THE FARM.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 30 April 1919, Page 4

THE FARM.

IMFKOVING THE PASTURES. It invariably happens that the arable tanner gives first attention to arable ground as regards manures, and he knows too well that a full yield of either roots or ecru cannot be procured unless fertilisers are applied to the soil. On the other hand, the dairy farmer

who has to depend upon the production of milk for a livelihood, knows that if bis g:av- land is not fed in order to stimulate the growth of the most nutritious herbage, the milk yield from his cows will soon fall off, and, further than this, he would not' be able to keep up the number of his herd "But he is liable to neglect the manuring of his .arable hind, to the benefit of his pas turcs. I am fully acquainted (says a writer in the "Fanners' Gazette"), as many others probably are, with thousands of acres of grass land which have been starved. Hay of a very inferior kind is made from these meadows, but nevertheless there is a market for it, and during the war and for perhaps some time to come, it will'be paid for at very little less money than the price of the best meadow hay—that is, hay composed of cultivated and nutritious grasses. For the welfare of the nation, and for the farmer himself, it is important'that grass lands should receive their quota of manures. Pastures overlying'clay soils cannot be better treated than by applying a dressing of basic slag at the rate of from five to eight cwt per acre during winter, while in early spring from one to one and ahalf cwt of sulphate of ammonia provides a useful addition. For grass lands iu the lighter soils I have found nothing better than a mixture of superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia in the proportion of from three to four cwt of the latter in spring.

If the soil is lacking in lime, a dressing of ground lime at- the rate of one ton per acre is very helpful, or, if ground lump lime is available, ten cwt of this lime per acre will suffice. On pastures or grass paddocks near the homestead it is often the practice t 0 apply odd dung, or even road scrapings, the refuse from the riekyard, and similar material, all of which helps as a stimulant. It is the outlying pastures that are so often neglected, and it is these that must receive more attention iu the near future.

The operations of harrowing and rolling must not be neglected in spring, us if the surface of the soil is not well aerated and combed free from mossy growth which accumulates during the winter, the manures will not act efficiently.