ON THE LAND

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 40, 25 September 1928, Page 3

ON THE LAND

FARM AND GAJRDEX. v IN STRATFORD AND DISTRICT. (By "ARARE.") The fertilising of a soil is improved by (i) (physical or lnechauiical. means and (-) chemical agencies. The physical/ improvements are,affected by the drainage of the soils, by the various methods of tillage and by the application of farmyard manures. These various points have been dealt with in more or less detail in early writings. l Tho one ijtcton which assists soils both physically and chemically una biologically is lime. Lime is a very term, as used in agriculture ali'i may include (1) quick" lime or burnt lime (2) ground limo or agricultural limo (2) ground lime lime. The third of these is of the least value from a point of view of being used by the farmer. Of the, other two quicklime is morel soluble than ground lim e l.md so gives a quicker result; it is however, a lit-. tie too severe if used in large quan-. tities as by its action! it hastens the decay and so the removal of humus. In general terms Jcwt of quicklime will produce the same effect as lewt of ground lime. | All things being equal ground lime is the softer to use and could be applied with benefit to soils in and around Stratford at the rate of 3—5 cwt per acre. It is best applied in early: winter and late 'autkimn. It encourages the growth of the clovers and is indeed essential for the vigorous growth of such plants. '(There are spetjial eas'es where] quTeklime is preferable to ground) lime and the chief of these are:— (1) In liming ,a newly-drained swamp. Here the first thing to do is to . consolidate! and make conditions favourable for a carpet of grass. This is best brought about by applying the quicklime to neutralise the acids that collected under the swampy conditions and) then to feed out good seeciied hay to mature stoiia cattle, on,the swamp: By this means Ruakura Farm has brought in considerable quantities of swhmp land. 2 Where cartage is a big factoi, for only half the quantity of quicklime would need to be carted. Linie has the effect of opening up clay) soils and of making sand soils more retentive. It also liberates plant fooc)? that are dormant iTiat is not available for the plant. This is chiefly tho.cas© with, potash and this explains to some extent why potash j manure gives little increase in yield I where lime is also applied.

Lime is necsssagy for bacterial activity ; the cork of basteria is tlie production, of acid in the soil. Tf this acid is neutralised conditions soon arise where the ae'ditv is sn rr.reat that the bacterii becomes inactive. One is frequently confronted with the remark that sorrel is present, so the ground' is sour and nesils liming. This a very faulty conclusion to draw. Examine the bank of a newly cut drain and. watch tre first plant gronth that comes on the subsoil mound; inmost without 'exception you will 1 find it is sorrel. This should show you clearly that sorrel is among the lowest of plants in the scale of soil fertility. The only indication that sorrel should give you is that the soil is in an impoverished or tppleted slate. If this is duo to acidity them liming will correct, hut if not as is mostly the case here then liming will noS con-eat it but may even accentuate it. The surest control of sorrel is tlio growing of a smother crop with tho. libeild application of manure togeth, er with the free nse of a roller, liv the cottage garden sorrel usually conies Iwhere the gardener is tofl fond of the spade and has his soil far too loose and leaves his soil lug for the winter rains which freely leach out much of his available plant food. GARDEN. VEGETABLE. It is nowsji f e to make regular sow- ;

ings of pens, these should! be sown | about every fortnight and so a rcg-j ular supply of peas will be provided. I ; .It is not advisable to leave tho I sowing of celery and leek seeds too f long. Here we have-a, very short i growing autumn and' growth is frequently very much retarded by the cold nights or even, frostls, often in the early part of April. Therefore to ensure any success with these two, the major portion of the growth should be completed by them. This can. only be obtained by the planting of them earlier than is done in. many other parts. Keep the push hoe going whenever possible to break up the surface beaten down by the heavy rains and keep the cdbbage and letfees growing by the regular waterings of nitrate of I soda. I

FLOWERS. During the summer and right up until, the frosts come, there is no plant that produces the prolusion of flowers than the dahlia <l>es. The. last few yi'.-ars have .'brought forth many new varieties and now are obtainable, dahlias of almost every conceivable shade, shape and size. There are the tall vigorous growers suitaplo for the large garden and also the small "charm'" dalhia that are well worth a place in tho smallest garden. Tile roots are now just beginning to burst forth, their shoots and gardeners shouk'l get busy to IprepaPb the beds fee these plants. The dahlia is a gross feeder and requires as much manure as can possibly be supplied. Ihrmyard manure gives tho , best results and should be placed: well down below the roots when plant. ter. Where this is difficttlt to obtain quite satisfactory results can be secured by tho free use; of blood and bone and super. I will deal in a, later 1 article within the next few weeks on the subdivision and planting of dahlias. j