LUCERNE FOR PROFIT.

North Otago Times, Volume CV, Issue 13935, 18 July 1917, Page 7

LUCERNE FOR PROFIT.

SUCCESSFUL CULTIVATION: AT ■- SUMNER. INTERESTING DEMONSTRATION. . Men nt the head of the primary in[ustries of this.country have again and igain declared.during recent times that lie farmers mus.t greatly increase the iroductivity of their land, must turn iff more fat stock, more grain, more nilk, more butter and cheese, to enible New Zealand to pay. interest upon money borrowed for 'war-time expenditure, military pensions, and so on, This burden, whilst ostensibly placed upon the shoulders of nil the people alike, will, tliev point out, ufimately fall ipon the land, New Zealand's one great source of wealth, and anything that will tend to increase the products of ilie soil is therefore worthy of the closest attention and full encouragement. Lucerne, or alfalfa, one of the ancients -in the history • of- fodder plants, cannot, it is true, claim to make two blades of grass grow .where one grew before, but it can enable six cows to graze where before the advent of the lucerne crop not one heifer could have survived. Farmers ,in various parts of Canterbury have been led to lay down experimental fields 'of lucerne, and in every case,'provided they followedy ox\t the instructions of experienced grows or of the officers of the Fields Division of the Agricultural-.Depart-ment,. their experiment lias led them to provide, large areas of this unexcelled foddejpnt. It js, surprising, however, that- the cult of lucerne is spreading but slowly, principally, perhaps, becauV# farmers refuse to believe that what is said in its praise can be even approximately correct. Practical experience is day by day proving j that ere long lucerne, the king of fod-1 der plants, will occupy a very impor-1

taut place in New Zealand's pastoral and dairying industries, and some go so far as to prophesy that the general adoption «f lucerne for improvement of pastures and for feeding out to stock will enable the land to double its present output. THE PKOOF. ,

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating," said Mr J. E. Stevens to a newspaper reporter at Sumner recently, and "the proof of the value of lucerne as fodder for dairy eows can be found

in the appearance of our cows, which are fed almost entirely upon lucerne just now." . Mr Stevens is the director of the School for the Deaf at Sumner, and, in company with Mr A. Maepherson, who directs the activities of the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture in Canterbury, was showing the reporter just how successfully

the.lucerne has been grown, although a few vears ago sowings on 'the same land proved a failure. But the present cropping has been done from start to finish under the direction of Mr Macpherson, who puts lucerne in the forefront as the solution of the fodder problem in dry seasons and nil seasons. ■

"We have six cows," the' director said, '' grazing ou three acres of land, and we keep them, as yon see them, in splendid condition, with the assistance of our acre and a half of lucerne and half an . acre of oats." VARIETIES UNDER TEST. An inspection showed trial rows and plots of. Marlborough, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian, Palagonian, Turkestan, Provence, Poitou, Grimm's, Peruvian, and Dryland varieties, but comparisons can prove of no great use until the plants have been established for at least a couple of seasons. At the same time it is interesting to note that the best results to date have been obtained from the Marlborough lucerne, and from the area sown in October, 191;>, seven crops have been cut tliip season, The seventh cut was in the middle of May, aud .there is. now another crop averaging - come fourteen inches in height", some of the stems running to twenty-two incliis, despite the fact that the cows have been le: into the field lately for a short time The Peruvian and Spanish varieties are also making good winter growth, Grimm's lucerne has a great reputation in America as a pasture'improver. After the lucerne is firmly established, grass is sown, and the two' fodder plants grow together. This variety i 3 said to yield more leafage than other varieties, and grows tys crown deeper in the ground, so that, it is less likely to be injured by .the hoofs of stock. It resists frost to 35deg. below zero, and has been grown at a

height of 13,000 feet above sea level. DEILLS v. BROADCASTING. The lucerne, is planted in rows. Quite a distinct difference of opinion exists concerning this, some.people advocating sowing broadcast, Broadcasting was a failure at Sumner, whilst there can be no doubt of the successful establishment of the plant on the present system. This proves the oftrepeated statement that lucerne must be in its early stages if it is to be a success. Mr Stevens has found it necessary to widen the distance between the rows, and the 14-inch intervals have grown to 20-inch and 24-inch, this system giving the best results, since it enables the Planer Jr. to work freely between the row 3, keeping down weeds and conserving the moisture in the soil, besides keeping it open so that

it may absorb the free nitrogen from the air. and convey it to those allimportant nodules a few inches underground..- .Where the seej is broadcasted it is very difficult to keep the young plants free from weeds, and they are often choked out. Or, should '(he weeds be dealt- with, the only method of cultivating I he soil is to drag the harrows across the field. This, of course, must damage the crowns of the plants, often causing black rot, and eventually bringing about the death of the lucerne instead' of encouraging it, Wherever the two systems have been tried for comparison, Mr MaCpherson's advocacy of sowing in drills has been justified. The point may be .emphasised, for it is of infinite value, that iu dry seasons the more frequently tlie ground is cultivated the better, for the crop, ami at Sumner it is the practice to loosen the ground between the rows after- every cutting. .This' lesults, too, in'greater

leat production; and the leaf- hits four tjines {lie food value of. the. sffiiiis;'-'" POOK R6ILS M) ni'jTRLMKXT At.; Simmer .the lueeriu' luis ■ ; boon grown on.Almost worthless land, with a subsoil of sand.- The ground was limed, and treated, with oOOIb of inoculated soil per acre, but no fertiliser was used. Experts declare that fertiliser i.?' unnecessary, and -that the' 'deeprooting habits—roots np, lo 40ft in length havo-bpch exhibited iifNew Zealand— enable it to draw ample sustenance from the lower strain, iiueli of the light land, even old river-beds, ii) Canterbury, are considered to be very suitable for lucerne-growing, and a definite demons!raiion of this will some day prove of inestimable value to the farming Community and to New Zealand. Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture is doing its best to eitcourgrowing, and farmers can lo worse than pay a visit to the School 'or the Deaf at Sumner, where Mr Stevens will show what has been done on the almost worthless soil. Three acres of grazing land of poor quality, olie and a half acres of lucerne, an acre and a half of oats, and six milch cows in capital condition. The bare facts tell ail eloquent story.