THE COUNTRY.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16421, 15 January 1919, Page 4

THE COUNTRY.

NEWS AND NOTES. J OANTERBURY AG RTCULTUR AL COLLEGE. A mooting of the Board of Governors of Canterbury Agricultural College was held yesterday. Presents—Messrs -nA, Knight, It. W. Locbhead, B. H. Tripp, Thomas Blackley, and \\. I. M. ! Buckley. Tho Hon. D. Buddo sent an apology for absence. On the motion of Mr Deans, sec.onded by Mr Buckley, Mr H. A. Knight was re-elected chairman of tho Board. Dr. Reakes forwarded an intimation to the effect that he would he pleased to meet the Board in Christchurch on February sth, to discuss soil survey, and other matters. The Board decided to meet Dr. Reakes as suggested. The Valuation Committee's report, showing stock and crop, etc., to tho value of over £11,000 on the farm, was adopted. The valuation shows that the stock, etc., are just about the same as at this time last year. The Board was occupied a considerable time discussing matters in committee. A deputation was appointed to wait on tho architect in regard to the new buildings. LUCERNE GROWING EXPERIMENTS. THE VALUE OF LIME. .Mr A. Macpherson, of the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture, paid iv visit yesterday to various experimental plots where lucerne has (teen sown on light land. A call was first made at Ihe prison farm at Papartia, where the lucerne growing on very light land has been fed off, and where it is now intended to sow deep-rooted! grasses along with the lucerne to njtalce a pasture. The rows of lucerne are! plainly to be seen, though fed off, and' if it will grow on this class of poor shingle land it will certainly provide more feed than could'he obtained from any other vegetation. On the better land on the farm the lucerne crop has been cut, and a large stack of hay secured. It is intended, by transplanting established plants from ah area required for warders' cottages, to make a graz-> ing plot for pigs and to erect a new range of piggeries. A plot of tall oafc grass, cut for seed, is now,in stcok at the prison farm. Thd seed is easily shaken and very light, and where sown,it is likely to* spread rapidly. It is getting a foothold on the hills on Banks Peninsula, from where it. was first noted on the summit on.the Pigeon Bay road. It is stated thati stock prefer it to cocksfoot. In the! United States and Canada it is usually sown in pastures in more or less quantities, ami spoken highly of on account of its feeding value and permanence. The next call was at Lincoln College, where a liming experiment has been tried on very light* land. Plots were limed respectively with one ton of burnt lime, half a ton of burnt lime, one ton of Waikari lime, and half a ton! of the same. The only points that are worthy of note until a further report is obtained, are that on tlje limed landi there is a better growth of clover and less of sorrel than on the unlimed land, I and that the sheep will eat out the feed |on the limed land first. Mr Alexander is of opinion that it will pay to lime all light land. The lucerne nlot alongside the railway line at Banksidos was next*een. It wasi sown in October, but owing to the dry season has not thriven well. An'adjoining plot has 'neen levelled, and as soon as a water supply is laid on it will bo irrigated and then sown in lucerne. At the Department's farm at Rolleston a paddock has been limed, but it is too dry at present to be cultivated in preparation for the sowing of lucerne. The newly-sown plots alongside the railway! line near "Weedons have mucli improved! since they were cleaned of weeds andi cultivation between the rows has been carried out.

The effects of liming an established) crop of lucerne may be seen in the plot on Mr Bowman's property alongside thel sfuin tsoutli road at Sockburn. This plot never looked so well as it. does this year. It has had one ton of burnt lime* to the acre added to the soil. Liming is evidently one of the most important factors in lucerne growing in Cantorbury, and various experiments also show that it will greatly improve the palatability. and no doubt the feeding value as well, of other pasture plants. A lucerne plant growing at the Department of Agriculture's" depot in Bath street, Christchurch, which last year measured 9ft 3in across, was dug; up with about 2ft 6in of root and transplanted. The plant is again growing vigorously, and now measures Bft llin across. _It is hoped to get some seed! from this record plant, a.s the seed was spoilt by the rain last year. CORN SACKS. A prominent Canterbury farmer, si>eaking to a representative of "The Press" .yesterday, drew attention to the present high price of corn sacks, ancl also to the regulation which prohibits the putting of more than 2001b of wheat in a bag. He said he could not see why, at the present time, when sacks were so dear and there was no export of wheat, the regulation could not b© relaxed so as to allow farmers to put four bushels-in a bag, aoid eo effect a saving cf 20 per cent. This was a question which he thought the Canterbury r armers' Union should take up and advocate with the utmost vigour, as it was an easy and practical way of obtaining more efficiencv.