LUCERNE.

Waipa Post, Volume I, Issue 41, 5 September 1911, Page 4

LUCERNE.

ITS GRAZING VALUE FOR SHEEP. The value of lucerne for sheep grazing is testified to by a contributor to a southern paper) who has used it entirely for this purpose. The writer says a paddock of 25 acres of sandy loam resting on papa had been laid down in grass for fifteen years. It was then ploughed and put in rape, after which a heavy crop of Cape barley was taken off it. Then followed a fairly deep autumn ploughing. In the spring the ground was worked with the cultivator, harrowed, and sown with a drill at the beginning of October. As 7lb of seed was the most the drill would sow conveniently, it was drilled with that quantity, and -then crossdrilled with a stroke of the harrows, after which the ground was rolled and left. The rolling after the sowing of the seed was, the writer thinks, a mistake, as, rain cpming on soon afterwards, the ground had a tendency to bake and harden on the top. The proper time for the rolling would have been just before the drilling, and would have left the ground solid underneath. In about a week the seed began to come through, and at first appeared to be a splendid strike. However, from then until they were three weeks old, a great many of the plants disappeared, this being the critical time with them, especially if struck by an untimely frost, After then they seemed to be past their delicate stage, and began to grow very fast. In the middle of December —that is, about nine or ten weeks from sowing—they showed signs of coming into flower. The gras? was then fed off, and carried iambs at the rate of twenty-five per/acre for a fortnight. The paddock was spelled for the space of two weeks, and on measuring the growth of that time it was found it had grown between eleven and twelve inches in the fourteen days. After this the owner continued feeding it off every fortnight till the middle of April, gradually reducing the number of stock at each feeding as the winter approached. In the winter it seemed to disappear altogether, and the farmer thought it was done for, and that he would have to replough the paddock. However, it began showing green at the beginning of August, and by the middle of September was ready for stocking again, and looking better than ever. The owner put on two-tooth wethers at the rate of fifteen to the acre, dividing the paddock into two breaks—that is 325 wethers to the twenty-five acres. These he kept shifting from break to break every fortnight till a month after weaning, when nearly all went to the freezing works. The paddock was then stocked with lambs at something over twenty per

acre. These it carried till the end of April. Of course, the number was being gradually reduced as the fat ones were drafted out. From this on it carried eight or ten to the acre till the middle of June, after which it was shut up for the winter. All this time it neither suffered from blight, moths, drought nor caterpillars, though the rape at this time was suffering from all four. It is true that the lambs did not fatten as quickly as they did on rape, and the experimenter says he would certainly not advise anyone to rely entirely on lucerne for finishing them, but in dry districts that are subject to pests and to long periods of drought, lucerne is a grand standby, growing a large quantity of fattening feed, where there is not a green blade of anything else to be seen. The writer concludes as under : —" I have seen it stated in many articles that it must not be grazed. This, I think, must now be admitted to be a mistake. . Of course, the grazing must be done carefully, so as not to eat the crown too bare, but this being watched, it does not seem to deteriorate the plant at all. "It has also been stated that sheep die on it. This, as far as my experience goes, is only true to a very limited extent, as I have not lost more than six or eight sheep for the two seasons they have been grazing on this paddock. All soils may not be so well adapted as this paddock for growing lucerne, but I think when any farmer has soil at all suitable for the purpose it is well worth his while to put in a few acres as an experiment, as, if it is successful at all, it will well repay him for his trouble. " I think it has been practically proved that almost anv soil will grow it, provided the water does not stand within fou'r feet of the surface, or perhaps even three feet. If nearer than that the ground is too sour, and that is the one thing that lucerue will not stand. Frost does not seem to hurt it after it is established, it may be almost looked on as a permanency." AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT'S OFFER. The Department of Agriculture is offering to assist a limited number of farmers in the establishment of one-acre - plots of lucerne. On application to the Director of Fields and Experiment Farms, Wellington, there will be supplied at a railway station or shipping port which may be convenient to the Department, I2lb of lucerne seed, 7501 b of lime, and Isolb of soil from an established lucerne field. The cost to the farmer will be the railage or freight and carriage to his own farm. He will be required to use the seed, lime, and soil on well prepared ground one acre in extent. This plot is to be divided into quarters. On one quarter the lucerne seed only will be sown, on the second quarter seed and 3751 b of lime, on the third' quarter seed and 7Slb of soil for inocuation, and on the fourth quarter 3851 b of lime and 751 bof inoculating soil. To obtain the best results the land should be of fair quality, in a high state of fertility, the subsoil open, the drainage good, and the cultivation calculated to free the land of weeds. The seed beds should be firm and well worked, and the lime should be evenly distributed. The soil for inoculation should be broadcasted immediately before sowing the lucerne seed, and it should be harrowed and rolled. After the work is completed a plough furrow should be drawn around the plot, and also along the lines dividing the plot into quarters. The Department asks that a careful record be taken of the date of sowing the seed, also of its first appearance. The divisions of the acre, "No treatment," "Limited," "Soil Inoculated," and "Limed and Soil Inoculated," should be noted. In return for the seed, etc., the Department asks careful cultivation, drilling, attention, and a report on the result.