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CROPPING POOR LAND.

THE VALUE OF MANURES. RFTURN OF £24 PER ACRE* OFF STONY GROUND. ' The average fanner with good laud has already been convinced or the value of top-dressing or giving the laud the necessary stimulus to produce good returns. Many a man on poor land, however, has the idea that money spent in this direction is wasted, but such is not the case. For the last three years, Mr Matthew Spencer, farm manager at the Boys' Training Farm, has been carrying out an experiment on 19 acres of poor, stony land on Arapaepae Road. Mr 11. Saint, who was passing this section during the week, was so impressed with the crop it carried that he invited a "Chronicle" representative to accompany him to the Farm in order to see for himself the rich sole of giass and the magnificent oat t crop I hat was grown there. It is as stony a piece of land as any in the district, yet by-cultivation, one paddock of OJ acres has produced three tons of hay to the acre, while over 20 tons of oaten chaff was* taken off a similar area adjoining, and last year after the oats weie slacked a heavy crop of chou mouilier was secured, the value of these two crops being, on a conservative estimate, £24 per acre. The paddock that was kepi for pasture was levelled, not ploughed, and cleared of surface si ones, it was then well disced and chain-harrowed, and treated with b" cwt. of lime and 3 ewt. of super-phos-phate to the acre. The same treatment has been repeated for the .last two years. The grass is principally crested dogstail and English and Italian rye. The oat paddock, after being cleared of surface stones, was treated the 'first year to one ton of lime and 3 cwt. of super-phosphate to the acre and then for the past two years has received the same treatment as the pasture. A 'Comparison may be made with the crop that was taken off the Kimberley road paddocks, this beingrich, loamy soil, yet the yield was very little heavier. Mr Spencer's advice in regard to pastuie land is not to plough, but to disc thoroughly so that the manure can come in direct contact with the roots. The only advantage the farm has over the ordinary fanner is its abundance of labour, but as one good man would do as much in a day as from four to six of the lads, it is doubtful if there is really any advantage in the long run. With lime at about 16s per ton and super-phosphale at £5 7s 2d,' the cost of fertiliser per acre is about 21s.' The experiment'is i-ertainly worth trying for after all the success of farming, in fact the success .of the whole distric-V,: depends upon increased production.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SNEWS19280124.2.14

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Shannon News, 24 January 1928, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
474

CROPPING POOR LAND. Shannon News, 24 January 1928, Page 3

CROPPING POOR LAND. Shannon News, 24 January 1928, Page 3

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