NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 4030, 9 June 1931, Page 12

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Californian Thistle v. Lucerne. One notes with interest the possibilities of suppressing Californian thistle by lucerne. On a farm at Kiwitea, Manawatu, an area of loam which was badly overrun with Californian thistle was sown with lucerne. During the first year after the sowing of the lucerne the growth was dominantly thistle, but gradually the lucerne has suppressed the thistle until now, after two seasons (says the New Zealand Journal of Agriculture), the thistle has so completely disappeared that it is difficult to imagine that it was so recently dominant. Regular liberal dressing of the lucerne with superphosphate following an application of lime when it was sown has probably much to do with the success of the lucerne. Strawberry Clover for Swamps. The Fields Superintendent at Palmerston North reports that from a small quantity of strawberry-clover seed surface sown a few years ago round the swampy margin of a small lake on the property of Mr R. Wilson, Himitangi, an excellent sward has developed under circumstances quite unsuitable for other useful plant life. Artificial drainage controls the level of the lake for the greater part of the year, but at certain periods during winter and spring a fairly large area round the margin is inundated for a few weeks at a time. Under these conditions the strawberry-clover appears to be spreading and thriving, and after the water has receded provides an abundant growth. Up to the present no fertiliser has been used.

“ Buy Where You Sell.” Not only dairy farmers, but all New Zealanders will be profoundly disappointed that the Government has been unable to reach any agreement with the Canadian Government to permit reciprocal trading. Our particular interest is, of course, in the very large outlet for New Zealand butter which has been closed by the prohibitive duties imposed by Canada. Even if Mr Forbes showed a . l ac k of finesse in the opening negotiations, it appears (says an exchange) that he has since spared no effort to reach a n accommodation, but has been met by something very like a stonewall. In the circumstances, however regrettable and unprofitable trade retaliation may be, especially between two partners in the British Commonwealth of Nations, New Zealand will probably approve the withdrawal of special privileges to a country which has annulled those having any meaning to us. And if what is Canada’s loss is Britain’s gain, it will be all to the good as a practical application of the motto to “ Buy where you sell.”

Curing Organic Matter. Chemical manures are extensively used, sometimes extravagantly, but generally with excellent results. On the other hand, organic manures. though indispensable, are tending to become scarce, and for this reason it is desirable to make the most of what is available. Organic manures are made from organic matter—that is, plant and animal refuse. Such manure is unsuitable for use from a manorial point of view until it is at least partly fermented, or, on the other hand, it is brought to a more or less friable state, facilitating an even distribution and rapid assimilation when turned under the soil. A very popular means of supply is to grow a green cover-crop and plough it under when there is sufficient time and moisture to rot it in the ground before planting another crop. Among orchard trees this is an excellent practice. Where it is possible to accumulate organic matter in the right condition, it should be applied and turned in at once.

Nature’s wonderful economy is constantly demonstrating this very point. A host of insects, fungi, and bacteria are busy chopping up organic material and reducing it to a sweet fertile mould It is merely our business to watch it to learn the principles and apply them. In heavy native bush that has not been much disturbed the process may be seen on a large scale. The main agents in fermentation are bacteria—living organisms that are very abundant in Nature on plants and in the surface soil. They make little impression o n living matter but as soon as it is dead their action is rapid if the conditions are suitable I he conditions mainly are moisture and heat. Low temperatures prevent their activity, as the cold stores demonstrateand the drying of material of this kind is another common method of preservation To ferment waste organic matter with-

out delay then, one must stack it together compactly, when it will quickly generate the necessary heat, and, if it is moist throughout the mass, fermentation and decay will be brought about in the .shortest time.

The stack of manure of this kind accumulated during the summer has probably been used up during the autumn, and a commencement is being made to conserve future supplies as they become available. To tip it into a shapeless heap, where much of it is trodden into the ground and wasted, and generally becomes offensive, is to create a nuisance and lose valuable'material. If it is chiefly stable manure containing long straw, 1* can be stacked in a compact manner with upright sides, and with a little care and neatness all of the conditions can be observed which will bring it to a satisfactory condition by the next autumn. Where the material is generally short and unsuitable for stacking a bin is necessary to maintain compactness. It may be of heavy timber, but brick or concrete is better. Or, again, the necessary formation may be obtained by cutting into a bank. The front is best arranged so that planks may be dropped into slots and so raised as the heap rises. An important point to observe here is that it is not sufficient to toss material into such a stack in a perfunctory manner. It must be spread evenly and beaten or trodden firmly over the .whole area, and moisture must be added where it may be considered necessary. As moisture is sometimes excessive, a concrete floor should be laid, draining into a sump. Under such conditions during the warin weather oi spring and summer this material is so quickly sterilised and purified by bacterial action that there is little chance of it being offensive. As much of its value may be leached away by heavy rains, it should be covered with a roof, but a foot or so just beneath the eaves and the front should be open. W’here stock is kept the accumulation would probably have to be considerable; also in the case of a market gardener who purchases fowl manure, etc., in a more or less fresh state. But in the smallest garden, where perhaps fowl manure, lawn' clippings, etc., will be the only available material, the method' is equally good. A few inches of soil may be spread over the surface at times; it will be an excellent method of reinoculation wtih desirable bacteria. In this way an untidy and offensive waste will be converted into valuable material that is a necessity in the intensive cultivation of the soil. AGRICOLA.