FARM AND STATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 1901, 10 July 1890, Page 6

FARM AND STATION.

SOME THEORIES OF MANURES.

There are no moneys so largely and inconsiderately disbursed year after year by the colonial farmers generally as those invested in the purchase of artificial manures. A small minority of cultivators may be well informed in regard to the constituents and characteristics of the soils they till, as well ss the special plant-food required by distinct varieties of plants, and will provide accordingly; but the many, acting on the simple belief that "what is good for one crop must be good for others" of whatever variety, have established for themselves some favourite artificial manure, and will have no other. The deficiencies or otherwise in the soil of certain ingredients of growth required by different crops are not considered, for, as will probably be conceded, the majority of farmers are uninformed of the simple theory of manuring propounded many years ago by Philip Pusey — viz., "Ammonia for corn, phosphorus for roots"— a theory, as an eminent writer observes — based on conclusions derived from innumerable experiments with artificial manures, and which deduction, "although not representing any scientific law, furnished in the simplest and plainest language a most valuable and practical rule for farmers." Farmers proverbially discredit scientific teachings, partly because in many instances " book farming" has not been confirmed by practical experience. No such objection can be urged against the Rothamstead teachings, for the scientific researches, tests, and experiments have now extended over a period of over 40 years. In a recent article, written by Sir J. B. Lawes, entitled " The Food of Our Agricultural Crops," the {theory of manuring is specifically submitted. In order to explain the subject, and suggest to farmers how they are traded upon, the essay is quoted at length. When the distinction between leguminous cereal and root crops is generally understood, there will be an approach to economy in expenditure for manures. Sir John Lawes says :—: — The rise of phosphates for root crops has sometimes led to the idea that these crops and the cereal crops do not obtain their nitrogen from the same source, and that the former are less dependent upon a supply of nitric acid in the soil. It is quite true that full agricultural crops of roots are frequently grown by the use of a manure which contains a soluble phosphate, and no nitrogen ; but in these cases the soil must be equal to furnishing the amount of nitrio acid required by the crop. It is known that the formation of nitric acid in the soil is much more rapid in the summer and autumn than at other times, and that constant stirring the soil so as to expose fresh surfaces to the air increases this formation. Root crops beginning their active growth at the time when cereals are ripening, can obtain from the soil large quantities of nitric acid which were not available for the corn crops ; the great exhaustion of the

soil which'followsthe removal of alargeroot crop also proving that it obtains its nitrogen from the same source as tho cereals. It is somewhat remarkable that maize, which is so largely grown in the United States, is said to be mostly benefited by the application of mineral manures, and to derive its nitrogen from the atmosphere and not from the soil. Owing to the growth of maize taking place during thw summer and autumn it would, like our root crops, be less dependent upon a direct supply of nitrogen in manures ; but, at the same time, it is reasonable to suppose that the source of the nitrogen in maize is the same as that of other cereal crops. So far as our crops are concerned, the evidence at our command points to the conclusion that our cereal crops, pasture grasses, and various root orops depend for their supply of nitrogen almost entirely upon the nitric acid in the soil. There is a very important class of plants, included under the general term "leguminous," whioh we find in more or less abundance in our permanent pastures, and which form part of our rotations. Some of these are annuals, some biennials, some perennials; some are grown for their seeds, some for fodder ; but, for whatever purpose they are grown, these plants possess properties which distinguish tbem from all others grown in rotation. In their stems, leaves, and seeds, they contain larger amounts of nitrogen than the other crops, while at the same time they do not respond to an application of nitrogen in manure, as do the other crops in a rotation. It is true I have said, that under ordinary conditions of farming root crops can be grown without a direct application oi nitrogen; but if we reduce the condition of the land by the removal of one or two of these, it will be seen that it is impossible to grow another heavy crop of roots without a very liberal supply of nitrogenous manure. No such result follows the application of nitrogen to a leguminous crop. If we apply a dressing of nitrate of soda to a mixed crop of ryegrass and clover, we can increase theryegrass to almost any extent, but not the clover. There is no difficulty in growing full crops of grain or roots year after year upon the same soil, provided we use appropriate and sufficient manures ; but no combination of manures has enabled us ro grow continuous crops of red clover upon the ssme arable land; nor have our attempts to grow continuous bean crops been much more successful. So uncertain, indeed, has been the effect obtained by the application of various artificial manures to this class of crops, that farmers have generally come to the conclusion not to manure them, but to reserve the application of manures to those crops which can be depended upon to produce a profitable return. In 1860 we instituted a series of experiments upon the growth of red clover, the result of which showed that under no conditions of manuring could we continue year after year to grow this crop upon the same arable foil. . . . Although we found it impossible to grow red clover year after year upon the Hame arable soil of the farm, whatever might be the amount or composition of the manure applied, we found no difficulty in growing other leguminous plants upon the clover sick land — the importance of which fact is very obvious, as it enables us to continue removing large quantities of nitrogen in leguminous crops year after year, instead of having to wait for some years until the land will again grow red clover. The general results of our experiments appear to show that while mineral manures, especially those containing potash, produce a large increase in leguminous crops, neither salts of" ammonia, nitrate of soda, nor. rape cake, which furnish organic nitrogen, appear to have any decided influence upon them. This indicates a very distinct difference in the source from which the cereal and leguminous crops obtain their nitrogen ; for, in the same field, and within a few feet of each other, nitrate of soda alone applied to the continuous barley crop has produced an average of 33 bushels per acre for 36 years in succession. The absence of effect upon the leguminous crops from the application of nitrate of soda as a top-dressing is the more remarkable as analyses of the subsoil, where lucerne (the r,oots of which have penetrated 9ft from the surface), has been growing for some years, showed that considerable _ quantities of nitric acid had been removed; while upon a soil where white clover had been grown, the subsoil below the reach of the roots was much richer in nitric acid than it was within the range of the roots. Comparing these results with those on the adjoining soil and subsoil, wher,e wheat and fallow had been under experiment for many years, there appeared to have been greater production of nitric acid in the soil where the white clover- had grown than where the wheat grew ;. and-, at the same time, the subsoil where the lucerne was growing was poorer in nitric acid than the subsoil of the white clover or of the wheat land. In one year as much as 3001b of nitrogen per acre has been taken off in the lucerne, although the land has received no manure containing nitrogen for 30 years; while the wheat crop alternating with fallow cannot collect one-tenth of that quantity.

It would appear from these results, that during the growth and decay of leguminous crops considerable amounts of nitrates are formed and taken up by the plants, but the actual source of theße nitrates is not yet clearly established. Onequarter of the adjoining field bas grown continuous barley crops, nitrate of soda being used every year as a top-dressing ; on the other threequarters of the field barley is also grown, but red clover is occasionally sown with the barley upon one of these quarters, so that about once in eight years each of the three-quarters has grown red clover instead of barley. The clover is made into hay, and carried off, and the barley which follows the clover receives no manure. The general result of this is that the barley following the clover is quite as good a crop as the continuous barley manured with the nitrate of soda j and although the clover has carried away very much larger quantities of nitrogen than the barley, the first nine inches of the clover soil shows by analysis a considerably larger amount of nitrogen than the barley land. More nitrogen is carried off in the clover than in the barley, and more nitrogen is found in the top soil of the clover land than in that of the barley ; and this fact is quite in accordance with the experience of practical farmers, though they draw their conclusions from the increase of the succeeding crop, and not from analysis of the soil. We have hitherto, however, been unsnccessful in our attempts to ascertain if the increase of nitrogen in the top soil has been obtained by the clover from the subsoil.

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS. The Land Laws of New Zealand are not by any means all that they should Onr i,nnd be, notwithstanding the efforts inwi. of the various Governments that have been in power during the past 10 years. What with passing new aotß and repealing and amending old ones and promiscuous tinkering all round, no one Beema to have any clear idea of the precise meaning of the regulations and conditions upon whioh land may be acquired nowadays; nor do I think that matters have been improved by the lengthy and aorimonious correspondence whicb has been carried on in the columns of the Witness anent the proceedings of the present Ministry with reference to the settlement oi Grown lands,,, Ido not pretend to

say whether the Land Laws are at fault, op whether the administration ia defective, but I am convinced that there are glaring defects somewhere which should be amended without delay. If I mistake not, all Crown lands were by the act of 1885 withdrawn]! from free seleotion and reserved for settlement from time to time in order to give men of small means a chance to acquire land in email lotß and upon easy terms, and prevent large blocks from being grabbed by speculators and others. By the wording of the i emulations it might ba fancied that anyone holding more than 640 aores of first-class land, or 2000 acres of second-class land, would be debarred from taking up any more. But it is an open secret that this rule is somehow evaded, and there are many instances of large landholders being permitted to take up land by paying cash down, thoueh they are not allowed to obtain it on deferred payment or perpetual lease. Notably has this boon the case recently in Canterbury, and many thousand aores have been annexed by largo landholders to tho exclusion of small farmers who may be able and willing to take up small grazing runs. After all the outcry against the large estates that has been continually made for Borne years past it is a wonder that the department can wink at an evasion of the law that permits these estates to be increased, simply because the owners can pay cash down for the land, Of course they have to take their chance in the ballot, but that is not the point; the principle is wrong and should not be continued.

Everybody knows that cheep cannot get at the shells of the turnips unless] they Lining Tnrnip are lifted out of the ground in shell*. Borne way, after the crowns and

centres have been eaten out, Grubbers or scarifiers are most commonly used for this purpose, but are heavy to draw when the ground is trodden hard, and are not very expeditious— four horses being required for a grubber covering no more than 4ft or sft ia breadth. A stroke of the diBO harrow is quite as effective as the grubber, and is much quicker and lighter in draught. If the discs do not lift every root, they out through the larger ones and leave an edge whioh enables the sheep to finish the part left in the ground. Neither the grubber nor the disc harrow will work when the ground is frozen bard, but the shells should be lifted as soon as possible after the sheep have scooped them out, for they very soon decay and become worthless when exposed to the weather.

There is no doubt but that this is an age of experiments, and it must be that Experiment! continual practical tests of this with oat«. fcjnd -will ultimately set at rest

and deoide many moot points that admit of so much argument on both sides. For example, what conflicting opinions exist regarding quantity of seed and time and depth of Bowing of cereals and other orops I Oats being* rather an important crop in this part of the colony the results of a aeries of experiments carried on for a couple of years at the experimental farm of the University of Illinois, U.S.A., may be interesting to the readers of these notes. The first point taken up was the Quantitative relation of seed to the produce, n 1888 the largest yield was obtained from two and a-half bushels and in 1889 from three and a-half bushels of seed, and the general reBult tended to show that the quantity of seed waß no guarantee of good yield. Then with reference to the character of the seed bed, it waa found that a bed cf medium looseness answered better in both seasons than a firm and compact one such as wheat delights in, Attention was also given to the comparative results of early and late sowing; and without exception the best yields and the heaviest grain were obtained from the earlier seeding, - Oats Bown on the 14th Marob (September with üb) 1889. yielded one-half more grain than those put in three weeks later, and nearly twioe fes muob as those sown five weeks later— a data corresponding to the 18th of October here* The soil and tillage were exactly similar in tha Various lots, and eaob sowing would experience the same weather of the season as from the date of sowing. Dilatory farmers will do well to note the remarkable advantage gained by early sowing. Then, again, the experiments threw some valuable light upon the question of the depth at wbioh seeds should be bowd, which iB another doubtful point with farmers. The result in this direction distinctly demonstrated that varying depths— from lm to 4in for oats—do not materially affect the yields. This information may be usefnl to the district tn whioh it was gained, but as olimate and soil have a great deal to do with the results in this experiment they cannot be accepted as a guide for general practice in other lands.

The Southland correspondent of the Witness ; made, a week or two back, some The practical remarks upon the pre- ; local Practice, paration of the eeed bed fon grain. The necessity of a stroke pf the harrows before sowing entirely depends upon the condition of the ploughed land. If very rough and lumpy or badly paoked a great deal of the seed will fall between the furrows or lumps and be buried too deep to seethe light again. This is only likely to ooour when turnip land is broken up very dry after being? trodden bard by the sheep, or in new land full of rough tußßocks which prevent the furrows from being well packed together. It ia a mistake to sow on a weather-beaten seedbed, such as atubble land ploughed early and left to lie through the greater part of the winter. Unless the seed can be well covered the first heavy rain washes the covering off and the eeed ib then at the metoy of the watchful sparrow. As a matter of fact, drilling is the proper method of depositing seed in the soil, and no doubt is the most profitable in the caee of wheat, but it will BCaroely pay to drill oats at present prices. The amount of harrowing ia not such an important matter as some suppose, for I have repeatedly taken notice of oases in which oats have been sown on a rough surface and harrowed only once thereafter, heavy rains preventing the harrowing from being completed. When the land has been in good heart the crop has done as well as possible with only the one stroke, but unleßs thickly eown the crop would perhaps be rather thin on account of the birds opening the uncovered grains. Id faot, these things are of minor importance, for I have come to the conclusion from the experience of a good many years that good land and a favourable season are nine-tenths of the battle, provided, of oonrße, that the land receives reasonable treatment at the hands of the farmer.

The Yankees have also been making experU

menta in milking at one ef theic

nioro agricultural colleges for the Experiments, purpose of ascertaining whether the well-known faot that the shippings of a cow is the richest milk might not be advantageously utilised in practice. Six cows were milked daily at 6 o'olook in the morning and evening, At the milking eaob cow's milk was divid3d into two separate parta —viz., thei" firßt half " and the " last half/ and each half put into separate pans. On portions of each half being analysed it was found that fhe first half of the milk contained 2*41 pec

cent, of fat, and the last half of the milking 4*28 per cent, of butter fat. In other words, the strippings or last part of the milking was nearly 50 per cent, richer than the first part. From the reßult of these tests it would appear that dairymen could increase their profits by taking tbe milk for family use and for calves frpm the first half of the cow's milk, and devoting the richer portion to the manufacture of butter and cheese. The question ib whether tbe extra gain would compensate for the trouble of dividing the milk when milking and using two sets of pans, and keeping the milk separate through all the processes.

In the depths of winter, when farm work is slack, or altogether stopped by The llcdgot; froafcj anoWj or rain, the farmer should avail himHelf of the opportunity of getting the live fences trimmed and the ditches cleared of mullook to give free courße to the storm water. Ditohes and watercourses beoome foul with dead gorse, grass, and other rubbißb, whioh blocks the wator until it ib forced to burst through the fence. Hedge clipping is a continual causo of trouble and oxpenae to the farmer, but it is a Godsend to a good many men in providing work at the Blackest time of the year, For years past efforts have been made to manufacture a good and workable gorae trimming machine that is not too heavy and expensive, so that each farmer cauldieep his own machine, and clip his hedges annually at a trifling expense. As long ago as 78 there were several gorse cutting machines in the country, and prizes were offered at the agricultural shows for the oheapest and beßt. They were, however, not such a Buocess as to come into general use, nor have any been constructed since that time that can be considered entirely successful in fulfilling all that is required. Last winter I saw one at work, which was making a splendid job of a light hedge, and would trim a great deal in a day; but, bo far as I could learn, it possessed many drawbacks. It was, in the first place, rather expensive ; liable to Set out of order; and very heavy to raw. Four powerful horses and two men were required to work it. If these maohines were all that farmerß require they would soon come into general use, and we Bhould see them on every farm jußt as we do the reapers and binders. One would think the automatic binding of grain a far more difficult problem to solve than the trimming of a hedge. As at present constructed it costs about as much, or very nearly so, to trim gorse by machinery as by hand. This being so, the hand labour should have the preference, so long as men require the work and are willing to do it at a fair rate. I believe, however, that gorsecutting i 8 the worst paid work on a farm. I have known men to work hnrd and well and make little more than what would pay for knives and food. Being unproductive labour the oost is always begrudged by the farmer and the price kept as low as possible. This and the want of winter work inducing men to work for low wages rather than be idle, keeps the contraot prices rather low. It is certain that the cost of keeping hedges in good order 'is less than that entailed by grubbing up spreading gorse, to say nothing of the shelter afforded to sparrows by a large untrimmed hedge. Little has been said or written about this^ unwelcome visitor for some_ time, Ttie cniirorniim but it is none the less with ue, Thutie. and gradually and Burely establishing itself in the soil. Those who permit the thistle to flourish unmolested will ere long have good oause to regret their folly, for though it cannot easily be altogether rooted up it oan be prevented from spreading to its full extent. From what we can see of its progress so far, it ia certain that it will in tine, if left alone, take possession of our best land, and be, in effeot, a thousand times worse than the rabbit pest, or the pleuro in the cattle of the colony. It does not seem probable that the legislature will take any steps to compel preventive measures to be taken by the owners of land in whioh the thistle appears, though energetic and decisive measures would at once be adopted if pleuro-pneumonia were to break out in our herds. For my part, I think the Canadian thistle a more dangerous foe to the country than that pest, for the disease would run its courße and be done, and though it were ta destroy all the cattle we should still have the lands left. When the thistle has taken possession of the land we shall be in a bad case indeed, Agbioola.