Farm and Garden.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 370, 11 June 1903, Page 2

Farm and Garden.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES. MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY. 3KT is very generally recognised that it alb is very essential to have a fertile *JK soil, in which to. grow crops, inasmuch as success in farming depends largely upon the fertility of the land. Many people know of many once fertile farms which have rus out and are not now producing half what they shouldj in some instances the returns are scarcely enough to pay for the labour necessary to-produce a crop. But >t is more profitable to farm so as to maintain or improve the soil than it is to impoverish it and decrease the fertility, ending in ruin to the owner of the laud. It should be the aim in farming to produce and leave in-the soil as much or more of the 1 necessary ingredients that have been taken from it. This is best accomplished by a system of rotation of erop, with rone crop in the rotation,, which is a good soil renovator. Also good farming aims to feed everything, or nearly everything produced on tl e farm, with a little b:an or some concentrated feed added to the ration of each animal, and carefully save and apply to the land all the manure. In this way it will be easily perceived that the fertility of the soil will be maintained. Many people advocate the ploughing under of green crops, which no doubt is very useful when'the land is very much run down. Sometimes farmers have a piece of stubble which ihey propose to plant to corn or potatoes. On that one can grow a xsrop of rye, cowpeas, or peas and barley, either of which will make a large growth and can be ploughed under, in time to plant corn. This method adds largely to the fertility of the soil; The aim should be to feed all or nearly all that is raised on the farm for the purpose of keeping up the fertility of the land; and it is considered to be more pro-" Stable to sell the produce in the form of butter, beef, pork, &3., than to sell the crops derived from the land. -It is gene-; rally believed tbat'the produce of crops fed to good stock will obtain more than twice the money that the 'crops wcpld sell for on the market. For example, a cow can be fed for little money a day, and yet yield twice the amount or more per day for butter alone; and in the same manner it is believed to be true with all other kinds of sjxek. • Many people advocate the use of commercial fertUigerQ.'The basis of soil fertility is the amount of nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid that it contains; .and when it is considered 'that an ordinary crop of wheat* a ■ considerable portion of these, elements from the soil, it can bo easily perceived that it is expensive to replace them by using commercial fertilisers.; But if the crops produced on the farm are fed to, animals, these elements can be returned to the soil in the'form of manure, and at;, the same time" obtain twice the markets value of'the produce. So itcahbexeftdilyi Been that it is more profitable to farm so? as to improve the farm than it is to the crops at market and at ihe samo time be losing heavily in the fertility of the,', soil. The feeding of wheat would not \ be;'; advocated, but to soil it and purchase; bran or'other feed,' which" is worth more for feed than wheat, and haß about double the mauurial value. If one. grows jail forage crops possible And feed to stock on the farm there little fear about' the fertility of the landv v :