THE FARMER PAYS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 750, 24 August 1929, Page 31

THE FARMER PAYS

j At a recent Rothamstead conference, i Dr. John Russell rounded off a discussion on the burdens the farmer has to bear by telling of a public-house sign which he saw in his boyhood days. The house was called “The Four Alls,” and the sign outside had tour figures. Under a picture of a king was written, “I govern all”; under a picture of a soldier, “1 fight tor all”; under the picture of a parson, “I pray for all”; under the picture of a farmer, “I pay for all.” Thanks to research work carried out at the Rowatt Institute, the importance of minerals in the rations of stock is now being realised by farmers. The leaf of a grass is always richer in minerals than the stem, the influence of nitrogen in increasing the leaf-stem ratio is therefore of Importance in its effect on the mineral content of pasture herbage. Under intensive treatment where the applications of phosphates, potash, and lime ; where necessary, are essential as well as periodic doses of nitrogen, it may i be expected that the herbage will be rich in these mineral constituents, i This has been borne out by experience. .