MORE GARDENING TROUBLES.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 212, 6 September 1924, Page 20

MORE GARDENING TROUBLES.

food consumed. Correct; feeding not only guarantees the full use of powers of production, but it increases the vitality of the animal, and improves the breeding value of the future progeny. Remember always the law of heredity in blood stock —"From sire to the female; from the dam to the male," and work for prepotency. Let it be understood, once and for all, that correct and liberal feeding of stock is the only means whereby breeders can make certain of breeding etock true to type. Without it, breeding is a lottery, and a success a ffuke.

Milk ' is produced from the blood of the cow as the stream is circulating through the udder, and every farmer is aware that rich blood cannot be produced without the generous supply of good, strong food.. Of all food consumed by a good dairy cow, only one fourth (25 per cent) at the outside, is available for milk production. The other three fourths (75 per cent) are taken for maintenance of the body functions and needs, and this is a first call on the food eaten. The body of •the animal has the preference, and exercises its' right. It stands to reason, therefore, and every intelligent farmer will seethe point, that it is just plain foolishness to feed a cow short, because he is depriving himself of legitimate and possible profit in his business. Here is a clear case of penny wisdom and pound foolishness, which means that a penny held too close to the eye will hide from sight a pound note. The real practical value of good breeding in dairy cows is that it confers the power of making the most profitable use of food consumed. It is simply ordinary reason and common sense that this valuable power must he wasted unless ieeding is carried out by, the right method to make the best use of the breeding. There is the whole practical truth. The modern dairy farmer must take as his slogan, breed for ability, feed for performance. SUDAN GRASS. This plant, Sorghum halepensis. will ma_ e a growth about five to eight feet nig- in from sixty to eighty days from the time it is sown. It is strictly an annual, consequently it must be sown each year. It is a very leafy plant that tdlers freely. Its stalks are not so coarse as those of, the ordinary sorghum, ■nd on account of its vigorous growth tl £ m ° St , a Bm °thering crop. It can- !"!=•»'*»£«■=' £r_gX,fwrsLft

Pasture grass and clover hay are all to be considered better for a dairy herd But its chief use with us will be that. or a forage crop, and for that purpose it may be used in the same way as millet. It is said by those who have experience with both millet and Sudan grass that the latter is better adapted to feeding off, and recovers more rapidly than the former. Those who propose to grow Sudan grass will realise ihat, as with all rapidly growing and heavy crop production plants, it is a gross consumer of plant food. It rlemnn<ts rich soil to enable it to produce up to its full capacity. It" the' sui. is .o. of the richest, fertilisers must be generally supplied. Sudan grass is grown for its forage. It is for such crops that nitrogenous manures are necessary, and there need be no apprehension that this element may be over-supplied. TOPDRESSING GRASS LAND. I This is a practice which gains in favour-eyery'year, and it is a satisfactory matter to find that the majority of inquiries which come our way are concerning topdressing. Farmers are finding out for themselves that the great benefits to be gained by topdressing grass land do not exist merely in the minds of theorists, but that they are realities open to aIL The greatest need is undoubtedly for phosphates. Phosphates are used most extensively by all classes of live stock, and as this element j is rarely ever in excess in the soil, it follows that frequent applications are necessary in maintaining fertility. One cannot go far wrong in the choice of a suitable form of phosphoric acid, but still some forms are better than others. Since experiments have proved very conclusively that phosphoric acid is not washed out of the soil by drainage or floods, the more soluble forms of phosphate, principally superphosphate, have increased in 'popularity. F>irrr «-■'' always give good results, especially if used on paddocks that iiave ueeu lmieu. It is only when used after lime that super gives its maximum result, and, in the same way, the full benefit of liming comes only after the phosphate has been added. It is a safe thing to say that a top* dressing of 2* to 3 cwt of super per acre will quickly repay 100 per cent. Super is not easily sown by itself, at least through the manure feed of a grain drill, so, to make it better to handle, it is a good practice Ho mix with it a fair quantity of finely ground carbonate of lime. The lime and super may be mixed in equal quantities, or in almost any ratio, but when intended for use on limed land there is no need to use > more lime than is necessary to make