IMPROVEMENT OF PASTURES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 175, 28 August 1909, Page 6

IMPROVEMENT OF PASTURES

lh 0 following is the conclusion of Mr. r. (jillanders' paper read at Tuesday'-; meeting ot the laranaki Agricultural .society:—

SUJIMAI! Y. •Speaking ol the icmilU, or rataer of the lessons to lie derived rrom lae experiment, ami looking al Jt Irom iis origin to tiie present uate, we at once M'e that then* is a marked contrast between tin; unmanured plot, and al tnree ot the manured ones, riot No. H gave an increase over the unmannml plot o| 4iJ.) lh, jit a cost of O.U'nt '."•r Hi oi' ««aiiK i'iot -\u. (i gave an increase of ;i(>4 II) •' tiie nmmmnred, al a co*t of (Mild ,| - »oi gain. •l * n iU '(' the maximum increase iat a .iii.iimuni cf cost, namely, 3UU lb juu-r ay mmianured plot. a i a cost of I U.oin. p« r jb of gain. 1 iTom a money point of view these three pl;»is stand prominen..., ahead «>f ail oliicfi's. Thereiore, for -ae present, and until further data is available, the loilowmg conclusions can be safely \iia\vn:--Tnai 011 similar soils to Jdoumahaki either ol the three dressings may safely be recommended iu u lop-uressing pastures. On tJie light triable or sund\ "0.i.-, would be preler- ; jolis basic should oe applied. laKi*io experience gained from the above Uaui, one can madly iveoiuuiend the | aUu.uoii oi nitrogen to either of the 1 piiuayiitttie manures as a dressing ior! yasLUiv-*} while, on Ihe other liunu, the ..uu.. 4 uii of potasli in either Hie ionu oi uuiuii or eulpuale w. poiaaii, tan safeiy be rccouimcnueu.

What, no doubt, farmers look upon as one of the striking thiugs in connection with the experiment is the small return from plot i\ r o. 9. The results are certainly ijuite contrary to the general opinions iieltl as to tile merits of 'bonedust as a fertiliser. The only eonelusion that can be arrived at is that tliis is an unsuitable manure for paslures on similar soils. Neither can iliu double dressing of basic slag as applied to plot No. 5 be recommended, the small increase in live weight of the sheep over tiie single dressing could not justuy the extra expenditure. •Speaking of plot No. 1, where ground lime was applied, and viewing tne results as presented by tile iigures, we wili ui once see that they are disappointing. While viewing it both from its general appearance and also from a botanical analysis made by .\ir. Cockayne, the aa'sislaiit biologist, it is the best in the lieitl. As far as 1> can sec, Lhe only conclusion Unit can be drawn here is that the lime has encouraged the growth of the better grasses an l clovers, hut apart fponi appearance and growth the pasture has not had the same feeding value as "where the other suitable manures were, applied. j Commenting on the general appear-1 ance of the plots, Nos. 4, 5, 0, a:id 8 I ..j'e the leading uned; Now. 7, 0, and 101 might be termed the second rate plots of the experiment, wane the general appearance of Nos. 2 and li are decidedly worse than any of the otaer plots in the field.

Iti conclusion, 1 would like here to say that in placing these figures before you I have tried feo confine myself to results obtained at Moumaiiaki, and J think you will agree with me when J sny that these ligurcs are conclusive preof that pastures can be largely improved by the judicious application of artificial manures'. Tlte one broad fact elicited by the use of manures is that they give increased powers of growth to the useful grasses and clovers which !h\ the natural order of tilings nave a tendency to lose their vitality after the i first few years of their growth. By so ' stimulating the good herbage the coarser | grasafts and weeds are kept in check. I