NUTRITIVE PASTURE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 142, 15 June 1917, Page 9

NUTRITIVE PASTURE.

VALVE OF RYEGRASS AND CLOVERS Much could yet be done to enlarge the carrying capacity of most farms by giving more thought to soil compositions and their requirement— when deciding on seed mixture for any particular paddock. Farmers who are alert, painstaking managers lay great stres s on the value of sowing grass suited to each soil they may have, and in no case is a mixture put on at haphazard. On many farms several totally different soils are commonly met with, and to make the best of these, as many different seed mixtures should be sown to get the beet results. What would w-3 think, for instance, where we saw Danthonia and Paspalum sown together, without any other varielit—s ? There are plenty instances of this, and yet it is obviously a waste of good land or a faulty selection of seed. Danthonia should never be introduced on anything but hilly country of the most difficult nature. To 60W Paspalum on this country would be a procedure of doubtful wisdom, as it is too erratic a grass to do any good save on land where choicer varieties of grass will do equally well. There is no doubt that this grass is having a great run at present, and is being distributed whole—ale all over the Northern Province, and even considerably south of this. If farmers would only see what a nuisance Paspalum can be once it has become firmly established they would try hard to keep it off their farms, instead of encouraging its growth. A small paddock for late feed has decided advantages if it could be confined to that. It has. however, an unpieasanl habit of spreading all through the rest of the paddocks, and once it becomes plentiful it loses its novelty, and the cattle rather avoid it. Too much importance, in general sowing, is given to "cocktail mixtures." These embrace a dash of almost every grass seed known, and are in great favour with some dairy farmers, who maintain that variety in grazing is the secret of success in catering for stock. Now, while this is true to a certain extent, it can easily be overdone, and in any ease it does not apply where pure ryegrass and clovers come into competition. Outside of lucerne, his combination is the best for dairying and all-rj—id grazing purposes that can be grown. It would be foolish to advocate the sowing of ryegrass only on most farms; in all probability the soil and system of farming would not lend themselves to this. But the fact must not be lost sight of that this is the ideal grazing, and the more ryegrass and clover can be grown the better the milking results will certainly be. Leading dairymen on some of our Northern lands are "firmly 6et against breaking up pastures every few years and re-sowing with new grasses. This means that ryegrass

would be a negligible quantity in such pasturage, and where a district followed out this plan we would naturally look to the district factory to check results. *now, there are plenty of districts where pastures are never disturbed, and topdressing is resorted to instead of occasional oloughing. There are districts where twenty-year-old pastures are the rule rather than the exception, where there is an abundance of feed on every hand, and where the pastures arc apparently all that they should be. But if this system of pasturage, according to the leading dairymen, be accepted as the most suitable and economical for their district.-., it is not without significance that their factories fail to show tho returns given by those districts where farmers are compelled to plough every few years—which gives them the: opportunity to sony pure ryegrasses and clovers. There is no blinking the fact that a land capable of growing ryegrass and re.l clover all the time- is the one which is going to graze the greatest number of cattle. No matter how thick

and lush an old pasture may look, it is well to re?niember that the butter is r.ot there. New grass is the grass which fattens, and producer butter. It is unlikely that anyone will dispute this; it is too well known to require, to be asserted. The system resolves itself into a matter of expense pure and simple, and where it cannot be followed out the aim of every grazier should he to encourage the most nutritive grasses, anei, where possible, sow ryegrasses and clovers. Most farms have at least one pice-c of land capable of holding ryegrass for a, fair period, and a paddock of this grass will be found a wonderful help in iillin" the buckets.