THE FARM.

Colonist, Volume LIV, Issue 13396, 20 April 1912, Page 8

THE FARM.

LUCERNE-GROWING

There arc stO many hazy ideas about the growth of this splendid fodder and soil ameliorator. There are many who ■fancy that it is only payable when grown in a warm1 climate, and under irrigation, so that five or six cuts a year ara obtained; but it well known to practical men that if it only affords two chrops in the season, and lasts only five years, it still pays for sowing. In both Europe a-nd America it is grown very successfully in even cold latitudes. One of the. principal requisites for ensuring success is a well-drained soil. Drainage aerates the soil, warms it, and of course lowers the line of permanent saturation. Lucerne simply perishes if subjected to wet feet, and it is not mwch use planting it on soil naturally or artificially drained to a less depth than three feet. If good drainage cannot bo assured, it is better to pow other fodders, such as red or strawberry clover. ■ A soil in which lucerne grows naturally will always be- found to contain a good percentage of carbonate cf lime. This is invariably the case in France*, England, and the United States, and j the more luxuriantly the pant grows the greater will the percentage of lime he found to ba. Since- where lime is deficient, it can be supplied with profit, the absence need not discourage Income-growing. If ground unburned limestone is us?d, which is now mostly recommended, tho minimum amount usually employed is four tons to the '"•'•ta buried froshly-slaked lime, ! about half this" Is'the 3li?)i^.i«m, and, up to four ton to the acre.

Lue-ome is at its best in a soil containing plenty of humus, ns it requires tho bacteria found in such soil for its development. When once the lucerne begin to grow it provides its own nitrogen, but th-ere is often a deficiency of th.i bacteria necessary to. give- ?t. a start, and prevents the plants proving sickly ;uk! short-lived.

It has been found in America that <ho surest way to promote a good growth is by spreading soil from an old lucerne paddock over the cultivated ground and t)vn harrowing it in. This practice is followed now, in all land which has not grown lucerne previously, and with excellent results. According to American periodicals, the amount commonly used is 50Olb to tho acre which is put on just before the seed is sown. The only precaution necessary seems to be- to bag up the soil, and to spread it during the cooler hours of the day. Several dairymen in various parts of the State have signified their intention of testing this method, and it is.hoped before long that some results 'well bo available for the information of their fellow toilers. One thing must be- noticed, and that it the inadvisability of feeding luccmie alone to stock. With maize, hay, or natural grasses, j it makes a balance ration^ on which animals will do much bettor than with any of them alone.