Page 20 Advertisements Column 1

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21727, 9 March 1936, Page 20

r . ..'. f.-t- .--^:—-—- _,_f d ■" “AND GOr _ tSOROLE-OP nitrogen: 1 , ’dfnitrpgeft fi?,* the'soil peed: pot- tte d&BBCUIt- 'qt kNE’Of the"greatest enemies the de- : vefopmCnt' of. nitrogen farrrting has had -isi New Zealand is 1 the tendency of the fanner to regard theland asa thing to be robbed of whatever it will'yield.' Long life and continuity -o£»pr6ductfon are matters he is- only 'Just becoming aware of, and t& learning-for the first, time to regard r the soil as a permanent ‘home. The attitude which makes him want ,to remove tha>utmost from the land,,reitimlng nothing, concerns nitrogen farming more thair anything else, as nitrogen is the' chief substance the soil is- depleted' of by “grab-all” methods.' When he does set out' to preserve his land in.good condition indefinitely, this item will be foremost in the efforts made., , Probably no one understands exactly the manner in .which any particular soil acquires nitrogen. The outlines .of the methods are these. -Bacterial life,, which increases the more -actively moist soil is stirred' up, and dies, out as it is cultivated dry, is the" source. Some, species collect the nitrogen from the • air directly; others indirectly , from , rotting green ' plant material. In any case the air is the original source of all soil nitrogen. The task of, the farmer is simply to assist these bacteria to live and multiply freely so that they cart increase the soil’s nitrogen content To do this he has to feed them, with, the knowledge ,hat whatever he doefc give them he will secure back with interest. : ' ' HUMUS AND LIME. Humus is a poorly understood factor in the process. Most farmers believe it to be nitrogenous. This depends, however, on what it was made from, as- humus’ is simply any peaty, half-rotted, half-ensiled vegetable matter. If it had nitrogen (protein) ih it at the time when it was buried, it . will be nitrogenous, but substances like straw are chiefly fibre and have little nitrogen to'start with. The value of humus, however, lies in the fact that it is an admirable bacteria culture. It is quite useless if it remains buried and Undisturbed, when it will lie for years without any change. On the other’ hand, if soil containing it is cultivated often, so that the humus becomes widely mixed with the /harder particles, in the presence of moisture, bacteria can, accumulate, large quantities of nitrogen from the air. This is one basic . Operation required—to provide humus Out of any vegetable growth available, grass, straw, crop refuse, etc., and then keep the soil loose to allow bacteria freedom to work. The value of limed soils is great ,In this feature also. When a certain percentage of lime is present a movement occurs in the soil as the moisture content varies. It swells slightly on drying, and contracts when wet,..bjut tpe movement is enough to give encouragement to bacteria development. This item is important in pasture work, where ’ actual cultivation is neither practicable nor’ desirable. In addition lime controls the acidity of the soil which greatly affects the total numbers of bacteria available. In many cases lime is more valuable than super, because of this effect. Much of the credit given to super is ho doubt due to the gradual accumulation in the soil of the lime contained in it, as the result of continued applications. ■ ■ SOILING NOT ALWAYS NEEDED. Whenever nitrogen storage is mentioned it is usually associated with the growing and ploughing under of Spiling: crops. This is a great way of securing nitrogen, but not always practical. Rather is nitrogen farming a: technique or habit, slowly built up by the farmer, whereby he does some-: thing to assist the storage with numerous little methods.. No wholesale soiling is suggested. Small operations from time to time are far more valuable. In straight-out cultivation the ploughing under of straw or crop refuse,. unless disease . prevents the practice, followed by deliberate encouragement or weed growth to cultivate under later is an ideal method. Any vegetable matter at all that can be added should be treated in this manner. The heavy crops of grass that are often grazed off paddocks to allow ploughing to be done more cleanly, can mean a great chance of storing nitrogen thrown away. These, continual RIGHTER PROSPECTS TOR APPROACHING WOOL SALES AND FAT STOCK MARKETS, he immediate future values for 00l and fat stock have not been » encouraging for some time, rowers should take advantage ; our expert service. Our orgasation tight throughout our busi»ss enables us to secure maxima prices at all times, orward your next consignment, jwever small; as a trial. ' H. MATSON and CO,, 145 Cashel St., CHRISTCHURCH. applications build. up in- time to netnoroughly useful. Cultivation helps. The caking of fallowed soil heavy rains should be forestalled irrowing. Soil must be kept free moist, though deep cultivations je too frequent,, if they prevent tures offer great possibilities for ;en accumulation. Clovers and tie particularly store nitrogen blit they cannot do this 'if there humus and rotting mulch Tying 0 soil to provide bacteria culture prevent excessive evaporation. Pa pasture is grazed too closely iiilch mat becomes thin and may E tear* entirely, leaving bare ground, s a result of attempting to secure iu«ih grazing from a pasture. The ing-uo and preservation of tne ti mat is the most vital thing in re work, as everything depends -quality of fodder, prevention of ;ure loss,, growth and length of ►f ■ the plant, and even the estabent of some of the more delicate ILDINGUP A PASTURE MAT. “ fine Way to build up a pasture Is by mowing pastures as soon as acre important animals have nngrazing them. Usually followers up the grass at this stage* but is false economy, if, as frequently •s, the mat is injured. Stock do tctually have to feed on the mat •stroy it. What happens is that vers eat the less palatable porof the plant that might well have added to the mat. The action of ria is to continually, though slowissolve away the mat, which will y vanish unless replenished with in the shape of plant refuse. The ing of the less vialuable growth of tasture to do this is an extremely le and cheap operation, upled with the mower are the I harrows (not the drastic type), e both disturb the mat and break lanure piles, processes which each t nitrogen formation. Fresh ma- , well broken up, is easily dissolved iacteria, and this work removes ever-present curse—rank uneaten i around undisturbed clumps, hj can waste a quarter of a pad1® SIMPLE PROCESSES, of the processes outlined here >r than simple everyday ones be incorporated into the noro routine without esqr.t. They intelligence in doing" the corog rather than actual cost, n be classed in the rapid remp, however. The effects arc ive, and need to be preserved continual recognition of the >s of nitrogen culture, ct benefits are many also. Soils freer working, resist evaporaa greater extent, and do not his is due largely to the better ;bntent. Erosion is also contv the same factor, whilst a still benefit is the increased ability Articles to concentrate, mineral ' the upper soil layers, which leaching. These are features )0t he secured so readily by application ofpowdered nitrones, as' in this case no .humus :omtbe; “Australasian,”