AGRICULTURE ON THE WEST COAST

Nelson Evening Mail, 26 September 1916, Page 6

AGRICULTURE ON THE WEST COAST

DEMONSTRATIONS WITH LIME.

REPORT BY MR BRUCE

1 Mr J Bruce, Instructor in Agi-iculture for the' Nelson Education Board, re-

ported to-day as follows concerning a •visit to the "West Coast: During the month of July, at tne invitation of the Agricultural Committee of the Buller Countv Council, I made a special visit toN:he West qoast. lhe main object of my visit was to interview the farmers of the district, and lay before them the practical advantages ot the application of lime to the land. With this end in view, I gave demonstrations on how to apply Hme most beneficially to the soil. These demonstrations were in every case conducted in the field, and the soils in different licalities from Charlestown to Mokihimu were tested, and in everv instance, except in the vicinity of Cape Foulwind, the necessity of ■osino- lime in the soil was amply demonstrated hy the strongly acid nature of the soil. Around Cape Foulwind, that i= over the limestone formation, the necessity did not- exist to nearly the same extent. My visit extended over ten days. On each dav. accompanied by a member oi the Agricultural Committee. I visited a different part of the country district, and on all hands the farmers showed the greatest interest in the work I was demonstrating. I made several visits to the pakihis. Here the soil is extremely acid, but where the pakihi has been ploughed, surface drained, limed. and fertiliser added, the result is verypromising. The first stens m the improvement of the pakihi are surface drainage, and a liberal application ot burnt lime.- I have known other similar tracts of country improved m this way anTthoujrh the .farmers at first ridiculed any attempt at improvement but 1 do think that a sood deal of the land could "be brought into a condition suitable for grazing purposes. I advocate the use of burnt lime m preference to am- other form of lime Fir«t because of its specific chemical etfect on the soil, and second beause it contains roughly 100 per ent of _oxide of lime, which is the neutralising aeent sought after, and no other form of lime purchased b'v the farmer approaches this proportion. Slaked lime contains 75 per cent, and ground limestone only 56 per cent of. this oxide. Furthermore. in. this district, the facilities for manufacture, and distribution of burnt hme are equal to any in the Dominion. Again this part of the Coast has not only never had lime, but the. accumulation of decayed vegetation for centuries has had a correspondingly great acidulating effect. This effect has been accentuated fbg the prevailing heavy rainfall and general warm moist conditions. In conclusion, apart altogether from the pakihi lands, 1 think that around "Westport there are large tracts of land that hold for the dairy farmer the brightest possibilities. On my return' from the Coast, I supervised the distribution of the pinus insignis seedlines, some 7000. kindly donated by Mr Kingsland. Along with the plants I issued short directions for planting. ... -1 have also since then given a short lecture to the farmers in Takaka on Hme and its properties, but owing to the shortening of the time allowed me, I have been requested to repeat at some future date.