THE FARM SCHOOL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 17 June 1925, Page 6

THE FARM SCHOOL.

YESTERDAY'S WORK. A FULL DAY. The inclemency of the weather no doubt affected the attendance at the opening of the session for yesterday, and at ten o’clock there was not a very large attendance. More farmers, however, came in during the morning, and before the first lecturer (Mr Smith ot Wanganui) had concluded there were about forty present. In the afternoon, when Mr \\ ood, M.R.C.V.S., of New Plymouth, gave a practical demonstration of the anatomy of a cow there were probably fifty present, and a very interesting time was spent by all. In the evening a lecture was given by Mr E. Bruce Levy, agrostologist to the department, on a subject in which he is a specialist, “Pasture .Establishment-.” , Misses Cl'igue entertained the party at afternoon tea, a kindly attention which was much appreciated. LUCERNE CULTIVATION. (Lecture by J. M. Smith).

An instructive address, with lantern slides, was given by Mr J. M. Smith, assistant instructor in agriculture, on lucerne cultivation. Lucerne, said the speaker, was pne of the most palatable of fodders, and could be used for all classes of stock. He said it was a great standby for the dairy farmer, and therefore everyone should have a stand. He showed pictures of well-established crops on various well-known stations in New Zealand, proving that it could he grown well on the rich alluvial flats at. FlnxbouriVe, rich in lime, and on the plains of the Wairarapa, where most of the farms had their lucerne plots; in various parts of Canterbury, ivhei;e it could be seen growing luxuriantly two to. three thousand feet above sea level, and indeed there Was no reason Why it shoixld not grow anywhere where conditions were suitable. Other views showed lucerne growing almost in .sand to the water’s edge. Conditions of Growth.

Lucerne, he said, liked a deep, open, rich surface soil, and would .root deep ly in seach of water. -A stiff clay was no good. On the Waimate Plains there were many areas eminently suited to its luxuriant growth, and these soils were reflected in its fine crops. In some places there were what he would call plant indicators, such as English trefoil and King Island Meiilot, showing where lucerne would thrive excellently. and thus there would he more chance of establishing < good stands. In some places smother crops were grown, such as rape or oats. But an excellent method of securing good stands was to grow a green crop for ploughing in, and one of the best- of these was the blue lupin. It needed to he ploughed in eight weeks before planting lucerne, becanes otherwise the young roots would he burnt and the crop do no good. Another such crop was clover, but the lupin was the best. Lucerne, too, could ho grown after a cerial crop such as turnips, and it would he helped if the turnips were grazed, by the- droppings from sheep. One drawback, however, was the introduction of weed .seeds, which would need constant working to destroy in the early spring. Lucerne could also be grown on lea land, but the weeds that came up were a. trouble, and Californian thistle always came up affer the land was ploughed, and strong and constant cultivation was -necessary after careful preparation of the ground. Value oil Lime. A slide showed lucerne growing very well near a lime works near Napier. Lack or lime was shown in. the yellow colour of the leaves, and this crop would need heavy liming. Both carbonate of lime and burnt lime could ■ he used, but the latter acted more quickly, and the lime could be used in quantities up to lOcwt. per acre. It was best applied on the freshlyploughed land and worked in by cultivation. When sowing: scwt of lime could bo put in with advantage, and ‘this could be repeated later up to a total of one te> two tons per acre. INOCULATED SOIL. He referred to the wart-like nodules on the roots, which were necessary, to take from tire air the nitrogen essential to successful growth. . These inoculated the soil, and it was absolutely necessary to have these bacteria growing substances, especially in , tlfe first period of growth of the young plants. This inoculated soil, taken from a good healthy island, of lucerne and transferred to the young plants made tor strong growth. \Vithout this bacteria they would not do so well, and the land must also be i,sweet and agreeable to the development of the bacteria. This soil was best taken in dull, cloudy weather, for sunlight killed 50 percent. of the bacteria and made for weaker inoculation. The soil should be .spread and harrowed over, and in a few minutes it was down out of the light. The culture in liquid form could Ire purchased and broken down for use in supplying the plants with nitrogen. There was not much expense in spreading 2Oolbs of soil, and it would help tremendously. The bacteria on the bean root would not act on lucerne, but sweet clover has'tire same bacteria as lucerne. Manuring. Some people would say that manuring was doing an injury to tire crop, encouraging it to root shallow, arrd that its tap root goes dowtr for sustenance, but the fact was. that it goes down for water -and procures its .sustenance from the soil near the surface. Records taken in many parts of New Zealano and in many other countries showed conclusively that manuring gave much benefit and increased the yield materially. At Stratford, at Mart’on and at Waimate West, and in other countries, there was a very considerable difference shown in yield in favour of the manured crop. In addition depleted' stands could he* restored by til© use of eowyard manure. Lime used in addition to .super made an excellent manure, and the increitse shown' was up to as much as 29 per cent., or even 50 per cent, in some cases, and where lucerne grows strongly the grass grub did no injury. Varieties. There were, he said, a number of varieties, but of them all Marlborough was proved the very best for New Zealand. Grimm and others were reported very good, hut the other was the choice for the Dominion. It was mostly grown in Tin drills or broadcast, and occasionally in broader drills, specially where there is a fob ol weeds in the ground, so that cultivating may he done effectively. Before sowing the ground should ire cleaned thoroughly, or endless trouble will be encountered. Lucerne in drills at Waimate West gave the highest returns. It is sometimes sown with a nurse crop, but the tendency is to. make that too heavy, and it is not satisfactory as n. ifiile'. Some crops may be put in when the stand is established. Cutting. The first would depend on the weed growth, for it was wise to cut early ao as to stop the weeds seeding. The'

| first cut could be taken early so. as to let the crop buck up, and .subsequent cuts would be guided by the time of flowering or the coming away of the buds from the crown. It was proved that there was most protein content when it was l-10th in bloom, and therefore its food value 'was then greatest. If tne first cut were made too soon it would tend to shorten the life of the lucerne. The first cut taken in the early spring when grass was plentiful would probably he made into ensilage, and subsequent cutting could be used for hay or given as green feed. Tf never grazed it would live to its maximum, and grazing tended to introduce weed seeds. Cattle and pigs were very light graziers, and occasionally if cattle were put on and the lucerne 'ed off quickly, it did good. Cultivation. For purposes of eiulivation, the tine harrows was very good, but for, wide drills the horse lice was the best. After that the spring tooth cultivator and the rambler harrows. The leaf, lie said, was the most valuable, and the crop should be handled as little as possible. /Its Handling was a matter for care, as the leaf should he conserved, as if was the most valuable portion as regards feeding. In addition the stacks mould be made as good as possible. Hardy lucerne Lasted well, and Californian thistle was often killed by Interne. In addition lucerne had practically no diseases. Questions. in reply to questions, Mr Smith .said _/h'at if a crown were cut off it was generally the end of the bud, but all parts of the roots would grow if cut. He added that grazing did not take iff the crowns. Til© proper time to manure was in the early .spring, and super or basic super, in July or August, would be the best. June was not too early for the use of basic slag. Ordinarily 3 A to 2 ,'Wt would be .sufficient. - but* if the leaves were yellow .‘lent would be better. The third cut was most essential, Sand made in season the plants flowered early. VETERINARY DEMONSTRATION. (By J. B. Wood, M.R.C.V.S.) An, interesting and instructive afternoon was spent by a large number of ■farmers in witnessing a demonstration of the anatomy of a cow, just freshly killed. Mr Wood showed first the most humane and quickest method of killing by using a safety pistol, which, if was claimed, never missed and was instantaneous. Mr Wood also showed how to locate the brain of the animal, and consequently the spot to find when shooting it. He then proceeded to dissect the animal, taking off first the -shoulder, then the side, and then disclosing the paunch, and stomachs. He showed the use of the probang in dislodging an object such as a turnip from the .windpipe, and even from the entrance to the paunch. He took out the glands, and showed how that on the shoulder was the policeman of the body disclosing any disease. If this were diseased and all the other parts were free, those other parts could he used and the one part rejected. His work was accompanied hv very full explanations, and the remarks interlarded by many witty anecdotes and sayings, much enjoyed by all present.