CO-OPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XL, Issue 5776, 1 March 1912, Page 5

CO-OPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS

THE MASTERTON EXHIBIT.

At the recent Ma-terton Show the Department of Agriculture seized an excellent opportunity of showing farmera the results of a number of co-oper-ative experiments that have been conducted in the Waii arapa with forage and grain. The exhibit which was put up and superintended by Mr G. de S. Bayliss, Fields Instructor, attracted a great deal of attention. As the old order of utili ing the soil is rapidly changing in the direction of intense culture instead of relying upon area the demonstration was of "value in showing the suitability or otherwise of the different crops to the soil and climate of that particular locality. The maize on view showed that the season has been unfavorable for this crop in the Wairarapa as elsewhere for the taller varieties, but a mixture of dwarf maize and kale produced better result?. This crop was grown by Mr E. Harper on the Holms estate, and although the season has been a backward one very good results have been obtained. The experiment was tried to ascertain the value of rape and kale as forage for fattening lambs, and it has proved highly satisfactory, both plants having grown to about an equal height. Longfellow's Yellow Dent was the variety of maize used. This seed was drilled in double rows seven inches apart. The kale was drilled fourteen inches away from the maize. Mr W. Cameron, of Te Ore Ore, tried a crop of dwarf maize alone the Sib ley variety. This crop carried sixty-five Oieep to the acre during January, and the second growth is now coming away well, which clearly proves that more than one feeding can be got off maize if carefully fed off.