AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT IN SCOTLAND

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8290, 19 September 1903, Page 4

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT IN SCOTLAND

Sir John Hunter, who has charge of the experimental work at Dalmeny Park, Ayrshire, stated to a party of Ayrshire farmers whom he recently entertained on the estate that the 'Dalmeny station was the only experimental station in the world where the research work was carried out on biological lines- One of their first experiments there had bsen the best method of applying lime, which was one of the essen-wal elements of manure, and the result was to show the enormous advantage- of applying an annual dressing of five cwt. per acre of ground lime. The -Fertilisers Act did not recognise lime as a manure, but that was very stupid. If they were working on bacteriological lines —and the farmer was very stupid who didn't it W as just as important to use lime as to use any kind of artificial manures. All the advantageous bacteria in soil required, lime and hence the necessity of maintaining a regular supplv of lime in the surface soil. The "old plan of "applying seven, or even ten, tons of lime at one dressing, once in the course of a lease was absurd and wasteful, but, if used in small annual dressings of lime in a ground state,' it could be distributed very equally over the soil* and it was readly converted by the soil bacteria into tie carbonate form, and the result of such an application would be that for'an. outlay of 4s per acre you would get 20 per cent, more return from the other manures you applied„and you would have better quality of crops as well. In regard to the finger-and-toe disease, they had seen that day a. seed crop being, harvested of a new yellow turnip that was proof against the attack of the disease. That however, was a yellow turnip, and some of them might want to grow swedes, and so they must-look about for anouiier method of preventing the disease. They had worked that matter thoroughly out at Dalmeny, too, and they had so thoroughly got the better of the disease on the experimental grounds, where at first a crop of root scould hardly be "rown for the disease, they had since then crown there sound, full crops m three sueceasive years. To prevent wie attack of tins disease they must use ground lime, too, but in this case they must use it in larger quantities, because their object was to kill the <rerm. lOne ton of ground lime per acre should be applied in the autumn, before the land was ploughed, and another ton per acre should be applied in me spring, when the land- was being cultivated. Then tne>y must take care to avoid the use on unfertile soil of nitrate of soda and superphosphate, or any other dissolved manures, and tliey must- not forget to apply a liberal dressing of potash, preferably in the form of kainit, which should be applied at the rate of Ccwt. per acre. They would be safe enough to use undissolved phosphates, as were found in bone meal, bone flour, or undissolved guano." If they followed -uat plan they would effectually keep the finger-and-toe pest in check.