THE FARM.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 133, 17 January 1916, Page 4

THE FARM.

Crop Rotation.

It is well known 1 hat when cer- ! tain crops are grown continuously , on the eame grcund without fallow-! iog or rotatiar, the land becomes unsuited for that particular crop, The cause usually assigaed lor this phenomenon, namely, that the continued growth of tte ciop in question removes certain elements of plant fcod necessary to that crop, requires some modilication ia view of recent investigations. The euggestion has been advancfd by scientists that the plant during its growth Eecretes toxic material which is injurious to the succeeding similar crop, though not to crops of a different nature, and a goad de l of wo.k h:s teen done in trying to isolate and identify thes> toxic substances. A corollary cf this theory is that the benelicial action of feitiliEers is due less to their actual value as (.lant food than to the fact that they neutralise or othcrwisa p 11: r these poi.ocous substances. Another theory is that these plant toxins aie formed not by the direct secretion of tte growing plants, but by the action cf bacteria upon the residreß left in the soil by the crop. Such a theory would afford sn explanation of such phenomena as diver sicknes?, etc., where it is found that bad results follow the continuous growlh of the same crop on the same land, although the soil itself may show no appreciable loss of plact food. It must, however, be stated that these theories have not yet advancevd much bejor.d the speculative stage; and that, although a considerable amount of work has been done, and several definite organic substances have been isolated, the toxicity of tt.ese substances in the field has cot yet beetfcestablished conclusively. Whatever may be the real cause of the trouble, whether it is due to soil exhaustion or to the production of toxins, either by the growing plant or by bacterial acthn on crop residues, or to a combination ci these causes, the remedy incicated will in every case be the same—namely, crop rotation or f.Mowing.

Inferior Bulls.

An English Opinion. By organiecd effort, exerted largely through the instrumentality of local clubs, ttoe nftrior class ot cart stallion has been banished almost entirely from the roads of England. Twenty years ago unsound mongrel horses were tumorous, and because of the low fees at which they travelled were a Berioua hindrance to prognss in improving the heavy horses of the country. Undeterred by this formidable obstacle, the Sfcire horse and other British societies kept pegging away in their elforta to bring home to farmers the inherent deftcta of a policy that gave countenance to cheapness of service in preference to the breeding and quality of the tire employed. Commenting upon thia satisfactory development the London "Field" remarks that the industry of the breed societies has brought about a change lit to rank among the most notewcrthy agricultural achievements of the time. By degrees breeders were brought to recognise the fundamental eiror ol the course that put convenier.ee and cheapness before the higher principles ot heredity, soundness and utility, and the nondescript sire has been starved out of existence, driven from the countryside as effectively as if he were prohibited by statute. Our contemporary uses the above statement as a text directing at tention to the British Government measures for restricting the slaughter of Ctike?, and aaks whether similar success coulJ be elhcted in discourgging the use ot interior bulls. The problem con csrning bulls is admittedly more difficult than that affecting any other class ot sire, and no doubt its peculiar characteristics account for the excessive prepcnderai.ce of defective eires constantly in use. 'lhinga are by ro means perfect in the kinderd pursuits of sheep breeding and pig raising, any more than in horse breeding itself, but the improvement in recent years ia the attention given to the selection of sires has been tar more pronounced than in the case of cattle. The chief cause for the little headway that has been made in raising the standard merit of bullj in constact use is to be found no djubt in the conlliction of interest that obtains. There n lets concentration upon a definite purpose than in other classeß if stock. The eagerness to specialise has gecer atcd or strengthened a belief that meat and milk production are irremediably antagonistic, and acting on this asßumption the bzeliag or milking quality, as the casi may be, is disregarded in the hope that the other will be the more effectively developed, la a certain sense this dictum ia intelligble and sound, but if. adoption is not accountable lor the whole ct the defect.

What the British authorities complain if is nut that deep milk- 1 ing has been cultivated to the in- i jury of llephing properties, but j that the latter have been neglected j without obtaining compensating j gains in the lormer. The dairymen who have done most to raiea the ! standard of production in dairy j herds are not those against whom ! the action of the British Board of j Agriculture is directed. The board recognises that meD of this type have rendered important national service, and would be entitled to generous exemption even if the produce of their heids were materially ' deficient as meat producer?, which, by the way, is seldom the case. The real offender is the farmer who subordinates all otber consideration to milk production, buyiog in any clafs of animal he comes across, pajs no attention to the maintenance of his herd within itself, and consequently uses the kind of bull that costs least money, his one idea is to keep the cow in milk, and the cheap bull is ustd because he will answer the purpose aa effectively as a sire of approved quality and exclusive breeding that wouli ccst mote. Ihe qualities which the latter would transmit to his olfeprirg, and which would render ihe produce of milking herds so valuable for grazing purposes, are accounted as nothing. In this way the country loses heavily in commercial acimals, and the preventage of this wastage is held to te the main objective in Great Britain to-day.