IMPORTANT TO GRAZIERS.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1091, 26 September 1883, Page 2

IMPORTANT TO GRAZIERS.

(Bruce Herald .) Having been impressed with the unusual productiveness of a field of grass hear the Milton Railway Station, and also with the fact that the crop maintained its verdure all the winter, our reporter interviewed Mr J. E. Brown upon the subject, who kindly supplied him with the following interesting particulars The land situated between the Milton Railway Station and my garden contains about one acre, and is intersected by a small creek. In 1§77 it was ploughed up, the grass having been exhausted, with a subsoil plough following, and in October of that year was sown down with oats and grass seeds, with two tons of lime from Mr James McDonald’s kilns at Waihola Gorge. The crop was cut as oaten hay, and the clover crop for several years was very rich, so much so that I could not put cattle upon it for the first three years, and circumstances were such that all the crops, including January, 1882, were cut for hay. In October of that year, I found that the grubs had got such a hold of it, in patches, that there was ho hope of a crop, so I had it ploughed up. About two. months after I had it thoroughly cut up with this disc-harrows. This I consider to be a very superior implement, as it completely cuts up the furrows, sothatwhen the ground was again ploughed in February last, it was as fine as garden ground, and completely rotten. About one-third of the ground—being on each side of the creek, where it had shown signs of poorness in the grass crops—received alight coat manure ; the remainder

received only the fallow. On the 20th February, it was sown with grass seeds without any other crop. The rye grass was furnished by Messrs J A Duthie and Co, and showed the good effect of their superior dressing machinery. As although I only used what was supposed to be the usual quantity for sowing out without a crop, it was at least one-third too thick. In putting in the crop so late, I considered that it would only establish itself for future crops, but by the middle of June it bad such a coat of luxuriant grass that it would certainly have rotted and destroyed itself. From that till the middle of August it was constantly cut and supplied to the cows, and the quantity that came off it was very considerable, much more than would have been thought of, it being su very thick, and at the present time it is looking very well and forward for the season. I believe the coat of lime in 1877 Las hj a<3 n most beneficial effect on the crops, but especially on tho present, when it has got worked into the land. When put on it was only harrowed into the surface. The use of the disc harrows for the middle process, cutting up and closing the surface so as to secure a thorough rotting of the turf, in my opinion made up for-,the short time, of fallowing, and prevented weeds getting hold of the ground. This, with the heavy crop of grass, will, I hope; have destroyed the cape-weed, which was in the land before breokingnp. The above shows that by a proper course of summer fallowing, grass lands may be renewed without losing a crop, and dairymen and others interested may secure cutting grass throngh most of the winter.—J.E.B.