MANURE EXPERIMENTS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8250, 3 October 1906, Page 3

MANURE EXPERIMENTS.

BESULTt) AND REPORTS.

The final results and reports of experi'•meats in different manures carried out •by Messrs W. Perry and J. Wall have been submitted to the Committee appointed] by the Wairarapa Pastoral So* •ciety to look after the experiments, says the Carterton News. MR. W. PERRY. The following are the results ot Mr Perry's experiments: Plot No 1, two-third* Fison's super.phosphate, one-third broken bones. — 1711b per acre, cost 9a per acre; sown January 3rd ; good start and healthy on February 3rd; March Srd; noarly equal; April 10th, looking the best; June ■lßth, final, 10 tons 6 cwt; combined lime and manure, 12 tens 14 cwt; value of , extra crop through liming, 8s 4d. > No. 2, two-thirds guano, one-third bones.—224!b per acre, coat 10s Gel per acre; sown January 3rd; Fubruary 3rd, "i unhealthy ; March 3rd, poor; April 10th, ■medium to poor; June 18, 5 tons 15 cwt; combined lirno and manure. 8 tons 3 CWt; valuo of extra crop through liming, 8s 4d. No. 3, two-thirds basic slog, one-third bones.—2oolb to the acre; cost per acre 9s 6d ; sown on January 2id ; February 3rd, fair growth; March 3rd, fair .growth ; April 10th, medium ; June 18th, 4 tons 16 cwt 3 qr; combined lime and manure, 11 tons 5 cwt; value of extra crop through liming, 22s 6d. No. 4, bit lcen bones'.— 1901b per acre; •cost per acre, 10s2d; sown January 3rd; February 3rd, very poor; March 3rd and April 10. not worth weighing; no result. No. £>, no manure. —No result. No. 6, Meat Export Co., No. I—2oo lb per acre; cost per acre, 10i 3d ; sown January Srd ; Februnry 3rd, better start than No. 1; March 3rd, looking best; April 10th- a little behind No. 1, smaller leaf; Juno 18th, final 9. tons 12 cwt; • combined Jime and manure, 10 tons 16cwt; value of extra crop tnrough liming, 4s 2d. No. 7, two-thirds bones, guano onethird.—2s4lbs ptir acre; cost per acre 12s 9d; sown January 3; February 3, •fair growth; March 3, patcny; April 10, poor; Juno 18, final few turnips—not worth weighing. JNo. 8, two thirds bones, ono-third Fison's.—2oolb to the acre: cost per acre, 103 3d; sown January 3; February 3, fairly good growth; March 3, equal to ' No. 1; April 10 good growth; June 18, final,,lo tons 6 cwt (no lime). No. 9, ground lime across manure plots. —Half-ton per acre; cost per acre. 13s 9d; sown January 3; February 3, no difference; March 3, snowing little improvement; Ap v ril 10, marked difference* MR J. WALL, Following arc the results of Mr ,J Wall's experiments:— No 1, two-fifths bone dust, onefifth guano, one-fifth basic slag, oneSfth superphosphate—224lb per acre; cost per acre 11a 2d; sown February 23; March 14, good start . and healthy; April 14, looking well, bat too young ; Muy 14, still too young. No 2,—Two-fifths tone dust, one-fifth guano, one-fifth bHsio slag, • one fifth superphosphate, half-ton good lime—224lh (and half ton lime) to the acre; cost manure lis 2d to the oore, lime 15s 8d; sown February 23; March 14, good start, much better than No 1; April 14 • and May 14, better thau No 1. Report of tho sub-committee on j the experiments with artificial j manures, oarriod out by Mr W. , •Perry on his "Penrose" property:] the committee appointed to consider the question of manure experiments i decided to carry any out tbis seasbn, as it was ho late in the year before the subject was brought up, and we feel that out best thanks are due to Mr Perry for taking the matter up, and for the careful and painstaking manner in which the experiments were carried out. The ground was not plouphed till November, and as the -summer was unusual, ,we think the poor crop over tho field as a whole easily accounted for, but the differences Hie more pluiuJy visible , between the separate plots than they probably would have been iu a good crop. A narrow strip across each plot to No 7 received tiiushed agricultural lime at the rate of half-a-ton to the acre, so that the effect can be seen in conjunction with each mixture used. A glance at the analysis will show that the boneanst was rather coarse, and not being dissolved in any way was all in an .insoluble state. The guano used also contained no soluble constituents, and the baisa slag was of very quality. Plots Nos. 3, 6, and <8 each had a proportion of souble constituents, and the results were almost equal. No 1. whioh had tho largest proportion of superphosphate, looked better than No. 8, early in the season, but the later growth equalized them, while No. 6 was rary iittle behind. The oonspioioua feature of the experiments, however, was thfe effect of the lime, which was most marked, even the anamnured plot which was quite tare elsewhere having a few small turnips on the limed portion. Plot ,No.< 4 too (para bonedust) which had a few very small turnips all over it was muob better whero the lime was applied but plot No. 3 (basic slag to-thirds boned cut one-third) was more than doubled by the lime probably owing to the rather complicated chemical changes being more rapidly brought about. Eauh of the other limed plots also showed « great difference ' showing that whether lime is deficient in the soil or whether it is owing to its chemical action it will pay to apply it to the field experimented on. A sample of the soil was forwarded to Mr Asbton with samples of manuies bat no analysis has been received, l'he experiments as a whole show what is generallly recognised by agricultural authorities i.e. that a certain proportion of soluble constituents are essential in any mixture to give the turnips a start. Probably some of ' the other plots would have done well bad a proportion of good 'SuperphospbatH been added to the mitures. The commit- • tee hope that something has been •accomplished in the way of stimulating the interest of turnip growers generally and that a number of them will carry out exeriments during: next season.