DOMINION'S PASTURES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 17165, 15 October 1926, Page 7

DOMINION'S PASTURES

INCREASING THE CAPACITY POSSIBILITIES OF RESEARCH (Special to the Herald.! CHRISTCHURCH, this day. “What grounds have we for believing that the carrying power of New Zealand pastures cannot be increased by the introduction of different grasses for improvement of those already established. asked Professor H. 0. Denham in an address given by him before delegates to the Industrial* Corporation of New Zealand. No attempt had yet been made to carry out a systematic soil survey ot this country, and until this was done thoic was no guarantee that the method of fertilising was such as would give anything in the nature of a maximum result for the outlay. Indeed, the whole question of fertilisers and their production from atmospheric air was worthy of the most serious attention, for it- must be. realised that the general level of production of I English land was raised nearly 60 per cent, between 1840 and 1870 by the use of artificial fertilisers. . . This subject was now receiving very careful treatment in America, where it had been calculated that the lending crops absorbed annually 17,000,000,0001 b of ammonia phosphates and potash, that the fanners returned 0,700,000,0001 b. and the farmers supplied 2,400,000,0001 b of fertilisers, leaving an annual deficit of 55,900,000,00011). This had naturally shown itself in reduced production To what extent was New Zealand s pastoral and agricultural land snftciing in, th el same way was a question worthy of serious consideration.