INTENSIVE CULTIVATION.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 144084, 1 May 1913, Page 8

INTENSIVE CULTIVATION.

AT AVONDALE MENTAL HOSPITAL.

The Avondale Mental Hospital is situated on somewhat less than 200 acres of land, and a great deal of this area is used in connection with the hospital proper. The area left for the farm and garden is necessarily small. With some 900 people to supply with milk, fruit, and vegetables, every available acre has to he pat to its fullest use. At tho head of tbo hospital there is Dr. Beattie, the medical superintendent, who takes the keenest interest in the working of the .farm. The farm manager (Mr. Muir) is also an enthusiast, and tho results obtained under .the direction of these gentlemen is an object lesson in what can bo attained by intensive cultivation. More particularly is this so in respect to tho vegetable garden. Pour acres are allotted to the raising of vegetables. It is ■ not by any means rich, soil, the greater portion being rather clayey, with a strip of a volcanic nature running through it. The area, lies well to the sun, is surrounded by a good shelter belt; but otherwise is not spociall,adapted to the growth of garden produce. • • . '

During last year, from January 1 to December 31. some lot.OSOlbs. oi vegetables, excluding potatoes, were delivered 'at the hospital from this area, and, in addition, over £IOO worth was sold, tho total value of the marketable vegetables being approximately £SOO. In tho vegetable division remarkably little manure is used. ' Forty tons of farm manure, ono ton of bonedust, and half a ton of superphosphate was consumed in the period under review. To the credit of tho garden has to be added tho bulk of the food supplied to the piggery. _ No s!>eeial scheme of cropping is followed, but the soil is rarely idle, and Mr. Kerr, the head gardener, strongly believes in continual working, ' thus keeping a readily-available supply of humus. Loose soil will absorb 10 per cent, of its weight of water; compact soil only absorbs half this amount. By constant cultivation and stirring the surface, tho soil is made to retain the maximum amount of moisture. This accounts for tho comparatively green state of the various beds of ■ vegetables at Avondale. Tho area of the orchard is three acres, and from this 10 tons 2cwt. of fruit, comprising peaches, nectarines, pears, apples,- and plums were supplied to tho hospital during tho past year. A few years ago the apples were badly infested with codlin moth, but they aro now practically free. The trees are sprayed with tho. usual lime, salt,.and sulphur mixture in the winter, followed with arsenate of lead for the codlin moth, and tho old-fashioned bandages are still found serviceable. A mixture of kainit, superphosphate, and bonedust is applied annually, from three to five pounds per tree. Mr. Kerr is an enthusiastic advocate of root [pruning, 1 and ho says that by this moans and tho eradication of the codlin moth the orchard has been rejuvenated. Between the trees a few beds of , tobacco • flourish. The locally-grown stuff is found quit© as good as tho imported article for spraying purposes. Ten young trees each of the. twelve varieties recommended by the Fruitgrowers’ Conference were planted this year, and, and, as they aro in shallow soil, with a hard sandstone formation, tho holes were opened by means of dynamite. It was found that the subsoil was loosened to tho extent of 4ft. Notwithstanding the dry weather, these trees look remarkably well. An apple tree that was almost killed by woolly, aphis had been painted with grease, and is quickly gaining its former vitality. . In ■ the farm area, four acres of Gamekeeper potatoes., were sown .in June, and were dug in I'iovember, yielding 41 tons of good commercial potatoes, the value being £287. When the •potatoes were dug in November, mangels were sown, and they promise a yield of at least 35 tc>s per acre despite ' the dry weather. On this land potatoes and mangolds have been planted in succession, for three years, and tbe soil shows no sign of exhaustion ; indeed, quite the reverse is the case, ’ as the mangels testify. The roots now on the land will he the sixth crop taken off in three years. The vegetable garden has been sin cultivation 30 years without intermission, and the farm land has been cropped and re-cropped. The secret of the maintenance of fertility of tin- soil is again,- 1 as in the garden, continual working. The potato area is of a' light sandy nature. Unless it is continually stirred the surface bakes hard, but, the well-tilled surface soil acts as a mulch. .Some 3cwt. of root manure and 20 tons of stable manure is applied each year when tho mangels are taken off in May. Possibly some pedantic advocates of rotations would bo apt to criticise this continuance of mot cropping, but the restricted area’is mainly responsible for it. As Mr. Muir says, each year gives better results, widen tends to justify the system. When the mangels aro sown," I'cwt. of superphosphate is applied per acre;. .. . ’ i ■ . Speaking of continuous cropping, there is another example at Avondale. This year the crop from 10 acres of Algerian oats, now , in stack, will give three- tons per acre, and this is the fifth successive crop of oats that has been’taken from the paddock. When it was sown it was given a dressing of manure at the rate of 2cwt. per acre, basic slag throe-parts, and kainit one part, being the fertiliser used . Mr. Muir this year carried out some experiments under the supervision of the Agricultural Department. A paddock of 15. acres of rye grais and clover yielded well over 100 tons of fodder, which was made into ensilage. Several patches were reserved to ascertain what-weight was lost by making hay. The green stuff was carefully' weighed, and then carted out to dry. IVhen weighed again it was found that, three hundredweight of green stuff made but • on© hundredweight of hay.. “For feeding dairy stock 1 Would sooner - have one ton of ensilage than four tons of hay,” was Mr.. Muir’s remark upon The experiment. . ' , The pigs, which are to a great extent dependent upon the, waste from the garden, bring in a good round sum annually. If tho authorities do not net £4OO from the product of 23 sows,'it is reckoned a'bad year. The waste from the hospital is also fed to the pigs, which look the picture of health, housed, as they are in comfortable styes. Just at present five sows that have recently farrowed are mothering 50 young pigs. The Yorkshire-Berkshire cross is most, favoured, though a few pigs , of each breed arc kept pure. Clean, healthy surroundings and a good supply of food are two of the factors which go to make pig-raising profitable. Both are present here, and it is not surprising that the results • are so good. . Close to the pig-styes there is a patch

of lucerne that has been down over seven years.- It has yielded four crops this season, and the fifth is now 18in. high at time of writing. Under close observation parts of this lucerne patch made a growth of ISin. in 22 days. The farmed area is indeed a striking object lesson in what land will produce, and the gardens are a’model of cleanliness and good order. There is hardly a ■ weed visible anywhere.—Auckland Star. •