SOIL TYPES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21935, 19 October 1934, Page 17

SOIL TYPES

WAIPA COUNTY SURVEY QUALITY AND CAPA.CITY PRINCIPAL FARMING USES " Every soil type has some quality which causes the farmer to modify his methods if he wishes to obtain the best results; in the Waipa County, where the country is for the most part flat to gently rolling, the rainfall plentiful and well distributed, and the temperature mild, dairy-farming is an established practice and soil type is not so striking as it is in districts where the farming are more diverse," stated Mr. N. H. Taylor in a report presented to Parliament, on his researches in the Waipa County. In a brief account of conditions on the main soils ho indicated the type of relationship that exists at'present. " The Hamilton soil is a heavy, well drained, warm soil but little affected by frosts," he reported; " It provides a large amount of early spring and late autumn feed, but dries out in the summer or Nearly autumn months. Most farmers on its make ample provision for supplementary feed for use in summer as well as winter. Where, however, the soil has been heavily top-dijessed with phosphate, the pasture withstands the dry weather much better. Root Crops and Lucerne " In its virgin state the soil can be cultivated at certain times of the year only, for in wet weather it becomes extremely tenacious and in .summer it bakes hard. Under careful cultivation, however, it breaks down to a fine tilth. It grows good root crops and many stands of lucerne are situated on it. " The Horotiu soils are light and well drained., The pastures come away early in spring, but they become parched in spells of dry weather. During November the pasture grows rapidly and from the excess growth ensilage and hay are made to provide for the dry summer months, and for winter. The soil is friable and easily cultivated, but large number of weeds that thrive in it in the spring have deterred many farmers from cropping it. It grows lucerne well; in fact, all the lucerne seen was either on the Hamilton or the Horotiu soils. On account of the spring weeds, some farmers prefer to sow lucerne in the early autumn. This soil, because it is well drained and light, does not pug up in wet weather, and the sand and gravel that lie bplow provide a ready supply of metal for yards and gateways. Thus farms on this type are free from mud and most suitable for winter dairying. Drainage by Guesswork

" The Te Kowhai soils must be drained before they are suitable for dairying. Open drains are generally maintained close to the fences and tile drains and their substitutes are laid down in some of the fields. The drainage practice, however, seems to be largely a matter of guesswork, and probably more could be produced from these soils if the drains were scientifically planned along the lines followed on many meadow soils in Europe. As the soils are damp the pastures do not commence to grow in spring until about three weeks later than those on Horotiu soils, and the flush is also later, and not so pronounced. The pastures do not dry out during summer, and consequently farmers on these soils do not generally give supplementary fe£d during the summer period. It may be said that during periods of dry weather cows pastured on the To Kowhai soils are producing butter-fat from grass, whilo those on Horotiu soils are producing it from ensilage. "In autumn the, Te Kowhai soils, being charged with moisture, cool slowly, and the pasture often continues to grow after the paotures on the Horotiu soils have ceased. Excellent crops of swedes are grown on this soil. It will readily be seen how suitable for dairying are farms which enclose areas of both the Te Kowhai and the Horotiu soils. Whatawhata Soils "The Whatawhata soil is similar in many ways to the Te Kowhai soils, but although it has a greater natural \fertility, it has some undesirable qualities which they do not possess. Owing to its compact and heavy nature, it is more difficult tot drain. The spring growth is earlier than thas on the Te Kowhai soils, but there is a tendency to dry out somewhat during the summer months. During winter the soil pugs up under heavy stocking, and on this account gome farmers have ceased dairying on this soil and are now fattening sheep. "The Rukuhia peats, where they are farmed at all, are so deeply drained that in summer they suffer from drought. In winter the frost lies heaviest on the peat lands, and pasture growth during the colder months is extremely small. Under these conditions farming is difficult. Some few farmers have established fairly good rye and clover pastures. The main essentials seem to be careful levelling of the field, fairly liberal initial dressings of lime and fertiliser, control of the water table and trampling by stock to consolidate the surface. Drying of Peat "The drying of peaty colloids is in part an irreversible process, and once peat is allowed to dry thoroughly it does not readily re-wet, but forms a light, porous mass, known to fanners as 'puffy top.' If some practicable method of controlling the water table could be adopted, many of the difficulties attending the farming of these peats would probably disappear. Several farms in the area mapped are used solely for the fattening of sheep and the rearing of fat lambs. These farms are situated mainly on the Hamilton, Horotiu and Whatawhata soils. Stud sheep are bred on the Horotiu and Hamilton soils, but the hoggets are difficult to roar on the To Kowhai soils. "Tho urgent need of all the soil types for phosphates has led to tho belief in some quarters that superphosphate is the only top-dressing it is economic to apply. Working in cooperation with the officers of the Soil Survey, the Department of Agriculture is laying down trial manurial plots of typical areas, in order to investigate the effect of lime, phosphate and potash top-dressing on each soil type mapped."