THE SOIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 21 October 1911, Page 7

THE SOIL.

COW-TESTING. FARMERS' JUDGMENT AT FAULT AGAIN. "At the beginning of the past season," says Mr. W. M. Singleton, Assistant Dairy Commissioner, in his annual summary of the work of cow-test-ing associations, "we asked the members of the new associations to select, in order of merit, their eight best cows. One object of this was to centralise the attention of the owner on the results as they came to hand during the season, and also that we might know something of the average dairy farmer's knowledge of his herd prior «.o testing. The comparisons of the owners' selection with the yields of the individual cows for the season is interesting. A few of them are :—Not selected : A cow giving 3461b fat. Selected : A cow giving 1201b fat. Difference: 1241b. fat at Is a lb., or £6 Bs. Not selected: A cow giving 2441b fat. Selected :* A cow givin- 1201b fa f . Difference: 1241b fat at Is a lb, or

4s. Not selected : A cow giving 2761b fat. Selected: <A cow giving 1401b fat. Difference: 1361b at Is a lb. of £6 16s. Discussions with some of the members' evidence the fact that mistakes are made every year because of insufficient information. "Farmer 'A' had a cow that he thought was giving- milk equal in richness to skim-milk. The cow was rather restive and nervous and did not take kindlv to ordinary handling ; consequently the farmer decided to dispose of her and her yearling heifer. He said he would have received about £2 10s. had he sold the cow at the time. His first return from the Cow-testing Association gave the production of this cow as almost Hie best of his herd. He was surprised, but sensibly concluded that if she was as good as indicated he would give her more attention. He started milking her himself, and in a short time, with kindly treatment, she was as quiet as other cow s in the herd. At the time the story of this incident was related by the owner, he stated that £ls would not then buy the cow. . . . The saving effected on this one cow more than conipensated the owner for his trouble with the season's testing of the whole herd. There were other cases similar to this. . . . We believe," concludes Mr. Singleton, "that the extension of the Association's principle of testing dairy cows will continue to evidence such mistakes of judgment."

MANURING FOR MILK

RESULT OF ENGLISH EXPERI MENTS.

An experiment was conducted last year in England to ascertain whether superphosphates and sulphate of potash would give profitable returns on pasture lands used for grazing milch cows. It (was a. continua'tion of an experiment begun in 1909, when an increase of 84 gallons an acre was recorded. Two plots of four acres were selected in fields in poor condition, the soil being of a strong, clayey nature. On account of indications of lack of lime. 10 cwt. of sulphate of potash were applied on both plots in the spring of 1909. On one plot 4 cwf of superphosphate and 1-J, cwt. of sulphate cf potash were a- lied immediately (afterwards, while ;to the other plot no manure other than the lime was given. No further manures were used in 1910. The effect was tested by comparing the milk yield of the cows. Two cows were grazed on each plot for a fortnight; they were then changed over, the two that had been on the nomanure plot going to the manured plot, and vice versa". This continued for five months, so that each lot of cows visited each plot five times. In order to allow the o.ws time to get accustomed to the difference pasture, the milk of the second week of each fortnight only was taken into account, and (he amount doubled to represent the fortnight's milk. By thus changing the cows from one plot to the other the effect of differences between the cows was minimised, and the only factor* that would influence the result would be the manures applied. Owing to the manured plot having much improved, a third cow was put on it at the same time as the other cows, and kept on the same plot till the end of the season. During the five months the yield of the two cows while on the unmanured plot was 66881b.. and while on the manured plot 68411b. The yield of the third cow on the latter plot was 33921b.. so that the total excess on the manured plot in 1910 was about 86 gallons an acre. This confirms the result obtained in 1909. when an increase of 84 gallons an acre 'was obtained.

PLANTING CITRUS TREES. Mr Prcscott (principal of the Burn. ley School of Horticulture) remarks in the Victorian "Journal of Agricul. ture'': —A soil i n which the texture is loose and friable (approaching to a sandy nature) is the suitable soil for citrus trees. Stiff clay, heavy basal, tic, solid loamy, and shallow soils should all be avoided. It is more important to hav e a friable than a rich soil; it i s more profitable to have a fiee.acting soil than one rich i n plant food, although a fair proportion of vegetable humus is always desirable. Perfect drainage is another essential, and natural drainage is invariably preferred. There must be no possibility of any stagnant or sour soil con. ditions during tire life, of the tree. Such conditions will inevitably result in the setting in of fungus diseases oi th e roots. For this purpose it is preferable that the presence of clay subsoil should be guarded' against, unless the overlying soil is of such a depth that the roots do not penetrate i" to the clay to any extent. The subsoil should be physically of a naturally porous condition, and only such a subsoil will produce the best results, both of tree and fruit. So soon as the soil Is warm in the springtime, planting mar be proceed, ed with. The young trees will thrive better if received "from the nursery and .planted in a "balled" condition. That is, the tree is removed from the nursery bed with a good ball of soil, and packed in hessian or bagging. The ball is then placed in the hole pre. pared for it s reception, and the soil is well filled around it, without dis. turbing any of the roots, and without breaking the ball. The soil is settled with a good supply of water. There ;s no necessity to removo the canvas, beyond untying it from round the stem of the tree; it will soon decay in the soil. It is a help to the young roots when thev begin their growth, to sprinkle a handful of bonedust in the hole before placing the tree in position. If the trees are planted by this method it will not be necessary to cut away any growth from, the tops, unless any one branch is unduly prominent. A method adopted iu California is to bore a hole with augurs some distance into the soil, at the bot. torn of the t-re e holes. Those are fill, ed with well.rotted leaf mould or peaty soil. It is supposed that the roots in seeking their food will grow downwards int 0 these food reservoirs, and that deep.rooting will be thereby induced.