ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15298, 10 May 1913, Page 11

ON THE LAND.

LIME EFFECTS ON LAND. : ( The lowa College of Agriculture has been experimenting with different' quantities of lime to see the effect on the soil in developing the ' microbes .found therein. They used, different quantities of ground limestone, at the rate of half, one, two, and three tons per acre. It has long been known, of course, that lime is very beneficial to land in promoting the action of the bacteria, and this experiment was to see what the specific effect was. . The result has been that the number of bacteria in a given quantity of soil has increased in about the same proportion as the different quantities of limestone applied up to three tons per acre; beyond that, no benefit is incurred. There has • also been a corresponding increase according to the amount of lime applied in the ammoniafying, nitrofying, and nitrogen-fixing power of the boil. Those results are notioeablo in. comparison with somo of the ideas which are common at home. In olden times we used from 5 to' 6 tons of quicklime on an acre, and the soil was often overtimed we. now know that this was an excessive quantity, and really killed the bacteria, and thus reduced the fertility of the soil; but in recent years, apparently, we have been going to the opposito extreme and putting on too small a dressing. Ground limestone requires to be put on in about double the quantity of ground quicklime to give the same results. ' AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. An interesting diagram haa been published by one of the, educational bodies in the United States. It illustrates better than words. The question that was asked the boys and girls in 34 schools in Wright County, lowa, was: "What they wanted'to do." It shows that of the 164 boys 157 wanted to leave the farm, and 163 of the 174- girls wanted to do likewise. After agriculture and home economics had been taught for three* years the same question was asked in the same schools.- This time 162 of the 174 boys • wanted to stay on the farm, and 161 of tho 178 girls. This changing an almost unanimous desire of leaving the farm to an almost unanimous desire. to stay on the farm seems almost miraculous; yet-it was done through making a little i change in the course of study. It is simple, however, for boys and girls will 'Want to I do the things that they have been taught how to do. Their interest will be ' developed jin the things they are taught. They, will , sb> more in them than in things they know i less about. • Again, agriculture and home 1 economics are the things that country boys and girls are ' the most interested in to begin witli. /

* FUTURE STOCK PRICES: • Dr. Thomas Shaw, on© ,of the leading agricultural authorities in the United States, in discussing * the future price of farm . stock throughout the world, said:-* "The reasons for the stability of the live stock business in the future are many. They include the following:—The increase in the number of the consumers of meat and dairy products is increasing in much faster ratio than the animals which produce these products. The same line of reasoning may be applied to wool and poultry and the products of poultry." The statistics published by the United States Department of Agriculture "make this claim absolutely certain. In 1902, the number of milch cows in the United States was 16,697,000; in 1912, 20,699,000, an increase of but 4,022,000 in the ten-year period. In 1902 the cattle other than milch cows numbered 44,728,000, and in 1912 37,260,000, ' a decrease of 7,468,000. In 1912 the sheep of the United States numbered 62,059,000, and in 1912 ! 52,362,000, a decrease of 9,677,000. In 1902 the swine numbered 48,699,000. and in 1912 65,410,000, an increase of 16,711,000." Durinn. 4-Via anmA ofiriod the increase in POPU-

ing tno same penw } wio iuwwoo m latton was not far from 20,000,000. In the ton-year period the eaters of meat increased by ' somewhere between 15,000,000-. and 20,000,000, and the production of meat de-, creased by many, many millions of pounds.; u* ■ 1 1 . 1 "" MANURE AND BACTERIA. An article in the Journal of Department of Agriculture says"A suggestive fact observed at Ruakura farm of instruction is that where stable manure is applied leguminous crops rapidly develop bacterial nodules, and that without inoculation; whereas on soil not so treated the nodules have been much'later in appearing, and do not develop to the same extent. ' "In order .to test this subject further, an experiment has been planned at RuaIrnra. Part of ft plot of soil has received a dressing of farmyard manure but no inoculation, part inoculation and no farmyard manure, and the remainder neither manure nor inoculation. A variety of leguminous plants have been sown, and each row of these-cross the treated as well as the untreated plot. ... . .«• "A similar interesting fact in this connection has occurred with the lucerne expeTiments at Ruakura;. that is. where stable and poultry manure have been applied lucerne has grown in a gratifying manner, notwithstanding that no inoculation took place; also the fact that dressings of even more highly nitrogenous manures often give good results would seem to contradict the idea that such manures interfere with the virulence of the bacteria. On the other hand, where lucerne has been grown under ordinary field conditions, and without the application of animal manures, the inoculated portion is showing splendid development, while the uninoculated part is a failure.

This definite response of legumes to a nitrogenous manure bears out the experience gained at Woburn experimental farm. England, where a number of manurial dressings were applied to a field of lucerne. The heaviest yield, judged by three cuttings in one season, was obtained from a plot manured with 4cwt ofbonedust,4cwt of sulphate of potash, and 2cwt of nitrate of soda per acre. The next best result was from a plot manured in a similar manner, except that nitrate of soda was substituted for sulphate of ammonia.: * "Recently a singularly confirmative experiment was conducted in France. Portion of a lucerne field manured with a heavy dressing of nitrate of soda gave a - vield fourfold greater than the portion of the same crop which was untreated. ■ . " The experiences do not imply that nitrogenous "dressings are always necessary, . hut they certainly go to disprove the truth •of the statement that lucerne and other ' legumes do not require nitrogenous manure, tas they obtain all the nitrogen they re- > ire from the air. In this matter, how- : ever—as in all problems affecting manurial < and' soil problems—it is well not to dog- ' matise. The experiences recorded here 1 may, however, assist readers of the journal in arriving at a better understanding of a ! most interesting phase of modern agricul- . ture. •

USE AND ABUSE OF ' ARTIFICIAL ■ MANURES. A lecture on the "Use and Abuse of Artificial Manures" was recently delivered before the East Anglian Horticultural Club by Mr. G. A. Cowie, M.A., B.Sc. In the course of his remarks the lecturer pointed out that plant food was reducible to four different elements —nitrogen, phosphates, potash, and lime. Lime, however", was nob so important for purpose of nutrition as for benefiting soils physically and counteracting sourness, where necessary. In presence of sufficient lime, therefore, only nitrogen, phosphates, and potash required consideration. Their combined effect was necessary to bring the crop to full maturity. Nitrogen produces leaf and stem and promotes general development of the plant. It was more important at early stages of growth, such as in young fruit trees, where the production of wood is the main factor. Certain crops were more responsive than others to nitrogen, such as the cabbage family, Where the leaf and stem constitute the main . economic products. A certain amount was important for all crops, however, to ensure good foliage and adequate manufacture of carbo hydrate material for the plant. Legumin-

ous crops, such as beans and P® l ®'. fi • , theoretically independent of an, art supply of nitrogen, but a certain amount was often given' to assist development an accelerate ripening of the crop. • »_j : Phosphates • were more closely connecj« with root and fruit formation, and, therefore, important for crops such as turnips, carrots, parsnips, etc.', and for fnut trees, especially stone-fruit trees. Without P"®: phates the fruit remained sour and ripen later. Phosphates were generally uselu for hastening maturity. • ,• . , Potash played an important part in taie manufacture of sugar and starch in sucn crops as beet-root, mangolds, and potatoes. Potash was also of primary importance for the legumes. It had alßo a good effect in strengthening the wood of fruit trees and making it more resistant against fungi. Potash was also of influence in improving size, colour, and flavour of fruit. Generally speaking, a combination of phosphates and potash had a good effect on those trees inclined to produce too much wood. As. far as experiments showed, a medium dressing of dung with artificials was . the most profitable treatment. It was important, however, to observe that the artificial mixture was not one-sided when a complete application was required. 1 A tendency to one-sided manuring was too common, and must be regarded ,as an abuse of fertilisers. Size of crop, was regulated by the amount of the plant food that happened to be deficient in. the soil. ■ This deficiency must be made up' before beet results could be obtained. An excess of one element would not compensate for a 'deficiency of another. , Using a wrong form of plant food for any particular crop or soil was _ another abuse of manures, such as the employment of sulphate of ammonia or 'superphasphate on land deficient in lime. The use of kainlfc at planting time for potatoes was to be deprecated. A better potassic manure for use on potatoes -at that time was sulphate of potash. ; The use a large number of special or compound manures was also to. be discouraged, because they did not contain the plant food elements in the, best proportions to meet the specific requirements of the crop. Generally, it was-more economical to buy the simple ingredients and mix them- to suit the particular : crop and soil. There was a great necessity for experimenting to ascertain what the soil was deficient m.; No ingredient should be omitted from the manuring unless a carefully-con-ducted experiment had shown it was present in the soil not only; in adequate amounts, but also in a sufficiently available form'.; • . .

SILVER : BEET FOR STOCK. In fields -attached to its works at Belfast, ■ Canterbury (says the Journal of the De- . partment of Agriculture), the Canterbury 1 Frozen Meat Company conducted a num- ' ber of valuable experiments during the ' past season in co-operation with the.de--1 partment. 1 Silver beet, or Swiss chard, has pro- * vided th« most instructive demonstration. -Thifl -nlixnf. infrnrlnrprl liv f.hft HenarfcmGiifc.

"l nis plant, introduced oy tne department, was made the subject of investigation in order to discover if it would prove an effective substitute, for roots and rape in the feeding of sheep. The first year's experience at Belfast confirms previous experiments, which went to show that, while immune to the diseases . which make turnips and rape . precarious crops, it provides a crop which, eaten off at intervals, . will last from season to season. : In the beginning of the- present month the, quarter-acre plot of silver beet was being eaten off by 20 quarter-bred sheep. The first feeding-off was in April, and a second feeding was ready in June, but owing to the Wet weather the land could not do stocked. The delay -in feeding proved that the plant "does not deteriorate with keeping. The Belfast experience goes to show that tlje beet could probably be fed off five times in the season, given favourable weather, and then probably would not be exhausted. The first stripping of ; the silver beet (to test the weight of forage produced) gave a yield of 51.7 tons per acre before stocking. At the first feeding 244 sheep per acre ; were maintained for 14 days. The sheep, strong stores, . rapidly improved in conditio# on the feed, ana did not show any sign of scouring. The crop was in no way affected ~-UU 4-Ua . mr WtVKfjii wllir-h 1 - IliavA

with* the'ordinary wights wmcn nave given great trouble 011 turnip and . rape crops in the district. • Buda kale is another forage plant— troduced' the department last season— which has given most promising results at Belfast., ' The first stripping gave 27 tons to the acre, or 54 torts to ■ the two strip.pings. The crop of the quarter-acre plot has been, fed off twice. It carried 216 sheep per acre for 14 days pn the first occasion, and 214 on the second feeding.. It is now ready, to feed off for the third time, and the development of the -plants indicates that. it -will probably provide the same feeding material for the third time: -- - ... ■/, ■• - Under the same treatment as Buda kale rape was fed off twice, arid then was quite done. It is probable a fourth feeding will be secured from the Buda kale plot. 'If this ' proves to be the case it will mean that the plant will provide the farmer with a continuous green crop from season to season. . • ( • Altogether 663 sheep have been win-. tered on the produce from four acres of experimental plots, and the feed is by no means yet exhausted. ; . , * . On the same plots mangolds produced 81 tons to the acre, . swedes 71 tons, Chou Moellier 8 Stons, and kohl-rabi 62 tons. It should be emphasised that the 1 land on which these experiments were conducted was specially prepared for the ; purpose. Twelve months ago it was sub- • ject to flooding, and was covered with ■ weeds. By drainage and thorough culti--1 vation it was made into a fine seed-bed. '• After-cultivation was well maintained, t -weeds being thus effectively suppressed ■ and the soil kept free and open. This » thorough treatment has conclusively 1 demonstrated its efficacy in the . exhibi- - Lion crops which have been produced.

biuiL »' " ~ w — jr- — -— — BREVITIES. The Wiltshire sheep of the old horned type are ready feeders and largely used for crossing in certain parts •of Wales. Still, the. types of sheep used in crossbreeding alter so quickly that a cross that is common to-day may. be unique to-mor-row. •' ■ No doubt considerable, difference of opinion exists with regard to tho preparation of * food ; for horsee., Should . gram be fed,crushed or unbruised? The husk of the grain is very dense and not easily acted upon tby the gastric juice, consequently the plan of bruising _ is generally recommended. Some authorities go so far as to say that not an ounce of grain should be fed to horses which has not been crushed. It, at least, tends to ensure digestion. r A great change has come _ over the system of feeding roots to fattening cattle, and, indeed, to* cattle generally in Great Britain. It is pointed out that so much of the turnip is water that the mere effort of raising the cold fluid to the body heat uses un a considerable, quantity. of heatproducing food, consequently the . oldfashioned principle of giving very heavy root rations is being substituted by the more sensible system of feeding more concentrated food.

What is known as a, bastard fallow is commonly taken in some districts. It is virtually a half fallow, that is to say, tho land which has carried a crop fed off or taken off in the early part of summer' is allowed to lie fallow when ; clean. Fallows, however, axe not bo popular as they used to be, except in certain classes of soil which are Hot readily workable. Catchcropping has greatly increased, and the opportunity for smothering weeds by ploughing under is so great that it is considered desirable very often to pursue the latter method. Bean meal, which is so largely used in the, composition- of English dairy cattle rations, is obtained by grinding the whole seed of the horse bean. About 15 per cent, of the weight of the mature seed is in the nature of husk, and the proportion, therefore, in the ground meal may be, considerable unless the husk is partially removed. Bean meal is rich in nitrogenous and starchy elements, nitrogen being in the abuminoid form of leguimen, which is analogous to the >casein pf milk. About 20 to 25 per cent, of the bean is comprised of this substance. Starch amounts to about 35 per cent. I *';■ • ■ i