THE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 216, 12 September 1925, Page 24

THE LAND.

THE VALUE OF SOIL ANALYSIS, On the question of soil analysis we find agricultural opinion sharply divided. On the one hand there is the fast dis: appearing class of fanner who has cultivated his'land according to local cus- ' tome in the fashion of his forefathers, and refuses to admit the possibility of improvement. the other extreme is to be found- a smaller but increasing class who pin their faith on soil-analysis tand look to the" chemist to solve all their problems. The older -class of man is, of course, disappearing more or less Tapidly with the rice of a younger gen- • eration more liberally educated in, all respects. The second, however, tends to increase, probably through the bad effects of a partly absorbed education in modern methods. Both views are ridiculous in the light of our present knowledge, and eince soil analysis forms an ever-increasing; part of the work of propagandists andj indeed, concerns all manufacturers of , artificial fertilisers, we may well devote some little time to the examination of the present position. The author, though an analyst bim- . self, must confess to a snealcing preference for the older type of obstinate farmer who will brook no interference from scientific experts. At least with such a man wedo know how we stand. With the other type, the man is convinced of the value of soil analysis ae.a complete solution of all his troubles, and no amount of argument will alter his conviction. Should you gently imply ■ that he is perhaps expecting too much, or that you cannot stake your reputation on an analysis of his soil and a forecast of his yield of oats or potatoes ■ from the application of a given fertiliser, he thinks you a fool for your pains and seeks hi 3 information elsewhere Unfortunately, he too often finds it > for there is always someone to be found who will serve up an analysis on demand and glibly proceed. , to advise 01 the best method of procedure. i What is a Soil Analysis? ' In former days, in fact since Liebig , ! great work, on agricultural chemistry ?t was naturally assumed.that ,^ soil an ' alysis, by o certain substances in the.'soil, ijwould in dicate deficiencies ! which could,'be reme died by adding the necessary chemicals 'Theoretically the reasoning seemed.per fectly sound. A plant on .analysis ii "found to be composed of certain mate ' rials, ' compounds of metallic and non metallic elements, together with mud nitrogen,, carbon and . hydrogen. .. B? 'growing plants in water or sand cul : - -tures and omitting certain constituent ' of' the* nutrient : solutions. .(a- practic .;..is.till:;emploved at the present day), i -was possible to detect which substance -w.ere essential to growth. Surely thei : if the soil be anaivsed in a similar man ncr and be found "to be deficient. saT 'Sri potassium salts, what else could b ! done but to' remedy the deficiency' b' the addition of some potassic compound For many years soil analyses, length , . 'and tedious; were carried out chiefly, 6n imasines, as a matter 'of scientific in Merest and without practical applicator, as maY be judged from the exampli • gif*n below:— . -. '.."■.;'■, Insoluble silicates," etc." ..,..;. 79;30 Alumina . — ....i. ...v.....•..• e.-4i . ,Ume • 2 'W JTeiric oxide ... •••». 3§* Magnesia • 0.0Soda : 1-20 ■Potash i .... 0.71 Carbonic acid 0.07 Sulphates 0.00 Chlorine ...' 0.03 Phosphoric acid 0.26 Organic matter, water, etc. ■>.. 6.50 ;.-...„..... . . .100.00 Similar analysis were carried out'fo , enterprising land owners, probably ii the pious hope that they were doin| the correct thing and) that some benefi •would ensue. In! many parts of • fchi country I. have found a tradition, o ■some ■ "professor"—they . are all ■ pro , fessors to the , farmer—who had ■ beei carrying out experiments and analysi ' in 'the .district. Modern soil analysis . however, is a vastly different mattei ; For practical purposes it is only neces . aary to determine the amount of th ■ principal fertilizing constituents, nitre - gen, ■ phosphates- and potash, togethe ■with the lime content or lime require ' ments, and • the amount of ' organii matter. More rarely other constituent .■have to be determined, for. exempli when a soil is notoriously sick or infei .. tile. - • • ;" Importance of Mechanical Analysis. This chemical aspect is but one pai of tlie problem. All soils are compose of solid particles of mineral matter c i different .sizes,, and it is these different 1 -sized particles and-the proportions i 'Which they occur that determine to great extent the ; type of agricultur which can be most profitably carried o , ( ,m the district.... ■■ ... . ..■ ■. > : The of the particles determine to an enormous extent the water suppl; . of the plant- If, as is at presen ' assumed, the plant can absorb miners substances only when they are in solu 'tion, it is obvious that, the ease, wit! ' which the water can move about In th soil is of great importance. " Most o 'the major operations of cultivation^end as : plowing; harrowing," rolling, are o importance chiefly" in so far ..as : the] • affect- the water supply. .The deter mination of the size of the soil particles i the so-called mechanical analysis of thi i.. eoili • is in many instances a most:, im . portant. part of modern soil analysis , Again, Ln recent years, the idea thai soil is a lifeless clod-has given away i before the advance of science. Bioloi?i . B . have ' established .without question if/ t ct that the 80il is teeming witl n l md of many species • SSfS! be beneficial oi laarmfui to cultivate* crops. tevo^: rom ? tete ' modern soil analysis , ments of the eon £ A 8 ,"? constit -

technique, and is therefore- costly. To be of the greatest value it needs to be interpreted in the. light of local conditions of climate and.geology. The result of the analysis of single samples must be interpreted' by comparison with other samples from similar soils •. in - the neighbourhood, and can therefore be fully utilized only when a soil' survey of the district is available. Unfortunately, there is' no need to. rush to ■ the. opposite and condemn all analysis as useless. Certain , soil. con-, stituents .are readily determined, some physical properties are easily measured, and within due limits soil analysis is of great value not only . to the farmer, but also to .the vendors of fertilizers and feeding stuffs. . Lime and Soil Acidity. First place must be. given to the determination of the. lime content or. lime . requirement of the soil. Fortu-, nately there is little difficulty in deter-, mining, by standard laboratory methods the amount' of calcium carbonate' in the soil. A little more difficult, but still of enormous practical : value, • is the determination, of the lime requirement, i.e., the amount of calcium carbonate or other form of. lime required to bring the acidity of the soil to the optimum for any particular crop. The degree of soil acidity itself, though its origin and precise nature give rise to much dispute, -can be determined by laboratory methods with ■ sufficientaccuracy for all practical purposes. Frequently : such determinations, assisted by full details of the; "life history" of the field for the preceding two or three years, are sufficient to enable an experienced soil analyst to. make general recommendations of great value. to the cultivator and to the fertilizer merchant. As regards the latter it cannot' be too strongly emphasized that the sale of the most suitable fertilizer for the given conditions: is of the utmost importance. No factors so control the nature and composition of the fertilizer required as ,soil acidity, and the presence or absence .of. lime. . ' A further important factor, is. the nature and. amount of the. .organic matter present in. the. soil.. The estimation of the. total .-nitrogen, in some instances ..of the njtrfltesj together with the .determination of the amount, .of the organic matter present in the soil, often throw much light not only on the chemical ' aspect of the soil concerned, but also on the water; relations of the soil. A step further, the mechanical analysis- adds still more to our knowledge of the water relations, ... As regards the determination of other plant nutrients, or even ...poisons.,- the value of such work depends entirely upon the special ; conditions. Here should' be- emphasized* the supreme rvalue of a personal inspection,of the land in question. This, or ; \a'B second-best a . full account- 6f the ■ .conditions* will dictate the course.of the analysis. It is, impossible ,to lay . down-hard-and-fast rules as to ,what should be determined and what omitted. Every case needs different treatment. '„; ..'■•■. Nowhere is the old saying that the middle course is. best more true than in the question of soil analysis. Agriculture is man's oldest industry, and it is more likely in this than in other work that traditional methods have proved -their worth; but agriculture,, like ,, all industries, must take heed .of - . the scientific progress of.jbhe laet century, and may .well, profit by the proper ..use pf soil.' analysis. — " American Fertiliser." TYPE AND BREEDING. In her wild state the cow gives barely enough milk to support her young and immediately dries up when the calf is weaned. The ' farther she is'removed from the , wild state, through selection and - breeding (writes an English .stock journal), the more profitable she-becomes; out if this selection and breeding are riot maintained through the generations she reverts to the wild state, at least so far as production is concerned. 6ne of the most important activities of the breeder and must be, the maintenance of-as much good blood in his herd as possible, and the more the better.\- , Line breeding is a Valuable and powerful meane for propagating v th'e desirable qualities of exceptional \animals and for the establishment of famijips within the breed, but there is an element of danger. By intensifying the blood lines it tends transmit the undesirable cl\aracteristic9 as well as the desirable ones, ;and for this reason it is well to leave its practice-to the experienced breeder rat. :er than to the amateur. . . V / Inbreeding and line breeding are differ l ent degrees of the same thii.g. Vnd the line of demarcation between . two ie not definitely fixed by an 7 geWrallv accepted standard and both are subject to the added danger of a temptatiori to go to extremes ancT.regard them as antend tft be gained rather than a insane :t<» an end. If this idea becomes dominant! the breeding of ' domestic animals -became? eirnply an office man's job of selecting 'the pedigrees without , regard to| the qualities of the ■ animals themselves. A bull may be chosen solely on his pedtigree and without regard to hia individual merit or the good .quality.of his immediate ancestors, but wholly because Aie is a¥ iritehsely-bred animal of a certain family. When : inbreeding or line breeding is to be practised a more Vigid selection of breeding stock in aeceslsary than would otherwise be the easel |rht blood' is intensified and the bad qualities ' will be further intensified \ as well as the good ones: •' ' [ Perhaps the wild white cattle of Cfeillinghani Park are the--best-filluetratiipn of inbreeding. These- cattle '.hay been , reserved in?this park for more than "Oγ , years.with no infusion of no other blood! they are uniformly pure "white," witr red ears,- brownish muizle. iblack horn? and : hoofs,- and -are' .so ■ wild': that*; thei feed at night, hide: their -young, and flee at the first of man. tJnder tW conditions of confinement in a park,- .with nooutcross for more than seven: [cen turies. these cattle" have'become Bo : 'firml v fixed in type and character/that therp is never any. appreciable Variation' IErOP one generation to' another. VWhilei' is -.possible that an occasional outcfos wight have added vigour or size wilhWappreciably affecting the general appear' I"?.°* thie breed, this is httt'known and[these cattle l>esl r example of natural breeding. . . ■ j

STOMACH OF THE CALF. ■"' All dairymen know that the dairy cow chews her cud,. and that between the time the food is first. swallowed and until it is chewed in the cud, the food is : stored in the paunch of the animal. It ■is generally known • also that cows are said'to have four stomachs, but not much is known of the functions of these various parts of the anatomy. When food is taken into, the body it is first ■chewed in the mouth • sufficiently to mix it with the, saliva and form it into small masses, which are then swallowed. The first three stomachs of the cow are merely enlargements of the ■ gullet and when first swallowed, the masses of food slip into the paunch as they are squeezed down the gullet, but after, regurgitation and. the chewing of the cud, they slip past , the entrance.to the paunch and. reach . the , third and fourth .stomachs. ~ "The ...fourth stomach is the true stomach, where-the food, is acted upon by the gastric juice. Ope of the uses of the first three stomachs- is to store the food until after' the cud is chewed, but during the period of storage the food- is .softened and, to some extent, ground -up by muscular' action. This i& particularly the case in the third stomach, into which the food passes after the cud has been chewed and where it is:ground:up between the many.folds of this enlargement of the gullet. ■ ; It is important for the dairyman however, to note -the ; difference , between the stomach of the young calf and the stomach of' the mature animal. In the young calf when lkst born <■ the paunch is hardly developed at all.;*in tlie mature animal it . holds very , much more than the other'three stomachs together. In the young calf the true stomach holds 'more than the" paunch, owing to the fact that it does not eat much roughage and, - therefore, has not the-same need" for the paunch. The -■ first" three stomafehs •of the young animal develop only as the calf' grows- and takes to eating roughage and coarser feed in greater, quantities.. By the time 'the animal has- matured' the ■ paunch is developed, and the dairy animal has become.the most economical user of , roughages all classes of live stock. It is'" important for the dairyman to remember, however, that while the calf ■is young it has not the power to make use of any large quantity of rpughage and must, therefore, be fed on • concentrated foods largely, as in the case of the pig. Dairymen .who are interested in the rearing of young'stock to the point where it will return the .greatest amount of profit at- maturity should always remember that one-of < the best ways to stunt the young animal is to give it •rough feed- which it-is not yet in a position to make use of. On the other hand, the most likely way of developing a calf at & maximum rate is to giveit plenty-df , milk, supplemented by -concentrated • together with 1 what hay'Vand other rough feed it will naturally learn to take as it' grows older,,, ..from, having it, ; constantly .available. ,, Tlio. feed ing practice should be such as to carry the calf .along .from calf hood to maturity without a setback. In this way the .maximum amount of growth will have been secured, and, the animal'brought along "after this fashion will surely be the most profitable miker, 'hereditary tendencies being equal. WHY IS TOPDRESSING . . NECESSARY ? A noted authority has given two good reasons why grafo lands deteriorate. He states that- it is- a- matter of common observation = that - many of pur - native pastures show • signs , of deterioration. The quality of the' herbage - has fallen off, and in many cases the live stock allow evidence of malnutrition. Instance* of this may be seen in every district, but the most striking cases are those in 'the older, settled areas-of" good rainfall Natural pastures deteriorate in several ways:— :'••.' ■-"**-. *I; Overstocking and injudicious grazing. ' ' ' :'.,... 2." Continual removal from the soil of the elements of nutrition by ..' the annual crop of ; wool, lambs and fai stock without the replacement of. thes« nutritive elements by. means of . fex tilisers." In addition, in the heaviei rainfall .'districts mineral nutrients,, e.g. nitrates and lime, are actually leached out ,of the soil by the heavy rains. It is patent' that the continual re moval.-of the elements of nutrition front J;he ..soil by annual crops of wool lambs, and fat. stock, sold off the fanr without replacement of certain minera nutrients- by artificial • fertilisers. , wil' : reduce the fertility .of. both rich and poor.soils.. This condition will.-be. mos< evident in the. older settled districts oi the country and especially, in the mois ter localities, for in these areas th< drain..on the soil nutrients is more con' timio.iis. and the losses by leaching' arc considerable- .The amount of minera nutrients removed from the land by ,thi annual crop of live stock' is consider able. Of these •nutrients the' phos nhates arfe of ; special importance ot aceonrit of the low phosphate content ol our soils. •••" ■■•_ ■ Tt has been calculated that for th< State of Victoria the drain- on th< nhosphates of the soil over 60 yean has from stock alone been equivaleni to two million tons ■of superphosphate This' estimate ia based on the amouni of -phos-nh'orie acid, in- a sheep carcasi being: ?ilb, and : in a cattle beast ISlh "ounting in the losses from other classe. of farm stock and including also th< drain of milk production. : No such estimate has been made foi New Zealand, but the drain has beet almost as heavy here, that is if the re lative c stock-carryins; capacity of th( (■wo countries is compared. .Tm addition to the .removal o: mineral nutrients by animals they* are losses by leaching from- the soiT es-neciallv in -...regions of heavy rainfall The .drain on dairy -lands is partien 'arlv heavy. 'For instance, a dairy cots nrodnoing ' 70nmb .of milk a';., yeai requires a? much phosphorus' for , mW ilone as is contained' in 2noib of aver nore .fertiliser.' to say" nothing of th« '"-niantity. required ~ for bone "growthanc fWe production "of a calf. Furthermore '; be requires for. milk alone more nitro 'reii than there" is in 2501b of nitrate c •oda; Tn' grazing a certain amount o: .-•'Tieral elements are returned to tn'i •jTid by stock, but if hay is taken of ' field and fed to cattle elsewhere th( 'oss is considerable. Where seed crop! r'""re ; - taken the_ loss_is_still greater ai "ricfi In mineral elements "secured from the soil. . ■ ■ .