Farm and Garden

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 199, 14 October 1909, Page 4

Farm and Garden

DISEASES OF THE POTATO. An interesting lecture under the above title was delivered at the last meeting of the Newcastle Farmers' Club, by Professor M. C. Potter, of the Armstrong College, who, in the course of his remarks, said the potato was particularly susceptible to disease, and the resultant loss was very great. Great Britain's yield was estimated at 3,203,000 tons, the value of which would be £13,653,000, representing a net profit to the farmer of £8,007,000. But it was computed that the value of the crop was reduced by disease to the extent of at least one third, and added to that was the indirect'loss caused through the heaviest croppers —the Up-to-Date—being infrequently grown because of their liability to disease. There were diseases of the leaf, the stem, and the tuber. After describing the forms of these be went on to speak of the means of checking them. They were all familiar, he said with the means taken to stamp out anthrax, swine fever, and foot and mouth disease, and similar steps must be taken with regard to potato disease. The efforts of the Board of Agriculture needed co-operation. It was a common practice to leave any bard potatoes on the soil, and any found In the pit were left exposed to the air, one of the most prolific means of spreading diseases. A practice also to be condemned was that of throwing potatoes on the manure heap. Careful exmination should be made of seed potatoes, as there was much danger of the spread of disease by the spores which remained adherent tc the tubers, cpecisally to the eye 3. When possible, thesesprots must be killed by a germicide, such a3 formalin of Bordeaux mixture, before planting. Exactly the same methods should be adopted to prevent plant disease as were adopted to prevent the spread of smallpox, typhoid, .and other symotic diseases.

TIME TO APPLY LIME. Although lime is often applied in the spring the best results have been obtained when used in the late autumn for the reason tha the winter rains and frosts have the tendency to thoroughly mix lime and soil together, which U never done quite completely by mechanical means. It is necessary when slaked lime has done its chemical actions on the soil that it should be converted into bicarbonate o? lime by absorbing carbonic acid before it can be assimilated by plants, and it is known that in the late summer and autumn the soil contains so much free carbonic acid, due to the rapid decomposition of the humus in the warm weather that the lime is quickly converted into plant food. A soil well treated with lime holds moisture much longer than does unlimed lan J, and the winter rains arc held in the soil in reserve for spring. If iand is limed in spring the effect of holding the winter rain is lost, and it alto dries up the soil the quicklime taking its required quantity of moisture Oiit of the soil itself, especially in a dry season. The effects of the lime on the soil are comparatively well knc.vn, such as ridding the land of sourness, and liberating dormant plant iood, and other chemical action. A libtral dressing of lime brings about the necessary action by assimilating the soil ingredients, and makes them easily absorbed by the plant rootlets. From experiments in the applicatoin of lime carried out in various parts of the world it has been prov- d that the best time to apply lime to soil is during the late autumn of the best results are hoped for.

! CULTIVATION OF It APE [ The rape plant is closely relate:! to J the cabbage and turnip. Next to ; lucerne it affords the most nourishing, 1 succulent, and relishable crop on which ito graze pigs. The fodder, so far, ; has not received the attention it merits ! from shoepowners and pigbrecders. It I will become more popular as its proE perties in the feeding of these animals ' arc better Jknown. The growth of the \ crop is best encouraged in a moderate'ly cool and moist climate. Good yields [ have been obtained on the coastal area* of and on the cooler portions of [ the tablelands throughout spring and 1 early parts of summer. It provides a [ useful and paying catch crop in the * rotation, especially between cereal S crops. The plant responds vigorously ■to cultivation and manuring. The [ roots resemble those of the cabbage, i whilst the leaves are like the turnip in [ fleshiness, smoothness, size, and sucI culence. The variety which affords the highest returns under adverse conditions, is the Dwarf Essex. Rape grows best on rich, moist, loamy sniis. Excellent returns are obtained from light, sanely loams, as well as stiff clay lands. A certain crop is assured on recently reclaimed swamp lands. It also grows freely on virgin soils when the turned-in sod has been allowed to remain long enough to decay. In the case of growing rape as a virgin crop; deep ploughing is essential. In every case the land must be brought into a fine condition of tilth with plough barrow and roller. The use of the roller is especially urged in areas with a light rainfall to compact the soil and check evaporation. In all cases the soil should be lightly harrowed after the roller, to form an earth mulch. The seed is small, and hence a fine, moist seed bed is required to ensure rapid and full germination. Sowings may be made according to soil, locality, aod climate, from the latter part of February to the end of May. Crops will be ready for grazing off or cutting periods ranging from eight to twelve weeks, and yield from six to twenty tons per acre. It is not feasible to absolutely determine the advantages to be derived from sowing in drills in contrast with broadcasting. Our experience indicates that when the season is moist a broadcasted crop makes better and more rapid growth than a drilled one. It must be borne in mind, however, that where a rainfall is scanty, shallow cultivation is needed to check evaporation, and that can only be conducted in a drilled crop. •The quantity of seed per acre for a broadcasted crop »a 71b. to 101b.; with a drilled crop 41b is sufficient. Drills eight feet apart allow room for a horse in the work of cultivation. Better yields have been gained from drills two feet apart. !