PRODUCTION OF FOOD BY MEANS OF ROOT CROPS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1586, 15 April 1882, Page 6

PRODUCTION OF FOOD BY MEA NS OF ROOT CROPS.

No. 11.

I have watched the doings of farmers somewhat intently during the season to learn how many of them wero preparing to break up their 1 ground, or some portion of it, by means of the plough. I have looked for a class of advertisements which meet our eyes so frequently in the spring of the year, but with very poor satisfaction. In ,the Witness of ,the , 18th ' March I did notice one calling for tenders to plough about 600 acres of land. This was to me, under the circumstances, like a stream of refreshing water to a weary traveller. I *was led to say, well done, — this one firm "will become two sooner or later, and more land will be made to feel the ploughshare in autumn •in days to come than in days that are past. AH seeds, when placed in the ground, under favourable circumstances, must grow, and this 'practice of tilling the land in autumn will certainly increase. 'I regret- that so few of the small farm settlers turn their attention to this much to be desired system of cultivating their dand. When they thinks of the produce per acre, and estimate the profit, they may wish, it ■were in* their ][pbwer to take up more land',W as to increase their acreage,, and thus enlarge t their profits. ' Will they permit me to say they 'they may do all that they desire without 'increasing the number of their acres. The • more produce we can raise with a given amount 1 of capital, the larger will be the net income for [' the year. • A farmer's capital consists of money, stock, implements, seeds, and land. The value of money is the standard by which the stock, &c. are estimated. Now it is evident if a farmer increases his number of stock he increases in wealth; also if he increases the 1 quality of his stock. Now the same may be said of his land. The amount of produce that will be raised during the next year will depend | very much . upon the quantity, of, land under cultivation. It is usual to guage the quantity 'of land under tillage by surface-measurement alone. Some fields may have only three or four inches of soil ; while others may have nine inches, and others; again may 4 have 18 inches ; and the deeper soils, by means of deep I ploughing and • the uSe <of • the ■ cultivator, may all be under cultivation, to the depth , mentioned. It is therefore clear to my mind that the field containing soil 18 inches deep has a larger quantity under tillage than* the one which has only three or four inches. It is,true the usual way to look at this is to .say that the one fiield'is of superior quality to the other, when in fact the four inches may be quite >as rich in fertilising substances as any four inches in the 18-inch field. 1 The " increased goodness of the deep-soil field is accounted for by the increased quantity of available soil. From a practical standpoint, then, the amount of land under cultivation must be determined- by measuring the length, breadth, and depth of the soil. Of- course all farmers know this; they never attempt' to value a farm without considering the depth of the soil. I am sure, my agricultural friends will forgive me when I say I, am afraid they do not always look at it in the light I am now trying to turn upon the subject. If they did, I am under the impression, knowing how enterprising most of them are, that they would seek to increase the value of their land by increasing the depth of cultivated soil upon their farms, which they can do at the present time of' the year or as soon as harvest operations are over, and while threshing is going on, if, thresh they must ; and .they can do this better than at any other period of the year. If you will now calculate how much land you purpose to set aside for root crops, and put the plough into the soil a little deeper than usual— say two inches, you may by so doing 'expose a large , portion of the subsoil to the action of the air, ' rain, rain, and whatever of frost there maybe , during the w.inter months ; and by next spring find your soil one or two inches deeper than it has been in, former years. This will add to ( your capital, and increase your dividend. Of - course you know that land so improved, if, placed upon .the market, would realise a larger j sum than it would if the soil were two inches less in depth. Your neighbour yonder has a much better crop this . year than you have. " Yes," you say, "he has ; and so he ought to have. , See, my soil is only five inches deep, while his is above nine inches." It may be, as in most cases, that that greater depth of soil has been caused by , exposure to the air, rain, and frost. These' three agents are constantly working in nature, but they only act upon the exposed surfaces of matter, be that matter hard rock, loose sand, plastic clay, or vegetable substance. They make the large lumps small, the hard pieces soft, and the useless earth life-sustaining and profitable. Well, then, bring up some of the, subsoil at this autumn season, and let it remain open to the airland you will increase the depth of your soil, and may reasonably expect, other things being equal, that next year you will come nearer to your neighbour in abun- j dance of produce than you have been able to | do in the past ; you will, in tfact, have in- j creased tho quantity, of soil under cultitivation without parting with your money for an increased number of acres. In two places within the last two years I have tested the correctness of these statements. The vegetables, flowers, and in one case the fruit, have been to many a surprise, considering the state of tho land just 12 months ago. It need not be a matter of astonishment to anyone if they will only break up their ground in the autumn of tho year. I know of several cases in which the turnips have nearly failed ; while in one case, with the disadvantage, of a bad sowing-time, thore is to be seen a first-class crop. The season is blamed for the bud crop; the superiority of the land is credited with the good crop. The , fact is, the rUflorent way in which ' the land was cultivated and fertilised will explain the . whole matter. The land was previously of the same character ; but there is a difference now, and that variation is largely due to the different treatment it has received at the hands of the occupiers. Plants and animals develop and coinc to perfection by means of food, in the case of plants, that -'food is obtained directly from the soil ; and in tin* cape of animils, m- j directly through tho plants, in adiliuon to j what the,y obtain irom the iir; eonouqueuliy j the more vegetable substance as food there is

on the land, the greater the number of animal* that can be accommodated upon it, hence we 1 speak of certain lands carrying a sheep to the acre, and other lands supporting six, during the year. This difference is caused, as all my readers know, by cultivation ; and while the labour in the one case is greater than in the other, it is nevertheless profitable, and finds employment for a greater number of human beings, An it is with animals, so it is with farm plants. By cultivation the soil becomes rich in plant food, and able , to sustain in a , high state of development a large and valuable crop. You* may j not be able to increase , the number of plants, as ypu.can do the number of annuals j but you will -be in- a position to increase the amount of animal food, and that in a similar, proportion. • It, is very important to have a good climate.,, I . The better.the,climate tbe'more is man assisted by nature in his system of cultivation. But climate will not do ,for cultivation. It is all very well for some men to speak of the glorious, future of New Zealand, and tell us that there is a bright prospect for this coiantry.j.^ut,, unless .the land, ,is. cultivated, thesunny island of the south will not prove soprofitable to live in as it may do by carefully utilising its vast storehouse of treasures. The late Dr.Guthrie.relates how ,an Irishman, who had a cow on ,the bare top of a lofty hill, had to hear some one say : 'I fear she has, very little to eat.' ,'Very true,' replied Paddy, ' but if she has poor pasture, she has a fine • prospect.' We want both the fine prospect and the good pasture. We cannot live on the prospect alone. After the of cultivation adopted in the past, the soil hitherto used may be nearly exhausted ; while just beneath it there may be, if exposed during the winter, a new soil which has been long restingin peace, untouched by any farm operations. Leave the preparing of your land for roots till spring, and independently of any manuring you may giva it, it will not be so rich in plant food as if you had broken it up in. autumn and given it a winter fallow. , I therefore sjjge, my,readers to increase their capital, to raise their rate of in- j terest,-and, improve their prospect by beginning J to prepare their land* for roots^ at once. Use the plough as soon' as ever you can. ■ WILLIAM JBNNER.