THE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 60, 11 March 1921, Page 9

THE LAND.

J By __i_l-JC-I____.

* LIME AND THE LAND. *f It I-- ; "' 1 " remarkable and gratifying "I to observe the rapidity of tie realisation « that the kind may require lime. In i soils that have been in grass for many P ve-irs there i- nlwai.s the tendency to jM sourness unless it naturally contains an % abundance ot lime. This condition of g the natural supply of lime does not M apply >" a large area of the country l where the pr.me re.|iiirement is the peril manent pasture. There are such t'av- !' oure.i regions in New Zealand, but in ¥ the North i-lan-1. where the grass, al! j necessary tor the stock cf the dairy § iarta. is of the ir-t importance, tie .-oil _ usually deficient in tins element that F ;oea so far v the provision of both per- | .Tiancnce to the pasture and impr.ive- { ment of the quality of the herbage. The | decay of vegetable mutter brings with it the increase of humus; this is. in itself. J i valuable addition to the fertility of (* the soil, but this humus also demands management.- There arc certain acids associated with the processes of decomposition or decay of vegetable matter that result in the soil condition that is ' usually spoken of as sourness. The , effect of these conditions is not possibly j very markedly apparent, ruless the past ture is closejy examined, it may even appear that tue quantity of the herbage has increased, and tiiat is. from the fact, that coarser and less palatable grasses have displaced those that arc more desirable, and often it will be noted that | the clovers have practically disappeared. We know and we realise that this may he profitably remedied with iiine. There arc certain tests that may be applied in the laboratory of the clienirst that will reveal not only the degree of j acidity or the sourness ot" tie -oil. but that indicate the proportion of lime That ! is required to neutralise or correct that condition of sourness, that limits the i permanence of the. better plants of the: pasture, and that very dejinitely sets a line on the stock carrying capacity of ! every pasture where the proportion of j lime is deficient. ' We may realise thai this lhne de- ! fiviencv very naturally occurs on sol-. distant from limfe. tone formations, that there are extensive areas of a vtdcanior semi-volcanic origin and huire territories that have been laid down by the agency of waters that are essentially de:; dent in lime. Many of these -oiD and others, so water borne, have s.i. changed in appearance that they are | barely recognised as differing from the; loam and silt of the usually accepted • alluvial soils. Still the whole of these 1 are deficient in lime, for in their very; original source they bear none of that all-important element, lime. i It may be mentioned that an old I establis-hed farm practice of Oreat | Britain is an illustration ot the accura-.y l of observation and of the practical rsej that was made of that observation. The| old custom was that in breaking up' a pasture the land was skim ploughed , and the turf burnt before the next j ploughing for a crop. There was a nss of \altiable elements in the burning, out the effect t_f the ashes was the! > lessening of the sourness of ihe soil, and! by that mean- it was-, brought to a condition suitable '.o crop production.; I The subject of liming soil is of anj ( importance that warrants repeated j | representation. The sea-on for theapplication of lime i- approaching, and! it is now that preparations for its use should be well in hand. THE TRACTOR ON THE DAIRY TAHM. The profitable employment of the ; tractor on the small farm may be very j properly questioned. It is generally accepted that the tractor, in association with the horse, is the correct combination. With these means land may be 1 ploughed, cultivated, and the seed sown in the shortest time: the tractor does the heavier and more continuous part,, as the ploughing and disc harrowing: the horse the seed sowing and the covering. This unfortunately involves a more jj costly equipment and the employment « of labour to a greater extent than is a within the resources of the owner of f the smaller dairy farm. The modern ga tractor has a wide range of usefulness T? on any farm: it is no looser the enroll ••.•rsomc machine of even but a few I years ago. The implement of to-day is M -o easily handled that it is available for B many purposes, and very specially it may replace the horse teams of the I 11-i.ghboUl'a that, were the necessity for A many jobs on the farm. 9 There are men who work their farms j» almost single-handed: some with horses, % others with a small tractor. It is, how's!} ever, fairly proved that some horse--4 power is required on every farm; the ideal is the combination of the horse and the tractor. SL The problem to be solved is, we must accept the necessity of the production of jjl a greater supply of root, forage and fod«der crops than has been the general farm '*» practice, and the question is by what oM system is this greater supply to be prolß vided? It is suggested that in these IS days of co-operative enterprise and with mm the experiences that every farmer in H the land has had of the assistance of X neighbours at haymaking and harvesting, as well as in times of emergencies. iSL that co-operation may well take the |f part in the provision of a partnership jgtraetor. Inconveniences and annoyPances there undoubtedly would be, but jA our times demand the better use of the 4» land, and the tractor is very certainly E one of the means at our hand to provide that better use. THE YOUNG PIG. 9 The essential for the young pig is the _g| varied ration; the pig has a wide range =He of taste, and from birth to maturity he H& is usually endowed with a healthy appeijgfr lite, but owners should remember that 6 pigs of all ages cannot be fed to advanW iage on similar rations. The food for ■Mhe young growing animal, and for the PHtiattening and breeding stock should be 'MFvery different, and the correct start is j»-if "the greatest importance; the first Jfß'hree months of a pig'- life arc those MB hat are critical. What the young pig 9 '-ants is a run on a field of roots, or ■P lovers, or grass, with the supplementaSk ion of ground oats or barley. The field ■R .razing provides the exercise required I 'or healthy development; the food that jffi ie gets there, and the meal of oats or Sk i-irley. provide the conditions and the H mtrition that go to build up the frame P nd the flesh of the growing pig. It f lay not be suggested nowadays that SL milk may be fed to the pig, but f here is no animal so responsive to this ft ddition a- the young pig after weanThese are the flesh formers, the fatten- '§_•'? foods, of which in this country ■fenaize takes the first place, will follow maturity is re_tched.