LUCERNE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1901, 17 July 1890, Page 6

LUCERNE.

It cannot be denied that the general style of farming has undergone a marked improvement during the last 10 years. The so- called farming which formerly prevailed, and which consisted mainly of continuous cropping as long as the land would bear a crop worth reaping, has given place to different systems of mixed farming according to the circumstances of locality and climate. In Bomo oases cattle and sheep are combined with grain growing, and in others dairying receives more attention than Bheepfarming. A dairy farmer should endeavour to keep up a succession of food for his cows in order to maintain a good flow of milk during the time the faotories are open to receive it. Lucerne is one of the boßt forage plants for milch cows, being much superior to clover ; it gives no taste to milk or butter ; and when properly treated produces a succession of feed during nine months of tbe year. Its perenninl and drought-resißting qualifciee are very important, especially the latter, for we have now had several dry seasons in succecsiou, and for all we know may have Bovoral mote, Lucerne thrives best in a light, rich, deep loam, with a loose subsoil to allow the roots to extend themselves, which they will do to the depth of 3ft to 4ft if the soil be congenial. It does not, however, neoeasanly follow that it is of no ujo to sow except in a rioh, deep loam, for a modification of that description of soil may produce a good yield of fodder with generous treatment as to tpp-dre9sing, A cold, wet, clayey soil is poison to lucerne; therefore whatever the soil may be it must not be stiff, cold, or wet. The deep rooting habit of tha plant enables it to succeed in a dry soil and a dry season because the roots obtain sufficient moisture from the subsoil. The most advantageous mode of using lucerne is to mow it and give to cows in a green 3tate, care being taken not to give too much at one time, as it is likely to blow the cattle. Ifc is very generally grown on the continent of Europe, and in Spain they mow as much in one day as will be wanted the next, and laying it in a heap sprinkle it with salt waiter. This they think renders it more wholesome for cows, and of course they like it the better for being salted. In Europe lucerne is considered a quintennial plant— that is, it can be depended on in ordinary practice to produce good crops for at least five years, the first cutting being made in the autumn following the spring in whioh it ia sown. At the first mowing it must not be cut too olose to the ground, nor must sheep or horses be allowed to crop it short. Sometimes during the winter of its first year it should have a liberal top dressing of farmyard muck at the rate of 20 good loads to the aore, the dung being well scattered over the surface. All it requires the following spring is a stroke of the tshain harrows or brushwood to disseminate any lumps of manure that may hinder the work of the scythe. During the second year, if it thrives fairly well, it will stand being out three times, and also during the next three or four years if the top dressing is repeated every winter, and the chain harrowing prooess in the spring. One aore will provide ample food for three or four cows during the soiling season, and in very favourable situations it will do muoh better. Now, if a farmer has a small enclosure near his homstead composed of a free soil, it is surely worth his while to give this valuable forage plant a fair trial ; the carting of a few loads of manure each winter is a trifling matter compared to the produce per aore. Tbe seed can be sown broadcast or in drills, but before sowing the land must be thoroughly cleared of all weeds, otherwise the lucerne will hatfe'too ohanoe to establish a strong and thick soil in the first season. It is of no use whatever to sow lucerne in ground infested with couoh, dooks, Borrel, or any other weeds of a like nature. About 201b of seed Bhould be sufficient to bow per aora broadcast, and rather less if drilled. The Beed must be quite freßh and new, as it does not come up freely when two years old. It is advisable to sow as early in the spring as the season will permit, for, as the crop is going to occupy the ground for a number of years, it should have an early start in order to give it every chance of forming a good plant. In the Old Country late sowing is subjeot to the attaoks of insects similar to the tulip fly. A light covering and a good rolling is all that tbe Bead requires after Bowing. In respeot.to after oulture, nothing more is necessary than the mulching with dung in the winter as before mentioned, Luoerno makes very good hay, and is extremely suitable for sweet silage. Is is rather difficult to make into hay bucobbbfully beoause the leaves drop off if the bay is allowed to become too dry before carrying. It will be found, however, to be more profitable to use it for soiling milch cows, coming as it does with good treatment muoh earlier in the summer than clover or grass, It may be argued that oats or Gape barley, if sown in the autumn, will be ready as soon as lucerne, and this may be very true, but, at the same time, it must not be forgotten that the former are only annuals requiring fresh seed and tillage every year, while lucerne flourishes year after year on the Bame soil, and with little annual expense. It must not be supposed from the tenor of the foregoing remarks that lucerne is an infallible means of providing food during dry seasons, and that nothing can be said in disparagement of it. The intention in writing on the Bubjeot is merely to point out the advantages of the plant in the event of it finding a congenial soil and proper management. Any farmer giving it a fair trial on a small plot can soon satisfy himself regarding its value, and extend its cultivation according to his requirements if successful. Where the grass fails to produce a bite for the cows, as was the oase during the last summer and autumn on account of the drynesa of the soil, lucerne, unless it belies its habits in other countries, will maintain a green appearance and a substantial growth. Not long ainoe a letter appeared in the Witness from an old resident of the Maniototo Plains, and now in the United States, pointing out the desirability of lucerne in a season of drought. He writes of areas of green lucerne as oases in the -burnt-up plains of Amerioa, and immense Btaoke of lucerne bay as a provision for the winter, It is probable that the soil of the pr&iriea ia moire suitable for

the growth of lucerne than the day soils bo common in Otago. But all pur land is not of a clayey nature, and even stiff land is capable of being greatly ameliorated by the judicious application of lime and sufficient exposure to frost by means of winter fallowing. Liberal applications of dung, too, will soon inorease the mellowness of an unkind soil, and draining will also aid in that prooess. A crop of potatoes is an excellent preparation for lucerne, provided the land is sufficiently clear of weeds.