210 



THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



Ensilage from Poor Lant/, 



PROSPECTS OF DAIRY FARMING. 



INTERVIEW WITH MR. JOHN W. MOOR. 



By Ergates. 



THREE years ago Mr. John W. Moor 

 left his farm at Ennersdale, and being 

 chiefly attracted by the bracing climate 

 of the Moot River district, established 

 himself on a farm four or five miles to- 

 wards the Berg from the Mooi River 

 Railway Station. He came with an open 

 mind, and resolved to experiment in some 

 directions. It was chiefly to see the re- 

 sult of his experiment in growing mealies 

 on the poor top soil of the up]3er Mooi 

 River, that I asked him to be good enough 

 to give me an interview. I know the 

 character of the soil of the district, 

 for on one occasion, not many miles from 

 where Mr. Moor is located, I in- 

 spected half a dozen acres of land 

 better than his in appearance, and got 

 into first rate tilth, which was sown with 

 mealies. The average height of the 

 mealie crop Avas, if I remember rightly, 

 al)out 20 inches, and of cobs there were 

 none. That was before the days of fer- 

 tilisers, and it is little wonder that far- 

 mers in those days regarded only the bot- 

 tom soils of the district as fit for cultiva- 

 tion. Land such as I have described, 

 and on such as Mr. Moor has conducted 

 his experiment, was looked upon as only 

 really fit for summer grazing. With 

 mealies at 5s. or 6s. a muid, good oxen at 

 about the same numl^er of pounds, full- 

 mouthed wethers at about 12s., and cows 

 regarded only as troublesome, but neces- 

 sary media for the production of 

 oxen, "intensive" farming had no at- 

 traction. All has changed, especially 

 with respect to the cows. The cow is no 

 longer despised ; from a money point of 

 view she now stands ahead of the ox in 

 dignity, and it is becoming evident that 

 she must be fed in a manner tliat never 

 came within the ken of her forbears. Mr. 

 Moor has done much by his experiment to 

 solve this food problem for his own dis- 

 trict, and indeed for many other districts 

 in South Africa, 



Mealie Ensilage. 



The mealie is of all crops the crop for 

 the wet summer climate of Natal, and 

 mealie ensilage, mealie hay, and mealie 

 cob-meal are admitted, all round, to be 

 first-class cow fodder. The mealie grow- 

 ing experiment on the top land appeared 

 to me to be a perfect success. The stalks 

 were fully eight or nine feet in height, 

 and the crop was a very even one. It was 

 purposely planted somewhat late, in 

 order to have it in the best condition for 

 turning into ensilage at the beginning of 

 winter. I would not try this experiment 

 again ; it is better to get them in early. 

 The reaping was done just as the corn was 

 getting glazed. 



"What fertiliser, and how much to the 

 acre ?" I asked. 



"Superphosphate, and 2| cwt., costing 

 15s. to the acre." 



"What kind of mealie?" 

 "Horse-tooth ; I think, at any rate, 

 that is the best class of mealie for stalk, 

 and to get lots of stalk, with a good cob, 

 was one of my chief objects." 



"I notice you waste but little stalk ; 

 are the short points not dangerous for the 

 feet of oxen ? " 



"No. When the oxen come in the 

 points will be soft. For cutting we use 

 a sugar cane knife. It is much quickerj 

 and better in every way than a sickle." 



I took a photograph of the field of hay 

 stooks (which will be published in 

 a future issue), and I think that 

 the heavy crop wdiich it depicts 

 will conclusively show that the 

 poor top soil of this large district is 

 capable of giving a splendid mealie crop 

 if assisted by even so moderate an amount 

 of artificial manure as 2^ cwt. of super- 

 phosphate to the acre. The main por- 

 tion of the crop was already in ensilage 

 stacks. Mr. Moor presses his stacks 

 with earth. Mr. G. R. Richards, who 

 happened to be visiting when we were 



