SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3148, 15 July 1914, Page 17

SOUTHLAND AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

t (From Our Own Correspondent.) . The weather assumed a most pleasant 1 i j

The Weather and the farm.

phase during the past week —clear, sunny days, with frosty nights, and a very perceptible tinge of warmth,

indicating the approach of spring. In a few instances discing has been commenced; but, generally speaking, the land is yet much too wet for any of the usual cultivating processes outside of ploughing. On the river' flats one sees dry patches of ground, especially where it had been turned over early. Onq particularly noticeable feature in connection with the autumn-ploughed land is the wonderful pulverising effect the numerous frosts experienced early in the -season have had on it. The comb and the furrow, in the majority of instances, has been reduced to a powder, even in the case of lea land. In the latter class of land the fibrous roots of the grass make discing a difficult matter, but this trouble is' not-likely to be experienced this year. The rain, which commenced to fall on Sunday afternoon, is likely to put a stop to all spring-like preparations. The live stock markets are still good, and a large volume of business is passing in consequence. The grain market is not quite as satisfactory as it was from a producer’s or seller’s point of view a' week or two ago. This is probably due to the easier tone which pervades the London market. There is, however, a slight inquiry for seed oats for local requirements, which has doubtless been brought about as the result of the fine weather conditions prevailing. From inquiries made it would appear as if a considerable area of land to be sown in oats is intended for chaff. This makes it appear that the area to be sown in this cereal is to bo quite as restricted as it has been during the past two years. The number of dairy factories is being addled to yearly, and several new factories are now being erected. , Lime is so important an element in agri- -

Value Of Lim .

culture, and is so much' discussed by agricultural writers, that one would think that its value -would

be universally recognised, 'among- all classes of farmers. It is commonly argued that lime is not a fertiliser in the strict sense of the term, and yet it forms as large a percentage of the constituents of all plants as either nitrogen, potash, or phosphates, and is equally as necessary to the development of vegetable life. Curiously enough, one of the various reasons put forward why lime should not bo considered as a fertiliser is simply that, in most cases, the soil contains enough of this element to servo as plant food for the crop. This (.imply means, of course, that in cases whore the soil was deficient in lime it would, if supplied, become a fertiliser; but the same line of reasoning would, of course, infer that potash would not bo a fertiliser if it were supplied to a soil containing enough potash, i It does not matter very much, however, whether lime ranks as a manure or whether it is simply considered a necessary ingre- j dient of all farm soils. The fact remains that in the general scheme of agriculture it can be used with great benefit and profit: and farmers would do well to use it much more extensively than is now the practice. Whether lime is a plant food or not, it has a remarkably beneficial effect upon the

soil. It makes other plant foods available, and is absolutely essential to the free development of bacteria, and to the full growth of legumes. These two points alone simply make the use of lime imperative. No one can raise a luxuriant sward of grass, or a succession of any kind of crops, unless beneficial soil bacteria have suitable conditions. No one can maintain the feeding value of grass pastures, or keep up without considerable expense the supply of nitrogen in the soil unless legumes are regularly grown. Lime is constantly being extracted from the soil, either by the demands of plants, or by the percolation of rain water; therefore to keep up the balance of soil foods lime should be regularly added. Lime is a powerful soil stimulant, and is

Tlx Effect of Ei.i.e on Soil .

very active in liberating soil food. Most of the phosphoric acid and potash present in soils cannot be used by plants until made soluble

by lime, and lime acts on iron and other compounds in the same way ; therefore lime may liberate unexpected fertility and many be the only thing needed to make apparently poor virgin soils productive, especially if used for the growth of legumes. The good effect of lime on clay soils and on peaty soils has long been recognised. Stiff clay soils by the application o£ lime are rendered more friable, less adhesive, and more open and porous. It causes the fine particles of silicate of alumina which are responsible for , the tendency of clay soils to hard in dry weather to coagulate and aggregate in comparatively large particles, thus render- : ing the soil more easy to cultivate and more congenial for the development of plant roots. Teaty are apt to become sour owing to the decomposition of the large amount of organic matter they contain, ‘and farmers working this class of land could improve the bacterial life of such soils and make them yield larger and bettor returns of grass crops by supplying them with lime. Lime is a compound of two elements, calcium and oxygen, and it is this compound’s strong affinity tor acids that gives it so much value in the improvement of soils. This affinity for acids accounts for the fact that it is never found free in nature, but is almost invariably associated with carbonic acid gas. The act of burning limestone simply drives off the carbonic acid gas and the water, but as soon as burnt lime or quicklime is placed on the soil “again, or,* even exposed to the atmosphere, it combines once more with the carbonic acid gas so prevalent in nature, and reverts to its origi- i nal chemical condition once more. The ! burning of lime, however, and its consequent slaking, either by the addition, of water or by exposure to the atmosphere, breaks it into a fine state of division, and thus enables it to be easily spread over the soil. The use of lime may be acknowledged to be generally beneficial to nearly' all soils, but farmers should bear in mind the did couplet: “Lime and lime without manure, make both farm and farmer poor,” - for it holds the basis of scientific truth.

Although rather late for manuring the

Nniimirpr Fruit Trees.

orchard, attention may still with advantage be "given to this necessary work. It has to be remembered that fruit

trees need a good _supply of available food during a comparatively small part of the year. By using the right amounts and right kinds we may expect better fruit on trees, to have them come into bearing earlier, bear more steadily, and live longer. If we expect to get the most profit out of the outlay for cultivation and spraying, we must feed the trees. You cannot get most work out of a man if he is badly nourished. He

needs some food —and eo does a tree. Owing to the fact that orcharding is continuous cropping of the most radical class, it is necessary not only to furnish the right kinds at the right time. This cannot be done by farmyard manure alone, for it carries to much nitrogen in proportion to the minerals, and the minerals in manures are too slowly available. An orchard should have a dressing of farmyard manure every three or four years, when farmyard manure is available, but where it is not available clovers or tre-

foils, or some green crop, should be grown in the autumn and ploughed under in the spring. Supplying basic slag with the green' crop provides the phosphoric acid so necessary to the production of a good tree and

fruit, whilst the green crop ploughed in provides humus and nitrogen. A pound or two of potash supplied to each tree will have a wonderful effect on the quality and quantity of fruit.