CO-OPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXII, Issue 9006, 20 November 1907, Page 4

CO-OPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS

Paper read by Mr Baylis, oi tne Agricultural Depart mem, at: _ the mac-ting of the guidon branch or the Farmers' Union. (Continued From Yesterday.) • Agricultural chemistry tells us the composition of oar soils, and make suggestions as to their amelioration. Field experiments prove to us what is needed to make them fertile The two combined indicate fairly accurately what crops our soils are best adapted to grow by the assistance of the least amount of manure. Practical agriculture suggests rotation, and advises as far as possible enriching the soil by plane, residues, conserving the nitrates by a suitable'system of husbandry, conserving the soil moisture, sweetening the laud by drinage, and allow- | ing of the aeration of the soil, it | advises us to look to the mechanical condition of the soil particles, and I tells us that should we pay no heed to all these first principles of agriculture to spend our money on artificials is little better vniu to waste it. All and each one oi i-.h-sq, arc subjects for experiment, mit a chance experiment triea on hap--hazard line, without the keeping i,f definite records, weights and measurements proves litfclo, and establishes nothing. A siugloexpcrimeut, however, properly carried out, will by its records, prove the advantage gained, and by tho records i "am will show how much a nioUiod cost per acre, and what yon haye "ained, or what you have lost by Adopting that method. Lastly, we i-iav turn to the pastures of 3So\v Zealand, her greatest, and her most valuable asset, for all tho land under ' cultivation in Mew Zealand is but a ilea bite, as compared to her mil- ■ ions of acres of sown and natural

uastures. How many men can nuote, or eveu find figures, the results of definite experiments over a, terra of years, which will show in a, "iveu district, ana ou a given soil 'oy how much the yield of one variety of grass, say of Perennial Rye grass if von will, differs from > the yield of say an acre of. cocksfoot, md what variety of grass in such a district, and on such a soil would yield the greatest abundance of autumn feed as compared with souio_ other variety. Yet every pound or feed, especially of autumn teed, which the one grass yields over and above that yielded by the other, is worth money to the farmer, and a thorough knowledge of tho yields, values, and dates of maturiug of the different grasses, on the different soils and in the various districts, would mean hundreds of pounds in the course of a few years to a farmer, when he. is sowing down ins pastures, and thousands of pounds in the pockets ot this country annually. Each grass lias its use. And the same grass may prove a most valuable grass in some kinds ot country, and a most useless, probably even injurious grasrss, on other country of a different soil and climate. It is in this way that suoh different opinions are hold about the same grass by various farmers ; ana if there is another reason it is beeauo they have .been grazed on ; different systems, for the proper grazing of grass is an art in itself. Now all these tilings can be proved by experiment, and there should be sufficient records of reliablo statistical information on the subject of grasses, which have been tested not in Canada bv the Canadians, or in the States, by the Americans under their conditions of climate and soil; but in New Zealand, by the Inow Zealauders, under New Zealand conditions of climate, and soil, which information should enable the farmer when he selects his mixture with which to sow to know exactly what he is doing, so that ho may lay down his permanent hill pastures, as well as his temporary pastures in grasses, which being suitable to tho land, shall increase and multiply as the years go bv. Mauy an acre ox. lull pasture in Sew Zealand to-day is being sown to grass; it is the one and only chance of seeding, and yet many of tho grasses used are probably not, suited to that country, and not likley to -be permanent thereon. In less than five years that country will not carry the same number of stock it may support m its second or third year, which means a loss to the farmer, which again means a loss to the countryHaving regard to what is already m grass and the-, portion of areas where these mistakes have been made, add to these those areas which are yet to be put in grass, and over certain portions of "wiiich such mistakos mav be repeated, and you will probably find that tho want of definite knowledge upon the nature and value of the various grasses under New Zealand local conditions, s means a monetary loss of not ; thousands, but probably some mil- j lions of pounds to the trade ot the country. Now, although it may be a matter j of some difficulty to retrieve thoso ; acres which have already been \ spoilt, there is a means available to ! insure the better grassing of thoso j many acres of rough hill pasture ! which are vet to be sown,in grass, j viz., by tho collecting of definite in- ] formation, and recording and tabulating the same. It is essentially a field for experiment and farmers could hardly co-operate for a better , nurpose than by doing so on this i subject of grass experiments, since j New Zealand pastures are, and alwavs will bo, her most valuable ] natural asset, and should any man bo inclined to answer that such experiments might cost a little money ho will no doubt, upon further consideration, come to the conclusion that tho cost of such experiments would be nothing as compared to the millions which lio at stake. There is perhaps no country on tho lace of the whole wide world bettor adapted by nature for grass production, and stock rearing, than is New Zealand, and she owes it to herself, and owes it to the other commercial countries of the civilised world, that she should load the way in her methods for the formation of temporary and permanent pastures. There is not a crop, there is no single operation performed by the farmer in his daily routiuo which does not lend itself to experiment— And fih practical agriculture there are few if any, hard, and fast rules. We must change our crops, and we must alter our methods, acording to our soils, our climates and surroundings. Wo must adopt our methods to suit both tho soil and the climate of the surroundings in which we live, and although rumour and observation may suggest, experiment, alone can mark down in black and white what course wo ought to follow. If co-operative experiments were conducted on such line's throughout the length and breadth of the country, we sholucl have obtained in a few seasons more information about our soil, our crops, and our climate and their capabilities than we are ever likely to obtain m so short a time by any other method, and we should have obtained something else, perhaps oven more valuable—wo should have brought together groups of intelligent men, keenly interested in their profession, who, while conducting experiments, work for their own benefit, and that of their district, and will have added largely to their own knowledge as practical farmers and observers. Here, surely, is a large field m which tho corn stands ripe; but tho labourers are few; yet the harvest to be reaped is knowledge, the fruit of-which is power. Tho knowledge to tell what the earth can do, and the power wherewith to compel her to do it.