PAKIHI LAND.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20574, 16 June 1932, Page 13

PAKIHI LAND.

SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS MADE.

CLOVER AND GRASS TAKE WELL. The autumn sowing of grasses and clovers on a ten-acra block of Pakihi land at Sergeant's Hill, near Westport, has been very successful, according to Mr T. Rigg, of the Cawthron Institute, Nelson. x'here are approximately 80,000 acres of Pakihi land on the West Coast. ltecently the Cawthron Institute leased 25 acres of Piakihi land, with a view to sowing -the whole area down to pasture according to the methods and treatment lecommended by the Institute. The first portion, consisting of 10 acres, was sown, in the middle of March, and an excellent take of both clovers and grasses has been secured. The growth of the clovers is well forward and the colour is good. The result which has been obtained is of great interest in that no implements have been used in preparing the feed bed other than two harrowings with an improvised set of harrows. Lime and Superphosphate Used. The Pakihi vegetation was burnt off wherever possible, and then ground limestone at the rate of 25 cwt an acre was distributed by hand. After an interval of several weeks superphosphate at the rate of 5 cwt an acre was spread broadcast. This was followed closely by the sowing of the grass and clover mixture. The cost of pasture establishment on the block was worked out at £6 an acre, but this does not include a small Mim expended in opening up surface drains. In connexion with the plots which hnve been established for some years, Mr Rigg stated that a wondefrul improvement had been effected in the consolidation and aeration of the soil as a result of pasture establishment and. the grazing: of the pasture by stock. The soil had now the mellowness which was associated with all good pasture soils. The stock, both cows and sheep, wh'ch have grazed on _ the Pakihi plots, hare kept in excellent condition throughout the season. Expectations Exceeded. In an interview, Professor T. H. Epsterfield, Director of the Cawthron Institute, stated that the success of the Pakihi experiments far exceeded tiie most sanguine expectations of -those who originally asked that the Pakihi lands should be systematically investigated' by the Cawthron 6taif. There vore still those who maintained that in course of time reclaimed Pakihi would go back to its original waste condition, but it was interesting' fo note that abandoned Pakihi plots upon which tentative experiments were carried out twenty years ago, had not-" gone back to Pakihi soil conditions, though the pasture had become poor. When those old plcrts had been recently top-dressed they had come back into good pasture, without the necessity of resowing. _ It was doubtful if any class of land in the Nelson province responded more readily to scientific treatment than the hitherto neglected Psikihis.