ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13744, 8 May 1908, Page 9

ON THE LAND.

CLOVER AS A SOIL IMPROVER. >'"-■ 'The clover plant is tho greatest improver. v i soils ever introduced into New Zealand. Such ■■ improvement is shown in various ways, but ■ ■' roffi jnent among these aro tho enrichment it'brings to the land, and tho improvement ■". v { the namo mechanically. This holds truo • 0 all kinds of "clover, but it is probably • ; more true of the medium red variety than ' of other varieties. This arises in part from the fact that its distribution is wider and more general than that of the other varieties and, in part, because of its more continuous growth during the season of growth. Clover improves the land chemically by ' adding to its fertility, by liberating fer- '■ tility and by. removing more or less, certain fungous diseases that may have found lodgment in tho soil. ~ .-_ \ f ■ As soon as the plant begins to > form ' ' tubercles 011 the roots it begins to draw ni- ' trogen from tho air, and this process con- \ tinues more or less during the period of active growth in tho plant. It is specially : ' active in this respect during the period of ,pl formation. But the nitrogen and other fertilising ingredients made available aro by ,io means represented fully by what is left ' in the soil. It has been computed • that what is produced in the stems and U. leaves has as much fertilising material as is left in the soil in the roots. When this is fed to live stock and the fertiliser is ■put back on the soil it becomes another 'source of soil enrichment. . The phosphoric acid and potash, however, (Jo not come from tho soil. All of these found in stem, leaves and root come from the soil or subsoil, and when they are used by the ; crops that follow, it is that much poorer in ; these, so that clover cannot be grown inde- . finitely on some soils without adding some of these ingredients in the form of fertiliser. But in average soils these are so abundant that the supply will furnish material for many crops before it will be exhausted. Clover in its decay in the soil tends to liberate fertility in the same way that other vegetation does in its decay. This, therefore, is not tho special merit of the clover I plant. It also seems to remove from the soil, by destroying them, certain forms of diseases, fungus in character, that affect cer- ■, tain crops adversely. For instance, the grow-' j&% ; ins of clover is injurious to the presence of ; -A fungi which make potatoes scabby. • . ■ , ,- Clover improves the land mechanically in various • ways. • Whore it grows freely tho roots and rootlets fill the soil. They ramify through it in all directions. The taproots 'So far down into it and the fibrous roots • push out in every direction. When the clover sod is. broken, the soil, though a stiff clay, becomes friable. Its power to hold moisture coming from above or below is in- • creased, a matter of groat moment in light soils. While it makes clays more porous, . * #3 has been described, it mates light soils Jess, lenchy for the time being, since it fills the interstices with its rootlets, and in process of decay these hold moisture like a • sponge. ■ ' - It is probable that if clover were grown "for a sufficiently long period on certain lands, they might become clover sick. When lands 4 aro clover sick they refuse to grow clover, at least for a time. Clover sickness is caused .'.' by' depleting the soil too completing of its ■ potash and phosphoric acid. This has happened in Great Britain on certain soils. Whore; clover sickness is practically unknown it does not necessarily mean 'that it may not occur. It will not occur, however, where good judgment is shown in growing it.' It has happened in certain areas ..':.« that it has been increasingly difficult to get a. stand of clover, but this has probably arisen from allowing the supply of vegetable matter ;n the soil to become too much reduced. ■S. The burying of the crop instead of cutting ' it for the improvement of the land was more ' advocated years ago than it is now. Clover is too valuable a food crop to admit of giving 1:il as food directly to the land. In nearly .ml instances it will be more profitable to iced the clover-to-some- kind of live stock, ' 'and to spread the manure on the land. . •There may be instances, however, when the. land is distant from the farm steading, when T fhe practice is allowable, and also other instances, when improvement is to. be -made -. quickly.""; • '.' Some farmers sow a few pounds of clover v Seed in all their small grain crops, even H though the land is to bo ploughed "in the autumn or spring following. I have yet to meet an individual who has practised this $$ method of "sowing clover. seed who doubts its profitableness. Only a few pounds, two, three, or four, should" be sown per acre, as there may be seasons so dry that the seed would bo partially lost. Hence it is not wise as a ■rule to sow large amounts under such conditions. There are instances in certain ': lands : where the sowing of clover thus, and grazing it down with sheep in tho autumn , made the land too rich after a few seasons ' of this treatment, for the successful growth ■' of small grains. , .From .what has been said the wisdom of short rotations where clover is grown will

foe at once apparent. _ In short rotations the frequent sowing of clover stores the land more -' completely with vegetable matter. The nitrogen brought to the soil is better utilised, . tince leas of it is lost through leaching. This wonderful-plant should be grown to a far .greater extent than it is in the Dominion. BROOM MILLET. ' K Of recent years, especially in the valley of the Hunter, there has been a great increase ,in the acreage planted in millet. Farmers ■who have planted this crop continuously, over a long period have found that, taking 1 the good prices with the bad, it is a much more profitable commodity than maize, and . that it takes much less out of the soil. ;" , , Now, farmers that at one time made maizegrowing one of their principal industries aro gradually reducing the areas for com, and enlarging the areas for millet. It ' is an easy crop to grow, and while there is a good , deal of labour in gathering a crop, it is nothing like so great as that involved in "the harvesting of corn. The low price ob- ;., tainable for the latter product, and the comparatively poor yields consequent upon the , impoverishment of the soil, have not been without their influence on growers in determining them to make the change, for there certainly is not much to bo made out of Maize at 2s 3d a bushel, on an average of 50 bushels to the. acre, especially when the rent of the land is £2 or £5 an acre. The Price of millet ready for the manufacturer '■■■: fluctuates widely, varying from as little as £20 per ton to £40 per ton.' On the Hun.ji ; ter River flats a fair crop is expected to '.yield halt a ton to the acre, irrespective ot fie seed produced. The value of the seed is roughly estimated at £2' per acre. Mil- „'■ let possesses the great virtue of being able to resist extremes of conditions. It is better able to withstand a severe drought, than Braize, and, unlike maize, suffers but little damage from floods. " These two characteris- ,. ties should strongly recommend themselves to growers similarly situated to persons round about West Maitland, and it is surprising that the cultivation of the plant is ... almost confined to the. one district. The crop is easily grown. It is sown in drills, the drills being placed about 3ft apart . and the seed dropped every 6in or Bin. Two O" three scufllinixs, according to the season, suffice to keep the plants growing vigorous- -. Jy.' Planting is generally done about October or November and by February it is generally time to cut the crop. So far no ■ machine has been perfected which will do . ' 'away with the laborious and tedious method - of cutting by hand, but one never knows : what the future will bring forth. It would V b-Mdle, therefore, to-speculate on the probability of a , horse-cutter . being invented. After the heads of the. stalks are cut, two oi three inches generally being left below '-■.the broom, they.are laid out in rows to 11 .. a process which often occupies several ..days, iiowev<>r, too much care and trouble -cannot be taken 'in the drying, for, unless H is thoroughly done, the stack, when stow«u way in the barn, would very quickly , ,'','*•*•. "Hackling" the crop—that is, •thrashing it—i-, neither an expensive rriatx.r nv»* oho that occupies very much time, %<f*Y ,ftM that( the millet is ready fottlitt :..«ei*ijf, i ■ • -, j WMsW ; .MSHj f,ij i -:. ; .;;? ! ' , ';j '■■>:-.• ~:v . ■■' ::: ; '■■".'•'-:■: : ' ''■■■■■ , : . : . .•■ :■■.]

AN AUSTRALIAN SEWAGE FARM. ■ The farm at Wcrribco to which the sewage from the city of Melbourne is taken affords a striking illustration of what irrigation and pastures improvement' will vdo for • the glazier. ;; Between November, 1901, and November, 1902, 30,252 fat sheep were turned off 1640 acres off irrigated lucerne and prairie grass at a net profit of £9324. • This means 13 : fat sheep and a profit of £5 1.3s per aero for tho year—a result so surprising as to warrant a detailed description of how it was accomplished. Tho sewage farm consists of 8800 acres, lying between the. Werribeo River and the beach.; ,' Several thousand acres consist of I warm red land, but the balance is. poor I country; largely imprcnated with salt. It ■was purchased about nine years ago ,from Messrs. Chirnside at an average price of £17 12s per acre, its total cost running into £155,000, and there has been expended on it since, in preparing it to receive tho sewage, fencing, buildings, and plantations, a further sum of £210,982, so that the farm has cost all told about £366,000, and the annual interest on this at four per cent, amounts to £14,641. • ; Four ■ thousand five hundred and thirtyseven acres are let to about 30 tenants for dry farming at an average rental of £1 per acre; there are 230 acres in roads, 37 acres for a township site, 373 acres in plantation and channel reserves, of Which no less than 137 acres have been planted, mostly with sugar gums, and a fine asset theso young plantations are, adding immensely to the. beauty of the farm and providing what was badly wanted on this bleak countryadmirable shelter for the stock. About 2200 acres of the remaining farm lauds, under the direct supervision of the chief engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works, Mr. W. Thwaites, has already been prepared to receive the sewage, and tho work of preparation is going on at tho rate of about 480 acres a year. In order, to accomplish this, two 20-horse power traction engines, 110 men, and 18 to 20 two- . horse teams are at constant work. About seven miles of main concrete channels, 19i miles of main embankment, channels, 10 miles of open castiron subsidiary channels, and 19 miles of subsidiary embankment channels have been constructed to distribute tho sewage, and '18 miles of main drains' and 52 miles of subsidiary drains made to carry off the surplus water to the sea. - '". ■ •■-.*.' ■'■'. ■.. In grading the land is divided into 18acre blocks, Tho traction engines' are anchored at either -end of tho block, and draw the plough, scarifier, or roller, as the case may be, backwards and forwards, with a steel cable.. Tho first operation is to break up the land with a five-furrow double-ended plough, which tears up the land to a depth of 12iu to 15in. - Then tho land is .rough graded with scoops and the American road grader; then reploughed with a singlefurrow plough, worked to a depth of 2ft, and drawn by the steam engines; then regraded to a dead level, and worked down ! by scarifier and harrows ready for sowing. The steam plant with the five-furrow plough turn over the 18-acre block in. three days at a cost of 12s 6d per acre; with tho singlefurrow plough in four days at a cost of 16s 8d an acre, and scarifies the whole block in a day at a cost of 4s 2d an aero. The total cost of grading in the worst land runs into an average of £6 to £7 per acre. NEW ZEALAND EMIGRANTS. It is a curious fact that while New Zealand is worrying itself about some of its settlers leaving the '■"Blessed Isles" for Australia, Australia is troubled because its settlers are going to Canada. The fact of the matter is this shifting about has been'going on ever since there were colonies. To some men distant fields are always fairest, and to a race so restless and ' discontented as ours, change is more than, an attraction, it is a necessity. New. Zealanders have gone to South Africa, to Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Paraguay, Patagonia, and a good many come back again wiser than when they went. Taking New Zealand all round, there is no more pleasant and promising country in the world. Its. climate, its people, its scenery, its soils, its natural resources, cannot be surpassed; and the man who does not . recognise this is the man who has not really compared it with other countries. The advertisements of lands for sale in various parts of Australia look very attractive— so they arebut a two years' drought changes the aspect wonderfully. Those who yearn for large areas of cheap ..land look on Argentina or • Canada with admiring eyes, but--when they have spent a few years a few hundred miles awav oven from half-bred Spanish civilisation, or when they have endured a few long winters 'out on the prairies, they begin to look upon New.. Zealand with more favourable eyes. It is true that good land, well grassed and well situated, has a high value in New Zealand; but high values are only possible whore men sec advantages. Land is. cheap just in proportion to its disadvantages. BREVITIES. , Nine feet square is the most desirablo form and size for cow box stalls; 10 feet square for horses. ' .•"*■■ A little nitrate of soda and superphosphate spread on backward wheat should prove a good investment. .Fodder crops produced in' lime-rich ' soils contain better nourishing qualities than crops grown in lime poor soils. It is a matter of fairly common observation that size- of bone- is difficult to obtain on over-stocked or stale pastures. Lucerne is amongst the most valuable of green crops'on the farm, as it is good for horses, dairy cows, sheep, and pigs." . Under the influence of lime plants develop more powerful root growth, more solid structure and greater capacity to withstand disease. '..-.'' .-. '--... ■ Soils that, in conscquonce of sourness, a?e unable to grow satisfactory crops, are soon changed by the action of lime into a healthy condition. There is no form of farming that so educates and develops a farmer in his mentality as a rearing of farm animals. It has large possibilities in it. The production of bono in young horses is mainly 'influenced .by the nature of the feeding grounds and the amount and character." of the added foods. Strong-boned arid small-boned sires certainly tend to reproduce their like, but tho factor of great controlling power in the ascending or descending sc< le is the food. Certain hill glazings of moderate elevation grow sheen with big, strong frames, whilst other grazing:) on adjoining ranges make for more compact b.itlies and finer bone. It must be fur preferable to secure stud sheen from Hie original flocks than to tako them from flocks which have themselves to import their stud rains from. Ilia same sources. Prom time immemorial it has been known by agriculturist.-: that the cultivation year after year of the simi,' crop on the same piece of land is a, system which cannot bo advocated. Tho Mikado of Japan is reported to have bought some American cows and to hav»paid £3000 for one animal. The Japanese aro certainly making great efforts to improve the breeds of their stock. • To force the pig to live on foods as bulky relatively as would be suitable for the horse would be a great mistake. To feed the horse at work food as bulky as would be suitable for the cow giving milk would also bo a mistake. There is plenty of competition in the market to keep down the price of chemical manures, and if buyers will only tako the trouble to calculate out the value of the manures offered, they can always get good value for their money. Rape, in common with other plants having broad leaves, obtains comparatively large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere which, when large residues are ploughed under, as is profitably practicable with this crop, adds, much to the humus of the soil. • , Turkeys should bo kept well fed now and on to the fattening time. It scarcely pays to fatten a poor, half-grown, half-fed bird, for it has too much lost time to make up to become much of a market bird. Tho birds intended for sale by and by should be fed liberally on corn and have a good range in the open.. When the time comes for feeding for sale the birds should be cooped and fed four, times "a day on such food as this:—-Meal ' and boiled potatoes, mashed with sweet milk, to which is added finely. chopped suet. This is made up into a mixture vl equal .''quantities.' Pure water or sweet ' milk is given for drink. After cadi fading timet i