FARMING NOTES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 540, 8 February 1913, Page 7

FARMING NOTES.

A FORAGE MIXTURE. At one time in England a comrination of wheat and rye, known as aaslin, used to be sown on light and which did not grow good crops f wheat alone. The result was that . heavier yield was obtained. This articular mixture of crops has died mt in the old "~nntry, but others ■ire sometimes adopted. For instance 'says r.n e'.-.change), dredge, a blendt >f barley and cats, yields • a good xop of horse corn on poor, light and, where it proves more productive than cither crop sown separately/ /etches and rye are a common mixture, the rye serving the useful puriose of holding up the atraggling 'etches. The same thing happens phen beans and vetches are sown to;ether, or when peas and beans are nixed to produce the crop known in :ome districts as blendings. It bas ilso been found that various kinds >f roots can be drilled in alternate ows with advantage to the yield. useful mixed 1 crop where sheep are •un is kale and swedes, alternating .very few rows. Not only does each ;übject grow well, but when the beep are folded on them any that ire getting a bit *«?idermouthed can ccd cn the kale, though incapable of .adding the harder swedes. OATS IN ROTATION. Intelligent farmers in the drier t reas are coming to the conclusion hat oats must become an increasingy important factor in judicious farmng. Mr. Jacobs, a South Australian las stated that although oats were nuch more trouble to harvest than vheat, a good crop of them could be ;rown where wheat would not do so veil. This was a great consideration vhera there were niallee shoots to leal with, a s the stubble burned well, ind two good stubble burns just ibout finished off the shoots. The and seemed to be improved by oats, ind a heavier crop of wheat could be ;rown if the soi l carried a crop of >a.ts now and again. Poor sandy soil would not grow anything other ;han oats at f:rst% Oats should be sown early, say in April or the beginning of May, so that they would 'oot well 'before the coldest weather :et in. A farmer should sow just as args an area as he considered he :ould harvest, bearing in mind that t was a crop that was liable to ihake out. As a crop to market, >ats paid as well as wheat. Last larvest he took off an average of 35 mshels of oats per acre, while the vheat only averaged 10 bushels per icre. Oats were needed on the farm is horse feed, and oaten hay was ;ood if not too rank. Should the :rop blight off at all, or be stunted, .he stubble would make first-class eed for stock running loose.