ON THE LAND

New Zealand Tablet, 3 November 1921, Page 43

ON THE LAND

MARKET REPORTS. There was a large yarding of fat cattle at Burnside last week, 225 being penned. In the majority of cases the quality was medium, with a few,pens of extra prime. . Competition for prime bullocks of medium weight was firmer than on the previous week, heavy-weights sold on a par, while medium Weights were £1 per head, firmer, and inferior quality was easier. Cow beef sold at low rates. Best bullocks £l4 to £ls, extra to £l7 2s 6d, medium £lO to £ll 10s, inferior £7 10s to £8 10s, best cows and heifers £9 10s to £lO 10s, medium £7 15s to £8 10s, inferior £5 to £5 15s. Fat Sheep.A small yarding of medium quality. -Prices fotr prime quality showed an advance of 3s per head at the commencement of the sale and kept rising, while medium quality was firmer by 2s per head. Best wethers 25s to 275, extra to 335, medium 20s 6d to 225, inferior 17s to 18s 6d, best ewes 18s to 21s, extra to 30s 6d, medium 15s to 16s 6d, inferior 13s to 14s. Fat Lambs. —There was a medium yarding, a number of which were of extra good quality, while others consisted of medium. The demand was firmer and equal to the high rates ruling a fortnight ago. Best lambs 26s to 28s, extra prime to 375, medium 20s to 225, inferior to 17s. Pigs.—A good yarding was offered. The demand was somewhat slack, and values receded fully 10s per head below the preceding week’s rates. Best baconers realised from 72d to 8d per lb, and best porkers from Srld to B|d per lb. At Addington market last week there were average • yardings. Fat beef was the only section over-supplied. Values consequently cased sligthly. Mutton sold better, and store cattle and sheep met a more spirited demand. Spring Lambs. —A good sale. Prime lambs 28s to 335, medium 25s to 27s 9d, small 22s 3d to 24s 9d. Fat Sheep. I The entry included a lot of South ' Canterbury and Otago sheep of good quality. Values were up to Is to Is 6d per head all round, the market closing firmly. Extra prime wethers 29s 6d to 335, prime 25s 3d to 28s 6d, medium 21s 3d to 24s 9d, light and unfinished 17s to 20s; 6d, extra prime ewes to 25s lOd, prime 20s 9d to 24s 6d, medium 18s 3d to 20s 6d, light and unfinished 15s lid to 18s, extra prime hoggets to 275, prime 20s to 235, ordinary 13s to 19s 6d. Fat Cattle.—A big yarding of 320 head, and a further easing in prices. A consignment of nine steers from Wairarapa made £l6 to £lB 5s Id, thus topping the market. Prime beef was worth from 35s to 37s 6d per 1001 b, and secondary 27s 6d to 32s 6d. Extra prime steers to £lB ss, prime £l3 to £l6 10s, medium £lO to £l2 ss, light and unfinished £6 10s to £9 15s, extra prime heifers to £ls 2s 6d, prime £8 12s 6d to £l3 2s 6d, ordinary £6 15s to £8 10s, prime cows £7 10s to £ll ss, ordinary £5 to £7 ss. Vealers.Runners to £5 ss, good vealers £3 7s 6d to £4, medium £2 5s to £3 ss, small calves 7s 6d to £1 17s 6d. Fat Pigs.— On account of the big yarding values eased towards the finish. Choppers £3 to £5, light baconers £3 15s to £4 10s, heavy £4 15s to £5 —average price per lb 7-J-d, light porkers 50s to 575, heavy 65s to , 72s —average price per lb, 9d to 10£d. THE HARROWING AND ROLLING OF PASTURES. A mistake is often made in rolling pastures during wet weather or at a time when ordinary spring work cannot be proceeded with on arable land (says the Agricultural Gazette). On those pastures which contain a wealth of tufted herbage, or where the surface is covered with a layer of dead or decaying grass and other fibrous roo t ts, there is no reason why a thorough good dragging should not be given during wet or showery weather, but to harrow bare pastures overlaying hcavj* retentive and clayey soils will often do considerable harm, and especially if the harrowing is followed by rolling while the ground is still damp. ( These heavier soils should be harrowed, if possible, when dry, as the tines then take a good grip on the soil, and instead of the action, being smeary, it rather tends

to tear and distribute the soil, thus admitting- an abun- ■>' dance of air. It is the free circulation :of . air at this ■ season of the year that invigorates the grass roots, while, apart from this, the , small sharp tines tear' out moss and other weed growths which stifle the cultivated - grasses. - On easy working ground the chain harrow will usually. do its work effectively, bub on others, the toothed or steeltined harrow is necessary. ' ‘ To. improve coarse' pastures it is very necessary that they should be closely stocked, as the more the ground can be trampled under the hoofs of horned stock, andeven sheep, the better. Where mixed cattle are kept, it is better to graze with bullocks in the spring, and as soon as the herbage has been well eaten down, follow with sheep, after which a short rest should be given. ' There is nothing to equal mixed grazing, as when; horses or even pigs are allowed to occupy a meadow for any length of time patches of coarse grass are sure to result. It is astonishing how this coarse growth of herbage can be prevented by judicious slagging, or even the ' ap- • plication of lime, and if only a moderate dressing is given in the preceding autumn it will be found that all- classes of animals graze the ground evenly, the phosphoric acid ‘ present in the manure Jiaving the effect of making sour or rank herbage sweet. ■ When closely stocked the grass roots become pressed closer into the soil, and so receive nourishment. It may safely he said that no roller can produce the same effect, especially where the sward or surface is rough, as strong grasses like cocksfoot interfere with uniform consolidation. The absence of clover from pastures is often due to the hollow and loose condition of the surface soil, and it will be noticed that where pastures are closely grazed white or Dutch clover will very soon make its appearance and extend very rapidly. The same may also be said of ryegrass, which seems to thrive in close proximity to wild white clover, both of which flourish under heavy trampling. The harrowing of pastures and meadows also admits of more light reacing the plants, together with a freer circulation of air. When the surface of the ground becomes matted with decaying herbage, it stands to reason that showers of rain cannot possibly penetrate to the roots, in consequence of which the plants must suffer during the growing period. When laying up meadows for hay they should not be grazed too late in the season, as it is too much to expect the plants to produce the maximum amount of foliage after their first or early growths have been eaten off. MAN’S ECONOMIC VALUE. The greatest and most irreparable loss entailed in the great war is, of course, the loss of human life. It is the greatest because life is a priceless thing, and no value can be set upon it. Still, in economics, as in all other sciences, in treating of man emotional considerations are set aside, and a purely economic value, in terms of money, has been placed upon the individual, based upon his potential productive power. This M. Barriol, the celebrated actuary, gives the following figures as the capital value of man: In the United States, £820; in Great" Britain, £828; in Germany, £676; in France, £580; in Russia, £404; in Austria-Hungary, £404, or an average capital value for the five foreign nations of £578. The number of men lost, at the time of the calculation, was 8,509,000 killed and 7,175,000 permanently wounded, or a total of 15,684,000. Thus society has been impoverished through death and permanent disability of a part of its productive manpower to the extent of £9,000,000,000.