THE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 34, 10 February 1922, Page 9

THE LAND.

By AGBICOIA. CATCH CROPS. A catch crnp 15 one that take? its place ' between those ihat are grown in accepted farm practice ,-md by their u*.e more stock can be kept. The catch crop fed off on the field is also the source of added fertility to the soil. This catch crop can often be grown without further, manorial treatment: the residue of plant food that remains from the preceding crop may suffice. I To what extent catch cropping may bo practiced will be determined hv the nature of the soil, the locality and the usual season that prevails. There is, however, no doubt that far more, may be done in this way to provide more food for stock is r the time of the year. \\ the grass of the pasture fail*. It may al5O be remembered that quite apart from the food value, the catch crop is a. soil improver, particularly if n leguminous plan' is made use of; this may be crimson clover, tares, etc. Such a "crop wkeu I he l:md i> ploughed nUT feeding it off greatly enriches ihc -oil (>n the , stronger, rii Vr 1-nid the catch crop i= i preparatory to the cereal. Organic matter is also supplied to the suil m ihis way | Another advantage that i? gained by: growing a crop r> i this nature, or of any ?ort. when the land would normally be vacant. i» that it will very materially assist in weed control. Further when sown in autumn, t late summer, thrse crops aid \ery largely in the conservation of the. elements of plant food, particularly those of a nitrogenous nature: the crop mitigates rhe leaching out to which the bare earth i s exposed during the prolonged rains of winter. The early sown earth crop will provide some food for stO'fr in late sumnvr and very certainly the supplementation will be appreciated in the autumn and winter. It will be of even grer-ter value in the spring, when it is in reading- for feeding before grass provides reasonable grazing. It is impossible to lay-out a definite schedule of what to grow and when to sow, for every one prefers his own particular scheme. The system too is determined by the climate, the Boil, the ,-tyl,' or purpose of the farming and stock requirements. ; Among the crops that may be mentioned ore:— Vclclke p r tare's. In Great Britain this is a favourite catch crop. The plant is leguminous and as with clover it leaves the soil enriched in nitrogen. As a rule this crop, except for seed, is not sown alone, it is usually mixed with a proportion of rye. oats, or beans to act a= a support to the vetch, or tare. The crop, if not required for feeding green, makes hay of a high food value, or if the season is not suitable for haymaking, it may nhvays be profitably conserved in the silage stack. The usual quantity of seed that is sown is three bushels of tares and one of oatrf? If this crop follows a cereal a light dressing of a fertiliser should be | given, unless the soil is naturally of a good quality, but even on such soil the manurial treatment will be responded to I by the heavier crop. The comrnenceme'nt i ol 'making use. ot the crop suuuld be '■ when the plant is in flower. By this I means it will be consumed before the i pods become ripened, it is after that | stage that waste occurs. The limitation \ of the recommendation of vetches, or I tares, as a catch crop, valuable as it is for all stock, is the cost of the seed. It j has to be recognised that at fourteen ! shillings a bushel, a crnp that requires three bushels to the acre is handicapped at its onset. It is, however, very certain that, once the benefit of this crop comesj. to b e recognised, the grower will save the seed that may be required for his own purposes. Crimson clover alone or with a proportion of Italian rye i≤ a favoured catch crop on the dairy farm of the lighter lands of the warmer districts of England. It is the catch crop that very assuredly commends itself to the dairymen of the Dominion. Eape is an ideal catch crop, it probably makes a greater appeal to the sheep owner rather than to the cattleman. The oat. Marjy varieties are available. There may be the Dun. the Algerian, and others, they all lend themselves to use for this purpose and no green food is more acceptable to ( the live stock of the farm.

Cape Barley. This is one of the plants that has already proved its merit as a catch crop. It "has the further advan tage. that it may be town at almost any time of the- year. V/'ape barley sown as soon as possible will make ' sufficient growth to allow it. to be fed down in the autumn, or before the winter really begins, it will then stand until spring. The dairy cattle and the ewe. in lamli cannot be supplied with a more suitable food. It is a complete change from the pastures and from the winter root feeding, (ape barley provides the nevrly calved cow and ■.he eivr with her lamb the feeding they both require for the encouragement of the best milk flow. i The ideal rotation or place for this barley is after rape or a similar crop. It, however, often follows another cereal. lln the first case, on good laud a fertili- ' M*r may not be required, but in the ■.ceond a. liberal dressing that contain? a proportion of a. nitrogenous fertiliser should not be omitted. Let it be remembered that the first cereal has consumed a certain quantity of that clement of plant food. The Ca->e barley that follows makes thp same demand on the bfore; further, all crops that are required to furnish yreen succulent forage respond to a manure of iliat nature. The quantity of seed that should be sown to the acre may be accepted as about two and a-half'to throe bushels. The heavier seeding is usually more i desirable for a crop that, is to be coni Mimed in the prreen state, than if it be , intended to be harvested when ripened. I l?ye is also made use of as a catrh ' crop. It. certainly claim; consideration. It provides forage in conditions of climate and soil where other crops failIn wet. cold districts, and on soils that are far from kindly, this plant is availed of with advantage. It is suggested that the system of catch cropping th.it has been so well tested in Great Britain and that is so generally accepted in farm practice there, should receive jrreatcr attention from the stock owners of the Dominion than they have hitherto extended to this very profitable farm practice. I