FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 May 1917, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY.

' ' DEEP CULTIVATION. 6 '•'Deep cultivation is one of the most important points in successful farming," said Mr. John McQueen, a well-known Southland agriculturist, at a meeting of farmers at Makarewa. He instanced a paddock on a Makarewa farm which had been worked to a depth of nine inches. They set out to get down another three inches and succeeded in reaching the full foot. Off that land they took sixty tons of swedes per acre the' following year. lAlso he was sure that the beneficial effect of "stirring up" to that depth would be evident for years to come. Of course a foot was not necessarily tha limit to depth and subsoiling was a very good thing, although a- 'soiler was hard on horses, seeing that it combined the operations of .ploughing and su'bsoiling. It was easier on the horses To go down after the land had been worked to a certain depth. "Don't buy more land," advised the sjpaker. "Make better use of what you have. I don't know how much land any of you have j?ot, but you have got enough—all of yon. Go down." It was a, matter of regret that most people wei'e not making the best use of what they had.

•*■" LUCERNE AT MQUMAHAKI. ' ; During the past twelve months lucerne has again demonstrated its great value at the Moumahaki Experimental Farm, the- period including the late extremely dry summer. Useful' experience has also been gained in grazing the stands. In the North Island lucerne has hitherto been regarded almost entirely as a crop for the production of hay or green fodder. TWb practice entails cutting and carting to live-stock, processes' involving a considerable amount of labor; hence the desirability of utilising the crop to greater economical advantage. In order to demonstrate that lucerne can be successfully used for the grazing of all kinds of live-stock, the paddocks at Moumahaki were stocked at intervals throughout the year. Ewea and lambs, wethers, bullocks, cows and calves, mares and fools—in fact, all stock to be fonnd on a farm-wore grazed on the lucerne for various periods without causing any apparent injury to the plants. During September and November heavy bullocks were grazed the longest period being for twentyfour days. The stocking has been heavy, and all the animals have kept in splendid condition, while there has also not been ono siok ibeost. •. 'As showing the iwoiiderful carrying capacity of lucerne,'it may be mentioned that one field of 14 acres which was mown for hay on March 2, 1816, during the following twelve months -kept the equivalent of ten sheep per acre, and in addition fielded a hay crop of two tons per acre in January, »17. In ffltaitofrL the number of sheep thus carried, it is estimated that one grown least is equal to six sheep. „ „ . ~ Although the total ramtall at Moumahaki for January;.' February, and March amounted to> only 3.83 in.,_ the lucerne on the farm is still growing well and turning a good number of sheep and cattle—T. W. Lonsdale, manager, Moumahaki Experimental Farm.