SOWING DOWN" ARABLE LAND TO PASTURE.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3129, 21 February 1871, Page 3

SOWING DOWN" ARABLE LAND TO PASTURE.

♦ The practice common with home farmers of sowing down land to pasture with an oat, wheat, or barley crop, has proved to bo unsuifced to our climate, and on that account is now rarely practised ; never, indeed, by farmers of colonial experience, vrho are well aware that it is almost throwing away grass seed to do so. We learn, too, that in England the practice of sowing grasses by themselves is becoming of more frequent occurrence, although the cause which necessitates it here exists only in a modified degree in that more humid and temperate climate. In Victoria, when grasses are sown either in or with a grain crop, if the latter be worth cutting, the grasses at harvest time are nearly a failure, and more especially is this the case when the weather proves dry, and favorable for harvest operations. The grain, being the stronger of the two, obtains possession of the soil, and so thoroughly exhausts it of moisture, that the grasses either die or but drag out an existence, until the grain is removed, when the full exposure of the sun completes their destruction. In the event of a very moist season, the grasses in favorable situations succeed better, but just in proportion to their success the grain crop suffers, and thus experience has shown the impolicy of attempting to grow two such crops at once. By early ploughing after harvest, and early antumn sowing by themselves, the grasses will generally be stronger by the following spring than if they had been sown with the preceding grain crop. On any ground, therefore, the practice of sewing them with grain is impolitic. Where the pasture is intended to be permanent, it is advisable to go to some trouble to make it really efficient, and to do this, and render the grazing less dependent on the variations of climate to which this country iB so subject, it is necessary to work the land deeply, so that the roots may penetrate to the subsoil. Unless this be done, even the sorts least susceptible of injury from drought will be largely affected by the occurrence of a dry month during summer. Indeed, the ability of certain plants to withstand drought arises from their liabit of deep rooting, and the absence of surface roots ; but if through the impervious character of the subsoil the plants are unable to explore its recesses, in search of their natural food, they are but little better in dry weather than those whose nature it may be to find their sustenance within a few inches of the surface. The preparation of the soil for permanent pasture is thus a prime element of success. The i beßt work we have seen in this way was j thus executed :-— The land was deeply ploughed, immediately after harvest, in order to bury the stubble and weeds, so that they might not be brought to the surface in the subsequent working ; at the same time a second team followed in the wake of the first one, with a subsoil plough extemporised for tho occasion, by removing the mould board and share from a common plough and substituting a narrow pointed share prepared for the I purpose. The land was then left for three weeks, and rain having fallen in [ the interval, a plentiful crop of small weeds | was visible. The scuffler or cultivator was [ then set to work across the lands, which were subsequently harrowed lengthwise, rolled and harrowed again after which the seed was sown, and harrowed' in with a light seod harrow, and rolled again. No manure was applied in this case, the land being strong and the subsoil good ; but early in November, the crop stood from four to five feet in height. This was partially accounted for by the presence of Italian rye grass, which, being a very free grower, had drawn up the other grasses : these however, it considerably out-topped, none excepting itself attaining nearly the night above mentioned. When the land is poor and much out of condition, we consider it advisable to supply the deficiency by a dressing of artificial manures. — " Victorian Garden Handbook.