ON THE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 30, 4 February 1916, Page 11

ON THE LAND.

Agricultural, Pastoral and Dairy Interests,

RENOVATING PASTURES. SOME OF THE CAUSES OF I DETERIORATION. SCGGESTIOXS AS TO AMENDMENT. j (By "HIPI KUIA.") ! This is a question Unit, lias always been of vital importance to New Zealand, seeing that wo have had to de-l pond mainly on t'.ie products of live] stock as a means of paving our creditors overseas, and of late it lias become intensified by reason of our exports of grain having collapsed altogether, with minerals absolutely at a low ebb as regards production. It is not to be expeeled that all farmers will agree to the suggestions offered as a means of renovating pastures, but if it causes them to think and act for themselves my object will be gained—namely, to produce two blades of grass where one grew before. • WHAT IS MEANT BY PERMANENT PASTURE. Before proceeding to the question ot renovation, it is thought advisable to understand what is meant when speaking ot permanent pasture. It- appears to be the general opinion that when wej sow land in New Zealand with the best', seeds procurable of forajre-grasses they; should prove as permanent as the hill ami meadow pastures of Great Britain, where there are millions of acres of pasture after having been grazed for centuries that still afford valuable pasturage. But it seems to be forgotten I that conditions are not equal. The! Home pastures consist of indigenous grasses and herbage. whereas what have been sown in New Zealand are exotic. Besides, all grasses or forage plants—indeed all plants of commercial value—are artificial; that is. by the art of man they have been evolved (or bred) by selection, from species of little intrinsic value naturally up to what, they are now worth. The wellknown old writer Sir John Sebright put on record the maxim with regard to the improvements that had been made in live stock in his day that "What has been procured by art must be maintained by art: for the most improved breeds will soon return to a slate oi nature if neglected." To my mind this maxim applies equally to plants, and does not seem to be recognised as fully as it deserves to be, even by Instructors in agriculture. Leaving for the moment artificial grasses, let us consider the status as regards permanency of indigenous grasses and forage plants —that is. plants native of the country. Unfortunately, we have not far to look for proof that even these will not stand torture and mismanagement, as note the denudation that has taken plaoe over large areas of the pastoral or hill country in the South Island, where it has been reported, that tlie grazing capacity in some §j(&t*jcts has deteriorated from 50 to 75" per cent during the last 25 years.

Xew Zealand is not alone in having to deplore the passing of native pasture, as all the Australian States are in the same predicament; in fact, in some districts conditions are even worse than what they are in the South Island. When disease or other disaster appears the first thing- to do is to look for the cause in order to be In a position to combat the evil. Now, all antliciit'es, both in Australia and Xew Zealand, a-dmit that it wae mismanagement, or, rather, want of foresight, on the part of many pastoralists which led them to overstock, thereby denuding the soil of indigenous vegetation. At the same time the squatter had some excuse, in that owing to short-sighted legislation he had no security of tenure, so ho thought it best to make hay while the Bun shone. On the other hand, during the same period the pastures in Great Britain have been improving, this satisfactory position havMg been obtained by graziers calling in the assistance of scientists and experts in agriculture, in order to determine the best modes of procedure in order to obtain che maximum quantity and quality of forage the land is capable of producing. For some years fist the New Zealand Department ot Agriculture has been doinj good work in the same direction- With regard to the renovatrjn of our pastures, it is to the co-operative fields experimental work we must look to for instruction, and it has to be deplored that so few farmers taJie interest in the object lessons placed before them by progressive landowners, as iveJ! as by the Department of Agncoiture. It just occurs to mc that the present time of abnormal big returns from all classes of live stock is not a propitious time to endeavour to inculcate into farmers the advantages of improving pasture, as it would he in a time of stre?e and low prices. Yet. now is the time when money is plentiful to make a forward move, as little can be done without the needful, and it takes considerable money to drain land. DRAINAGE A NECESSITY. England's great authority on pastures, Button, says in his work on graeses: "An important point to be urged her-e in that in future no undrained land should be laid down in grass. The result is only a question of time. Sooner or later tne valuable grasses will be. supplanted by sedge, rush, and other semi-aquatic vegetation, until the pasture gradually reaches a worthless condition, which invariably prevails on undrained land." In order to fully realise how applicable and true, the foregoing extract is as regards New Zealand, -we have only to Jook at the greater proportion of the richest lands in the Dominion, rushes and other useless vegetation being in possession of 50 per cent of the soil. Jt k not only on low-lying (lats that rushes abound, as steep hillsides and taiblelands in many districts are also infested with rnshes and moss. Draining is therefore of the first importance either on arable or pasture landr>. as, until drained, Jime or manures can have little effect, for the eimple reason that they cannot effect an entrance into tihe soil, and are ueual'y carried away by the first heavy win. Whether there is any land that would not be improved by draining is a question that most farmers would answer in the affirmative, but, in my experience, 1 iave seen none, except sand-hills. Ot course, there are soils that, owing to ■various causw. it would not be a protit-a-ble proposition to drain; yet in most cases draining would add somewhat to its fertility. The dictionary definition of a drain is to draw off, eta, and it is generally accepted that the only effect of draining land is to draw tie stagnant

water off, whereas, possibly the greatest advantage gadned is that it provides an entrance for air and rain, with their lifegiving elements. Besides, it has to be remembered that ra,in does not merely moisten the coil and supply water to plants, as it also fertilises—it having been computed that each year, by rainfall alone, every nr-re o£ weil drained lajid in England is benefited to the extent of from five to ten pounds of nitrogen. One of the greatest advantages of draining is that it allows the atmosphere to be freely carried into the soil by rain, when the oxygen sweetens and converts organic substance into who-lesome piini food, etc. It is neither in my province or purpose to go further into the effect of drainage on the soil. 1 merely wish to impress on pastoralists the fact that draining will be found the best propoeition before them when they make up their minds that they must renovate their pastures- Is it not a fact that over a large extent of the earliest settled districts the carrying capabilities of the land has deteriorated very largely—up to probably 50 per cent in some instances—so that if something io not done to arrest this down-grade, it is only a question of time when these lands Will become valueless. Wherever land can be cultivated, the remedy is at hand, namely, the plough, nhieh ie a sure and certain mode of renewing pasture. Over a large extent ot the more-recently occupied lands in the North Island, however, cultivation is out of the question. As a means of at least prolonging the life of the more valuable grasses, I would like to bring under notice some systematic method of grazing that might be adopted, which, ior want of a better name 1 would term rotation of grazing. Some years back I offered somewliat like suggestions, which were discussed by farmers at the time, so that, in the interests of the younger generation, it m<iy be advisable to again revert to it. In years gone by. when there was little or no profit in rearing cattle, nearly all settlers in bush country thought it necessary to have some in order to keep down the rank vegetation that usually springs up on a new burn, especially, and for many years afterwards, on some lands; so that it was, and is still, the general practice to run more or less cattle in conjunction with sheep. Of the advantages of this mode of grazing there is little doubt, in that the cattle break down what they do not eat. a large quantity of rr.ffage, which allows tlio finer grasses liberty to establisu themselves. For the tirst few years running the sheep and cattle answers well, but experience suggested that it would be better to use the cattle in a rotation with sheep! that is, set aside on or more paddocks for cattle only for a period, with sheep only in the other paddocks: then, when thought advisable, reverse the order <>f grazing by putting I the sheep where the cattle had been. What first drew jny attention to whnt was to be gained by such a system was noticing tiftt.,J'sJlie.fl v jiothing I 'hd&rßts , better than the cow-paddock. Then, again, in some of the older dairying districts we often hoar the expression used that such and siu-h land was "cow sick - ,' in which there i.s a lot of truth, as away back in the early days in Australia it was found advantageous to clean up the horse paddock by running a lot of sheep in it for a season. When we come to consider the matter, it i≤ quite reasonable to expect that cow or horse paddocks should get "sick," or that on rich land roughage would get the better ot the finer grasses when grazed with sheep alone, although sheep and horses nibble closer than cattle, but the horse, being more fastidious, leaves numerous weeds that sheep will greedily eat. uence, a horse-paddock becomes infested with weeds, which are interfering with the growth of the t>etter and finer grasses; ergo, turn a mob of sheep in for a seison. with the result that the grasses will have obtained dominion of the weeds to a large extent—at least that has been my experience. The same reasons apply to the cow or cattle-paddock, and the reverse reason in tho sheep-paddock, where the trouble will be found flhat rough, innutritions grasses are dominating the finer, and, if grazed with cattle for a time, the necessary remedy will be effected.