THE FARMING WORLD

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20786, 22 April 1939, Page 27 (Supplement)

THE FARMING WORLD

Lime and Its Quality Although it is well known that lime should be used in association with fertilisers in restoring and maintaining the fertility of land that is being intensively farmed, the terms lime and agricultural lime are rather vague, and do not specify any particular type or quality. The forms of lime that are used for agricultural purposes include quicklime, hydrated lime, and ground carbonate of lime. A mixture containing one-third of hydrated lirne and two-thirds of ground carbonate of lime is also sold. Agricultural lime does not refer to any one of these particularly, but is generally used to refer to the ground carbonate, or a mixture consisting mostly of ground carbonate, with a little of the other forms included. The three forms of lime known chemically as calcium oxide (quicklime), calcium hydrate (hydrated lime), and calcium carbonate (ground carbonate of lime) vary In usefulness. Quicklime is the most expensive and ground carbonate the cheapest, because one ton of quicklime is as effective in the soil as 1.8 tens of the carbonate. Hydrated lime has a medium effectiveness, 1.5 tons being equivalent to one ton of quicklime. Some might ask why the bulky limes that are expensive to handle are used in preference to quicklime. The explanation is that quicklime, although more concentrated and consequently costing less for freight, is caustic. Inconvenient and often painful to handle. The ground carbonate has no corrosive action, and for this reason is now used almost exclusively for agricultural purposes, except in the occasional instances when it is mixed with about one-third part of the hydrated form. , Fineness of Grinding Assuming, then, that farmers are to use the ground carbonate, it is most Important that certain very important features determining the value of this form of lime should be known and understood. Before accepting ground limestone, the buyer should first ask for a guarantee as to the fineness of the grinding. The coarse material should be negligible, and the ( general appearance and “feel” very similar to that of flour. Much research work has been done to ascertain the availability of ground carbonate of lima, one worker in America having shown that 92 per cent of ground limestone passing through a 100-mesh-to-the-lnch sieve was decomposed in the soil within three years of application, whereas less than 7 per eent of material retained by a 20-mesh sieve was utilised in the soil after a period of four years. It can be assumed that the ground limestone passing through an 80-mesh-to-the-inch sieve Is perfectly satisfactory, most becoming available in the soil during the first year after application.

(By “STOCKMAN”)

ln-brod Large Whites ! The three Large White pigs re- ; cently imported for the Government ere representatives of a closely inbred strain. The strain was founded in 1934 with a carefully chosen brother and sister from the same litter. All the pigs in the herd to- | day are descended from this pair and | all the matings have been either | brother-sister or father-daughter. The I j aims in developing a strain in this way I are: (1) To study the nature of the ! | inheritance of any undesirable defects j that exist in all strains of pigs but j which can be segregated out by close j inbreeding; 2, to obtain, from the | good specimens, pigs with a relatively | constant heerdity so that they can be j used for nutrition and growth ex- | periments. Variations in results, which are not due to feeding but to innate differences in individual pigs, can therefore be cut down to a minimum; and (3, to develop a strain of bacon pigs in which good bacon qualities are more or less fixed. Scotland’s Best Milkers Waikato Ayrshire breeders will be interested to hear that the first, second, and third places were all held by Ayrshires in the latest milk records of Scotland. Killoch Betsh, owned by Mr Alexander Cochrane, led against all breeds with 2437 gallons of milk and 8471 b of fat in 53 weeks. Lctgan Mains Trim 3rd, owned by J. and J. Mclutjre, held second place with 2070 gallons of milk and 8321 b of fat in 44 weeks. Mr J. W. Drummond’s Overtoun Ruby was third with 1843 gallons of milk and 7981 b of fat in 44 weeks. The Corporation of Dundee’s Ayrshire, Logan Mains Ivy 4th, was the winner in the class of cows, which produced another calf in not more than 13 months from the date of calving preceding the opening of the record. She produced 16-51 gallons of milk and 8321 b fat In 52 weeks. Canadian Dairying Remarkable progress has been made by the dairying industry in Canada within recent years. At the present time milk and its products between the farm and the household, are the means of employment of 300,000 persons in that country, and it is estimated that more than a fifth of all agricultural income is derived from this source. Compared with all other products of the Canadian farm, milk is to-day the largest single source o-f revenue. Though this does not apply in the chief wheat-growing provinces, it is true of Canada as a whole. During last year, butter took 355,121,5001 bof milk off the market. Concentrated milk, which, as it can be stored until winter, helps particularly in maintaining the price received by the farmer for his produce, accounted for 108,585,0001 b. Ice cream totalled 7981 b and cheese 118,111,7001 b.