Farm and Garden

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 378, 6 August 1903, Page 7

Farm and Garden

I OF.IGHNAT, ABTJCLEB. - •IRsMYE »a & pasture orop, if properly 5|«5 treated, can be sown at almoßt aSdJS any time. The chief thing is to sow i:V?irhei there: is enough moisture to germinate the grain and give it a good Btart. f^lt-is absolutely useless to sow rye when the ground ie dry. However if the soil contain sufficient moisture it can be sown from the latter end of sum mer until tin winter period. It must, howtver, be remembered that to be satisfactory as a pasture crop it must never be allowed to joint. If that occurs its usefulness as a pasture crop is at an end; therefore. it Bhould be kept down until cold weather, when the growth wiil be greatly expended. In the early spring of the year, stock can be turned into the field to graze. Enough animals must be kept on the rye field to keep it from jointing. If that courae ia adopted and seasonable rains occur it will servo as pasture until the summer period. , : The value of rye aa a pasture crop is not sufficiently appreciated In seeding rye for pasture the ground should bj carefully prepared as for wheat, compact and fine. When the conditinas ar i right it may be sown about two bushels to aa acre of grouad, always choosing that variety of rye suited for the purpose reqnm d. Tha seed should be drilled into the ground, if ..possible, as results are always more satisjf*ctory, inasmuch, the seeds are-put into the ground at a greater depth "and the young- plants aro thus enabled to withstand the .ad\ersi conditions of cold and ( dry weather. Although late seeding will be, as a rule, satisfactory it will be largely desirable to sow sifiicientiy early for the plants to obtain considerable top growth, because such growth acta aa a mulch and protects the root* ; also in order that the cropm*y,be ready for pjsturm; in the the early spring of the yearf while late sown fields are not available until much later. In pasturing rye it is usually more •satisfactory to divide the field into som9 few; sections; then by alternating from time to time, a greater amount of forage will be secured. Stock can be turned in as soon as it is large oaough to be grazed. Sheep do well on rye and if they are fed some concentrated ffted, as . corn or ;oil jnet.l, the land will ba much improved. ' Where milch coss are pastured it seeroß desirable to kava them on the rye only two or three hours a day and just a ter the. cowi h%*e been milked. In some instances farmers; "sow rye for hogs exclusively.; The hqgs are'tarnqd; in early and allowed tc&rairiam untirthVrye begins to head. They can then ba taken out for a week or t«vo, until the grains are pretty well formed. Then they can be put back again and. alio wed to eat the grain. Some of the kernels will be shattered cut and become covered with earth. That however, is not altogether undesirable, as the seeds will commence to grow after the first fall of rain, and in that way pasture may be secured for the remainder of the e'ea'son, provided favorable weather follows. Ia some parts it is customary when sowing rye late in summer for autumn pa ture to add one or two pounds of rape seed per acre. That nuy be mixed with the rye, or put on with the grass seeding attachment, The rape will be ready for pasturing in four or five weeks and usually adds very considerable value to the rye crop, especially so if intended for sheep. Bye grass is relished by all kinds of stock, and produces; excellent pasturage of a very nutritious character. It bears depasturing and if ill succeed in any ordinary soil, and is an excellent grass to grow for dairying purposes.