THE SEASONS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20150, 19 May 1928, Page 10 (Supplement)

THE SEASONS

HINTS FOR FORECASTING INFLUENCE OF SUNSPOTS. MANURES FOB ALL WEATHERS. It is gradually being accepted by the liiinKing puolic that science is slowly but tureiy mastering the secrets of Nature m regard to her control of weather conditions. Scientists contend that every other feature of the earth is subject tu definite laws. The season, day and night, the tides—all are controlled witn such, minute accuracy that yive have come to ac- | cept the foretelling of an eclipse of : the suu or moon, tne appearance of a • comet, the occurrence of a neap or I spring tide, as hardly worthy of com- ; meat. Why. then, should all these ooj currences be controlled by definite cai- , culable laws, and that most important. ; consideration, the weather, be merely ■ a matter, more or less, of chance! It has been noted that, in common w’ith other natural phenomena, the weather conditions vary from year to year according to definite cycles, only I very slightly influenced by varying I local conditions. It has been suggesti ei* that the conditions prevailing .throughout a particular cycle are coni trolled, or at least greatly influenced, ;by the magnetic condition of the earth at periods throughout the cycle. That there, is a definite connection between the magnetic state of the earth and the incidence of sunspots is also suggested, and in connection with this it is interesting to note that the minimum disturbances noticeable | in the sun and known as sunspots are i most active at approximately eleven- ! year periods. The magnetic or electrical displays of the Aurora Borealis aud Aurora Australis are greatest in the years when sunspots are most in evidence —every eleven years—and there is much evidence to support the theory that wet and dry seasons occur in a degree only by air currents which are themselves subject to definite laws. ■ Thus it is suggested that sunspots are : really evidences of magnetic or elec- . trie, force projected from the sun to i the earth, recharging it as it were, at ! eleven-year intervals, that the Auro- : ras visible most noticeably at these i times are definitely associated with the | receipt by the earth of these charges of force from the sun. an.! that this force, be it ma gnetic or electric, is the fae- : tor controlling the humidity of the at- : mosp’icre and therefore the rainfall, : heat, etc. Seasons and Manures. j All this is recited merely to indicate that scientists believe that time i and careful investigation will enable , them to foretell witu absolute accuracy, ! i and for many years in a ; vanee, tne ; weatin.T conditions that may be ex- ■ | pected in any country or any part oi I the country. | In this age when synthetic manures 1 : arc entering >o very largely into agri- I j culture and grazing it is important tu I j know, not oniy wnat extra ingredients i ! the soil requires tu provide a com- | plete plant food for the crop umler consideration at the lime, but also .o i I know what weather conditicus are to j ' be expected so that a suitable manure i I to produce maximum growth may be ; used. For instance, in count lies where ‘ i the rainfall is considerable, and the : I general climate is cool and moist, abundant crops and nutrition.- pastures. If, however a dry sca.-on witn abun .dant sunshine happens along in such . a country the unfortunate lurrm-i di-.-covers rimt nitrogenous t»!i-tiiisers ha\e, not helped his crop at all. that, in i fact, they have probably done harm 1 I by producing tuu much acidity in the I : soil. Had he known that such a dry , season would occur he would have ne- '• glected nitrogenous fertilisers alr.o- j gethcr and used phosphatic manures , with which he would hax c secure*! I maximum results. In New Zealand, particularly in the j North Island where the summer conuiI tions are dry, we find that superphosphate, phosphate rock and potash manI ures give, in an avcerage year, the best results. In parts of the South j Island whore the summer rainfall is j considerable, it is waste of money to use superphosphate and pot a h, nitro ! I genous manures being the only f< v rti-' , lisers that, benefit the crop. Y<-t each j and every district in the Dominion has !wid' variations in seasons when t.'u- i i manure usually effective is of litti - | use. What the Farmer Can Do. i The farmer in a comparatively tdiry area who has considerable success from using a phosphate of potassic manure in growing a summer crop, is inclined to believe that the same manure will produce equally good results lif applied to a winter crop. Such is, ;of course, not the case. Owing to the difference in atmospheric conditions, a nitrogenous fertiliser would produce much greater growth in winThsre arc, of course, hundreds of other ci actions in which a positive knGwJeiJge of a season’s weather coa-diii-m* wtuhl affect failing practice, and it is safe to say that, had we thi" Lt .a j< dge ther-' would be practieillv no “bad” years in farming, for the farmer would be in a posdion to plait those crops and use those f»*rti’i«crs which would produce returns under ’ the anticipated conditions. While scientists continue the'.r in- ' v-estigations with the obj'-.t of securing absolutely accurate foreknow- 1 ledge of seasonal conditions, there is f much the farmer can do to help him- r self. Nothing is of more use to the farmer than the records of local rain- t I fall and prevailing winds. An intel[ligent study of all the available data will usually reveal recurrences ofsimrlar seasons nt regular intervals, and c acting on the probabilities of the j forthcoming season the farmer can f take the necessary steps to benefit by his knowledge. U