The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN. WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 14. WASTED POSSIBILITIES.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 14 January 1914, Page 2

The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN. WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 14. WASTED POSSIBILITIES.

As a cure for sourness of land, iime is a remedy that scarcely can be overestimated. And as the grazing and arable lands of the west coast from Waikanae to Manawatu suffers from sourness in greater or lesser degree, the need for remedial treatment on a wide scale must be obvious to all observers. A thorough and persistent application of lime to the pastures and ploughed fields of HoroAvhenua County would return fifty fold the cost of the lime, in the form of increased productivity. Without sufficiency of lime in the soils there is an improper amount of disintegration of the green or animal manures introduced with intent for betterment of the soil; therefore it behoves all farmers who'are desirous of helping, their own interests to avail themselves of the facilities given bv the Government for cheap carriage of this wonderful fertiliser. Odd truckloads of lime "do" arrive at Levin, but in proportion to the real needs of the lands of this district the investments in lime —and we say "investments" advisedly —*do not amount to a fiftieth part of our real requirements. Professor Guthrie, a

uoted authority on field cultivation, remarks in a recent article on "soil infertility" that sourness of the soil is one of the most common causes of infertility in soil.

This condition, he says, is brought about either by the absolute exclusion of air, as in water logged soils, or soils in which the surface has been impacted; or it may be the result of an excessive amount of organic matter as in peaty soils. In both cases the result, says Professor Guthrie, is the formation of organic acids (humic acid, etc.) which in the- absence or deficiency oF basic substances, such as lime, to neutralise them, act as plant j poisons. They not only affect ! the growth of the plant, but have a solvent action upon the soil constituents which are liable to be dissolved, and to pass into the subsoil. Soils which are red or chocolate in colour from the presence of oxide of iron, if allowed to become sour, are very frequently bleached in colour. They atso exercise a reducing a«;ijn upon the higher oxides, sucb as ferricoxide, reducing it to th.> si ate of ferrous oxide. It is commonly stated that this latter substance is itself a plant poison, Dut sin« e this compound would not be prosent in soils in good lilth, hut would be converted intj the higher (ferric) oxide, it :< probable that the ill effects noted when ferrous Mxide is present are in reality due to sourness, aud that the presence of ferrous ovde is only one of the results of this condition. The remedy ior sourn«\» are thorough cultivation and turning of the soil and ex;j>-;ng_ it i«' the air. In cases where it is the result of accumulation of water (in swampy soils) it will be necessary to have recourse to drainage. The addition of lime is in all cases beneficial; and by a proper system of drainage, together with thorough cultivation and the addition of lime, it should be possible to reclaim the most sour land. A sour condition of land is usually quite readily recognisable by the experienced farmer from its appearance, the peculiar odor when moist, etc. As this condition is due to acidity, sour soils have always a strong acid reaction towards litmus; but as this reaction is influenced by other factors, it is not a reliable indication except in experienced hands. It must also be remembered that cultivated soils nearly always possess an acid reaction.