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Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 76, 6 May 1914, Page 11

have been raked off the spring tooth cultivator gives quite sufficient seed bed. After rape is another favourite position for wheat, as the land is enriched by the residue of the manure applied to the rape, and the dung of the sheep consuming the* crop. The large number * of subordinate roots and the .depth to which they penetrate, have also an effect on the soil and subsoil beneficial to the succeeding wheat. ■-'"■'

After clover, lucerne, or lea more care and good judgment is necessary in preparing for wheat than in any other position. To lift the land in •<■ the end of May or beginning of* June, disc, harrow, and sow right away, invariably results in a return far below the possible. Such land is never consolidated sufficiently, and the turf is not killed. Compared with tliis practice it will pay handsomely to have the field skim-ploughed in early autumn, let it lie for a while, then harrow and cross-plough about sin deep,, and at seed time harrow well to give increased consolidation. For best results after lea it is imperative that the seeding be done on a stale furrow, and the land is all the better for having a heavy roller over it. When the lea is lifted immediately before . sowing, the wheat gets comparatively 'little advantage from the humus exeej)t, perhaps, in the conservation of moisture, as the nitrifying ferments are practically dormant by the time the land is ploughed, and do not regain activity until early.summer, when the wheat is wfcll forward. The greater part of the material constituting cereals, be it remembered, is assimilated between the periods of tillering and the of the blooming, and therefore, if by lifting the lea earlier in the autumn more nitrogen is available in the spring, one of the reasons accounting for the fact. that the crop on land so treated more than pays by extra yield, for the sacrifice of feed is evident. Indeed, it often happens that on land lifted from lea in early winter the second successive wheat crop is better than the first, as the intervening summei'\has allowed .of the uitrification of most of the organic matter constituting the turf. MANURING. From experience, on. the college farm I am satisfied that the direct manuring of wheat is profitable practice. The effect is not so marked as in the case of roots, as these crops have to draw from the soil an amount of plant food several times that required for wheat, and do it in a short-growing period, but the gain is sufficient to justify the application, and the effect of the manure is felt on the land when laid down again in grass in increasing its carrying capacity, and improving the quality of the grazing. On the other hand, wheat is proverbial for making the best use of the-inherent fertility of the land in the absence of manure directly applied. It is this characteristic that led to the practice in Britain'of manuring wheat indirectly through the preceding crops, —roots, potatoes, pulse or forage crops, heavy dressings of dung, artificial manures, or dung and artificials in various proportions are applied to these crops with the aim" of getting correspondingly heavy returns from, them, and leaving a considerable residuum well incorporated with the soil for the succeeding wheat crop to utilise. In the ease of dung, the seeds of weeds have germinated, and have been destroyed, and the organic matter has had time for further decomposition and blending with the soil before the seed is sown, with the result that the wheat benefits from the residue of the dung rfaore than if a corresponding amount had been applied with the seed. On our good wheat lands, however, the conditions . are very different. Farmyard manure in quantity is not available, and in our warmer climate is less useful for wheat, even if it were available. The land is not under-dfained, or if underdrained at all, the drains are much less frequent, and consequently the leaching of nitrates is less, and the need for nitrogenous manures less. The growth of herbage on the pastures is much denser and more luxuriant, and there is a correspondingly' greater proportion of organic, matter, when is lifted after a given time in* pasture. The activity of the nitrifying ferments is increased by the higher temperature we experience; and is continued through most months of the year. Consequently, with more humus, nitrification more rapid and more prolonged, and withal, less leaching or nitrates takes place, it is to be anticipated that nitrogen is less in demand for wheat, and everydajfecx[perience on this farm confirms the expectation,. On lighter lands, or lands with an open subsoil, the position is different, and if wheat be attempted on ' such it will probably be found that the ! application of a nitrogenous manure, as part of the dressing, is desirable, but iljo-hter.lands can be used to better pur-, pose under other crops. On good wheat land exuberance of vegetation often injuriously affects the yield of grain by favouring rust, by increasing the risk of lodging, and by bringing about a condition of the crop more liable to blight. This last consequence is important, for bursts of hot weather, which oceasiotialy occur at the time when the grain is filling, compromise the yield most seriously in crops the most luxuriant. The movement of elaborated material from the leaves and stems to the ears is suddenly arrested, the crop yellows off too quickly, and a more or less shrivelled sample of grain results. Therefore, as the effect of nitrogenous manure is to increase vegetative luxuriance,, and to produce a soft plethoric plant which? succumbs more readily to sudden heat waves or pinches of drought, it should be applied with caution under our conditions. .

Phosphatic manures are of much more importance in the production of wheat o/i this farm, and, I. believe, in Canterbury, -than nitrogenous manures. Indeed, there seems good reason for the hypothesis that if wheat be hot grown too frequently, and a judicious rotation of forage--' crops, roots, leguminous crops and temporary pastures in which clovers are'prominent,-be adopted, it will be found that if the requirements of the soil in the matter of phosphates be met liberally, Nature will go far to maintain the nitrates, except for such crops as mangels, kale, and rape; for which dried blood or other, nitrogenous manure is indispensable, or at least an advantage. On this farm, so far in relation to wheat, I have not noticed any advantage whei'e potash has been applied to the land. But phosphatic manures are beneficial beyond question, and their application is particularly to be recommended. In the csae ef land

1 that has been badly farmed —submitj ted to exhaustive cropping without any i effort to 'maintain fertility—they are indispensable to good yields. Dressings of ■ phosphates, ■ however, will be found almost invariably -to produce a profitable response in the crop "when applied with the seed in the autumn or in. the spring, for their influence is manifold. For example, rapid root growth is encouraged; tillering is promoted; maturity'is 'hastened; spells of drought, which often prevail in the spring, are better withstood, and the quality of the sample is improved, the grain being better filled, and of a better colour. The fact that.the transportation of water necessary for the r/roduction of a certain weight of dry matter in cereals is less when saline manures have been applied, is of capital importance, and explains why phosphates, if other saline matters necessary be present in sufficiency,; help the plant to resist periods of drought. Marie Darly, on "Researches on Wheat," found that in soil without manure an evaporation from the leaves of 1324 parts of water was required for the production of one part of grain, but that when he added to the soil superphosphate, salt-petre, salt, and gypsum as manure, • there was transpired by the plant only 887 parts of water for the production of one part of grain. Of the 'phosphates on the market may be taken as the most generally useful. On land with a high percentage of organic matter,' or soils somewhat sour, basic slag would be probably most useful, but, like nitrate of soda, it has not been put on the market, so far, at a price to justify* its use. The superphosphate, as a rule, does not run altogether satisfactorily through the drill, and accordingly it is generally advisable to mix with it thoroughly a little of the Freezing • Companies' manures, say 1 in 6, or to mix it with wood ashes shortly before application, hi such quantities as'will suffice to make the mixtures run well. When a rotation of crops is practised, it will be found that a dressing of 1£ cwV t« 2 cwt per acre of superphosphate, with the mixed material added proportionately, when such mixture has been required, will produce heavy crops',, and, on the average, be; sufficient. When wheat is grown,after wheat superphosphate straight will scarcely suffice, or even when wheat is grown after oats. In that case it will be found advisable to mix superphosphate and kale manure from half and half to 2 of superphosphate to 1 of kale manure according to the. degree of, exhaustion of the'field or the frequency with which it has been cropped. On lighter lands I believe generally a mixture of dried blood and superphosphate 1 to 2, or of kale manure and superphosphate half and half will give better results,than superphosphate alone, but on all wheatgrowing land proper I believe superphosphate alone will suffice, if it be dry enough to, run through the drill freely. Further, it will be found that the influence of such direct manuring, of wheat will, tell favourably on the land when under grass or other crops. ' The quantity of seed to sow Ajaries, of course, with the climatic conditions, the nature of the soil, the time of sowing, the size of the grain* and the habit of growth'Of the variety to'be sown, arid extends from , one bushel per acre to two bushels. In a dry climate one bushel per acre is ample, but on good wheat lands in Canterbury from one and a quarter bushels to'one and threequarter bushels per acre should' be sown. Lighter lands are' sown - more thinly than good strong soilsj and the earlier the date of sowing the lighter should the seeding be in both cases. Wheats also that tiller freely may be sown' more thinly than wheats which, run q'uickly with fewer stems, such as the spring wheats. The careful selection and preparation of seed wheat is ever. well repaid. For example, it should be graded, and the lighter or shrivelled grains taken out. Careful experiments conducted in France by Desprez proved that the gain jin yield resulting from grading the wheat with the "Trieur" varied from 22 to 28 per cent, in favour of the large plump grains as compared with the yield of the smaller or shrivelled grains sown under similar conditions. CULTIVATION.

Harrowing wheat in the spring is almost invariably an advantage to the crop, and on heavy lands it can scarcely be over done. On'thiek crops it is an important, almost necessary, operation for the very best results. The horsehoeing of wheat is now almost generally abandoned in favour of good harrowing, which is almost as efficient, and is much cheaper. Rolling has not so much to recommend it as harrowing, though on light lands it is useful. On heavyland, however, I have never seen any manifest advantage to repay the cost of rolling in the spring, unless where the young wheat had been badly thrown out by severe frosts. Feeding down crops with sheep is often beneficial to them; but occasionally it is injurious. When a dry season supervenes, on a crop fed down somewhat late", the yield will be diminished, and, as a rule, it is well to feed down only the early crops which, in a favourable season, might lodge before harvest. TIME OF CUTTING. For flour, wheat is better for being cut before, it is dead ripe; for-seed, it is to be preferred when it has been allowed to ripen completely. The rule then is to cut wheat when the grain is in the dough state for milling—when it ceases to show a milky fluid in section, and has a consistency, familiar to dough or cheese. However, as the grain fills from the outside inwards it is possible to cut too early, with the result that the inner starch cells of the grain are not fully developed, and the sample tveighs less' per bushel, but in view of the risk of shaking, and on the knowledge that in this climate the grain continues to fill in the stook, it is'well to cut just .as the milky stage of ripening is being completed. VARIETIES. New Zealand wheat in Mark Lan« ranks much as English-grown wheat in quality. It works soft and weak as a rule; does not yield with the miller so much flour as Australian; and i'n purity of colour comes lower. In'-, breadmaking capacity, or strength of Hour, it is classed as low to fair, while Australian ranks as fair, and famous qualities such as. Manitoban No. 1, is described as good to full, and No. 1 Hard

Duluth, and No. 1 Northern.- Spring (United States) as full. The quality in the matter of strength of flour is, 1 unfortunately for us, > not. to be controlled to any great extent by the skill of the farmer in selecting varieties or in breeding strains to yield strong flour; the chief determining factor is undoubtedly the climate in the question of strength, and it is.found that in countries where the ripening process is most rapid, through highr, summer .temperature, long daylight, and clear, dry weather, that wheats 'yielding • strongest flour are gjrown.. If. some of the wheats yielding strongest spur were introduced here,—such, for example, as the Fife types, it "fdfuhd that in' a few seasons the character of the grain in this characteristic, should degenerate,, though, atvthe-samftjime, I believe the matter well deserves the attention of farmers, effort no doubt would result in dniiitfovement. There is, also, of course, the"'practical and financial aspect of ther Jii'estion to be considered. Wheats.pPrf r the strong type grown in the Stages and Canada never, in my experience at least,, equal in yield v the best white wheats that are" now grown here, and it may pay to grow, the heavier 1 yield for a lower price per bushel. For example* 50 bushels per^'acre at 3/4 J£B 6/8) will' pay a farmer better than 45 bushels"at 3/7 (£8 1/3). A characteristic indispensable to, varieties to be grown here, and always to have first consideration, is resistance to shelling out or threshing by wind, and in this particular many of the strong flour wheats are weak. Altogether, I have found so far that the best soft white wheats of Europe yield, most profitable : returns : . here, but, of course, it does not "follow that improvements in the strength, cannot be gained by eare?f<al selection or by cross-breeding. : ; ;;? *■_