Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 1911. FIELD EXPERIMENTS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10131, 6 January 1911, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 1911. FIELD EXPERIMENTS.

and Experimental Farms [. Division of the Agricultural Depart- | m ® n t' of New Zealand lias been doing | excellent work during the last few ye«rs. The experiments and demonstrations that are. undertaken are carried out by the farmers tliemselv. es, with the direction of speciallyappointed officers of the Division, an* rapidly assuming importance, and embrace <i' \vi<l©, x*arige/of operations; Their purpose ish to tKe field and the experiment station to the farmer, to demonstrate the subjects of agriculture in which ..interest is manifested, and specially to exhibit the merit of plants/ -alid- ' crops, and methods that.are recognised as valuable. , Experiments have dealt, .for instance, with the top-dressing of pastures, the appli-. cation of fertilizers, and the use of fodder-in dairy districts ' where this valuable crop for summer feed for cows was not appreiatedc. I

Particularly careful efforts are also being made to introduce lucerne wherever it is possible. It is realized that the possession of a plot of j lucerne would be of the greatest | value to the dairy farmer, particu- J larly at the time of the year in mmmer when the succulence of the grass is past and the milk-yield diminishing. In other districts the greater returns from su.-auie varieties of grain have been brought to notice. The investigation of the qualities of the wheat known a3 "Solid Straw Tuscan' - is'an example of the work of the officers dealing with crop and field experiments. It was shown that this wheat is 'a most profitable variety, that it yields well, resists disease, withstands un-' favourable climatic conditions, and, taking milling tests by lOC points, it is credited with 84'. The same attention is directed to the root crops that are of such paramount importance throughout the farming and grazing districts. Tests of fertilizers as- affecting stodk-earryr.. ■: ing capacity'.of iii 'progress, the proof jbeing the condition and the actual stock carried oh the treated lands. Officers, arei jn request to visit and to advise farmers on the treatment of special soils that present difficulties tfc'at are unusual . The of : trials of proprietary .preparations, for. 'nox-ious-weed destroyers ; is also carried olit '.by these officers,,, as well as the more useful , work of the observation of proibising varieties of seeds and of plants.