LUCERNE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 29 July 1922, Page 3

LUCERNE.

A WONDERFUL PLANT.

Mr -F. W. Greenwood, 8.A., Instructor in Agriculture, gave a most interesting lecture on lucerne at the Weraroa Farm School. In speaking of the origin of this legume he said that it was supposed to have been first grown on, +he central and Southern plateaux of Asia. In' i^i 8.Q.-> at the time of the invasion of Greece hy Xerxes, mention was. found of it, and it was extensively used as fodder for the horses of the Roman army. From Italy the plant travelled to Spain, and thence to the Spanish South American colonies. After this it became widely

known, and soon found its way to all' pui t,a vi ji.uru.rje and America, and iu,ter came to Australasia, being hist grown successfully in this Dominion: i.l iuarlbi.rough between forty and nicy years ago. in one important respect lucerne diirered irom otner legumes, as its roots are known to have revened a dept a of tnirty to forty feet in search of moisture. It was, however, a mistaken notion to imagine that it would grow anywhere under the same conditions of treatment. Ihe soils most suitable for its cultivation are a good river silt, a sandy soil

vuiicu 10 was given sufficient body by green manuring, etc.), and a limestone soil. All practical investigations had tended to show that one of the most important features of soil having reference to its suitability for lucerne, was the subsoil. Stiff clay subsoils and ironstone pans, while they i did not absolutely preclude its estab- | lisnment, often made it so difficult as to render growing it a poor commercial proposition. The question the farI mer should ask himself should not be so much "Can I grow lucerne on my Mmr £?* A <Can * Srow Profitably. Mr Greenwood stressed the importance of thoroughly cultivating | tne soil. As the young D l a nt was apt t6 sufter seriously from frost or from the early growth of weeds, drilling must be done either well on in the spring or early in the autumn, not before November for soring sowing and generality not later than the end ot February for an autumn sowing The land should be well ploughed, then cross-ploughed or disced, provided that the paddock was not overrun, with twitch, which was often soread by discing. The spring-toothed'cultivator should be used either after or m lieu of the discs, or immediately succeeding them. The surface for sowing should be rolled, and the drilling followed by a light chain harrowing He advocated liming the land before drilling with not less than one to two tons per acre of carbonate of lime. Twelve to fourteen pounds of seed acre had proved a suitable quantity, and either broadcast sowing or in drills 21 inches apart was recommended. He also dealt at length with cutting and feeding off lucerne. So far as the uses of the legume were concerned, he said that a well-balanced ration was one which combined about one part of proteid" or nitrogenous matter to six oarts of starches, sugars, hydrates and "fats. Red clover hay, which contained proteid 1 to 5.8 of carbo-hydrates and fats, and green oats, containing 1 of proteids to 6.2 of carbo-hydrates and fats, might well be said to be wellbalanced rations. Lucerne hay was 1 to 3,7, From that it would be seen that it was a concentrated food containing a high proportion of proteid or tissue-building? rather than" heatproducing, materials. It should^ therefore, be fed with greens, watery footls, such as maize, grass, turnips, mangolds, etc. He quoted Coburn, the famous American authority, as saying: "The alfalfa plant furnishes the di-o-tein to construct and repair the brains of statesmen. It builds up the bones and muscles of the war "horse, and gives his j rider sinews of iron. Alfalfa makes the hens cackle and the turkeys gobble. It induces the pigs to squeal and grunt • with satisfaction. It causes the contented cow to give pails full of creamy milk, and the Shorthorn and white-faced steers to bawl for the feed rack. Alfalfa softens the disposition of the colt, and hardens his bones' and muscles. It fattens lambs as no other feed, and promotes a wool clip that is a veritable golden fleece. It compels skim milk calves to make gains of 2lb per day. Alfalfa drills for water, working 365 days m the year without any recompense from man. The labour it performs in penetrating the subsoil is enormous." No other agricultural plant leaves the soil in such good T»hvsical condition as alfalfa."