FORAGE CROPS FOR STOCK

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15130, 22 October 1912, Page 10

FORAGE CROPS FOR STOCK

BY W.S. Point 3 about Kale. 'As spring advances small seed sowing is being rushed on with. There is an unusually large amount of this work to be done yet, owing to the great loss of tunc through wet weather during winter and early spring, and farmers are later than usual getting their crops «- Most of the cereal crops are finished and farmers are directing their attention to the sowing of forage crops. Such crops as mangolds, carlv turnips, rape, .silver beet, sugar beet and kale may be sown. Where there, as a larsje number of lambs to fatten, if not already sown rape should be got in as soon M time permits. Frequent sowings of this crop should he so-™ so as to provide a continual supply of food until the> lambs are fat and ready to go away, lhousandheaded kale should also be sown as soon as time and circumstances will allow. This will come in for feeding a little later than the first sown rape. If sown during . the present month the crop will, under ordinary conditions, bo ready to feed by the Ist of February, while rape sown now should be ready about a month earlier • or about the beginning of January. Tho Useful Kale. Kalo is one of tho most useful of our forage crops. Although not possessed of such' high, feeding qualities as rape it nevertheless possesses many invaluable qualities. It stands more feeding and can bo fed off more frequently and is much safer feed for eheep than rape. It makes excellent feed for fattening sheep and lambs, and also for carrying tho hoggets through tho winter, and" if left over comes away well in spring, giving an abundance of feed at that season. Kale thrives, as most crops do, on rich loamy soil! rich in organic matter, on calcareous clays, and, indeed, on limestone land in general if the rainfall is sufficient. It can be grown successfully on a great variety of soils, subject to a suitable climate, but will not thrive on intractable clays, open thin gravels, or thin hungry, sands. On peaty soils reclaimed by drainage and sweetened by lime and tillage enormous crops of this forage are produced. Advantages of Kale. A few points that can be said in favour of kale are : (1) the crop is easily cultivated and ' produces an enormous amount of feed of a very high quality; (2) it can be fed to almost every animal on the farm; (3) it produces succulent feed all through autumn and winter and early spring, at a time when there is very little feed of that nature available; (4) if fed judiciously it can be fed to dairy cows, and thus keep up a full flow of milk until other foods come in to replace it; (5) the crop is much less likely to blight than rape, a very important point in its favour. It is a very safe food, and for this reason is often used as a corrective when sheep go seedy on rape or other foods. ' Kale has Certain Drawbacks. The objection some farmers have to the growing of the crop are : (1) That tho : " crop is rather exhaustive on the land and thus needs liberal treatment as regards mantle, otherwise the drain on the resources of soil will be severe; (2) the stalls, unless kept fed close, are troublesome to the plough and other implements when preparing the land for the crop to follow. This, however, is not such an objection as it at first may appear. If \ the land is ploughed early so as to give the stumps time to become soft, or partly decayed before sowing the next crop, little or no difficulty will arise, as the discs will ~-Hiyit them up sufficiently,, to allow; harrows, _X. anils, and other implements to work. - If '*' however, on the other hand the ploughing . lias been delayed and the stalks likely to prova' troublesome, the mower or reaper may 'be run over. This will cut them "" down and they will then roll under the furrow as the land is being ploughed. Cultivation of Kale. Kale is a rapid growing crop, and is a very gross feeder. It is therefore essential that the land should be well culti.'vated to allow of vigorous root-growth, and that the cultivation be deep and thorough. The seed being as small as that of rape and cabbage it is necessary to have the surface of the land worked down to a fine tilth. The seed-bed should be well consolidated by the harrows and roller, as this crop likes a firm seed-bed, and also that the small seed may not be covered too deeply. _ When kale is sown after a cereal crop with no intervening green crop, a good seed-bed is easily procured. In this case tho stubble should be deeply ploughed in left fallow through winter with ah occasional stroke of the harrows or cultivator in early- spring, to check mud and to conserve moisture until the time arrives for sowing. When kale is to follow lea (its favourite position) the land should be ploughed during winter and if possible disced cultivated and harrowed in early spring then just previous to drilling, harrowed and rolled. If this is done there is little or no difficulty in securing a good seed-bed, and as the moisture has been conserved in the soil by early sprping cultivation a good germination is almost certain. Quantity of Seed to Sow The usual quality oit seed sown per acre is from li to 21bs, sovm at 21 to 28 inches between tho rows. Ibis allows of horsehoeing which is necessary if the land is inclined to be muddy. On land inclined to be wet tho seed is usually sown en the ridge, thus lessening the risk from flooding, a point which should be carefully considered. Land is also much easier kept eioan of weeds when sown on the ridge, but in ordinary free soils sowing on the flat is preferable. If it is thought necessary tho plants can lie moulded up after the crop has been horse-hoed, as the plants by this time will be a fair size, and a slight earthing up will prove beneficial. It is well to bear in mind that no crop is more averse to a waiter-logged soil than the kale crop. It therefore necessarily follows that the crop should be sown on well-drained land. In the absence of cinder-drains the surface should be thoroughly water furrowed, as very little flooding in winter will ruin the crop, from which it never recovers. Manuring for Kale. Tho manuring for kale is similar to that required for rape, and always benefits by heavy dressings of manure in an available ibrin. Phosphates should probably be made •the basis of any mixture for kale, but nitrogenous ingredients should be added for most soils. For general purposes the kale manure as is nude up by tho frozenmeat companies will be found highly suitable. It is chiefly made up of 'superphosphates, road-dust, and dried blood. Two to three cwts. per aero of this mixture will bo found a profitable dressing on most land. If, however, the land has become exhausted from continued cropping ox other causes, as much as four cwts." per aero will prove beneficial. Kale can bo transplanted and treated just 33 an ordinary cabbage crop, but is usually sown iii drills and allowed to remain, thus saving labour. But when there is onlv a small area to be grown, and it so happens that the land on which the crop is to be grown is occupied by another crop, in order to save time and give the crop a fair chance a small bed may be sown and transplanted when large enough. After first having the land properly prepared the planting is done by running a single furrow pfonffh along to make a trench for the plants The plants are then placed along the straight edge of the furrow, and the fur row turned back and on to the Toots of the plants. This done, a little tramping with tho foot along tho row will pad; the soil close round the roots, and give the plants a good hold of tho ground.