FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 233, 11 March 1915, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY.

TEMPORARY GRASSES. WESTERN WOLTHS AND PRAIRIE. Under certain conditions, there can he no doubt as to the value of Western Woltlis and prairie grass as additions to our present list of grasses, but, generally speaking, tliey are not suitable for mixing with the ordinary grass and clover seeds which are sown fw permanent pasture making. As a matter of fact, very few of what may be termed late introductions can be sown with advantage in pasture mixtures on good or medium soils, although they may find a place on soil of a very poor nature and under extreme climatic conditions. Perhaps better results would be had if more time were spent in improving well-tried grasses and elovers and less in the introduction of new ones.

Western Wolths i? essentially a forage grass, and perhaps no other will give better results in a given time. Like all rye-grasses, it is a gross feeder, but if the soil is not allowed to ripen it will yield results which more than compensate for any extra soil exhaustion, and if mixed with a few pounds oi crimson clover seed the soil-exhaustion will be reduced to a minimum and the forage correspondingly improved. It is excellent when sown immediately after liarvest as a catch-crop, and if fed off in breaks before the grass gets too long it will be found ideal fodder for all classes of stock, and lambs will fatten rai'idy on it. For dairy cows it is also good, and if soiled will yield two or more cuttings between the end of harvest and early spring. • It is not a drought-re-! sister, and for this reason late spring sowing is not advisable in the average season; 251b ef Western Wolths and 51b of crimson clover is a good seeding. If sown at all with a, permanent-pasture mixture the nuantity should be not more than 21b or 31b per acre, as it is a vigorous grower, and will smother all other grasses if a greater amount is used. At Rnakura the first cut of this grass has yielded up to 15 tons per aero. A small area may be allowed to ripen for future use, and although some authorities are of opinion that the New Zealand-grown seed dees not yield good results, the conclusion is not confirmed by the experience at this farm. It is a grass which sl'ould not be sown on poor soil, but when sown under good conditions and liberally treated in the matter of manure the results are extremely satisfactory. Prairie-grass when included in a per-manent-pasture mixture grazed on the ordinary lines has not been a success. generally speaking, because all classes of stock relish it so much that it is eventually killed by constant close grazing. On the other hand, the writer is quite convinced that this grass has considrable possibilities if certain measures are adopte'd. If pastures which consist principally of prairie-crass be not eaten too closely and are allowed an occasional spell, or, better still, if the pastures be divided into small areas and the stock moved from one to the other in rotation, a large number of cattle or sheep may be carried, particularly in winter time. Of course, the above rule may be applied with success in grazing all pastures, but in a lesser degree. Some varieties of prairie-grass do not show the true permanent character, and a selection has lately been made at Ruakura which promises improvement in this direction. As far as the writer knows, there, is no drill on the market which can sow and cover this seed effectively, but good results may be had by sowing it broadcast by hand, after the roller, then discing, chain-harrowing and again rolling the land. From 351b to 401b of seed per acre should be used. The variety usually sown is Bromus nnioloides. When liav is made of this grass care should be taken that it is not allowed to approach the ripe stage before cutting, otherwise the quality of the hav will be very indifferent, —Primrose McConnell, in tlie Journal of Agriculture.

CHEAPER MANURES. A SUBSTITUTE FOR SLAG. For more than two years past Mr. G. M. Thomson, ex.M.P. for Dunedin North, has been urging on the Government, and on the farming community, the importance of securing supplies of phosphatic manure at a much lower price than is at present charged for it. He has succeeded (says the Sun) in getting the matter referred by the Prime Minister to the Board of Agriculture and to the Department of Agriculture. Sir J. G. Wilson, president of tho Board, has adopted the scheme warmly, and some definite result will follow from the action now taken. Mr. Thomson recommended the purchase of an island in the Pacific by the New Zealand Government, and informed the Prime Minister two years ago that the Pacific Phosphate Company was prepared to sell Chapperton Atoll, near the Mexican coast, whbh was estimated to yield some two million tons of phosphate of good quality. The company worked the island formerly, but abandoned it on account of the dilliculty of shipping the rock. This, however, is a matter for shippers themselves to deal with. More recently, Mr. Thomson urged on the Prime Minister —and effect has been given to his suggestion—that the Imperial Government be approached with the object of securing for Now Zealand the exclusive rights over one or more of the phosphate islands recently. annexed from tlie Germans. Such deposits exist in many of the islands of the Caroline and Marshall groups, ivml, subject to private rights already conferred, it should be possible for this Dominion to obtain a cheap supply of phosphate rock. In many parts of the Dominion basic slag is largely imported as a fertiliser, as it produces most valuable results, especially in the newly-formed soils of the volcanic districts of the North Island—for example, in the Auckland ami Tarnnaki districts. It is also a good deal used in Southland, but it is relatively an expensive manure. Mr. Thomson has suggested that mixtures of phosphate :;nd lime, in proportions similar to those occurring in basic slag, could be made nt half the cost, and that these would probably prove as effective as the imported manures, of which, by tlie way, a large quantity has hitherto come from I Germany. The Department of Agriculture is now about to institute exhaustive experiments on the lines suggested by Mr. Thomson, aud if the experience i;f the American agricultural stations is repeated here it will be found that such mixtures are as effective as the slag itself. This ought to reduce the cost -if fertilisers very extensively, on last year's figures, probably to the . amount of ,C20(>.000.

In connection with the Kiijrficstetl '»- troilnction of the* cheaper phosphate, rock, I'itlicr by the (loveriimont or lessees under tlic ('lovernment, Mr. Parry, chief electrical engineer, who is in charge of (he Lake C'nii'rieljre installation, is working out ii scheme for the erection of a. <rriii(liii,if plant at Lyttclton, to !w worked l)v electric power. One of the problems 'of the Lake Coleridge scheme is to dispose of the whole of the power advantageously, and Mr. Tarry has been in communication with the Hoard of Agriculture and with Mr. <!. M. Thomson in connection with this scheme. Tf, is well known that the fineness of artificial fertilisers is an important agent in their elfective utilisation by plants. The experiments and the proposals of the (!overniiipiit will l>e followed with interest by tlic whole farming community.