FARM NOTES.

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1414, 11 October 1923, Page 7

FARM NOTES.

Green Manuring". Should anyone doubt the economic value of green manuring to a soil known to be, through various causes, not too well supplied with humus, or what is called mould, let him sow a small patch of red clover and plough this under in a paddock intended for oats. Later, when the oats grow and mature, let him note the difference between the green manured and the untreated areas. He can, if he desires, cut oats on treated and untreated areas of the same size, and so estimate the difference per acre, either in chaff or grain, produced by green manuring. Seeing is believing and this simple and easily-handled experiment, if properly carried out, will in all probability astonish many people by its results, especially on cropped soils and on lighter soils of the count ry.

This question of profitable farming and maintaining a permanent fertility is of great importance and one which is by no means receiving the attention it deserves. On heavy clay soil the large amount of green matter in clover crops, when ploughed under, has a tendency to divide and disintegrate as well as lightening the soil by its mechanical effects, and in its decay prepares plant food in the soil. These effects and the well known advantage of a wealth of organic matter in the land have led to a very •large and constantly increasing use of clover crops and its advocates are to he found everywhere. Sow Improved Seed. Poor seed is largely responsible for low yields of inferior quality wheat. Improved, pure, sound) clean seed will produce two to seven hushels more per acre than the ordinary grade of seed wheat on the same land. The same arguments and the same demands of self-interest which induce a stockman to use a purebred sire apply with equal force to sound, disease free, clean field seeds of improved', breeding. Farming under modern conditions requires an ever-increasing use of the best seed obtainable for every field or plot, and for every herd, flock or stud. Quality products will command a premium, and ensure a profit most of the time. Quality in farm crops and live stock cannot he produced if inferior seed is used. The HieVd and ;i Change of Pastures. A point that we too often overlook in handling the dairy herd is the necessity of change. How often do we see the herd turned into the same paddock, day after day, all the year round, and we do not fully realise how beneficial it would be if a change could be made to a clean paddock periodically. A comfortable yard to stand in adds considerably to the comfort of the cows while waiting their turn to be milked. We cannot all afford concrete right away, but as soon as we can do so the work should be carried out. There are some who have the idea that because their forefathers fought their way through the mud and general discomfort they and their children should be content , to do likewise; but to adopt such an attitude is to be inimical to all progress, and is one .of the many ways by which we may help our competitors to oust us from our markets. Protecting' Febicc^, Hundreds of shelter belts have been ruined through not being protected from the ravages of all classes of live stock, the result being that the bottom branches are completely destroyed, and there is no shelter where it is of most value. As a matter o? fact, when the lower branches of the trees have disappeared there is a cold draught underneath which makes the conditions almost as bad as when there was no shelter at all. The cost of the young trees and the planting of them is a small matter. If is the cost of the protecting fence that is the problem and in these hard times it is sometimes difficult to find money to pay for wire and posts. But i f the money is available there should be no hesitation in carrying out this most desirable improvement, and the cost will be refunded many times over during the years to come.