AROUND HAWKE'S BAY

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 75, 1 May 1930, Page 3

AROUND HAWKE'S BAY

I'ARAGRAPHS 6F INTEREST TO THE FARMER* Cattle prices wero easy at Stortford Lodge yesterday, bullock beef selling better tban cow beef. Tbe quality was present in tbe yarding, but uot tbe weigbt. Had some of tbe cow beef yarded been of a ixiore weighty nature I sliould not liave been surprised to see tbe prices in tliis sectioii go up to tbe vicinity of £10. * * * In addition to tliose lots reported on tliis page yesterday, a furtber pen of light prime to prime cows off i\lr. G. C. Villiams' Rangitapu property sold at £7 17s 6d and £9. All tliese cattle were of a good bardy stanip and should bave met a better market tban tbey did. * * » A line of 430 ewes from Waimarama was penned iu drafts m the fat sheep section at Stortford Lodge yesterday and actually constituted tbe bulk of the fat sbeep yarding. Tbey were * mixed lot, many of them in forward ratber than fat condition, and the owner did well to dispose of them at an average price around 15s. * * * Sometimes farmers who go to tbe expense and trouble of baving their soils analysed learn, of course, some of tbe . constituents of tbeir soil, but may not know whetber the proportions given denote a fertile soil or a poor one. The two main elements in which the farmer is ihstructed and on wbich be depends for tbe feeding value of his pastures or the success of bis crops are nitrogen and phosphoric acid, it being generally assumed tbat most otber elements needed are present in sufficient quantities. It is estimated by scientists that if a soil contains below 0.05 per cent. of phosphoric acid and nitrogen it may be classed as poor ; from 0.05 to 0.10 it is medium ; from 0.15 to 0.25 it is good, whilst above 0.25 it is ricb. * * * Top price for fat lambs at Stortford Lodge yesterday was the 23s paid for a single pet black lamb, wbich was good value even at tbe figure. A line of nine good quality lambs that opened tbe sale was disposed of for 19s 6d.

* * * "You don't expect to find them gold filled for three bob, do you?" was a remark of an auctioneer to a buyer who was earnestly examining the mouths of a pen of empty aged ewes in the store section at Stortford Lodge yesterday, _ upon which 3s was the opening bid. • The sally caused general amusement. * * * "W ether mutton was non-existant at Stortford Lodge' yesterday. * * * . There was very little to quicken the lnterest of buyers in the fat sheep pens at Stortford Lodge yesterday, the lambs on offer being the best conditioned sheep in the yarding. * * * Some years ago an Otago studmaster mated 900 Romney Border Leiceste_r cross ewes with Corriedale rams witli tbe object of getting some finer woolled ewe lioggets to put into the breeding flock. He weaned 104 per cent. of lambs. These were put on rape_ for a month and then on to soft tnrmps; 240 ewe lambs were selected, and 060 of the balanee were sent in one line to the Pareora Freezing Works, Scr.th Canterburv. where tbey kiled an average of 46.21b. * * 4 Basic slag is a fairlv widely-used phnsphate manure in Hawke's Bay and gives excellent results for topdressing pastures on clay soils and others that are inclined to be heavy. Tt is commonlv anplied in tbe late Autumn and the land should be prepared to tnke the manure. Tt is an advantage to have the grass stocked down close, following tbis by tearing cut the coarse pntches and opening up the surface mat with the harrows. This gives the manure access to the soil aiid also makes room for the development of the finer hevbage encouraged by the slag. The clistribution should be as even as possible.

* * * The double century mark was passed yesterday in the Ioading operations from the New Zealand Fruitgrowers' Federation's assembling shed, Karamu road, Hastings, when the 200th railway truck to 'be loaded since the opening of the shed about the middle of March was completed. The waggons comprising this total . were not all the regulation fruit box-wag-gons wherein proper ventilation is piovided. The supply of these is limited and ordinary vans of the 16-ton and 20-ton variety are being used for fruit conveyance. The 16-tons carry up to 720 eases and the 20-ton vans up to 900 cases. * * * Seeding land by means of the aeroplane is the latest development of American farming. The "Oregon Farmer" claims that more than 5000 acres of gradfng land in the States of Oregon and Washingto'n have been seeded to grass in this manner. * * # A pair of horses which can plough a furrow 9in. wide and 300yds. long while another pair ploughs a "280yds. furrow of the same width, will, in 60 days of ploughing, cover almost four more acres than the slower team. This may not seem a great amount, but on. large arable farms it may mean a difference of a pair of horses and a man at an estimated cost of at least £150 a year. »