LAYING DOWN LAND.

Clutha Leader, Volume XX, Issue 1036, 1 June 1894, Page 3

LAYING DOWN LAND.

(The Field.) Laying down land to pasture, either temporary or permanent, is in these, days, when erery pound off labor account is an important consideration, ii subject which hardly receives the aUention which it deserves from agriculturists. As a rule, anyone who ha~ a field with which nothing else can h* done, and which is probably not overlean, resolves to lay it down as a means of saving expense. This is one of the greatest mistakes which can be made ; better leave it alone. Land to be laid down should be in good condition, clean and well drained ; sowing grass seeds on foul, ill-drained land is as useless as throwing them into the sea, and will lead to nothing but disappointment and loss. Some people do not care to go to the expense of laying down land permanently, and, while wishing to economise labor, do not quite know how they can do so. It is these whom I hope may be attracted to the subject of temporary pastures — that is, two, ! three, and four year lays ; or in the case of light, calcereous soils — such as those of the Cotswolds — to sowing sainfoin or lucerne, which may be left down for many years, and give a good crop of hay, besides furnishing an •abundance of useful sheep keep. Both plants are deep rooted and capable of resisting drought. Grass and clover mixtures, consisting of board red, alsikes, and Dutch clovers, with Italian and perennial rye grass, are generally sown with a crop of either oats, barley or wheat, and, taking present prices into consideration, I think the two former will prove more satisfactory j than the latter. The corn crop in any | case should not be sown too thick, as \ if laid by bad weather, the seeds may j be much damaged or destroyed. On j one farm which I know a large field j which had been sown with a mixture as given above was nearly the only one which produced any hay worth speaking of in the dry summer of last year, besides which the aftermath had a large share in feeding a number of sheep. When land is to ha laid down, the greatest care is necessary to get it into the best possible condition, both as to free'dom from weeds and fineness of tilth ; harrows and rollers must be used freely, and a fine, even surface produced before sowing. When fit, the crop may be sown. In the case of wheat, this will, of course, be in autumn, and the seeds must bo put in in the following spring, March and April being about the best time. The crop should not be too high. With barley and oats the seeds are put in after th« corn crop, preferably before the rain, as it will give a better chance of getting a good plant. The seeds may be sown either broadcast or with the seed harrow, the latter method generally ensuring a better result, especially if the weather be at all windy. There are differences of opinion as to whether the grass and clover seeds should be sown seperately or together ; personally, I prefer the former, the seed lines being crossed. A bush harrow is now used, so as to just cover the seeds, deep covering being detrimental to, and in many cases destroying alto- j gether, the power of germination. From this, the importance of a fine seed bed without deep fissures will be i obvious. After the harrow, a roller of medium weight should be used, and it may proye advantageous to put it over twice, the second time going across the I first. A firm seed bed is essential, j Nothing can now be done to help seeds sown with corn except to remove the j ranker weeds, such as docks, etc., and j this should be well attended to. When the corn is cut and carried, the young plant is best manured with a good dressing of farmyard manure, or, if in a forward condition, stock may be put on, perferably not sheep, as they are apt to injure it. In this case the manure should be put on at the end of the year. Should the autumn prove favorable and stock be kept off, some useful green food may be cut, and, unless there is a necessity for putting on stock, I perfer this plan. Rolling should be done about November, and again in the spring. At the latter time bush harrowing is also recommended. In the above I have only referred to spring sowing, but on the heavier land, which, after a wet t winter, cannot be got ready in time, autumn sowing is practised. The mixtures in use for laying down for two, three, or fouryear leys mainly consist of perennial rye grass, cocksfoot and timothy, the latter two in small quantities, together with broad red, Dutch, and alsike clovers. The mixtures vary in weight from 301b to 401b"per acre, the greater ■weight being for the longer leys.