ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18895, 18 December 1924, Page 16

ON THE LAND.

M3MEING FOR MILK. experiments; in England. DETAILS OF RESULTS. The Staffordsliire Farm Institute fitarted last year some experiments in manuring tho land for milk production. The field selected had been mown ior hay annually for a largo number of years, and during the time neither farmyard nor artificial manure had been applied. The soil o; tho field is a light sand, freely drained, and overlying the Ketiper marl. In the herbage leguminous plants were negligible in quantity, and the most frequent grasses were bents, sweet vernal, tall oat grass, and Yorkshire fog (liolcus lanatus) —species which are of little value for grazing. The surface of the Eoil was covered with a fairly dense mat of plant roots, and local experience in tho treatment of this class of land has shown that lining is a necessary preliminary to rapid improvement by manuring. The field, comprising ten and a-third acres, was limed on 24th January, 1923, with " small " hmo at the rate of two tons per acre. It was divided into three plots, and the manures applied on 10th April. Plot A was manured with 4cwt. superphosphate 30 per cent, per acre, at a cost of 12s per acre. Plot .B. had no manure, and plot C had 4owt. superphosphate and lcwt. of sulphate of potash per acre, the cost per acre being 265. The grazing season commenced on 12th May and'lasted untii 15th September —a period ot eighteen weeks. At the commencement of the experiment two cows were alloted to cach plot. After thefirst, month's grazing it was decided that the plots could carry a heavier weight of stock, so an additional cow was added> to. each of plots A 'and B, and two extra', to plot. C. ..This stock was carried for .eight weeks, when "•a reduction had to' be made. ; The original six cows were left on their respective plots, but on plot 0 one of the two extra cows was-left in addition.. During the eight weeks when ten cows were employed on the experiment the stock was rotated froin ,pl°t to plot in threes, the fourth cow oft"'plot. C remaining on that plot until the experiment was completed for tho season. In a report ort ; the trial issued by Mr. J. G. Rush ton of the Farm Institute, the resists- of this grazing seaeon are announced'as follows: Plot A, total milk produced<"B7o gall ns; plot 15, 881 gallons; plot C 1072 gallons. The increase on tho plot where sulphate of potash was used in .adoition to superphosphate was 201 gallons'," or 60 per acre; whereas plot A (superphosphate only) showed no' Superiority over the no-mnnure ; plot B—indeed, fell Somewhat short. Throughout tho sumtlter observations of tho herbage all tended to bear, out the figures obtained. No., difference was noticed between plot A and plot, 8,-_but plot C looked greatly improved; On this plot there was abundant, growth of both red and whito clovers, plants .which were absent froitl .tho .other plots. The results, it is stated, - all tenc to-confirm earlier experiments in Staffordshire on the manuring of meadow la id on light polls—namely, that applications of phosphat.ic manures by" themselves do not effect any material improvement.