ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13498, 27 May 1907, Page 9

ON THE LAND.

POTATO-GROWING. .'•» o, n crown successfully on ' Vot *? rU ol soil, but a Band o£ good ■ mtt "{ ■• or a medium loam is best adapted .•tody or a i to . their place ' '■**?*. iZnl ere is no fixed rule. OC; ' in th ° lv bey arc grown alter " seeds," Ca v.'°, as a Preparatory crop, has many * -its favour. The decaying vege- - °M t3n ttcr furnished by tho sod is valu- - ta f of only as a source of food for the on account of its beneficial plant, but a» physical condition of the in T C The habits V the plant demand a 90 a il,h The land, therefore, should Roughed deeply in autumn, and crossi -had if possible, in early spring. ■' PI S s ccc« or, failure of the crop largely 1 *J2l on the character of the seed tubers. ■ Kany Parts it is tbe practice to Plan , In „n tube", the bigger ones being sold rlooSg Purl,-, There is confer- ' So diversity of opinion as to the best «£ . !f cod to plant; some prefer largo tube*. . Ins others assert that equally good rc*l will be obtained from smallon*■ ■ S discussing their • cropping capabilities, ' * \lo kinds of small potatoes must bo con Sercd- (11 the late-formed tubers of 1 g robust plant.; and (Z) the produce J plants of low vitality. If the bulk of 1 seed consists of the former then Sto satisfactory returns will bo obtained ' £ the tubers are small simply on account .//; their having had insufficient tjnj ■» - reach full size; the remainder of the seed, revel may be the -all, stunted produe of weakling plants, and from such^ weakling- tubers can be expected, practi "iH^tytpoliht^ ; ,£««««=;« S^:.-ehl;^S chances are that if ■ ■-' from the same- stock boused for ; a hlr of years in succession, there will '• ran everScreasing proportion of the ■: A,, of weakling tubers, with the result : S X « will become more and more * unsatisfactory. ... . _: -- that whole ; tubers, profitable for p anting run short it is unwi « tubers.' N<> *fS2 infield hovv'ever, need bo feared With this class of cut seta derably planted per acre may ce the TOS ' hole but o the other hand, the :- • " Pl * genor'alTv contain a less pro- ■■■ produce. -s3l"-than the produce of ' ? rt i°« Jj- P a ing should bo done soon ; whole seed. ■ lin " sets covered in with . , aftercutting, and thefts — - a3 littlo delay as I*£ J fo sufficient • t3autto^ r ui° U the yield from cut "When, however, it is necessary to pro■feod into finely-powdered lime. The ■0S the wet surface.of the set, - vents or, at any rate, considerably .retards, • ' hardly be laid .on ■ the imiwltance of this point. New seed as unquestionably more disease-resisting than ■ 3-Sat has been grown ..on. the; same am for a number of years, and to secure ■'• he biggest crops; apart altogether from the question of disease, it would seem to be Ssary to introduce new seed frequently During the past four years . different : methods of storm?; seed have been tested ffdtho practicability of growing in the hter districts considerably larger .crops ' {han formerly has been clearly c demonstrated By a method which has been ' larKclv adopted for some years by tho groSs of early potatoes, seod-Bwe tubers Sw placed in the autumn in shallow boxes containing no soil or other material, and "stored throughout the winter in iters ini a •:- ceil, wctl-veStilatcd, and well-lighted shed. Ixdm time to time the order of -.the,boxes.. in the tiers should bo reversed, so as to ens." an equal amount ■of light to all the, •E wtatoes • This treatment 'loads -to the : .5£L" Of. the tubers .and, the develop .: mint of short, sturdy green sprouts. It >» a method, however,, that involves a good !:• deal of labour at 'a time when, work-presses; > •:'• and, ' further, accommodation for boxes is often lacking on farms at this season of the ■■. year. ■■■■■..■■ v---■■■■■■■■..■■ ■:'..■■■"■ ■■■■■■•-.. •■■ "■■.-■' ."■-' Successor failure in potato-growing , is ' determined largely by the choice of variety. The seed may be in first-class condition,- _. the soil and maaures"may; be- the same, lor v .tall,-; and yet: one variety may yield tons ' ;' less per -acre than- another. \ j; In. testing varieties of potatoes it is especially im- . . . portant that the stock from, which the seed ■ for ' the •; test is drawn should have been grown tinder tho same soil and climatic conditions. ■ . ':.Disease-resisting power is a most important consideration, and so also is the natu-;-i ral tendency of the variety to form; tubers the bulk of which are' big enough to bo put .•upon: the market as ware. This, fortunately,*, can be controlled to a certain "ex- , tent by using cut sets. Then, again, choice . of variety must be governed by the demand of the market. . • Probably no crop grown on the farm receives more . manure than tho potato crop. 'Although, in most cases, the plant responds V readily -to liberal manuring, it is doubtful ;%if it is a greedier feeder-than other "fallow" crops. It should be borne in mind ..' that the largest possible crop is not always y the most profitable, and that an excess of manurial ingredients over the requirements . of the crop may load to considerable waste. :: 'It may be argued that any such excess will ■ 'benefit future crops, but the farmer wants , the highest possible return on the first j crop—" resjdual value" being generally 'a. f: more or less doubtful asset. r ■■•■-: In manuring potatoes a certain amount of -"i dung is always beneficial. It may be applied at different periods of the year, but ' most experiments show that spring applica- . : tions give the best results., The; most com- ■■;■;;. mon . system of manuring potatoes is to ■:: apply ; a moderate dressing of dung—say ;:. about, 10 tons per . acre—and supplementing , , with artificials. In the : use .of the latter ;, along .with dung caution is necessary; it is • believed -that artificials are frequently ap- '.'. plied in excess of the requirements of the - crop, "and that, in consequence, smaller profits are obtained . than; when more economical methods aro followed. The following mixture of artificials per acre may be recommended as a safe and reliable ono; under most circumstances:—lewfc sulphate f* of ammonia, 2c\vt superphosphate, lewt sul- ■'■■;; phate of potash. .'•

DESTROYING BLACIOSEIIRY. ** The following method of eradicating blackterry is by Mr. F. B. Guthrio, of the Now "South Wales Department of Agriculture. Mr. Guthrio suggests that tho freshly-cut .stems of tho plants should be dressed with 'dry powdered arsenito of soda. A corres- '' pondent who tried this wrote, that " this ..was only partially successful, owing, per- • naps, ■to the powder purchased not being ~ tho best kind, .being lumpy, and having no means at his disposal to make it fine—a "'. "W 1 quantity foil to tho ground, refusing to stick to tho ends of the stems—-where it , ■ . did cling it did its work effectually. However; the idea of applying arsenito of soda ■was mad© use of by mixing a solution of arsenic and soda, in the proportion of lib °'. arsenic to 21b of washing soda, and : mixing them in five gallons of boiling water (the wator must bo boiling when the mixing,; takes place). This was applied to too roots after digging round them, so , 'hat- the liquid would" percolate to the •roots. This -was most effective; tho clump 0 briar is now quite destroyed." Tho cost ot treating this particular patch, having an * r «a of about 12 square yards, was about j* M; it would therefore bo too costly 1 'large areas, unless a less quantity proved . i'ufficjent to kill the plant than was used in ,iiie .instance above quoted. Arsenito of ™" a ,iis a very deadly poison, and in ordinary circumstances contact of living plants with, very small ' quantities is sufficient to ''■'■ jO"> Ip the experiments carried out at th » Hawkesbury Agricultural College the cost of arsenito of soda solution worked .;out at 2d for five gallons. If, then, caro : ' is , taken to apply the solution without waste by moans of a spray pump, the cost *aould not be beyond a- reasonable amount, an d would, without do »nt, bo' cheaper than ;y grubbing by hand. A word of caution with ;v : ;;;,., regard to- stock running in th,o same pad- " "-lv is necessary. Owing "to the poisonous nature ,of-arsenito of soda, stock should be Mt"T r> Until ' the Bcrub has been cradiW« ; i y tllls nlC£in3 any grass that may l_d?v_ J i?' 81,l ' a5 ' &d wiU have died, and Will Son i? nt; '_.- th<J rißk of accident from • , ffßieoa reduced to a minimum. ' '■,■' ..'■■.'. . ■.-■'■ ■ .. ......

brevities!,. The quality of intelligence' in horses is transmitted from generation to generation, end tends to increase under the teachings of. man.,. ~-.."' ;■■ ■■ Break away from old-fashioned ideas unless they are good ones. , Too many stay in the old places and hold to the old ideas, just because they are old. W,hen will dairymen, stockbreeders, and general farmers learn the value of the silo? its importance increases as crops diminish from drought or other causes. Horses are quite equal to doing their own •crushing and grinding, and the extra mastication ensures a larger admixture of saliva which is essential to digestion. "Wentworth," in the Farm, Field, and Dairy says that there is nothing to be -.gjained by mixing bran with horsefeed. Bran as a food is not worth the money it costs.':'"'.'.":"' • < By thorough and skilful cultivation the soil is broken up,; or pulverised into a greater number of soil particles, and around each particle there circulates warm air and moisture, in which is dissolved the prepared plant food. .