THE SOIL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 8 January 1914, Page 3

THE SOIL

SALT AS A FERTILISER. Some plants more than others are benefited by dressings of salt applied to the soil. Thus mangold wurzel and beetroot still preserve the ancestral love oi salt acquired from their ancestors which grew on the seashore. It has been calculated that a crop of mangolds removes as much as 90 lb of common salt from the soil. In garden practice i: has been found that the general effect of the addition of common salt is to stimulate leaf-tissue. Light applications of salt, to a kitchen garden makes the leaver of lettuces, cabbages, and garden, plants generally thicker and more succulent. In agriculture salt is often used as a manure. It starts chemical changes which set plant food free and it attracts moisture. But its use requires care. When strong it poisons plants and it is often used on gardening paths for killing weeds. Even when employed as a fertiliser it often acts as a check on vegetation at first. It has been remarked that the general effect of salt on kitchen garden vegetables is to increase the thick- « ness and size of the. leaves, and it has been proposed to use it systematically in the case of those vegetables, such as cabßTage's, where ( the leaves are eaten. European experiments. Rothams:ed amongst others, have shown that quite a remarkable quantity, of chloride ol sodium is carried far inland and comes on the land with the rain. LIME EXHAUSTS SOILS. Applications of kme will cause exhaustion of the soil if used alone and the land cropped every year; yet it- proves highly beneficial when farmyard manure, green crops., or chemical fertilisers are also applied. Lime is not- strictly what-is termed a fertiliser, though it is a substance found in the structure of all plants; but it serves to hasten the chemical action of other organic .and inorganic materials existing in soils, and therebv prepares the plant foods for better 1 assimilation by plants, thus being a useful and indispensable assistant on nearly all farms. SMALL ENSILAGE STACK. An Otago farmer writing to the "Witness" says:—Having something in the lieighbourhod of 12 to 15 tons-of lough which was not required, and knowin* the difficulty of making hay under the shade of trees, the writer determined to convert it into ensilage for winter use. Many farmers have'a similar quan- < tity in comparatively waste corners, and the experience gained will be acceptable to them. What was • thought to be a sufficient quantity to begin, with was cut with the Scythe. This covered an area of two chains square. on which there was was about half a good hay crop growing. Rain came on soon after it was cut, and soaked the grass in the swathe. This was sledged into a stack, but 9ft square, and raised it 4ft high. That was left for two days, but proved insufficient to raise the temperature of the stack up to the 130 deg. to 140deg. F. desired, which is necessary to make sweet ensilage—the kind mo'sfc .suit-able for cows. The temperature of the stack was taken by means of a thermometer let down into a two-inch galvanised iron pipe built in the stack. In this case :t rose quickly to 110 deg., and beyond that it would not move. Another 4ft of green grass was addedt to the stack in the hope of raising the temperature to the required height. The heat steadily increased during another two days to 125deg., but it would not budge beyond that. It was decided to be satisfied with the slightly sour silage which would result from such a temperature Evidently clover and rough grasses do not heat easilv when led in wet. Seeing that the first bench controls the subsequent heat of the stack, it :s vital to beg ; *i_with a good block of green mater it 6 of Bft at least thick and to allow the temperature to rise to at least 160deg. before adding more material.

MAKING ENSILAGE. A New Zealand farmer describing the method of making stacE ensilage, says : Last vear we began cutting about November 17. Each morning before breakfast we had ent and horse-raked up as much as we could cart- in by r)00n . e same thing was done after dinner. This •ensured getting the fodder into the stack. We waited a day or two tor the temperature to rise. To ascertain the temperature we have a galvanised water-pipe about sft long and in diameter. A wooden spear head is tuted into the head of the pipe, and the pipe is thrust into the stack. A dairy thermometer, on* the end of a light stick is then pushed into the pipe, and in half an hour the temperature of the stack is registered on the instrument. When it vises to over HOdeg. Kah., and is sesn to be rapidly rising we go on building as rapidly as possible As the stack is built the pipe pulled out and put in higher up, and providlng the temperature does not. rise above 160 de Fah.. the work of building goes on. but should it. rise above this, then P rPsanl " should be applied until, by excl, . l^V l " the air it stops rising. Ihe snperioiitj ( f mechanical pressure over the populai but clumsy .method of weighing wnth enrth is now readily seen The U.Tmei plan enables you to. regulate the heat ,>l you? Htaok from start to finish, the latter one precludes you trnm doing so, f.M- 'it is obviously impossible to keep tnkiiiE fff and putting on the "T 1 ?"; 51 - Mechanical pressure can be nPP means of ordinary fencing wire, placed rouH.i the stack and tightened by means of wire strainers..