LUCERNE AND CALIFORNIAN THISTLE.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XIII, Issue 1, 20 July 1916, Page 62

LUCERNE AND CALIFORNIAN THISTLE.

. The Department is conducting several tests for determining the power of lucerne to smother out Californian thistle. A brief interim report - on two of' these trials now proceeding in Taranaki under the ' co-operative experiment system is furnished by Mr. A. F. Wilson, Fields Inspector, Stratford, as follows

Mr. P. J. Groshinski’s Area, Te Wera. —-This land was limed and ploughed on the 16th November, 1915, but it was too wet to sow until 29th December, 1915. Before sowing the ground was well worked. The lucerne took well, and was cut twice, when 12 in. and 18 in. high respectively. After the last cutting it got away from the. thistle. On 17th April, 1916, the owner put his weakly lambs on the lucerne, and they did very well on it ; . it stopped their scouring, and they did much better than other sheep on rape and pasture. Since Mr. Groshinski

established his first acre of lucerne as a co-operative experiment two years and a half ago he has put in 18 acres, mostly on hill country,, and he is so well satisfied that he intends going on with it. Mr. R. Mounsey, Bird Road, Stratford, ploughed and limed his land on 20th November, 1915, but on account of wet weather it was not fit to sow until 7th January, 1916. The lucerne was cut on 16th March, 1916, when about 2 ft. high, and let lie on the ground. I inspected the area on 27th April, and found that the lucerne had come away well again, and had beaten the "thistle in growth. Mr. Mounsey will give it a top-dressing this winter, and he considers that by cutting it early in the spring it will get away from the thistle.

LUCERNE FOR POULTRY.

All poultry-keepers who have ground available should establish a patch of lucerne for green-feeding purposes, while some of the commercial plants . might well grow larger areas in order to secure lucernehay chaff for feeding in the mash. How readily a plot can be established has been demonstrated during the past season at the Department’s Poultry - station, Milton, South Otago. The ground was given .no special. treatment beyond a liberal liming after a crop of peas. The seed was sown early in the spring of 1915 ; the lucerne came away well and made splendid growth throughout the summer and autumn, a number of cuts being taken—-in fact, it was ?. reported as still growing in June. The yield from this plot was. used for green feed only, the lucerne hay for chaffing used in the recent feeding being supplied from outside sources. The illustration on the preceding page shows part of the Milton plot.

LUCERNE - GROWING IN MARLBOROUGH.

The extent to which lucerne is grown ■. in the Marlborough district - is not . always realized by farmers in other parts . of the Dominion. Mr. F. H. Brittain, Fields Inspector, Blenheim, writes: There are at least 2,000 acres of lucerne round Blenheim alone, and in the whole district, including Seddon, I should think there would be fully 4,000 acres, if not more.”

It is notified that the Administrator of the British militarily occupied territory of Western Samoa has by Proclamation ordered that all plants, fruit, potatoes, or vegetables imported or brought into the Islands of Western Samoa must be accompanied by a certificate issued by a Fruit Inspector of the Department of Agriculture, Industries, and Commerce at the port from which such plants, fruit, potatoes, or vegetables are shipped.