ON THE LAND

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIX, Issue 45, 16 November 1922, Page 51

ON THE LAND

H, " >;, - : MARKET REPORTS: ■ :•■"•: At Burnside last week there was a large yarding of fat cattle, 236 head being offered.- Prices throughout the sale were easier than those of the previous sale, particularly so at the end, when values were back fully 20s per head. Eat Sheep. There was a small yarding, 1018 head being penned, the quality of which was much on a par ' with that of late sales. The yarding being small, there was very keen competition at the commencement of the sale, and prices were fully 3s above the preceding week's values. As the. sale progressed, however, prices eased and values in the last races were 2s lower than at the commencement. • Prime woolly wethers, extra heavy, realised from 47s to 535, medium 30s to 345, lighter sorts to 275, extra heavy ewes, 33s to 365, medium 21s to 255, light 14s to 16s 3d. Fat Lambs.— was a small yarding, 89 head being offered. There were some very prime lambs included in the sale, which sold at 365, and values were Is to 18d above the previous week's prices. Pigs.—A full yarding was offered, all classes being represented. There was a keen demand for all prime sorts. Best baconers realised from 6id to and best porkers from 7? 2 d to BJd per lb. , GENERAL TREATMENT OF FRUIT TREES. Some people (says a writer in a Home journal) run away with the idea that it is only necessary to stick a fruit tree or bush in the ground, and perhaps prune it a little occasionally, to obtain an abundant supply of fruit for many years; but in these days, „when insects and diseases of various kinds are so rife, it is a. great mistake. In the first place, all fruit treesapples, pears, plums, etc., should be carefully planted, preferably in the early autumn, spreading the roots out well, and keeping the neck or collar of each plant high— below the level of the soil/ As a rule, no manure is required for these unless the soil is really, poor, when a little well-decayed material may be worked in below the roots, not in contact- with them. .Generally fruit trees are so easily and successfully "fed" when required with surface dressings of, animal or artificial manure, that- it is unnecessary to use much, if any, when planting. However, "bush" fruits —gooseberries, currants, etc. — should have a fair quantity of stable or farmyard manure worked into the soil before planting; strawberries must have; a good dressing, and raspberries a plentiful one, especially where the soil is of a light description. Once planted, the trees or bushes, of whatever kind, should be let alone for a year or two to "make" themselves, especially when' planted in the spring. Then take them in hand, prune them properly, and keep them pruned, as required annually, and when carrying heavy "crops of fruit, duly feed with top-dressings of animal or artificial manures. .The value of mulching fruit trees-, and bushes of all kinds over ' the roots with littery manure, especially in a dry season, when grown on the dwarfing stocks, or on a light,, poor soil, cannot be. over-esitmated; but the mulching should be. done in the spring, left oh all the summer, and not put on in the autumn or winter; as is sometimes done. •■•.-.■ .:■:" It: keeps the roots comparatively cool and- moist, as well as feeding them, and avoiding a lot of work in watering, '. or making a little water go a long way. Both strawberries and raspberries must be well mulched with long manure each spring, and even- gooseberries and currants are the better for the same treatment. ",'■, -Pruning is such a ,wide subject that it can only be just touched upon here. However, it may be safely stated that it is much better to do as much; "pruning" as possible in the summer, with finger and thumb, than to leave it to be done with the knife and saw in the winter. Always begin at the 'top of the tree, and work down gradu- ; ally to the bottom, and, above all, do not prune too closely. Insects and diseases of various kinds are a terrible plague, ; and in these days require to be made a special study.

MANURING FOR THE GARDEN. V- ,: ' : •A..few notes on this subject are offered with the hope that they may remove false impressions' as to the value and use of some fertilisers (says a writer in the N.Z. Journal of Agriculture). The prominence given to forms of phos? phatic fertilisers—superphosphate, basic .slag,;, and the Nauru and Ocean Island .phosphate—is perhaps largely re--sponsible for the impression that a phosphate is -all; that is required.^-Some of the other elements required by plants are found, naturally in the soil, and farm practice Js so arranged as not to exhaust these natural supplies. Areas used for cropping are frequently changed and grazinganimals return fertilisers in 'their excreta. All that has to be .made good is the actual amount taken away—as in milk, meat, and bone, etc. —and even a proportion of this is made good by natural forces. Again, it is quite' a common practice with farmers to plant potatoes on a newly-broken-up paddock where cows had grased, no fertilisers being used for the potatoes. Good crops are usually obtained —I have seen an average of 15 tons per acre lifted. The following season the area is usually again cropped with potatoes, it being considered that, the turf having had time to become thoroughly disintegrated, the soil will be in bettor physical condition than the previous year and able to produce another good crop. Generally a light application of superphosphate is given on the second occasion, . the result being satisfactory.

The case of a garden is quite different. More or less intensive cultivation is practised, the same soil is cropped. year after year, and practically all the produce is carried off. It is evident that a system of manuring that is suitable for farm practice will not do for a garden; more complete fertilisers must be used. Manuring must; also be supplemented by methods of cultivation suited to tho case. Deep trenching is an important means of maintaining a state of fertility in the soil; provided the soil is efficiently drained air penetrates to a greater depth in trenched ground and. increases the activity of soil-bacteria. After some years of continual cropping tho top soil becomes less fertile, but fertility can be restored by retrenching, bringing tho bottom soil to the top. For the .present purpose it will be sufficient to state that the chief, manorial requirements of plants are lime, phosphoric acid, nitrogen, and potash. In farm practice, for reasons' stated earlier, it is. not always necessary to directly apply all these elements, but this is essential in a. garden subject to continuous cropping. Humus also is necessary no soil lacking in humus is fertile. This is one reason why stable or farmyard manure is more valuable for vegetable-culture than any other material, tho humus content being in the best form. Vegetable-gardens can bo, and have been, kept in, a fertile condition fox* many years by the use of only stable manure and lime, the lime being necessary to correct acidity of soil which the ..constant

use of stable manure causes. It has in. the past "been quite common practice to use no other manure, except occasionally nitrate of soda to help lagging crops, and woodashes, which are incidental in most gardens, to supply an extra amount of potash to crops that need it, such as potatoes, onions, leeks, tomatoes, etc. The reason why stable or farmyard manure is so valuable is that, apart from its humus value, it is what may be termed a complete fertiliser that is, it contains varying proportions of all the elements required. ‘ \

Other complete manures are as follows: Seaweed, : richer in pStash than stable manure, is 'of lower value because the form of humus is not so good. Cow-dung, not so rich as stable manure, is specially good . for light or sandy soils; if used to any extent on heavy or medium heavy soil it does harm by making the soil hard to work and closing it up to the exclusion of air. Sheep-manure ranks in value between the two; it is .richer in nitrogen than either. Fowl-manure is complete if properly stored, H in » fresh state is not so rich. It should be stored iii a dry place, mixed with an equal amount of dry soil, and used at the rate of 11b to 21b per square yard. Lime or wood-ashes should not be mixed .with it, ; as the lime of which wood-ashes are largely composed would drive off the ammonia, which is the most valuable constixient. Soot is a useful- fertiliser for soil not deficient in humus; about 71b per square. rod may bo used, and should be exposed to air—but kept dry— a few weeks before being used. ‘ - ‘ % * .