Page 7 Advertisements Column 1

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13347, 29 November 1906, Page 7

'.' I would rather give up farming than try to grow, wheat without fertilising the soil." This statement was made by an up-to-date Southern fanner recently. Lectures may have little effect on the hard-working tiller of the- soil, but practical results always appeal to him. The man referred to had for years battled against bad seasons, and found it difficult, to make ends meet. Fertilising wheat fields has not received much-attention, and crop failures had been put down entirely to want of moisture. Dry seasons are the rule in this farmer's district, and difficulty was often experienced in ploughing the land early enough to sow the seed in good time. Old cultivated fields were returning poor yields, but being easier to plough than new land were sown year after year.. One field owned by this man was looked upon as being completely run out, so he decided to give it a few years' rest. An exceptionally dry autumn followed, and it. was almost impossible to plough new land. Something had to be done. The old field was cultivated again, and superphosphates applied, jjater on rains came, when some new land was ploughed and sown also. The old fertilised paddock, however, gave a return of five bags per acre, while the average yield for the district was about two and a-half bags. The manure cost about three shillings per acre. The result was an excellent margin of profit over the labour and expense incurred. Fertilising is now pretty general in the district referred to, and is graduallv extending. There are also great possibilities in top-dressing pastures. Commercial fertilisers have given good results where tried, but much valuable manure, is wasted on many farms. Spreading farmyard manure under old methods entails a good deal of lalxuir. The mechanical spreader is very popular, and docs the work quickly and evenly. Pastures in this country could be greatly improved by using stable and; other farm manure as a topdressing. _ V A well-lighted dairy barn is a very important factor..-in'' keeping cows in good health. Disease germs flourish in dark places, and the best and cheapest disinfectant is common, everyday sunlight, '