LUCERNE EXPERIMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 514, 22 May 1909, Page 8

LUCERNE EXPERIMENTS.

AT. FEUDING. ■ , i From'Mr.Gr. d? S. Bayliss, Superintendent of Agricultural .Experiment Ifarm for the Worth Island, rcoines tie foUowing notes on-lucemo experiments conducted oix fylr. Hector. J'. Booth's land, Feilding:— The. land consists of rich alluvial soil on a terrace above the Oroua River. It. was ■ ploughed early in October i and. well ' cultivated. ■ The seed,was'drilled^in.7in. drills on Novomber 10, the seed boing" mixed, with the manure because 1 .110 proper ■ arrangements have been mado for tho sowing of lucerne seed by the drill manufacturers -in this, country, and. this is a, dairying country/ too,' at that. On February, 4, when about to flower,' cut, and yielded on the average somewhore about nine, tons per. acre of green' feed, according-to the records mado by Mr. Booth at tho timo. The crop canio away veij well, but somewhat; weedy after first cutting. Later in the autumn,'as tho plants were" well established, it was arranged to clean .the land thoroughly with cultivator and harrows, y On April 9,i when l l last saw this plot, the lucerne aver-' aged from 18in. to 2ft. high, and the plots from about 18in. to 2ft. long. ■ As Income is a lover of lime, before growing this crop it would be advisable to limo the land in tho previous autumn.: It is probablo that the reason why lucerne has not dono on many soils so. well as might .bo expected in this country is that ■ many soils in Now Zealand are none too rich in lime, and few crops ar# kept clean,yas . it is necessary to keep lucerne, during tho first year of its existence, if there is to be any hope , of success. It is, however, a crop worthy of a littlo trouble at tho outset; as in California there ■ still exist at some of the old monasteries stands of lucerne' which h<ivo boon put down: more.than fifty years ago. ■ Stands of lucerne have also been secured by Mr. Mathoson at Ebetahuna, by Mr. Dalrymplo at Lower . Raiigitikoi, and by Mr. Houghton at Tutaenui, Marton; while, from experiments made, it would seem likely to succeod with Mr. R. B. M'Kenzio, Carnarvon, and Mr. Anion, on tho sandy ,coast land near the mouth of the It wiU.be .seeo, therefore, although it is knpo&iiblfl to

speak with 'decision, until at least the second year .has passed, that the soils to which lucerne could bo adapted in this country by suitable cultivation and fertilisation, aro as wide in range as they are different in quality, :_aiid that tho success of lucerne growing, as success in all other branches of- agriculture, is largely dependent upon the thorough cultivation of tho soil. In other words, that the man who starts with clean land' of suitable quality and'-kceps it cloan; will in all probability bo able to estabMi a successful plant, while the man whoso cultivation is indifferent, and who allows,tho weeds to get possession will fail in tho growing of lucerne, and also in tho successful growing of many other crops as well. THE SOUNDS VALLEYS. > - , A PEEP AT THEM. The, casual visitor who makes his way up the Sounds to Picton has a natural misconception of the goodness of the country. Tho hilk which loom up on either side wear an .aspoct not at all benevolent, and lead to tho beliaf that the whole, district is unfertile; In between thesa -uninviting ranges, howevor, are valleys almost'as fertilo as any land in the North Island. The Mahakipawa yalloy extending from The Grove toward Havelock, is an instance! In the course of a five-mile coach drive the other day a Dominion representative counted eighty oat stacks in, an area, which was little more than half a mile in width. In the Kaituna Valley, also, between Havelock and 1 Blenheim, there are scores of oat stacks; 'When chaff went tip 'to £5 10s. per ton in 1907, the Sounds farmers did splendid business, and in the following years they, went, in'heavily for oat crops.. Tho "fly in the amber," of course, was that other farmers in other districts followed tho.same procedure, 'with tho result that tho supply, of oaten sheaf .now is greater than the demand. ~ It has been provod,: however, that tho valleys in the Sounds arc most fertilo, and a large amount of clearing is now going on. - - The land is also pood for dairying, and a cheeso factory near Havelock .is having a most successful season.BULLETINS ISSUED. . Eight bulletins, and leaflets fromvfche pens of officers of the Department of Agriculture have just been' issued from tho Government Printing Office. They compriso the following:— "Tho Gum Tree Scale," by T. \V. Kirk, F.L.S., assisted by A. H. Cockayne (second edition). \ 'Diseases 'of Turnips," by T. W. Kirk '.(second edition). • "Eolworms,": by T. W. Kirk and A. H. •Cockayne. : ■ 'Tarasitic Plants," by T. W. Kirk and A. H. Cockayne. ■ "Fruit riies," by T.'JW. Kirk (tihird edition).' ' "Bacterial Diseases of Plants," by T. W. Kirk, and A. 'H: Cockaj-no. : Leaflet to Farmers, .No. 79, "Sand-bindmg Grasses," by T. AY. Kirk and A. H. Cockayne. ' ■, ■ , ; ■ ; "New Zealand Hemp in European, American, and Australian Manufactories,'' by' C. S. Fulton, being a' report of the Chief Fibre Export's investigations abroad 'made .after the termination of his St.; Helena .engagement with the Imperial Government. MUNICIPAL MILK SUPPLY. Dr. Frengley's recent report to the Milk •Supply Committee of the Wellington.' City Council on the' proposed municipal control of the milk supply of Wellington has' been issued as v a printed'bulletin'by tihe Depart-' ment of Public Health. A locality plan snowing tho site recommended, near To Aro station,. is included, and also sketch; plans.' of; the: building recommended. Various interesting, calculations as : to the financial side of tho question are also included in the bul- ■ lotin.'. i ' '' . ; ECC-LAYINC CONTESTS. The following details, for tho rules of tho Street - (Somersetshire),: Egg-laying CompetK tionj irill interest .those who are interested in the New Zealand contests:—The whole.of the birds' are offered '. for • Ealoratauction.: after the contest, with the exception of those re-', served by . payment of a :jeo of '10s., and onehalf the surplus i money /realised over . £3. is retained by the management. Every competitor has the option of matins: his pen,'and of purchasing the eggs for sitting' at 2s. 6d. per dozen. Each house measures sft; by-6ft., and 'each run contains about 130 square yards. ' Theresult is determined on'the .viluo' ■of tho' eggs produced, 'each' 240z. counting as a' dozen..; Tho. value per dozen varied ; from.' Is. lOd. to Sd. at different seasons. ' The: best breeds in the last , contest: were the 'follow-.

ing:—l; buff Rocks; 2, buff Orpingtons; 3, buff Orpingtons; 4, buff Orpingtons;.s, white Wyandottes. '-