THE SOIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 19 August 1910, Page 3

THE SOIL.

TliM FARMER'S MODEL

S-ii'lv the f:>. rmer who is a real artist in' l/.s work. Everywhere is .nade evident his a'biiity 10 see. Hesees what his soul, needs, and. more

than that, he s-tudies to see. Up, holds him-elf responsible for his ojfcr srnorance. He does not excuse him <el£ for dealing with the .s-jil in nn gnorant and wasteful manner, when i-.no wlod'ge is so easily and eh-eap'y co be had. He looks to the health <>f lis farm animals vigilantly. ID' d-ooi :ot tuin his buck upon tne teachingif science. To be'wilfully ignorant * a crime, for such ignorance -nreads infection to his neighbours. Wilful injury bo oth-ors i 3 the os--ence of crime. For this reason, th o 'aw ho!d' ; every man responsible for knowing the truth, when he can mow it. Here is found his ability :o see.

DEKP CFLTIVATIOX THEORIES.

Tt is claimed by the advocates of Icerri ploughing that it admits- oxygon to the ground, inc-eases porosity, and facilitates' ncrco at ion ; also tliat vhe'n the grounid is deeply moved the oiots of plants are .allowed opportunirie i'tir ramification and the pulverising effects of atmospheric agencies ■ire accelerated. All of which is 'rue and correct in the main. 'But I will not be denied, even by these alleged reformers of the existing methods of cultivation, that the degree :o which deep ploughing actually irra'fes' the *>:-! or pro •note -; ip er coin t inn d-epends largely on the extent 'o which the soil already pi'senses t''cse properties. "Where the soil is if a character which r?.tdily allows water to pas-S' through' it is sulFicien tly pereoia tive and if so t ) water it mist be so to the air; then, a-; it i<o well fixed 1 for the ii-erformance of 'hese. functions, the ground is already open enough' to permit of the • nmifieations' of the roofs of plants: therefore deep cultivation can do these no ,rr ood.

GOOD WHITEWASHES,

A whitewash which i's- not expensive md will .-tninl tlio- rain ami wear her without coming off, and will do for galvanised iron, is made tlnis:— ; Plnce onough tallow required for th:> purpose dn a I arye buffet; then lay tiibout the same quantity of goud lime on top of tallow—i.e., equal proportions of ■eae'.i; the.i' .prjr enough water on to slake the lime. When the heat from the H:n? In* melted the tallow, and all is well dissolved, stir it thoroughly uutil all is "mixed, then 'apply ('warm U p>s--ible) with a large brush. Tins will do for any surface. The surface :i:ust be unite dry before applying the mixture. If required to dry very white, add a small quantity of blue. ''"no following ju a whitewash for outS'ido work:—Take a clean, water-

tight l)arrel. and put into it half a bnshel of lime, slake it by pmring water over it boiling hot, and in sufficient quantity to cover five ineh'es deep, and -tir it bris.kly till thoroughly slaked. When the slaking has been eHVeled, dissolve it in water, and add :Mb zinc sulphate and Mb common salt. These will cause the was If to hlarden. anil prevent it cracking. Common colouring is prepared by adding earthy pigmenls to the mixture used for lime whiting Cwh'ieh i- wlii I e-washi ug -of .hot, pure, white lime and water, improved by •iddintr in, „f tallow, free from salt, ♦o every bushel of lime). The following (approximately) are the proportions of colour to every bnshel of ii.me. according to tint required: — Cream colour, -tl'b to filb ochre; fawn colour, Gib to Sib umber; Indian red. 21b lamp black; buff or stone colour. 6!b to Sib raw uinber and 31b to 41b lamp black.

APPLYTXO BASrC SLAT!. Basic slag has now become such an important manure that any further information on it must be useful. The point that has come up recently for inquiry is tl.'O time of the year when it may be best applied to the laud. Hitherto it to; considered that autumn was the best time, so that it might be well' washed into tin; soil after a spell of dry weather breaking up. But it is manifest that slag sowed last autumn on soil already wet and subjected to the awful floods of la-t winter must have been nearly all wasted. Phosphates are not easily soluble until acted ou by the acids audi roots in the' soil, and slag is physically equivalent to so much heavy fine sand, so that, an ordinary wetting .or wa-hing of the manure which has ibeen put on as a top-dress-ing on grass would not do much harm, and the dressing would take effect in due c-oursr; but during this la.st winter, when sheets of water were running down the fields time after time-, there must have been immense quantities of slag (and other

manures as weii) carried bodily into the nearest ditches. This brings up tin- point, then-fore, that thv best time to p,ow would be the late spring or early sumni'.'r, when the rv-ik ol c.vce sive wet is u">'«". ''"he growth of the- vegetation keep-; hold of it. and it soon, gets iiu'orp.n-al.'l with the '.ii)> of tiic soil, and i■; i i.MS be--yoiid the reach of danger. It w-oiild n'ot have any ; licet on the first crop, but it might on the a ft■■rinat :i: iliough. as we d.< no. exnec: a i.v elVecr till the M-rond year aftr-' uppiicai '•■:!. that mat.ers very little.