THE SOIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 22 August 1910, Page 7

THE SOIL.

ATTENTION TO HARNESS

As leather is going to be high-priced the farmer should see to it that all the harness of the place is taken care of : properly treated, the tackle should last a. generation. All tears and rips should be mended as soon as noticed, and a box of copper rivets is one of the indispensable portions of the stable equipment. It does not- take a minute to put in a rivet, and it may save many minutes, of time when on the road or in the paddock. Now and again the whole of the leather in the harness should be washed with soap and water, and after it is dry taken to pieces and oiled. It is not necessary to let the leather stand till it is bone dry before oiling or greasing ; when it will take the oil begin to rub it- in with a piece of rag. and do not be afraid of a drop of the oil on a trifle of the grease. Next day. if it is not going out. #o over it again with tho oil rag. and before putting it into use rub all the grease off, as if left on. it will attach the dust and undo some of the good work.

SOILS FOR- LUCERNE.

Considerable doubt appears to exist regarding the best soils and most suitable conditions for the successful growth of lucerne. Here is an American agricultural expert's views :—"lt is more difficult to grow lucerne on some soils than others, and on some of them it is not wise to make the attempt. First, any sojl that is not. more than 2sft above the water line is too shallow for continual lucerne growth. It needs a depth of at least 3ft to water, and if the distance is even greater all the better. In laying tile underdrams for a foundation to a lucerne field seek to get the level of the water line down at least 3ft- or 4ft. On peaty soils, with little clay or sound earth within them, it is not often that lucerne will hrive. There are some exceptions to this rule, though they are not well understood. On nearly barren ntnieh it is doubtful if it is worth while trying to establish lucerne fields. They must be continuously fed, and it must bo remembered that these mineral, elements must come from the soil. While the most luxurious growth of lucerne is usually from"*a porous soil, a loamy or gravelly alluvium, yet clays drained and stored with vegetable matter are producing some of the best growths of lucerne in the United States. This is especially true of strong. tough limestone clays that, when in their natural state, hold water 'like a jug,' but when underdrained and well manured become more open and pervious to both air and moisture. On such clays lucerne revels. and when ploughed up and other crops are planted on the land it is astonishing to see with what vigour they grow, revealing plainly the very great benefit that the lucerne has been to the soil, both by adding nitrogen

SORES THAT REFUSE TO HEAL. Sometimes sores are found which re-ii:.«-e to heal up. A small amount of pus is daily discharged, but the sore it's elf remains in a stationary condition. 11 is suffering from weariness, and requires stimulating into activity, otherwise it may become chronic and growlarger. Rexona, the Rapid Healing Ointp i-nt. is particularly applicable to a case f,f this kind. Mrs. E. Fletcher, 83 Newman-street, Newtown, N.S.W., writes: "My little boy Had a terrib'y sore toe, which .prevented him walking. Tli c sore refused to heal for several months, although we tried every rem2 dy we could think of. We at last tried j-iexona, and it becjan to heal at 'jnco, aT_d in five or six Says there was qot a li-.ark left." ilexona is sold in iar pots at Is 6d and 3s. Obtainable -it Jas. Boon.*

NEVEK XEULKCT A COED. A cold should never be treated lightly, as it is always more or less serious. Many people make the mii-i-ake of nog-ledh:g ~ co-Id until some serious lung trouble its nils-. Jf every cold received the attention it should have, the danger of this would bo avoided. Every cold can bo cured by :};r use of Chamber-lain's Cough romedv. iA bottle or two of rh'is remedy takon when the cold is first contracted will promptly cure it. r.nd not only save doctor-' bills, but much suffering and ann-ovance later

through the decay of its leaves and roots, ami bv bringing up mineral matter from the subsoil, and by decaying and leaving the air and water passages through tlio always before too dense to permit these k-lptul agents to work their will. And when lucerne is sawn again upon these clays after one or two years of grain or hoed crops, manure being scattered over the land in the interval, it is found that the lucerne responds wonderfully. and yields better than it did after its first settling."' POTASH AND CLOVER.

In agricultural experiment*- the relative fertilising value of different fertilisers does not always stand out clearly, as the results obtained may be rendered indistinct by the character, of the soil and the season's weather, but the benefit of potash and phosphate for a clover cron is a fact that has been demonstrated over and over again irrespective of soils and seasons, and an abundant clover crop is an advantage which is felt through the rotation—"were all the merits of the red clover emblazoned in letters of gold on a large canvas it would fail" to convey to the mind its true value."

That potash is the dominant requirement of the. clover plant is shown bv the fact that a. crop of four tons of clover hay contains 1801b of potash, and not more than 621b of phosphoric acid.