On the Land

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIV, Issue 1, 4 January 1917, Page 59

On the Land

—i —♦ : • GREEN MANURING: THE VALUE OF BLUE ' » LUPINS. . r At no .period in the.. history of New Zealand the,: importance of \ manuring, for improvement' in soil ' fertility < been of -such moment as at the present time, when our r agricultural, horticultural, and' pastoral pro- , ducts are in such demand upon the Home markets, and increased output at a reasonable cost is so imperative ,_, j. (says a writer 'in the N.Z. Farmer). But ,to" secure ■■■:-:\ this increased.production on most of our soils, fertilisers in no stinted, amount are necessary. Of the great basic - V manures, potash, phosphates, and nitrates, the chief sources of supply of the first were the enormous deposits ;; of Germany. This supply is no longer available, with ' t the result that potash manures have risen from approximately £l6 to £55 per ton, and even at, the latter figure are practically unprocurable. . - : A movement is under consideration to convert the ' unlimited supplies of seaweed on the coast of Southland /and Stewart Island, and other parts of New Zealand ; • into potash by the simple process of burning. The scouring of wool previous to export would also yield ■ . upwards of 4000 tons of this valuable fertiliser annually. But, fortunately, the soil of the north, generally speak- • ing, is very well supplied with potash, as careful experiments on fruit-growing areas have conclusively proved. Analysts also tell us that the greatest necessary fertiliser for Northern lands is phosphates, potash being fairly abundant in most of our soils. ,Of course the class of farm making the greatest .../•; drain upon the phosphates of the soil is the dairying and grazing proposition, by which phosphates are being s;,;, taken up by the milk produced and the bone-building of the young stock. Our supplies of this valuable con" .. stituent must, of necessity, be the manure works of the country, rock phosphates, and the imported guanos of the Pacific Islands, the latter a very rapidly diminishing quantity. The remaining basic manure to be considered is nitrogen, known commercially in the various forms of nitrates. Whence the origin of this, the king-of fer- ; tilisers ? The air around us! And the medium of .:■• collection The pod-bearing plants so familiar to us in the pea, bean, clovers, vetches, etc., and last, and perhaps the most importantthe blue lupin. , An examination of the roots of any of the. aforementioned plants will show a warty growth or excrescence which contains the invaluable nitrogen bacteria. This most useful'microbe derives the nitrogen necessary to its existence direct from the air, and the plant - draws its supplies from the parasite on its roots. When the plant is harvested this supply of germ-gathered : nitrogen is available for the succeeding crop. And in none of the pod-bearing plants is the nitrogen bacteria found in greater profusion than in the blue lupin. Among the many special qualities of the lupin as , a soiling crop are: 1. Its extreme adaptability to any soil. Successful experiments have been carried out on practically all classes of soils, varying from pipe clay and light powdery -,; soils to heavy clay and lime-stone. 2. Its remarkably luscious growth. Crops sown in March average 3Aft to 4ft and more, in flower and ready , for ploughing in in the latter part of September. - • 3. The remarkable effect it has upon the texture of the soil. / v - : , 4. The ease with .which it ploughs in. . Particularly useful is this plant going to be to the - j^orchardist' who requires to green manure at regular in- v Jrvals. Not only" does the plant return to the soil ; all the/phosphates and potash it gathered in r growing, ; .but also. the vast supply , of nitrogenpthe bacteria at * .the root has collected,' and the "enormous amount of humus formed by the decay of the soft, juicy stems and leaves, .thus rendering; a /dry'friable soil drought-resist- '■>. ing, and a previously wet soil open and porous. " '" "■" , Extremely gratifying^-results; have been obtained /

by two of the largest .'and most successful orehardists of the Auckland district, and the Department of Agri* culture is experimenting on the fruit i? areas of i Nelson ,atjthe present time with the: plant?. ! Another impor 3 tant consideration in the use of the blue lupin for orchard manuring is 'the? ease .-with .which it is controlled, for being an annual, and once ploughed >. in it 'is completed, 'finished withho sucker g,i no recurring annual growths. /; For the / bringing into profitable cultivation of the poor, light lands of the North it stands alone, and with its introduction and the i judicious use of agricultural lime,'.what.'are now dreary wastes of fern and scrub may, in the course of a couple of years, be some of the finest pasture land in the Dominion. f, WHEAT BINS: ESTIMATES OF COST GIVEN. An estimate of the cost of constructing wheat bins on the farm was put before the Tallawang branch of the : Agricultural Bureau of New South Wales "the other day, and, in view of the position regarding bulk-hand-ling, the figures are interesting. The estimate was offered by Mr. T. Collins, sen., who recommended a bin 20 feet by 10 feet by 8 feet, built sufficiently high off the ground to allow of the wheat, if necessary, being run into bags, by means of a trap-door. The materials and labor he estimated as follows: '\ ••'■■'"/: " -Eight posts, ss; walls of 1] inch sawn slabs (erected vertically), £7 10s; flooring, £2 10s; joists; £1 10s; blocks, £1 ; rafters and battens, £1 5s ; roofing iron, £6; cost of erection £5. The total, allowing for every probable contingency, he set down at £3O. The secretary of the Tallawang branch subsequently asked the Department of Agriculture for /ah estimate of the cost of a concrete bin, and the question was answered by the works overseer in a recent issue of Weekly Notes. It is recommended by that officer that the bin be subdivided into three compartments, each 6ft Bin long. To allow proper facilities for bagging:, the floor of the bin would require to be at least 38 inches above the ground. Thus a foundation would be necessary 34 inches high, making the full height of the concrete walls 10ft Bin. " ' .:.. :; If the gravel available is, say, 1-inch gauge, and the sand coarse, the thickness of the walls of the bin could be reduced to 4 inches, but in the estimate it is presumed that the gravel is larger, say up to 2 inches; the walls 6 inches thick are allowed for. Iron rods as reinforcement are also included, but strong wire-netting would-do if the gravel was fine. The cost and quantities would be:—Say, 22 cubic yards of gravel and sand : together at 6s per yard, £6 12s : 70 bags" cement at 5s each, £l7 10s; iron for reinforcement, £4; roof timber and iron, £7 10s ; outlets with shutters, £1 10s: boarding for concrete, £3 10s. Total, £4O lbs. . .. HOW TO COMBAT 'COLTSFOOT.' Many waste places and railway banks are now conspicuous with the yellow flowers of, the coltsfoot weed. These flowers are among the earliest to bloom in spring, and, however pleasing to the eye of a townsman as an indication of the coming summer, they are an eyesore to the farmer' who knows the nature of the weed to'spread to adjoining fields. • 'To keep the weed in check it should be attacked at the present time, because the object must be. to prevent the flower from seeding. ; The plant must be spudded or hoed out while in flower. Repeated spudding or hoeing of the plant must be practised early in the season, and should be renewed from time to time. This is especially necessary; when the plant has gained a footing;, on arable fields. r-.c; : " -.//'''/ : , '••' ; '■- ■■: ■; ■■- "■ / ■"■'■;>•■.' /h:Good drainage of the soil is desirable, as the weed flourishes most on moist, stiff, badly-drained land. /,/'••/ In pastures and meadows it can be gradually destroyed by the application of manures of a nitrogenous character, farmyard manure, nitrate of soda, or similar substances, 5 which encourages the growth of grass and other. tall-growing herbage. • / - : r .-•-..,■../ - Deep-ploughing of arable land in the hotter periods of summer/does much to destroy the weed. ; '