THE FARMER.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 1 November 1911, Page 3

THE FARMER.

CULTIVATION.

Mr Primrose McConnell, in an article in the journal of Department of Agriculture on the above subject, vrrites:

At the present day there is much talk of ''agricultural science," "re* search," &c. while the practical rules, the carrying out of which are essential success, are more or less neglected. Science :s good, but when it gets ahead of practice it leads to confusion. Moreover, science can never be to applied with such exactness to many of the branches of agriculture as it can be to other arts or professions. We expect too much of science, and it will be well if wee.re not disappointed. When I make such a statement I am speaking of cultivation in its simplest sense. In many ways science has done great things for agriculture, more particularly in the matter of plant-breeding or selection; also in the control of animal and vegetable diseases and parasites ; but in other directions success can only be attained by unceasing practical experiments and careful observation.

Thorough cultivation simply means the creating of an environment that will enable both vegetable and animal life to reach the highest point of perfection . Before any successful attempt can be made in cultivating the soil the latter trust be in a sufficiently dry state. Fortunately, a considerable portion of the earth's surface is naturally dry. By " dry" soil I mean soil where the water 'table does not come closo to the surface. Wet soil is valnless, from a farmer's standpoint, and no attempt should be' made to culti-* vate it until it is thoroughly drained. W*it soil is disastrous alike to vegetable and domesticated animal life. On the other hand, it mates the best of breeding-grounds for the internal parasites which cause such havoc among our live- stock.

The agricultural-implement maker has done a great work by the introduction of labour saving implements, and it would be impossible at the present day to carry on tho work of cultivation without the aid of such implements ; but, again, it must be admitted no implement can do such effectual work as the primitive spade. The most valuable of all farm in> plements is the plough, and the more often this implement is used previous to the sowing of any farm crop the greater will be the chance of success. As to the depth of the furrow, the farmer must be guided by the depth of the surface soil and the nature of the subsoil, also by the nature of both the previous and ths cuming crop. As a boy I was taught that it was a good practice (and I beleive the rule still holds good) to plough as deeply as the land will permit once in a course* of a four years rotation, the depth varying from Gins, to 12in. When only the former depth can be attained, on account of the nature of tho subsoil, the subsoil plough may be used to very great advantage, more particularly en very retentive sods.

Although the success accruing from debp, thorough, and repeated cultivation has been known for ages, it is only of late years thai scientists have arrived at the reason why. They now inform us that this thorough cultivation is necessary, it stimulate certain low forms of life in the soil by tho admission of sun and air, these forms of life responding b} p changing plantfoods in the soil into such a condition that they may bo easily assimilated by the plant.

(To bo contained noxt week.)

voting on tinst issues i. c. Local no license an<!^^^ minion Prohibition. These two issues are not identical nor do they have the same effect. Local No License is still what it has always been, Simply No-License, the added restrictions of recent year's being ' simply the result of a : public opinion which demands a reasonable interpretations of tbe law. National .Prohibition is tbe natural outcome of years of .agitation and the most logical conclusions of the whole liquor controversy tbat tbe mind of mail has yet invented. National prohibition, which affects the. manufacture .and importation iaa-' \fell';. as the sale of \ intoxicating "beverages does not come into effect until four years after the people have by a threefifths majority vote decided against it (Please make a note of that.) The appeal of the Temperance party to the thinking voters of New Zealand is, that in face of the known evils arising' from the licensed sale of liquors and in • face of the. countless failures of attempts at, restrictions and regulations, they should "seriously ' consider the advisability* of accepting :;:our proposition and like us. strike Out the top line. Yet,- in a sense the appeal is needless, for tbe People of New Zealand'have already accepted "jour proposition,by a majority Vof - 32,000 votes, and it is only an unfair handicap namely the 3-sths vote, that holds us hack. The simple fact that by education of thepeople, and demonstrations of the nature and effect of our proposals vie have .increased our vote in twelve years (from 1896 to 1908) at the rate of 10,000 votes per annum is in itself something to encourage us in the belief that we are working on right linos md sound principles. But that 10,000 a year increase means more than the simple figures imply. It means that in 1908 the electors of New Zealand voted as follows: For No: License by a 3-sths majority vote,' •lo -electorates. For No License by a democratic majority vote, 45 electorates, and only in electorates out of 76 that voted to retain licenses by" a majority vote. -Frou. this record, covering as it does 12 years of time cannot be put down as a sudden impulse or passing fanny othe people, our progress, we maintain has been the natural outcome of reasonable argument and fair fight in an open fieid. Time was when the Trade professed to ridicule or ignore the strength of our party, hut not so to-day. And now once more in view of tbe coming LocalOpti'onand Dominion Prohibitions. Foils we, tbe majority of tho people appeal to the readers of this column to voto for the emancinations of our land from the drink curse. And that »ppeal is echoed and re-echoed on every hand. From the graves of our drink slain dead, from every drunkard's home, from.ten ..thousand mother's broken hearts, and from the trembling lips of drink made orphans and drink cursed children, there comes the same unceasing cry, Our fair land is being cursed and saddened by an unholy trade. ; What will you do about it? See to it that you face this question fairly and honestly. Consider it well, foi on your vote there rests a responsibility that you cannot move. ; The Trade is doomed, will your vote stay the sentence? Mark well'the ri'sr ing tide of public opinion and stjp out boldly for the Home, and Wife, and little 1 children. ft. Strike out the top line on both ballet paper*.