LUCERNE AT SOMES ISLAND

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 189, 30 April 1918, Page 8

LUCERNE AT SOMES ISLAND

' An area- ;of about half an acre of lucerne has been laid down by the Department of Agriculture during the past season at Somes Island Quarantine Station, where the clay soil and formation are fairly typical of the . better hilla round Wellington.)' The ground -was turned oyer in the sitting of 1916,' from turf containing a fair' proportion of. clover, ' and dressed with-burned lirno at the rata of one ton per acre. It wasunder .vegetables during that in April, < 1!)17, was sown, with oate'.' The oats were \turned under, early,in August, and a further dressing given o£ i tori of carbonate of lime and 2civt. bisic slag per acie. The liicerne. seed was sown v on; October 10, in rows 15in. . apart, at the rate- of 121b. to the. acre, buperphosphate was drilled in with! the seed at the rate of 4<jwt. to the acre. The ground was well worked before sowing.'and was rolled immediately beforehand after sowing. No inoculated soil , was used. The-lucerne came away well, arij the,crop has already been cut-three limes, aiul a fourth-cut will be secured this season. The first cot was made on November 24, being six weeki and three days from dato of sowing, when tho lucerne was Tin. to Bin. high; this was left on the ground. The socond cut was made.duijiDg the second week in January, n-hen the'crop was 20in. high and' filled the space between- the drills. - The. third' cut was made during tho third week in February, when about 16in. high nnd very dense and leafy. The fourth cut will be snorter but more /dense and leafy than any of the previous cuts. Half the area was sown in. Hunter Iliver and half in Marlborough seed; so far there is no ippreciable difference in growth between the two. How the.lucerne holds, in this soil and situation is a mattor which will be watched with interest. If it! becomes well < stablished, the lucerne ■will be very- useful and acceptable for foeding to quarantined stock on th& island.—H. Sfunro, Inspector of Stock, Wellington.