SPRING CULTIVATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15390, 27 August 1913, Page 14

SPRING CULTIVATION.

%■ - sr W.S. lc, Tins " a busy season for the farmer, and » mainly demoted to the cultivation of the ti lana m juration for /the various crops. *" at ?/ mgk wheat,' barley, and other similar should be got in as soon as convem«»ifc, l iiui;conditioiis favourable. On «j land .;v°»*3^.beea { properly prepared, as •oon as the soil >i a sufficiently dry and ■:: »*m the drilling should bo pushed along - without ' delay. It must be remembered *.-tDat the earlier the crop is sown the bet- - ter,- providing the ground is in good order - -there are several reasons for this the principal of which are the plants get an earlier start, thereby lengthening. the grow- ", WK period, which usually results in a more Jealthy growth and * higher yield. *- Second y, the root*, get, deeper into the g soil before the dry weather sets in, which enables tnem to make more usu of the - ''- Ji™ — and moisture *» > the soil; . and, ;,;• Uurdly, early sowing encourages an early harvest,, a'point worth considering, especially m jgfc or backward districts ] as this gives the farmer a good, chance to get bis grain harvested and threshed while the r: day is still a fair length, whereas if sown ; larte, and shovdd a backward season follow, the harvest being late, there is a greater t: Chance that the farmer will have to start Si §% leave his «op stand over until the --following spring. Therefore an early i* harvest, which is encouraged by early sowV" #'«».'•> desirable in every way. On the - ether hand, however, it is the height of tolly to rush in the oop while the laud is in a wet, •' saturate,! condition. Much! X^T ami is often - done in. this way. J S-; Condition of Soil lor Crops. ■»2,5 If land is wet and cold when seed is '' ySO S*' even thoagn. the yarinination, is Sood, : the-young plants receives Mich" a aevere check that it never wholly re-?£^->he .land intended for spring! g* crops should oe carefully prepared some considerable time beiore the time, for-sow-ing, '.then just" previous to seeding the : surface should be cultivated, so as to give :"a freeness to the sunace soil and still have ** the. ground firm underneath. The principal advantage of this method is that the moisture collected from winter rains is ■ retained in the lower layers of the furrow, -■-.and is there for the use of the crop. Whereas if ploughed up or deeply culti..vated in the spring there is always the risk that the drying winds of spring will „;xob the soil of too much moisture, leaving insufficient for the use of the crop. In district*;;. with a • heavy: rainfall that is evenly '; distributed over the whole of the season this precaution is not so important, r but in other districts not so fortunate in i I^^Js;',;; respect any . method that can be adopter! to aid in the preservation of mois?%,ture is of ' the utmost importance. A good tilth greatly v aids in" th& preservation oi moisture. -Tilth is a condition of loose- * ttess and friability among the particles of - > soil necessary for the growth of crops. /'All our cultivated crops need t!<e soil -''~. thoroughly cultivated, as they have been •;:-«jSia'ore ,or less artificially developed by cul- , tivation, together with careful selection. ; Therefore in order to give them the best possible • chance, ■ the soil should be carefully and thoroughly cultivated. It has « • {been proved both by science and practice '■ ' that increased cultivation with.! moderate ,_ manuring is better fanning than increased manuring ;•; '*\ ':. with .>■'• inferior ; cultivation. Whether land is liberally manured or otherwise, however, ;'if% first-class results are :to be obtained from manures applied, its :■ application must k be i associated with .■■■( iji good tiik^|«A;the two ■ gdib&hd in band. During the process cultivation the soil : is;fpulverised and mixed \ up, and becomes .. thoroughly aerated. ■{■ This :sets free the elements of -fertility, or at least opens up . the soil so that they are available for the loots of the crops. -- : Importance *of Good Cultivation. : Ai\y v gractic&l Manser-kgcwir''froav- ex- _ : S^neßce^it^''eve.i '&" good ' iiass - of "land v will not grow good crops without proper cultivation -no matter how; rich ' such v soil may be in plant food. While an inferior ..;.£ "soil will often, grow; fairly good crops, providing the tillage is all tliat it should bey . iecauoe' the plant-food' in a weli.f.'t&fuvatedjßoii is rendered available for the lit'Cro}j-HJcstfad of being locked : . up in the X: turf and = clods ..-as is the case with an in- • sufficiently cultivated soil. ; - Frost is a great, producer of tilth. No matter how much cultivation is done by; implements, nothing equal the effect "of;,it.: ; The . expansion ; of the' moisture in ■ freezing breaks open' the lumps, clods, and pieces 15 of toil in a way that nothing else can do. To get the best effect ; from frost, how- • .-ever, 'it ie ',', necessary Ito have; the : y plough- ' insr done in the autumn and early winter. ■ 'This cannot always be done, however, and ;, is "usually'left until {July, but should not, .if : possible, be left later. ; : Otherwise it :may prove.a difficult task to obtain a good -•;. liilth.. And as everything points to the fact ■':'•' ■»« that in" the growth of , the i artificial plant ::; 'which constitutes - our farm crops > tilth comes first, nothing should be left undone to procure that tilth, and among. the prac- .+> e tical farming community there, is a great *£ tendency to increase the cultivation. Proper cultivation of the soil prevents esces- . fiive loss of; water from evaporation in dry J| 2*asons, and enables the roots of oops to j|; get more ; nwasture. { ■ When the top few inches of soil is loose the capillary power -'.; • ia destroyed, and therefore the soil water is not. raised to the top to : be' lost by *t. evaporation, but , remains; under the loose iS filth"prepared by cultivation, where the FX>i>;. get. it, so that by proper 'tillage not only are the elements of the soil increased, ■ but : the ■ water conter.is of the top soil are .. increased. =-'. ■' . v { .-. '* Vs£ '• '"{V i> Conserving Moisture. " K.-lf A. fact that must be taken into account ; when considering the moisture retaining ..capacity of a soil, is the action of'the soil itseli._ Some .soils are practically non-re-tentive while others are • over-retentive, , the latter being almost as deterrent to the '*. growth of crops as that of the former.. "Generally .speaking, it may be said that the greater the absorptive power of a soil the greater is its retentive power, for soils | ; thai most largely absorb water are most reluctant to part with it. A soil with an. .open -gravelly subsoil may be classed as a » non-retentive soil, while a stiff clay is termed... an over-retentive ■ soil. A "stiff clayey soil offers a good example of the disadvantage of' non-retentiveness. Owing to the difficulty 6uch soils expeti?nce .in throwing off th&ir excessive water they are extremely difficult to till. It is evident that plants have not the means of ' exhausting the water in a retentive soil. Evaporation goes on to a greater extent in any toil whose surface particles are compact together, capillary action Li this case taking place more freely and effecting, evaporation from a greater depth of soil. '.....-. '.'^.;::".:,;{ Preventing Evaporation. The frequent (stirring of the surface portion of the toil, as for example by cultivating and harrowing, is an important operation in lessening the amount of evaporation and . minimising the risks of drought by breaking: the capillary attraction. This operation is, of .course, impracticable once a crop is sown, except in the case of the mangold or turnip or similar crops, when the drills are left sufficiently wide apart to allow of after cultivation. With an ordinary crop,' however, the soil has to remain undisturbed during the whole of the time the ground is occupied by such crops, so that -much more will depend upon the thoroughness of the tillage previous to sowing the; crop. The principal object we should strive to accomplish in the prepara- . tion of the land for such crops is to keep the surface cobbly while the underneath is compact. ■ This can be obtained by ploughing deeply and as thoroughly cultivating as early in the season as possible, • so that the surface need only be cultivated just previous- to sowing. This will leave the surface free, while just below the mulch caused by the cultivation will be quite damp and remain 'so through the dryweather. ..;;:"