GROWING OF FLAX.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19119, 10 September 1925, Page 14

GROWING OF FLAX.

» Isl' G. SME RLE.

UTILISED PEAT LANDS. TREATMENT OF SOILS. THE RIGHT MANURES.

Peat is formed by partial decay of •vegetation under water. It is nearly all

vegetable matter, containing, as a rule, not more than 25 per cent, of soil particles. If drained of surplus water, and the vegetation allowed to rot for a longer time, peat soils can bo used for cropping. There aro different kinds of peat swatnps. Those ■which aro surroanded by limestone, volcanic or semi-volcanic hills, contain more plant food than those surrounded by hills of a poo;- soiL Peat contains from 12 to 18 times its -own weight of water. In the peat there is only one-thirtieth of the quantity of oxygen of that of the air, consequently the vegetation decays very slowly; when peat swamps aro drained of tho surplus water, air containing oxygen is admitted, and tne process of decomposition of the vegetation is very much accelerated. All peat swamps, if they air, Le drained so that the water taola is fr=,m 2ift. to 4ft. below tho surface, can fee matfe to swxr good crops if lime and the necessary fertilisers aro applied. For flax (phormium) growing the main drains should be 6ft wide at tho top.. 2ft. at the bottom and 4ft deep, and at h distance of about 16 chains apart. If the drains are intended less than 16 chains apairt, they can be, comparatively, of a . smaller size. For convenient flax growing, I would advise too, that the big drains "be put 16 chains apart, and, diagonal to those,, smaller drains 4ft. wido 4 4ft deep and lift, at the bottom, again 16 chains apart. Tho a.ea enclosed by the drains •would bo about 25.5 acres, and i 3 easily sub-divided in flys thus: —along each of the two drains a fly 1| chains wido, and the balance in 4 3-cnain flys, arid the fly lines 12ft. to 13ft. wide. A fij; is the technical name of a strip of growing flax, 3 chains wide, which is out from each side 14 chains deep. That is tha longest distance cutters will carry the flax bundles. The lines between each fly are fly lines, and are used for carrying out the cut flax. Consolidating Peat iand. When the swamp is drained it ia im-portant-to tractor it down. If tea-tree is growing on it the tractor will break down scrub from Bft. to 10ft. high. When the broken manuka has dried the swamp can be burn >.d to clean up the rubbish. Tho burning is done either in March or preferably October. In the spring the swamp is wet, and-if fired in October there is xts fear of burning deep holes in the peat. After the burning, it must be tiactored again with a. disc "harrow or arsiyamp barrow attached to the tractor. This second tractoring will consolidate or compress tha soil rimre than tho first tractoring and the implements pulled behind the, tractor, will incorporate the'ashas in the soil, stir up the soil ,3o that air can more easily penetrate it, hasten the decomposition. of ; the 1 undecayed vegetation and" so make more plant food available. All swamps are deficient in potash, ancl many also deficient in phosphoric acid. Experiments in America and Europe have proved that if ashes are left on tho surface of the soil for some time, half of the Eotash in the ashes is lost. If the burning as been done in October, the swamp can be ploughed shallow in March or v April. •After the land, has been ploughed lime iUould be applied to itfrofli half a ton to a ton to the acre. , In Europe burned lime is invariably used en peat soils and it is done as follows: — The lime is deposited in small heaps all over tho field and the heaps 'are covered ■with the soil which surrounds them. The lime is slaked in the heaps by the moisture in the soil and when that has happened the lime is in a form of a fine powder and can be easily distributed on the soil. The lime should be incorporated in the soil by discing, harrowing, or even a shallow ploughing.. The bigger the amount of lime applied the deeper it can be incorporated in the soil. Planting and Manuring Flax, Tteforo planting the flax apply Sowt. to Scwt. of basic; slag, and, slightly more kainit to the acrfe. Harrow the fertilisers in the soil and the land is ready for planting the flax. The plants, either from old bushes or seedlings, are set diagonal to the fly l}nea in Bft. or preferably 10ft. rows, and apart in the rows. A good method ! is to plough a furrow where the ?>lants have to grow, set the plants in the urrow at the right distance, and cover the roots with the soil turned out, from the furrow and tramp it on. All plants have to be trimmed before being put in. Nr ver use roots where all the leaves have been hook-cut, as such do not grow well. Old plants should be lifted with as many roots as possible and the leaves trimmed pyramid shape so that tho centre leaf and the leaves nearest to the centre are from 2ft. 6in. to 3ft. 6in. in.height. If the land is prepared and planted a3 stated above, the crop will give from 4 to 5 tons of leaf per acre the third year after the planting, and 10 years after the planting, will yield from 20 to 30 tons per acre and year. To ensuro good crops with high fibre quantity and quality, the best varieties should be planted and manured every third year after the first cutting. The amount of manure required is 3cwt. to 4 cwt. of basic slag and 701b. to 1001b. of sulphate of potash per Hre. Compression of Peat Soils. Some people aro of tho opinion that peat swamps when drained sink too much «and leave the plants high and dry, and that the plants ultimately die. Hut is not so. Where cattle are not grazed in the flax the soil sets so slowly that the plants sink with it. The fiinking or compression was fonnd by many experimenters to he as follows: J, 8. Skretchley, in Mam. Geolog. Survey, London, 1877 ; , found that the Whitley moor in Fonaland, after draining in 1848 to 1575, hadl sunk from 15ft. to oft. Krey found that 15ft.-deep peat had sunk 3ft. in 5 years, another investigator found that 30ft.-deep peat had sunk 15ft. in the course of 14 years. Different kinds of peat have different compression and many experiments t show that the loosest peat soils sink. deepest.Loose swimming peat, 24ft. deep, sunk, after draining, in 25 years 16ft. • The deeper the peat the comparatively less it sinks? Where cattle are grazed peat soils are much more compressed than when under cultivation All peat soils when properly drained are more or less suitable for flax growing. The more decomposed soils will produce better crops than raw peat soiis, A sure biological indication is. Where tea-tree grows well, jax will grow well.