Zealand Agriculture Research Articles

THE MANAGEMENT AND UTILIZATION OF PASTURE BY PIGS

The New Zealand farmer who breeds pigs tends to place either too much emphasis upon the value of pasture, with rather dire effects, or too little, with the result that he deprives himself of a valuable addition to his basic feed supply. In this paper an attempt will be made to assess the value of pasture in the New Zealand pig keeping economy over the whole production cycle from the mating of the sow to the marketing of the finished product.

PHOSPHATES IN NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURE

New Zealand GeographerVolume 8, Issue 2 p. 125-137 PHOSPHATES IN NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURE M. M. BURNS, M. M. BURNSSearch for more papers by this author M. M. BURNS, M. M. BURNSSearch for more papers by this author First published: October 1952 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7939.1952.tb01803.xCitations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume8, Issue2October 1952Pages 125-137 RelatedInformation

Mapping New Zealand's Agriculture

Mapping New Zealand's Agriculture

GRASSING OF PUMICE LAND

From quite early days in the colonization of New Zealand farmers began to search for satisfactory methods of grassing and farming the great areas of light volcanic soils in the central region of the North Island. Even the earliest land-improvers seemed to think that these pumice soils were suitable for pastoral purposes, but for many decades their hopes, engendered by the excellent red clover growth in the initial pasture sowings, fell as the pasture swards ran out and sheep and cattle pined from bush-sickness. This initial excellence of red clover was certainly a factor which kept people perpetually interested in the land, for although the land is easily cultivated, the virgin pumice soils appear infertile and unattractive. This. aspect was commented on as early as 1839 by J. C. Bidwell, who, in recording his travels from Tauranga to Taupo, remarked " . . . the land is not bad . . . I have seen clover and grass growing in the garden of a Mission or I might perhaps have thought the land was worse than it is . . ." It was the intuition that really intensive farming was ultimately possible on these pumice lands that kept invigorated the faith of such men as Aston, Clifton, Carr Rollett, and Earle Vaile in their work of seeking methods which would overcome the problem of pumice land farming.

The Agricultural Regions of New Zealand

There is A voluminous literature devoted to the systematic analysis and description of New Zealand agriculture,x but no attempt has previously been made to differentiate on a regional basis the variety of forms which this agriculture assumes. That is the aim of the present article. Economic Geography has rendered cultural geography a signal service in publishing the most comprehensive regional view of agricultural geography? continent by continent?yet available.2 It is unfortunate however that no place was found for New Zealand in these series of articles. In few countries is agriculture of such relatively great significance; fewer depend so completely upon commercial forms of agriculture. Yet despite its small area and its uniformly heavy reliance upon primary production, it is geographically inexact to describe the Dominion as one huge dairy farm or even as a mosaic of small dairy farms. Most elements of both the natural and the cultural landscape in New Zealand may be sharply differentiated on a regional basis; such is also the case with agricultural forms. Of the physical elements, climate and surface configuration especially provide marked regional contrasts; of the cultural elements those produced by agricultural occupancy of the land are most significant, in extra-urban areas. Together these three elements must always play a large part in effective regional studies in New Zealand. Geomorphic provinces and climatic regions have already been given some attention. 3 This article attempts to bridge a serious gap in New Zealand geographical literature by delimiting and describing the distinctive agricultural regions of the Dominion. Derwent Whittlesey has provided the most satisfactory classification to date of world agricultural regions.4 He listed five functioning forms5 that characterize the agriculture practised in any area, and he used these as the

NEW ZEALAND FARMS AND THE ‘PHOSPHATE ISLANDS’

New Zealand GeographerVolume 4, Issue 1 p. 55-68 NEW ZEALAND FARMS AND THE ‘PHOSPHATE ISLANDS’ SIR ALBERT ELLIS, SIR ALBERT ELLISSearch for more papers by this author SIR ALBERT ELLIS, SIR ALBERT ELLISSearch for more papers by this author First published: April 1948 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7939.1948.tb01505.xCitations: 2Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume4, Issue1April 1948Pages 55-68 RelatedInformation

TECHNIQUE OF TOPDRESSING EXPERIMENTS

Perhaps the most important development in New Zealand Agriculture during the last quarter of a century has been the spectacular increase in pastoral products, Rapid as advancement in this direction has been, it is claimed that the set limit of production for New Zealand's grass lands is not yet even in sight, and the potential value of grass as a crop is so far only dimly appreciated.

The composition of the liver fats of some New Zealand farm animals

The composition of the liver fats of some New Zealand farm animals

Agriculture in New Zealand

IN opening the annual Dominion Conference of the New Zealand Farmer's Union at Wellington, Lord Bledisloe, the Governor-General, reviewed some of the current problems of the agricultural industry. After expressing the view that in no other country has the farmer brighter prospects, he urged the need for ‘planning’ control if economic success is to be realised. The lack of uniformity that still exists in both the dairy and cattle industries of New Zealand is preventing the extension of markets, and the elimination of second-rate produce must be effected as soon as possible. This cannot be brought about by Government intervention or control, but lies in the hands of the farmers themselves. Comparison with successful agricultural countries, such as Denmark, shows that this type of self-organisation is the most satisfactory. Speaking with reference to the cattle industry, Lord Bledisloe deplored the continuation of the embargo imposed on the importation of British livestock. The measures adopted in Great Britain for the suppression of epidemics such as foot-and-mouth disease are so drastic, he said, that the risk of introducing this complaint into New Zealand is nil. On the other hand, the loss to their cattle industry (especially in view of the present hopeful prospect of a remunerative trade in chilled beef and bacon pigs) is a very serious matter. In general, the outlook for the future is a hopeful one, but harmonious co-operation between town and country, factory and farm must be achieved if a lasting prosperity is to be assured.

The scope of the surveyor

Abstract In these days of enforced idleness, one cannot help reciting sadly the diverse fields in wbich the surveyor bas so often found scope for his activities. The earliest surveyors, in Egypt, were oalled “rope-stretchers,” a name which to the ribald would naturally suggest a discredited method of criminal punishment. Such a miaapprehension is no worse than the far commoner belief that a surveyor's only function, is to measure. We know that the capable surveyor is a jack of all trades, and a master craftsman in the art of measuring heights, distances, areas and volumes. There are quite a number of cases when the surveyor is called in and asked to exercise only his craftsmanship. A farmer wishes to enter a crop in a competition; it is necessary to determine the actual area under crop, so that the yield may be equitably compared with that of others. And who so competent as the surveyor? Which recalls a very old tale told of a New Zealand farmer. The surveyor had been called in to measure the area of a crop to be mown on contract rates. The cunning farmer himself held one end of the tape, and every time he laid down 90 links instead of the full chain. The mowers made a record for speed in that paddock, which was not exceeded till the advent of machinery. Occasionally, the surveyor is called in by the amateur racehorse owner, who with unbounded confidence in his mount ia anxious to have a measured course. One of our prominent Sydney surveyors laid down a measured mile for an owner in the Hunter Valley. One horse was clocked to do some phenomenal times on this course, but the proud owner exercising great self-restraint kept quiet and entered him for the next meeting. The change of climate unfortunately upset the horse, whose change of form seemed unaccountable, unless perhaps the surveyor missed count, and only laid down 75 chains, which some have unkindly suggested.