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New Zealand Tablet, 13 February 1913, Page 59

some exceptionally good animals, and the demand, owing to the short supply, was much keener than the previous week, beef showing an advance all round equal to Is 6d per 1001 b. Steers realised £7 17s 6d to £11; extra, £l3 ss, £l4, and £l4 15s; heifers, £5 17s 6d to £11 ; extra, to £l2. Fat pigs were represented by a good entry, but the demand for baconers was easier. Porkers on the other hand were in fair demand. Heavy baconers realised 60s to 655; medium, 50s to 57s 6d; and smaller sorts, 42s to 48s. THE SORREL WEED PEST. Whereas almost every cultivated crop requires a fairly balanced supply of the three principal plant —nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash—kinds of weeds seem able to dispense with one or the other of these constituents. This was brought out clearly by the Royal Agricultural Society of England on its experimental grounds, when one field of potatoes was grown with different fertilisers. There were thirteen plots, and it was observed that on two of them there was quite a profuse growth of sorrel. The wellknown red tint of the weed was visible from a distance, and distinguished the two plots quite clearly from the rest of the field. What was the cause of this weed development, or, rather, why did it not also spring up on the other eleven plots? And the reason was this. The eleven plots had received different combinations of fertilisers, but all included potash, while the two plots conspicuous with sorrel had received no potash, and the lack of this constituent in the soil had favored the weed at the expense of the cultivated crop of potatoes. On two other plots, which had remained without the application of any fertiliser, the potato crop was poor, and there was little growth of sorrel. It was on the two plots dressed with nitrogen and phosphate of lime, but without potash, that the sorrel was so conspicuous. The soil was sandy, and naturally deficient in potash; but the experiment fully demonstrated the importance of a complete dressing, not only to increase the cultivated crop, but also to check the growth of weeds. TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE. If farmyard manure is allowed to remain loose in heaps exposed to the air for months, about 35 per cent, of its total nitrogen is likely to be lost. The extremes are said to be from 20 to 50 per cent. Fully one-third of the total nitrogen lost has been ascertained to be in the elementary form, i.e., uncombined. As the result of experiments, the conclusion has been arrived at that there is no economy in attempting to check the loss of nitrogen in farmyard manure by chemicals, and that the old adage is right: Keep it moist and tread it tight, and it will well your care requite.’ Layers of soil thrown over the heap from time to time are very useful, as the soil acts as an absorbent for the ammonia and prevents its evaporation. VALUE OF DEAD LEAVES. With the nip of the first frosts, the leaves come down ; but, although dead, they have not lost their use. Nature returns them to the soil in order that in their decay they may furnish a fresh supply of nourishment. This is a lesson we should not lose sight of, and indicates the wisdom of making use of such material. It has been proved by Grandeau and Henry, two French professors of agriculture, that besides serving as food for earth worms and other organisms, the activity of which keeps the soil porous, friable, and superficially rich in nutritive mineral matter, dead leaves fix atmospheric nitrogen to the extent of 121 b to 201 b per acre annually. To deprive an orchard or garden of its dead leaves is like robbing a farm of its dung.