THE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 193, 13 August 1920, Page 9

THE LAND.

By AGRICOUa.

MILLET. The variety of millet that i£ in the ißore popular and in general cultivation in this country is known as Jnpancse millet. This is Dot quite the correct name, ne there are several somewhat similar races of this plant in Japan. The one we know has been rather widely advertised us a wonder plant under the designation of the million dollar grafiß. Apart from that, it is the particular variotv that ha? established its value of ouc of the most useful of the sum-inor-growing of our forage crops. In writing of millet as a summer-growing plant, it is actually the one that demands tic full heat of the sun for its beet development. It makes no projrroe in even comparatively cool weather. There is no earlier time to r.ow millet than until the soil is warm. The plant does withstand a. mild frost, though ite growth is made in the summer .heat. The aim of the grower «hould be to thoroughly prepare the land, to liberally fertilise, and to endoavour to bring on the crop with thu greatest rapidity. (f it be grown quickly the grea-ter weight of forage is iSOLTircd., and with this rthere is the greater gain of the bi-tter quality o£ the crop. Let it be remembered that the eloivly-gro-wn millet is the more inclined to develop, at an early stage, trie hard stalk that is the more serioue disadvantage of all the varieties of this plant. The control of this characteristic; h *te complete preparation of the roil and ii tuple manure. CULTIVATION. The land for millet, it is assumed, is at leaet fairly well drained. The first ploughing should be deep. It will respond to thie, and still more to sub-soiling. The first ploughing should be followed with a light one, some weeks before it is intended to commence sewing the seed. The disc and tine harrows should not be spared to work the land to an even texture. The roller should be brought into uee to assure a firm seed bed. It ought never to be omitted to roll the land immediately before drilling the seed. The special reason for rolling at the time of drilling is to ensure a ehallow seeding. A depth of lin to 1 Jin is quite sufficient. If the seed is more deeply put into the. ground there is a tendency to mould and decay. This is very characteristic of the seed of all plants that require warmth for their full development, and millet is one ni those crops that demand thie condition of the soil to assure the germination of the seed. MAMJMNG. The manurial requirements or millet are fairly large. Its habit ia that of a rapidly-growing plant, therefore one of the chief constituents of the manure should be nitrogen in an immediately available form, and it is needless to write that phosphate is an essential part of the application. It has been shown in experimmt and proved in practice that the jjfclication of 1501b of nitrate of soda has resulted in an increase of 75 per cent, over that of a prop on which 251b was made use of. In mentioning this, it is not intended to recommend so liberal a use of so costly a fertiliser as nitrate of soda. Still there is the fact of the great increase of the crop. It is also to be remembered that a liberal dressing of nitrogenous fertiliser does not only supply the needed element to start the plant, but with the greater vigour of that plant there comes the greater root system and the greater power to secure a larger proportion of nitrogen from soil sources that the plant of lees development is not able to obtain. QUANTITY OF SEED. On a well-prepared seed bed and sown with a drill, at a shallow depth, in drille of from seven to eight inches n ide, 101b of seed are sufficient. Where these conditions are imperfect the seeding may be increased to 151b. If the method of broad-casting is "iopted, the quantity required will be JOttt twice as great. THE MiANURE TO USE. This should consist of— Sulphate of ammonia ... lewt. Superphosphate 4cwt. scwt. Thk should be used at the minimum rate of 3cwt. an aw. AFTER CULTIVATION. • The tine harrow should be used when the plants are. a few inches above the surface, and at this stage a dressing of a nitrogenous manure, as the quickacting nitrate of soda applied immediately before harrowing, will be of great service. The harrowing may be repeated until the crop is quite high. THE TIME TO USE MILiLET. With favourable conditions of soil and season millet matures quickly. If it is intended to be grazed it may afford the first feeding in eight weeks. The plants are at the better stage for feeding off when they are about six inches high. This will benefit the later crop, as the tillering or stooling will be encouraged. This feeding off must be quickly completed or there will result injury, not benefit. MILLET AS FORAGE. It ia ac forage or fodder, cut, allowed to wilt, and carted out to stock that by far the more economical use is made of this crop. Millet when used for fodder or soiling should Be fed as soon as the first development of the heads is observed, even earlier. The stalks harden rapidly ac the stage of maturity is being reached. With the hardening of the stem the duration of the period, during which it is palatable to stock is very materially shortened. WILTING BEFORE FEEDING. 'Ihis is again referred to. Stock leadily consume millet when it has been allowed to wilt after it has been cut. There is less waste, it appears to have 'Become lose inclined to scour, and it provides the greater nutrition. FOOD VALUE OF MILLET. Millet at the ' commencement of flowering contains but a comparatively imall percentage of crude fibre. It ataort approximates with oats and "Wise used as green fodder. It doea jot make so great a demand upon the fertility of the soil as the latter crop. DAIRY NOTES. The age at which cows reach, the maximum of milk production is shown on the data of the advanced registry ae:— Holstein-'Friesian maximum milk yield occurs at 8 years, 4 months, 28 days. Guernsey maximum milk yield occurs ftt 0 years, 8 months, 5 days. Jersey maximum milk yield occurs at 8 years, 1 month, 13 days

These ages at maximum milk yield show that the Jersey reaches this yield before any of the other breeds. Closely following this breed is the HolateinFrieaian with the maximum milk yield at 8 years, 4 months, and 29 days. The Guernsey is the last breed to reach ite maximum yield. Thie breed reaches this yield at 0 years, 8 months, and 5 days. In consideration of these maximum yields it should be remembered that for some time prior to and after the age at which the maximum yields of milk occur the cow is giving nearly thie amount of milk. Further than this milk production in itself is highly variable. All these lluctuations taken into account, the close agreement between these ages of maximum productivity for the breeds is Tather surprising. soas. The results of a cTiraileal analysis of a soil do not, as a rule, afford a satisfactory basis .for determining manurial requirements. The chemist, it is true, can determine what the soil contains, but no ordinary analysis determines witti exactness what 'proportion of the several elements pTesent is in available form lor the crop. Indeed, there is no such thing as a constant ratio of availability. While one crop finds in a given noil all the plant food it requires, another may find a shortage of one or more elements. Further, on the very same field one crop may find an insufficient amount of potash; another mny find enough potash. for normal growth, but insufficient phosphoric acid; while a third may suffer only from the insufficient supply of nitrogen. Most of our soils are oT mixed rock origin and. as a rule, possess similar general chemical characteristics, providing tfiey have been farmed , under usual conditions. The manurial and fertiliser requirements are determined more largely, in most soils, by the crop than by peculiarities in the chemical conditions of the soil.