CROPS THAT ACT AS MANURES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 722, 18 November 1914, Page 6

CROPS THAT ACT AS MANURES.

It is part of the buai neßs of farmers, smell holders, and market gardeners to arrange their rotation of crops so aa to take full advantage of the provisions that Nature offers. By this is meant that in the #reat scheme of Nature the food requirements of phnts are catered for;by the decay of vegetation the dead, as it were, provides for the living, and as each leaf falls to the ground in the autumn, it carries with it a tiny store of plant food, in' addition to its own bulk, which contributes to the necessary provisions of humus matter to the soil.

Other plants, while they are coming to maturity, are endowed with a mysterious and extraordinary capacity for collecting plant foods, which they leave in the ground an legacies for the which fill them, and thus Nature sees to it that 'to a certain extent the fertility of the soil is maintained. USE OF LEGUMINOUS CROPS. Clover, of course, plays an important part in the rotations of arable farmers, and small holders who have to produce fodder to overlook it. Generations ago, farmers found that clover acts as a manure for wheat, which is comrr.unly grown aftar it, and science has shown where the logic of this procedure comes in. After the clover has been mown for hay, or the crop has been consumed by grazing stock on the gound there still remain those naturl stocks of nitrogen, i.e., the roots. These are ploughed in, and as they decay they give up their stores of nitrogen, which become available for the wheat or other cereal crop! that may be grown, for all our whi*e straw erops are great consumers of nitrogen. What is said of clover, applies in various degrees to other crops of similar habit, such as lucerne and sainfoin, and while the latter frequently remain on the ground longer, they go on collecting all the time, and when eventually ploughed up they leave their legacy of valuable, plant food for the benefit of thegsucceeding crop. THE USE OF STUBBLES. Tho modern reaper and binder is economical as compared to the old reaping hook in the respect that it cuts the straw nearer to the ground and stacks are bigger in consequence, of the straw goes through the Bystems of animals and comes back as manure, all well and good, but otherwise the land stands to Buffer, because less straw is lift to be ploughed in. It is true the actual manurial value of the atubble is not great, but on soils in general, and stiff lands in particular, humus or vegetable matter is wanted to mix with the mineral elements, and this is where the cereal stubble plays its part. Therefore, the remains of the cereal crop are beneficial, and the straw that stands on the ground a3 Btubble after harvest is not a waste product, in fact, there are few waste products in agriculture; tor it goeß back to mother earth, to make that top crust which is the storehouse of the world, moie productive and easier to cultivate. GREEN MANURING. To farm without stuck is at its best an unpractical kind of an arrangement, but a good many psople, small holders and allottees, ore orjliged to farm with a minimum of stock to produce the dispensable manure. To people so situated, the importance of growing those crops which actually play a part as manures is obvious, and yet one sees acres of ground left bare after the seasons's crop has been remove, until the time comes to put something else on it. As an illustration: Here is a piece we have in mustard. It grows quickly, but will not stand frost; it seems to have some sweetening effect to soil, and is a good antidote to wireworm. Sow mustard, then, thickly on spare ground from the spring to the end of the summer, and when in full growth plough or dig it in. During the time the crop is growing it will gather plant food, and as tho mustard decays in the ground this plant food will be given off for the benefit of whatever may come afterwards.

By observation and experience, farmers have discovered these different ways of manuring and improving land by other means than simply applying dung, and eciunce explains the reasons why. It is up to the cultivator not to miss anything, but to save his pocket, and keep up the fertility ouf hia land by co-operating, so far as poßsible, with Nature in tho matter of manuring.