LIME FOR PASTURES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19337, 29 May 1937, Page 13

LIME FOR PASTURES

USE IN SOUTH ISLAND METHOD OF SPREADING Mr. A. Cl. Mowat, a Blenheim district farmer, who recently spent some time inspecting a number of Canterbury farms that are growing subterranean clover and others using lime, made some interesting observations to a meeting of young farmers after his return to Marlborough. He expressed ,himself as confident that the clover would be of great assistance in bringing back country that would be practically valueless otherwise. Mr. Mowat was interested in the method of spreading lime, and the amount that was being put on. The lime spreaders that were being used had about a 12-foot spread and usually travelled on lorries at 10 miles an hour. The charge for carting and distributing one ton an acre was, depending on the distance from rail, half a crown upwards. At one lime works visitim! it was found that the works, in order to attempt, to keep up with their orders, were working three shifts and even then they were 800 tons behind. The lecturer compared this with the whole of the Marlborough province which, although it has been shown to lie generally lime deficient, had an annual output of a paltry 500 tons. He said that many of the farmers lie had visited where good results had been secured from lime were on land which experienced a lower average rainfall than Marlborough. Generally one ton an acre was applied, ami in a very few 'cases did the dressing fall below half a ton an acre. The speaker added that it was a great pity (hat much of the land in Marlborough could not be treated in a similar way to these southern farms. The increases that could be secured on light country by the use of subterranean clover and fertiliser and the obvious advantages of applications of lime were so apparent that serious consideration should bo given to this phase of development.