Lucerne.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 142, 25 March 1909, Page 4

Lucerne.

Next to the surplus growth of grass in a good season, the plant that offers the best returns for a moderate outlay is lucerne —the king of fodder plants. In some respects it is superior to a rank growth of grass, for in moderately good year when grass i ? not over abundant, by proper treatment lucerne will yield an excellent supply of fodder, besides supplying a certain quantity of pasture. When well laid down and it is waste of labour and capital to do otherwise —lucerne will last for many years. Even under the indifferent treatment it receives in Australia, its average life is about seven years. Over a dozen years ago lucerne growing was taken up extensively by several pastoralists in Southern Riverina. The result of these experiments showed beyond a doubt that the soil and climate were admirably adapted to the fullest development of the plant. Unfortunately the areas laid down in lucerne were so large that they did not receive anything like proper treament, and in a few years the barley grass the greatest enemy of the lucerne—choked it out of existence. It is as a pasture plant that lucerne receives its worst treatment at the hands of graziers. Often stock arc kept on it continuously and the stocking is almost invariably heavy. The plants get no rest, scarifying or harrowing is very rarely, if ever, practised, and the surface becomes almost as hard as a brick. Under such unfair treatment it is not surprising that the plants soon lose their vitality. and are easily smothered by the encroaching Native pasture. Men who treat lucerne in that way often say that it ii a most excellent fodder plant, übt that it does not last. After every stocking—and it should be eaten down rapidly—the surface should be well harrowed, so as to kill the grass and form an earth mulch for the lucerne. The theory that grass in a lucerne crop is good for stock is a misleading one. A diversity of food is good for sheep, as for all other domestic animals, but the lucerne is a jealous plant, and requires all the land of itself. When that is the case, with judicious feeding and cultivating the surface, after each eating down or cutting, lucerne will give a most generous return for the care bestowed upon it. Where irrigation can be practiced the returns to be obtained from lucerne are remarkably heavy, but as only an infinitesimal portion of Australia can be irrigated there is no occasion to consider the system of lucerne culture. We have an object lesson in lucerne growing in South Africa, where the rapid increase of ostrich farming has led to the growing of lucerne over a wide area of the country where no lucerne was ever grown before, to provide food for the birds, in the form of silage hay and green fodder.

The dairy cow should have plenty of good feed, and should not have to work very hard to get it. Many a horse is punished for things that he cannot help. That is a good way of ruining a valuable animal. A bull of the dairy breed is more likely to become vicious without warning than one of the beef breed. The best breed of live stock for a farmer to keep is the one he likes best and has the best success with. To make dairying a paying and profitable one cannot afford to overlook the feeding value of skim milk. Don't be jealous of your neighbour's success, but strive to do better than he by profiting from his experiences. Good dairying cows can only be assured by breeding sires and dams that have the qualities essential for good milkers. The making of good butter begins with the care of the cows, and is followed up until the butter is placed on the market. It is a matter of fairly common observation that size of bone is difficult to obtain on overstocked or stale pastures. The best milkers are those that are loosely built from last rib to hips and roomy in the flank. A cow with good digestion will ensure profit to the owner. Short lactation periods, as a rule, result in a high percentage of fat, while long periods give a lower percentage of fat. When cows show a desire to mate the excitability is so great that the milk flow is seriously interrupted. Especially is this so in warm weather, and the flavour of the milk may also suffer as well as the yield and total solids. Prompt and regular settlements are commendable from every boint of view. Even the weather settles every few days. There are many men who, no matter how tired they are. seem to ake great pleasure in going away down the road to meet trouble. Sheep need shade as well as any farm animal. Can you give them a few good sized trees to lie under in the heat of the day?