GREEN MANURING.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 651, 14 March 1914, Page 6

GREEN MANURING.

The manuring of lard with a green clover or other suitable crop tends materially to increase the productivity and fertility of that soil. Years ago the practice of growing such a crop and ploughing it in as a manure was very popular indeed, but it is less extensively practised iOA'Bdasß, the usual method being to teed the green crop off the ground There are. of course, certain leguminous plants which enrich the soil to a considerable extent; in fact, if, for example, clover is ploughed n it returns mora to the land than it extracted from it —that is, provided it is ploughed in just at the time when it has come fully in flower. One of the great advantages of green manuring is that the c ecaying organic matter of humus helps to recuin and conserve the moisture and tha valuable fertilising prouertie3 of the soil; in this respect, it is especially useful in dry sandy si'ila, with permeable sub-soils, that occasion a great waste of the manuria! properties of dung. As a rule, plants of very rapid growtb are used ior green '.manuring, but perennials pre generally better suited for the purpose than annual plants; at any rate, a crop should be chosen which will decompose readily and be most quickly affected by the winter frosts. Clover is most generally used, and a variety should be selected which grows the highest and comes on most quickly. The crop should be ploughed in when it is in full flower and the stalk is turning down.