 5 per cent, advance; fine crossbreds, 71, per cent.; medium and low, 5 per cent.: scoureds, 5 per cent. ; slipes, good length, were unchanged : clothings, 5 per cent, advance. Merino lambs were scarce, and showed 5 per cent, advance. Crossbred lambs were unchanged. Store sheep sold well, especially hoggets and fat lambs, and fat sheep were firmer, but fat cattle were decidedly easier at Addington last week. Fat Lambs. — Prime, 18s to 24s 9d ; medium, 14s 6d to 17s 6d ; light and unfinished. 8s to 14s. Fat Sheep. —Extra prime wethers, to 28s ; prime, 2is to 26s 3d : others, 18s to 20s 6d ; merino wethers, 14s Gd to 18s Gd ; extra prime ewes, to 335; prime, 18s Gd to 2os (3d; medium, Ins to 18s; inferior, 10s Gd to 14s Gd. Fat Cattle. —Extra steers, to .£l6 ss: ordinary steers, .£8 to £11; ordinary heifers, £6 10s to £9; ordinary cows, £5 17s Gd to £9 10s. Price of beer per T'OOlb, 21 s to 365: extra, to 395. Pigs.——Choppers, 60s to 115 s ; extra heavy ■ baconers, to 78s; heavy baconers, 70s to 755; light baconers, 55s to 65s (price per lb, 5 : , ! d to Gd) ; heavy porkers, 35s to 425; light porkers, 28s to 33s (price per lb, s ld to ; medium stores, 22s to 30s; small stores, 12s to 21s; wcaners, (3s to 16s. There were average entries at Burnside last week, and prices on the whole showed a slight improvement on previous week’s rates. Fat Cattle. —194 head were yarded, amongst which were a number of good bullocks and heifers, the balance of the yarding being made up of ordinary steers, cows, and heifers. Competition was fairly animated, especially for good quality steers. Prime bullocks, £l4 to £ls ss; good do, £ll to £l3, light do, £9 to £lO 10s ; prime heifers and cows, £ll to £l3; extra do, £ls; good do, £9 10s to £lO 10s; lighter do, £7 to £8 10s. Fat Sheep.— came forward. Of this number by far the greater proportion were ewes, there being only a small entry of prime wethers. Competition was keen throughout, and prices for prime heavy wethers showed a rise of almost Is a head, while medium wethers and all ewes were firm at last week’s rates Extra prime wethers, 32s 9d ; prime wethers, 25s to 28s ; medium wethers, 21s to 23s 6d ; light and inferior, 15s 6d to 18s 6d ; extra prime ewes, 32s 3d; prime ewes, 21s to 245; medium ewes, 17s to

18s 6d; inferior and light, 10s to 15s 6d. Fat Lambs. — The entry was much smaller than has been the case of late, only 1023 being offered. Owing to the small yarding competition was much keener, and prices ruled Is to Is 6d a head better than previous 'week’s rates. Freezing buyers had* a limited amount of space, and secured a fair proportion of the yarding. Extra prime, to 25s 9d; prime, 18s 6d to 20s; medium, 16s to 18s. Pigs. —73 fats and 40 stores were yarded. Prices were about on a par with late rates. Quotations: Baconers, heavy, to £4 8s; porkers, 44s to 525; light baconers, 37s to 435; stores, 18s to 21s; slips, 13s to 16s; suckers, 5s to Bs.

THE PRINCIPLES OF MANURING. In the course of an interesting lecture on ‘The Principles of Manuring,’ delivered by Mr. J. S. Chisholm, senior lecturer in horticulture, Edinburgh, and East of Scotland College of Agriculture, he said the question of manuring land for the purpose of increasing its fertility and productiveness had occupied the attention of man from time immemorial, and was one of vital and growing importance at the present day. Long before the Christian era organic manures and what was now called green-manuring were known and applied, as recorded by such ancient writers as Theophrastus, Epicurus, and Virgil ; while Columella, about 2000 years ago, in one of his works deplored the backward state of cultivation, and told of soils becoming barren through neglect and an imperfect knowledge of the requirements of crops. As time advanced other substances, such as lime, etc., were found to possess manurial properties, though very little real progress was made until recent times. Not until the middle of last century was there any clear conception held of the elements of plant food. From that time onwards, by careful and extended experiments and analysis, the constituents and broad requirements of crops had been determined, and the subject of manuring placed on a scientific basis.

As a general rule, four substances needed to be regularly applied to the soil—namely, nitrogen, phosphates, potash, and lime, though in certain soil conditions one or two other elements might be added with distinct advantage. The effects of nitrogen were seen chiefly in increased vegetative growth, ‘ and ini the greater vigor and bulk of the crop. Phosphates tended to check any tendency to excessive growth, and were principally concerned in the production of flowers, fruit, and seed, while potash assisted greatly in the development of leaf growth and assimilation, and was the element particularly active in the formation of starch and sugar in plants. It naturally followed that fertilisers containing potash would be especially beneficial to those crops in which starch, sugar, or material of a similar nature

were found, such as potatoes, beet, pod-bearing plants, and fruit of all kinds. Similarly, phosphatic fertilisers should be freely used for crop production, and in the culture of all crops grown for flowers and seeds. Nitrogenous fertilisers, on the other hand, considered separately, were best adapted to green crops generally, but might be applied to all crops when increased growth was desired, or when a lack of vigor was apparent. It was only when nitrogen, phosphates, and potash were present in the soil, not necessarily in equal quantities, but in the proportions best suited .to the special requirements of the different classes of crops, that it was rightly manured, and capable of giving the best results.

All' organic manures contained these three substances in varying amounts, but, speaking generally, organic manures were greatly deficient in phosphates, a fact too frequently overlooked, with the result that a great percentage of soils and crops regularly suffered from a lack of available phosphates; and a marked soil improvement and increase in crop returns might in many instances be secured by the liberal use of a phosphatic fertiliser alone. Many soils also contained large reserves of potential plant foods, and only required an application of lime to liberate these materials in quantity, and bring about an improved physical and chemical condition in the soil. |