FARMING NOTES.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5354, 10 February 1916, Page 3

FARMING NOTES.

SULPHUR AS A MANURE. Experiments made in Germany and France, as well as by the iWinconsin Experiment Station, have, says a writer in the “Country Gentleman,” known that sulphur has a certain fertiliser value. Boulanger aafd Dujandin, of France, made tests with. sterilising soil, and orovM that sulphur increased the activity of' various soil organisms. The activity of the micro-organisms broke down nitrogenous substance’s in the . soil, thereby rendering them more easily soluble and more readily .absorbed by plants. To get good results with, sulphur it is therefore important first to supply the land with organic nitrogenous material, such as clover, cow peas, or any of the leguminous plants that are grown as green manures. With such substances in the soil, sulphur is almost sure to give au increase of crops. POTASH AND LIME.

To get the best results from applications of potash salts it is essential that the soil should contain a sufficiency of phosphate of lime. Thus an eminent scientist in discussing the Bothams ted experiments wrote: —“One frequently hear very conflicting remarks regarding the effects of .basic slag or superphosphate when applied to pasture lands. On some lands the application of phosphatic manures is ■ .lost beneficial, resulting in a large increase of clovers among the herbage, and more especially of white clover, while on other lands little effect from only phosphatic manures is observed.” From the unique experiments conducted at the Rothamsted Experimental Station on grass land, which were started by the late Sir John B. Lawes in Lite year 1856, it has been fully lemonstrated that basic slag or superphosphate is of no avail if the land is deficient in available potash. Consequently, applications of potash manure, when given in soluble and available forms, have had considerable effect both on quantity and quality of the produce obtained. Kainit gives the best results when applied in the autumn or winter, ex* cept for mangolds, eabbtoges, and other specially salt-loving \ l ints. Sulphate of potash and muriate of potash may be applied in the autumn, winter, or spring, as may be most convenient. Potash salts should fbe delivered (t)o the farmer in good condition, so that he enn apply them without having to first break them up. -If applied in lumps to the soil their good effect is lost, and, indeed, they may do harm.

The chief use of fertilisers to supply plant food. It is good farming to make the most natural resources of the soil and of the manures produced on the farm, and io depend upon artificial fertilisers only t-o furnish what more is needed. It is not good economy to pay high prices for materials which the soil may itself yield, but it is good economy to supply the lacking ones in the cheapest way. Regular dressings of potash and phosphate will soon destroy any moss, will discourage the# growth of coarse grass, and will encourage the development of the clovers, sometimes to such a degree that the true grasses suffer, and when such effect is observed, it becomes desirable, in order to keep up the proper balance of grasses and clover, to apply some nitrogen. The manure of the fowl possesses high value. It is usually too strong to be used alone, and the most is made of it when mixed with a quantity of sand. The analysis discloses 19.2 per cent, of organic matter, L 75 per cent, of ammonia, 4.3 per cent, of phosphates, 1.1 of potash salts, 8.1 per cent, of chalk, and about 60 per cent of water.

A horse famine in the United States is predicted fhy western breeders if the European war conNebraaka and in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado, aro hundreds of ranches wtiere horses have been raised for years. Although they aro hardy and of fairly average height and weight, they lack the breeding of the general purpose farm animals and the draught horses. A year agfO (thejy brought less, on the average, than £2O. It was this source of supply that Ihe horse-buyers of the European belligerents first reached. The demand speedily sent the price up to £25 for cavalry and £3O for “gunners.'' Today they are bringing £35 and £4O each, and these isn’t enough to supply the demand. Despite the domancLs of the war, the number of live stock in Canada is being well maintained. Returns to .Tune 30th show' that there were on that date 2,900,090 horses in iho Dominion, an increase of more than 18.000 ovor the figures for the amo date last, year. Milch cows umbered 2,000,846, and other cattle 3. 399,155, the total number of cattle being 6,000,900. There were 2,03*, 602 sheep and 3,111,900 swine.