MANURING EXPERIMENT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 754, 1 March 1910, Page 10

MANURING EXPERIMENT.

, : .A TARANAKI TEST, ■ ' ■ The Taranaki branch of.'tho;l i, anners' Union has jiist concluded ■an;interesting experiment, the object of which was to test the value of different .manures, in top-dressing a. • pasture. JFrom details kindly supplied by the provincial. secretary, Mr. j. B. Sim, it appears that last July six experimental plots' were topdressed and manured on the farm of Mr. H. G Sergei, Stuart Road, Eltham. Mr. Sergei verv kindly lent the.land to the union, and went to no little trouble to carry.out the experiment.'. From his report it appears that .the.-yield of grass on the different plots was as follows:— •'■' Manure Yield at per acre. Plot. used. Tons. Cwt. Qγ. St. Lb. 1. Onmanured 2 4 3 0 8 8. Green bone ...... 3 0 2 0 i t. ■ oUiiiaiea i>one ... 1 10 0. . 1 4 I. Superphosphate ,3 10 2 0 0. s..Superphosphate '.'■■'■ . and bone*" 2 19 .'.l 1 .10 6. Superphosphate ' and potasht ... 3 6. .0 0 8 *In equal proportions. fOhe-fifth potash. In explanation of the result, llr. Sergei Bays:—"The pasture was selected by Mr. Chapman and myself last winter. It was the worst piece on the whole farm, and had been badly sown down about eight years ago, before I came on the place.■i'he main desire is to find out if possible whether top-dressing a pasture of this nature will renew it, or rather put it into first-class order. In my opinion, on the year's result, to the eye, it has failed, although manuring has greatly improved it. I think it would be better to plough and resow to get the best result and then watch carefully, and with proper handling and very little manure its condition will be maintained.

"Each plot of the" experiment is onetwentieth ,of an acre, and the manures ■were put-on at the rate of 3 cwt. to the acre, at the end of July, and the plots fenced off on ■■November .1, the grass, being weighed on February 11. I was delayed in doing the latter operation, and much of the crop was dry, otherwise the weights would have been considerably heavier. "Before cutting, Messrs. Dawson; Carter, and Bennett kindly inspected the plots, and I think I am correct in saying they thought Nes. 5 and 6 to the eye were the best for pasture, being in- a sense well balanced with clovers and grass. The euperphosphate (No. i) had a great predominance of cow-grass. The reason why the steamed bone neighed so badly was en account of the grass in that plot being particularly run out. and weedy. And the ■pnmanured plot showed up rather well, in my opinion, boing in the corner of a largo paddock. Wo did not top-dress with basic slag, as I already had a pad-, dock of eight aercs; half of it dressed with slflg. and potash, tkree vears ago. ■Unfortunately, I was tuvay for some weeks at Christmas, and no definite weights were taken. All 1 can say is that m.v share-mil'/en*, who n.ro very competent men, assert thf.t if iiuythim; the iiiimanurpil four acres produced more bay 'than the manured portion."